High Tidings August 2022
/The Picture Issue
Commodore Remarks
Upcoming events for August/September
August 1st to 5th : Final week Junior Sailing
Monday 1st 4:30 – Jr. Sailing. Monday Night Racing
Wednesday evenings - Grill night
Thursday evenings - Racing
Saturday: August 6th – August 21st Annual Cruise
Friday August 26th 6 pm – Good Old Potluck!
Saturday September 3 to September 5th – Labor Day Cruise to Mystic
September 6th 7 pm - NCYC Board Meeting @ the Club
Bookmark the NCYC Calendar: https://www.northcoveyc.com/calendar
Normally we do not publish a High Tidings in August but this summer we have been so busy, the newsletter editor felt we had too many photos to share and that it would be a shame to wait a month; so I hope you all enjoy this picture issue.
July has been extremely busy. Thanks to all the volunteers for stepping up and helping to make all our events a huge success. A special thanks to the Masons for hosting the Naval Academy Offshore Sailing Team, to Amy Vinciguerra for all her hard work on the Outer Light Classic Race and to Ann Chan and Jennifer Chadukiewicz for another great Cove Cleanup teamed with the Ocean Recovery Community Alliance (ORCA).
We are in our last week of Jr. Sailing. This has been a terrific season under the leadership of Sailing Director Amy Vinciguerra. NCYC Jr. Sailors did very well at the Essex and Pettipaug Regattas. The NCYC Jr. Sailors scored first places in both Regattas. Also, thanks to all those that signed up for Duty Officer, they could not have done it without you.
The Club Cruise with 15 boats sets off on Saturday August 6th. The fleet is headed first to Narragansett Bay by way of Stonington and Point Judith.
Yellow Streamers: Please remember to attach a yellow streamer to your mooring when you are cruising. The streamers can be found in the Steward’s Office.
Caroline Miller, Commodore
NCYC Jr. Sailors Do The Club Proud at Paul Risseeuw Pettipaug Junior Regatta 2022
Yesterday’s regatta results can be found here: https://www.theclubspot.com/regatta/JrgMClV7AB/results
12 North Cove sailors attended, with 70 Sailors in attendance from Pettipaug Yacht Club, Madison Beach Club, Niantic Bay Yacht Club, Sachem's Head Yacht Club, NESS, and North Cove Yacht Club.
Results for NCYC Jr. Sailors:
Ceciley Buckley 1st place in Opti red fleet
Cordsen Enman 4th place in Opti Blue fleet
Hudson Lentnek 5th place in Opti white fleet
Fritz Merrill 11th place in Opti White fleet
Scott Soukup and Kory Wells 1st place in 420 Spinnaker fleet
Lucy Soukup and Gabe Waldo 2nd place in 420 non Spinnaker fleet
Felix Zapf and Liam Fallon 4th place in 420 non Spinnaker fleet
Natalie Buckley and Paige Plyer 6th place in 420 non Spinnaker fleet
Congratulations!
Jr. Sailing Program
Naval Academy Offshore Sailing Cookout
NCYC Participation in the Essex Rum Challenge
NCYC Outer Light Classic Regatta
Thursday Night Racing
Kayak Adventurer Visits NCYC
by Jim Lawless
Last Thursday, July 21st, just around noon after a long, hot morning coming to terms with the Yacht Club’s gas weed wacker, I was sitting, sweating in the main room, covered in gas, oil and wacked weeds, waiting for the shower shed to air out and cool down to a temperature that might sustain life as we know it, so I could clean up. Then, without notice or ceremony, a slightly disheveled woman of moderate height, clad in well-worn hiking gear, dripping in perspiration and exhausted, appeared before me beside the day’s Junior Sailing Duty Officer, Jon Mason. She was asking where the shower was and if she could possibly use it? Turns out, she HAD pre-announced her arrival and request to shower, with someone from the club days before. What I learned during this exchange was profound and remarkable. This woman of 65 years had just completed a 27 day voyage from one end of the Connecticut River to the other…from 300 yards south of Canada to the Outer Light…401 miles…by KAYAK, alone, camping along the way!
North Cove Yacht Club apparently was the only place that welcomed her to ”take out” her Kayak after completing her planned attempt to navigate the entire river.
Over a week earlier, after paddling 75% of the river’s length, she left her kayak “Jenny” in Turners Falls in upper Massachusetts and drove her car to the Middle School parking lot on Sheffield St. There she removed her e-bike, loaded supplies on the bike, and headed on a two day 115 mile bike ride back up to Turners Falls! This is NOT an Olympic event. This photo is from her blog:
“Jenny” was the name given to her kayak after a friend suggested all boats need names and she was like “Forrest Gump”!
Over a week later she achieved her dream upon “Jenny’s” arrival at the Outer Light. There at the end of the jetty she must have taken a deep breath, absorbing the immensity of her victory, before turning back north against the current to paddle another 3 miles to reach the North Cove Yacht Club. Navigating the mooring field she found time to chat with Junior sailors as well as with my wife aboard Spináche. She decided to beach “Jenny” in the reeds along the driveway behind the dingy rack. With no press, no fanfare, no curious crowds, just little more than a shower, she emerged minutes later, dripping wet and many degrees cooler…nature’s air conditioning! Soon Jon and I were helping her haul the iconic yellow kayak, loaded with all her gear, over the bulkhead and on to the driveway:
There she unfolded a cart that had been strapped on the stern, secured it to the kayak’s bottom, then rolled it up Sheffield St to her CRV. I helped her strap “Jenny” to the roof of her car as we exchanged book recommendations about kids sailing and transcontinental boating, then off she went to retrieve her e-bike, and disappear into folklore!
Meet the Amazing Unsinkable Mary Anderson from Bethel, Vermont. This is one tough, talented and remarkable individual. My grandson and I researched the course of the Connecticut River with much interest. My amazement of her accomplishment grows exponentially the more I learn. I think you will enjoy reading about her personal reflections and discoveries during this challenging experience.
Here is the name of, and a couple links to, her blog:
http://TheMaryBadass.Wordpress.com
https://themarybadass.wordpress.com/page/20/
“Badass”? You bet!
I'm so glad I was unknowingly cooling the club's shower room for her historic arrival!
