BOLTON LAKE SAILING CLUB

2009 SEASON

Racing Sunfish Sailboats on Lower Bolton Lake

Bolton, Connecticut

A group of people who actually get out of the house and do something instead of sitting in front of their computers all day. What a concept!

Navigating This Web Site

Directions to the Bolton Lake Boat Launch Area
This Year's Club Racing
Invitation to Sail With the Club

Club Officers
Other Items of Interest - Rules, Crystal Lake, and Others
Previous Regatta and Club Results

2009 Regatta Results

Bolton Lake 41st Annual Sunfish Regatta
Bolton Lake Sailing Club
Bolton, CT
May 17, 2009

By Ken Charles
Bolton always brings out great sailors, family, and friends committed to the class. Many travel great distances to enjoy each other’s company and play the weather odds dealt by the Bolton Lake Wind Gods. This year we had 21 sailors register, including three who came to support the event even knowing they may not sail. For the first New England regatta of the season it felt a lot like frostbiting with a chilling northwest breeze that packed huge gusts with giant shifts. The water temperature was actually warmer than the air. The course was the full width of the lake with a slight right-handed favor. The first race was a Modified Olympic and its start resulted in a general recall. The second start held and after 25 minutes Bill Brangiforte, Bill Boll, and Scott Greenbaum crossed the line as the first three finishers. Rapid Buttner and Dave Nielsen both retired after capsizes. Kurt Charles, the youngest sailor in the fleet, planed to the leeward mark on the verge of a windward death roll when he decided that it's time to finish and head to shore. The course was changed to a Triangle and most of the fleet endured including Gerhart Menzel, the oldest sailor in the fleet. Eric Woodman finished 1st in the third race, and Scott Greenbaum leading the fifth race misjudged the course as Modified and finished 8th. A few more capsizes and a consistent effort by all the sailors who hung tough brought an end to the day. We want to thank our Race Committee, long time Sunfish sailor Mike Catalano, who flew up from Miami for the event, and Amanda and Nicholas who helped Mike set marks, sight the line, keep scores and rescue sailors.

1  Bill Brangiforte, Weymouth, MA  1-5-3-2-1-1         8
2  Scott Greenbaum, Scituate, MA   3-1-2-1-8-3        10
3  Bill Boll, Glastonbury, CT      2-4-5-4-3-2        15
4  Eric Woodman, Framingham, MA    6-3-1-8-4-4        18
5  Ken Charles, Manchester, CT     4-2-4-7-2-7        19
6  David Davies, Middletown, NY    8-6-6-3-7-6        28
7  Bill McInnis, Swansea, MA       7-7-7-5-5-5        29
8  Drew Staniar, Sudbury, MA       5-8-8-6-6-18       33
9  Korey Charles, Manchester, CT   9-9-10-9-10-8      45
10 Bob Perry, Northampton, MA      14-11-11-11-9-9    51
11 Paul Odegaard, Guilford, CT     11-10-9-10-18-18   58
12 Gerhart Menzel, Simsbury, CT    16-13-12-13-12-10  60
13 Ed Hnath, Stafford Springs, CT  15-12-14-12-11-11  60
14 Eric Rosenberg, Glastonbury, CT 17-14-13-14-13-18  71
15 David Nielsen, Hartford, CT     10-18-18-18-18-18  82
16 Robert Buttner, Plymouth, MA    12-18-18-18-18-18  84
17 Kurt Charles, Manchester, CT    13-18-18-18-18-18  85

The regatta is recommended for Sunfish sailors with some racing experience and a working knowledge of the racing rules. For less formal racing better suited to sailors new to racing, competition at the club level is recommended.

2009 Club Racing Schedule

The scheduled club race days in 2009 at Bolton Lake, starting at 1:30 PM, are:

                           Races  
                           Sailed
     Sunday, May 3           6
     Sunday, May 10          -
     Sunday, May 31          
     Sunday, June 7          
     Sunday, June 14

All Interested Sunfish Sailors are Welcome

All Sunfish sailors are invited to sail with the Bolton Lake Sailing Club in our club series. Any level of experience is welcome. BLSC members are willing to help anyone to learn:

How to set up the boat for racing.
How to sail the boat faster.
How to use the best strategy and tactics.
How to understand and interpret the racing rules.

