In This Issue:
1. Fleet Run Regatta #4 - is
this weekend.
2. Fleet Banquet - Be There
or Be Square
3. San Diego - Boats coming
down check in, please
4. Etchells Crew List - It's
bigger and better than ever
5. Darwin Sailing Award - He
might not have lasted on an Etchells
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1. Fleet Run Regatta #4 - is
this weekend.
The fourth and last fleet run
regatta of the year is this Saturday. You
know the format, four short
races on Saturday, with a practice start to
kick things off, and get our
timing down. Sunday, we all
get to spend with
our families, significant others
and dogs. What a crowd pleaser!
This regatta to be hosted by
the capable team of John Mellen and Jeff
Holder. These guys will not
only set fair lines and great courses, but you
know they'll get the scoring
right! Thanks to everyone who hosted a fleet
run regatta this year. This
format is definitely a hit at my house.
Don't miss the celebratory
beers after the racing on the deck of the
Richmond YC.
Sailing Instructions are here:
http://sfetchells.org/Etchells%202002/Fleet%20Events-%20Race%20Instructions.htm
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2. Fleet Banquet - Be There
or Be Square
The fleet banquet is scheduled
for October 26 this year, a change from our
usual Holiday aftermath January
party. It will be held in Richmond, at a
secret site which has never
held an Etchells party before, let alone a year
end banquet and prizegiving.
This is a building which did not even exist a
year ago. It promises to be
a great evening, as usual, with prizes for
everyone and great food. Put
it on your calendar now! It's next month.
Rumor has it there is at least
one new perpetual trophy this year.
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3. San Diego - Boats Check
In Please
In past years the San Diego
Fleet has welcomed many Fleet 12 members to
participate in their Regattas
during the Fall and Winter Months,
culminating in March with the
Midwinters West and NOOD. The schedule
through December is below:
October 5th & 6th One Design
Weekend
November 2nd thru 12th Etchells
Worlds New Zealand
November 2nd & 3rd One
Design Weekend
December 14th & 15th Clinic,
with December 14th Christmas
Party Saturday
Night
The San Diego fleet is now
soliciting the San Diego Yacht Club Board for
storage space for out of town
boats. They would appreciate it if you could
contact the Fleet Captain,
Mike Held, held9@aol.com as soon as you know you
are coming down to San Diego
during the months of October through March.
The space in San Diego is limited,
it's first come first served, and you
want to be there, you know
you do.
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4. Etchells Crew List - It's
bigger and better than ever
The Etchells Crew List for
Fleet 12 is here
http://www.sfetchells.org/crew_list2.htm
Now more than ever, missing one
guy is no reason to miss a
regatta. Get someone off the list and go
sailing. We got Archie off
the list for the last regatta and he was great!
Here's the latest prospective
crew not yet on the list, get him while he's
still available:
From: scott macintyre <scottymacintyre@yahoo.com>
Subject: Etchells crew
I am looking to crew on a Etchells.
I have never sailed an Etchells but I
do have lots of sailing experience.
I grew up sailing 420's lasers, lasers
2, 505, and I have plenty of
big boat experience. I weigh around 185lbs,
and will be available this
weekend. Please let me know if this helps you out.
Cheers, Scott
415-309-7459
scottymacintyre@yahoo.com
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5. Darwin Sailing Award - He
might not have lasted on an Etchells
.c The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A man who survived
three months adrift in the Pacific Ocean
by collecting rainwater in
a bucket and roasting the sea birds that landed on
his sailboat thanked the crew
of the U.S. warship that rescued him.
Richard Van Pham, 62, of Long
Beach returned to California on Tuesday. He
was held temporarily by U.S.
immigration officials, then released after
officials verified he was a
legal, permanent resident. He had lost about 40
pounds but was in good condition
when he was found aboard his damaged
sailboat a week ago by the
San Diego-based frigate McClusky, Navy officials
said.
''If you travel at sea, you
take what you find,'' Pham said in Wednesday's
editions of the Los Angeles
Times. ''If you are scared, you will die.'' Van
Pham set sail from Long Beach
in his 26-foot sailboat, Sea Breeze, bound
for Santa Catalina Island,
some 25 miles offshore. En route, a storm broke
his mast and his outboard motor
and two-way radio also failed.
On Sept. 17, his boat was spotted
from a plane 275 miles southwest of Costa
Rica, about 2,500 miles away
from his original destination. When the McClusky
neared, its crew saw it jury-rigged
sail flapped from a splintered mast and
a man cooking a seabird on
a makeshift grill. The ship's corpsman, Petty
Officer 1st Class A.J. Davis,
said Van Pham described bashing a sea turtle
with a bat as it swam near
his boat and then cooking part of the meat while
using the remainder as bait
for seabirds. Capt. Terry Bragg, commander of
Destroyer Squadron One in San
Diego, which oversees the McClusky, said he
had never heard a story of
survival like Van Pham's.
''It's a three-hour cruise
gone bad,'' Bragg said. ''It's like a cross
between Gilligan's Island and
Robinson Crusoe.'' Van Pham had used a small
grill on board his boat to
cook seabirds and turtle meat after he ran out
of food a week into the ordeal.
To keep the grill going, he began
disassembling parts of the
boat for fuel, Bragg said. Each day he drifted
at sea, Van Pham said, he looked
for any sign of life, any sign of land.''I
see nothing,'' he said. ''Then
one day, I see a plane. I know I'm close to
people. They tip their wings
to say hello. Two hours later, a ship comes to
my boat. I am very, very happy.''
Van Pham was dropped off Sunday
in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, when the
McClusky visited port. The
ship's crew collected about $800 to pay for his
plane trip home. Navy officials
said the most poignant moment came when Van
Pham left the Sea Breeze. Unable
to fix the sailboat, Van Pham approved
having crew members set fire
to the Sea Breeze. It sank in 8,700 feet of water.
''He waved goodbye to his sailboat,''
said Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph
Slaight. ''He was upset ...
and said he was going to miss it.''
AP-NY-09-25-02 0901EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated
Press. The information contained in the AP news
report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed
without the prior written authority
of The Associated Press, unless any
Etchell Fleet is interested.
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Okay, already. This one's over
too. Drag it over to the little trash can,
and pick up the phone. Get
your crew psyched up and go Etchells sailing.
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