LUCKY reunion tour

Starboats at the start of one of Sunday's races during the contest for the coveted John Charles Thomas Trophy. Will Murdoch's LUCKY is sail number 7102 in the center of the photo. Photo by Bowie Rose 2008

Friday afternoon an old sailing partner called me and asked if I wanted to crew for him on his starboat, LUCKY, for the Miles River Regatta Saturday and Sunday. Will Murdoch's crew, Carl, hurt his shoulder and was unable to sail. I told Will I could give him Saturday, but probably not Sunday because we were having 2 parties at the house that day. He said that was fine with him; he really just wanted to "show" to be supportive of the club and the fleet.

Will and I are good friends and good competitors...against each other. Not only do we compete against each other in our own starboats, but Will is the jib tender in our arch-rival log canoe, Island Blossom! Ten years ago Will called me one winter evening and said, "Mike, I've bought a starboat. Would you like to be my crew and we'll learn to sail it together?" I accepted and together Will and I learned to race starboats over the course of the next 4 years. It was then that a boat was offered to me from Don Elliott. Will and I had an amical divorce and became good competitors agianst each other.

LUCKY finishing the race on Sunday. Not a good sign that no one is around us, because there weren't many behind us. Photo by Bowie Rose 2008

Saturday morning rolled in with a threat of thunderstorms. After a storm scare, the fleet returned to the river for the first race. Will and I went on to win the first race. I jokingly said, "if we keep this up, we're going to have to sail tomorrow's races as well." We then went on to win the 2nd race. I knew I was in trouble then. We finished the day with a 4th place finish, landing us as "top dogs" for the day and first place in the regatta going into the final 2 races of Sunday. I went right home, cut the entire lawn, trimmed, and baked a cake. I was hoping this would give me license to go sailing for a while on Sunday, despite the parties in the evening. My wife, Carita, is so supportive of the things I do. She was gracious enough to more than support me to finish the regatta with Will and to do our best to try to cling onto first place.

Sunday blew in with 15 knots of northwest breeze; not favorable conditions for 2 lightweight starsailors. But we held a respectable 4th in the 4th race, but tanked the 5th race. We ended up 2nd for the regatta under veteran sailor, Elliot Oldak, and his crew, Chris Harding, from Annapolis. We did win first place for our local fleet; Best of the MES Fleet.

Will Murdoch and I accepting the prizes we earned during our "Reunion Tour" aboard starboat, LUCKY. Photo by Bowie Rose 2008

Though its been six years since we raced together on his boat, things fell right into place for us as a team. Will is an excellent sailor, helmsman, and tactician. It was a great opportunity to do something different and crew for an old friend.

An aside note: The last few sailing blogs have been of successes made on the local rivers. Though things have been going well for me, my crews, and my sport; I will be sure to write when things aren't as successful as of late; just making "hay" while I can.

In trail news, Karl Meltzer, of Sandy, Utah, will attempt to run the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia starting tomorrow, Tuesday, August 5th. What's exciting is that I might "I said might" get a chance to see him, or maybe, if I'm really really lucky, get to run with him while we're up north in New Hampshire. He is attempting to run all 2174 miles in 47 days, which will set a new record. He is ambitious to plan for 50-mile days in the White Mountains. I cannot imagine covering 50 miles a day on the trails in the White Mountains. He plans on being at Crawford Notch on next Tuesday night after running 47 miles to get there that day. Michael Valliant, can you imagine? Our 14 mile-day last year from Mizpah to Madison Huts was a killer. Try tripling that!! Watch Karl's progress at http://www.whereskarl.com/. Good luck Karl.