Ahoy J/109 Vento Solare Friends,
This message contains the following:
- Tell Bill your Sailing desires & goals
- Twenty Hundred Club Spring Shore Party – Vento Solare getting Silverware!
- Prep for Launch Status & Help Wanted
- Upcoming Crew Assignments
Tell Bill your Sailing desires & goals
We have a great mixture of returning crew and new crew members to fill in where people have moved on. I would like you all to reply with a brief note indicating the following:
- Desired position on the boat – as 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices. This will help me make position assignments. Ideally everyone will gain the skills to be plug and play anywhere, but we’ll start with honing the skills for your primary roles first.
- Tell Bill what your goals are for sailing on Vento Solare. My goals are to have fun, place well and maintain the boat in top notch shape. You may have some personal goals you may share with me.
- Let me know if you want to do some pleasure sailing. I frequently am at the boat during the season and will go out single handed, short handed or with crew, just to be out on the water. I also do some evening sails. Let me know if you want to be notified for these pop-up sailing opportunities.
You may click on bill@j109.org to open a preformatted message to reply directly with your responses.
Twenty Hundred Club Spring Shore Party – Vento Solare getting Silverware
The Twenty Hundred Club is having its Spring Shore Party at the Sailing Museum in Newport on Thursday April 11th 6pm-9pm. Vento Solare is bringing home some silverware based on 2023 season results. There is a bar with sponsored beverages and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Unfortunately this conflicts with the 6th birthday party for my grandson Kai so I can’t make the event. I am encouraging crew members to represent Vento Solare at the Spring Shore Party to have fun and collect the awards. You may purchase tickets online at this link for $60. Choose the Associate Membership + Member Ticket option, which gets you membership and is the same price as a non-member ticket!
Prep for Launch Status & Help Wanted
Thanks to Gardner Howe for the helping hand to wet sand the bottom. Vento Solare is well along with launch preparations with the bottom done and hull waxed. Burch Thornley has volunteered to help with some tasks. I’m waiting for the temperatures to get warmer so I can do some cosmetic gelcoat work, then will launch the boat. Vento Solare is currently at Borden Light Marina, across from the travel lift. I would like to ask for help at Borden Light Marina with the tasks listed below and am flexible on timing over the next few weeks. Beverages will be supplied.
Please reply and let me know if you are available for boat work to help with the spring chores and when you might be available. My schedule is very flexible and I can support both during the day and after work, plus some weekends.
- Wax topside surfaces
- Teflon coat hull (wipe on, buff off – after gelcoat repair)
- Polish topside stainless
- Inspect and tape all lifelines
- Pressure wash topside
- Declutter inside boat (tools, boxes, etc.)
- Vacuum inside boat
- Wash down inside boat with Murphy’s oil soap
- Clean & Lubricate Winches
- Flush and fill fresh water tank
My goal is to get Vento Solare launched by Tuesday 16 April, sooner if we get warm weather for gelcoat work. After launch tasks:
- Go up mast to replace wind sensor, windex and steaming light
- Stock refrigerator with appropriate beverages (when shore power available)
- Cushions and sails to boat
- Initial rig tune
- Bend on sails
- Weather permitting (no wind, flat water) head out under power for calibration runs (compass, speed, wind)
- Shakedown sail and fix any discrepancies
Any day after those tasks are done, we can coordinate a nice delivery from Borden Light to the Navy Marina on a nice day!
Upcoming Crew Assignments
Thanks to those who have updated your crew availability. I plan on updating the crew assignments for events through the end of May by the 3rd week in April. Subsequent months will be done on a rolling basis with designated one design and some special events assigned early. Some events are oversubscribed, including the two training days 30 April and 7 May. I will make sure that all those who signed up for crew practice get to sail at least one of the two practice days. Priority for follow on assignments will be given to those who have committed for the longer term in the season. Some people will be asked to “Stay Ashore” or be assigned as “Standby” crew for some events.
Looking forward to sailing with a keel again!
Recent Comments
Thanks to Lisa, Kathy, Sue & Gerry Vento Solare was wet sanded in no time at all with perfect wet weather to help. Here are a few pictures from Sue's phone. Thanks for your help!
A fun evening sharing a table with Eric, Mary, Chris, Maggie, Francis, Lisa, Bill & Cindy. Mary was recognized with a US Sailing award as a JYC member for her communications role on J/122 Alliance in the Bermuda Race. Maggie accepted the J/122 Leading Edge third place fall series award for Tom and Diana. The picture below shows Bill & Cindy with the 1st place spring series award for J/109 Vento Solare.
In the end it turned out that the Ida Lewis YC awarded the youth trophy to Vento Solare. Pictures from the award ceremony and the trophies are below.
Boat Trophy and Youth Keeper Trophy for Austin, Rory & Henry
Youth Trophy Presentation
Rory & Austin Receiving Keeper Trophies (Missing Henry)
Henry with Keeper Trophy at Home
Bill
Thank you for a great time. That hour penelty seems steep. If you look at yellow brick there were a few other boats in our class that were just inside that south east dot. Not sure how picky they were being.
Either way great work by everyone. Enjoy the party.
Bill went to the protest hearing about our sailing in the exclusion zone to fix the spinnaker. The results of the protest was the RC added 1 hour to our corrected time. This put us in 2nd place for the youth entries. We would have had 1st in youth if not for this. Hope to see you all at the awards ceremony!