If you would like to participate in an afternoon of club racing, you can call Steve Langford at 860-644-9069 or Ken Charles at 860-646-6408 by 9:30 AM on a scheduled race day to verify that the sailing for the day has not been cancelled due to weather or to lack of a quorum.

BLSC Officers for 2009

Commodore - Ken Charles, 860-646-6408
Vice Commodore - Peter Van Dine, 860-649-8445
Secretary/Treasurer - Steve Langford, 860-644-9069

Racing Rules of Sailing - New Rules 1/1/2009

Links to sources of information and copies of the rules:
International Racing Rules of Sailing for 2009-2012 - Can download free complete copy in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, and other useful information.
Rules from US Sailing for 2009-2012 - More useful information.
International Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012 - Book - "Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing Through 2012" by Dave Perry. Complete printed copy of the current Racing Rules of Sailing (with rules and explanations).
International Racing Rules of Sailing for 2005-2008 - Book - "Paul Elvstrom Explains The Racing Rules Of Sailing: 2005-2008 Rules". Complete printed copy of the PREVIOUS Racing Rules of Sailing (with rules and explanations). The Elvstrom book has smaller print than the Perry book listed above, but the book is much smaller, lighter, and cheaper. Elvstrom also includes plastic boats and marks to allow easier visualization of situations.

Other Good Stuff

Other web sites of interest to Sunfish sailors:
International Sunfish Class Association
Official Northeast Sunfish Class Website - Including Northeast regatta schedule for 2009.
The Sunfish Forum - A forum featuring discussion on Sunfish sailing, racing, rigging, rules, and more. Membership is free.
International Sailing Federation (ISAF)
United States Sailing Association

From the first weekend in June through the end of September, Sunfish racing sometimes takes place on Sundays in a mixed class fleet at Crystal Lake in Ellington, CT.

For more information about the Bolton Lake Sailing Club, or the Crystal Lake Sailing Club, or If you would like to receive mailings on future schedules, please send an email message to Webmaster Steve Langford or call him at 860-644-9069.

2008 Regatta Results

Bolton Lake 40th Annual Sunfish Regatta
Bolton Lake Sailing Club
Bolton, CT
May 18, 2008

Langford Wins Bolton Lake 40th Annual
by Steve Langford

The day began with exceptionally good weather -- bright sun, moderate temperature, and some wind. By the end of the racing, there was a solid overcast, and the wind was mostly light to lighter, with major changes in direction. There was a brief shower, but otherwise the sailing was dry. As the sailing gear was being packed, a pouring rain began. Just a typical Bolton spring day.

At the end of the racing, longtime Bolton Lake member and Great Grand Master Steve Langford emerged as the winner by a one-point margin. The top 7 places included three-way and two-way tied scores.

1   Steve Langford, S. Windsor, CT  7-1-4-20-9-2        23
2   Bill Brangiforte, Weymouth, MA  6-3-8-14-6-1        24
3   Bill McInnis, Swansea, MA       13-4-11-1-1-17      30
4   Brian McGinnis, Remsenburg, NY  1-6-16-4-3-18       30
5   David Davies, Middletown, NY    2-9-13-13-2-4       30
6   Bill Boll, Glastonbury, CT      3-14-5-11-4-9       32
7   Drew Staniar, Sudbury, MA       4-5-12-15-5-6       32
8   Ken Charles, Manchester, CT     8-16-2-5-10-14      39
9   Paul Odegaard, Guilford, CT     5-10-6-21-8-11      40
10  Kurt Charles, Manchester, CT    19-18-1-6-7-15      47
11  Lee Parks, Newport, RI          15-17-10-3-20-3     48
12  Gordon Geick, Collinsville, CT  11-12-24-8-11-8     50
13  Les Johnston, Medway, MA        16-13-17-2-17-5     53
14  Korey Charles, Manchester, CT   9-8-14-12-12-13     54
15  Mary Charles, Manchester, CT    18-20-3-16-13-7     57
16  Gerhart Menzel, Simsbury, CT    12-7-23-7-22-12     60
17  Robert Buttner, Plymouth, MA    10-2-15-19-16-19    62
18  David Nielsen, Hartford, CT     17-19-9-17-14-10    67
19  Peter Van Dine, Bolton, CT      21-15-18-10-15-16   74
20  Pete Beckwith, Wayland, MA      23-11-7-18-19-22    77
21  Melissa Johnston, Medway, MA    14-23-19-9-21-21    84
22  Jim Hedleston, Guilford, CT     22-21-21-24-18-20  102
23  Bob Perry, Northampton, MA      20-24-20-22-24-23  109
24  Jon Dunlap, Vernon, CT          24-22-22-23-23-24  114

