For those of you that didn't go to the North American/ BCs in Vancouver you missed a great regatta. It was one of the largest showings so far with a good representation from all of the fleets. Thanks to those from Portland for making the long trek up I-5. A big thanks to Tim and the rest of the Vancouver Fleet, well done. Of course an email message from me just wouldn't be complete without some editorial dribble. Todays topic just weight.
The AGM turned into a spirited conversation about many things that affect the North American Tasar Fleet, in particular weight, the lack of weight, transfer of weight, thickness of weight, color of weight, chemical composition of weight, I got weight you should have weight, the square root of weight, all up weight, all down weight, parts of weight, and waiting for the meeting to end. After the official AGM a radical splinter group held a secret meeting over desert (wonder why they were all over the official weight). This group had one thing in common, they love weight. They decided, just before desert was served, that they would form their own overweight Tasar Class called the Beef Fleet (aka the Chubby Fleet). The following points were to be included in the constitution of this new class: 1) To be a member your all up boat weight (without corrector weights) plus your crew weight must exceed 36.57 stones (512 lbs). 2) Races will consist of a series of upwind legs only 3) Hiking straps must be Kevlar reinforced to reduce breakage 4) The $8400 excess that NATA has in the bank shall go to the purchase of a portable hot tub, to be used at Tasar Regattas 5) 12kg Cheese Cake rule, any boat that drops below the 36.57 Stone minimum shall carry a 12kg deep dish New York Styled cheese cake in their boat. They may eat it while racing as long as they conserve the total boat weight above 36.57 Stones. 6) Increase the size of the Jib. 7) Due to the skippers excess weight hiking is rarely necessary, this makes it difficult to see under the boom so a window in the main is necessary. 8) Increase the length of the center board by one foot. 9) Members are forbidden to drink light beer, the drink of choice would be a warm, heavy, dark English ale. 10) Minimum wind strength shall be 23.82 kts. 11) Crew members will be recruited from the local rugby club. 12) Reinforce the deck areas with a combination of Kevlar, carbon fiber and stainless steel and replace foam with three quarter inch plywood.
Sorry Bruce the idea of lead boots has to be eliminated as they might dent the bottom of the boat.
For those of you that were wondering what happened to the 101 ways to make a Tasar go fast I am sad to say I only received four responses, none of which were recipes for super duper mega chocolate chip Tasar cookies.
One of the things that made the NA special was the number of new people we saw. I understand that most of the fleets have seen new people purchasing boats. If you meet someone who is new to the fleet or hasn't been out on the water for a while, encourage them to get involved, get out and sail and most of all have fun. Sure coming first is great, but it shouldn't be the only reason we sail. During this year Leslie and I have had a great time, we've learned a little and made some great friends along the way. For all the encouragement, helpful hints and good times I would like to thank all of you in the Tasar fleet. Hopefully we'll see you all at the next regatta in Seattle. If you can't wait until the Seattle regatta and you want to take a cruise, may I suggest a little trip to the Island. The Royal Victoria is having a dinghy regatta on October 3,4.
Take care
Todler, Leslie and Chubby
September 20, 1998
News>1998