2008 Club Racing Schedule

The scheduled club race days in 2008 at Bolton Lake, starting at 1:30 PM, were:

                           Races  
                           Sailed
     Sunday, April 27        -
     Sunday, May 4           -
     Sunday, May 11          6
     Sunday, June 1          4
     Sunday, June 8          -
     Sunday, June 15         -
     Sunday, June 22         3 
     Sunday, June 29         -

2008 Club Racing Results

        BOLTON LAKE SAILING CLUB
     CLUB SERIES FINAL SCORES - 2008

                        Sail  Races    Avg.
Place     Name           No.  Sailed  Points
  1   Ken Charles         12    10    1.222
  2   Steve Langford   10197    10    2.444
  3   Mary Charles        14     8    3.250
  4   Gerhart Menzel   34183     7    3.375
  5   Korey Charles       15     9    3.556
  6   Kurt Charles      3415     5    4.500
  7   Peter Van Dine   27856     9    5.222
  8   David Nielsen    79161     9    5.444
  9   Drew Moeller    277777     4    5.750

      Total Races          =    13
      Total Participation  =    71

2007 Regatta Results

Bolton Lake 39th Annual Sunfish Regatta
Bolton Lake Sailing Club
Bolton, CT
May 20, 2007

Bill Brangiforte Wins Again
by Steve Langford

A solid overcast and a forecast of showers all day did not provide a promising start for the regatta. As the boats were launched, a shower began. Within minutes, the shower stopped, and a pleasant breeze was blowing as the first race started. Throughout the day the skies cleared, and the weather continued to improve so much that seven races were run instead of the planned five because the sailing was so good. For the third consecutive year, Bill Brangiforte finished on top with his consistently good finishes.

1   Bill Brangiforte, Weymouth, MA  1-1-3-5-3-2-1             11
2   Mike Catalano, Miami, FL        4-2-1-18-4-1-2            14
3   Ken Charles, Manchester, CT     3-3-4-1-2-3-4             16
4   Drew Staniar, Sudbury, MA       2-5-5-7-1-6-3             22
5   Bill McInnis, Swansea, MA       6-7-14-6-6-7-7            39
6   David Nielsen, Hartford, CT     5-6-11-2-11-5-15          40
7   Bill Boll, Glastonbury, CT      11-8-7-9-7-9-6            46
8   Lee Parks, Newport, RI          12-11-9-3-5-15-8          48
9   Joe Sullivan, New York, NY      7-12-8-8-9-11-10          53
10  Korey Charles, Manchester, CT   15-14-2-4-8-16-13         56
11  Rapid Buttner, Plymouth, MA     8-13-17-10-10-4-11        56
12  Dick Heinl, Mahasset, NY        9-9-12-13-12-8-9          59
13  Mary Charles, Manchester, CT    14-10-6-11-13-17-12       66
14  Gerhart Menzel, Simsbury, CT    10-4-15-12-16-14-14       69
15  Kurt Charles, Manchester, CT    17-17-13-14-15-12-5       76
16  Paul Odegaard, Miami, FL        13-15-16-15-14-10-16      83
17  Peter Van Dine, Bolton, CT      16-16-10-16-17-13-17      88

2007 Club Racing Schedule

The scheduled club race days in 2007 at Bolton Lake, starting at 1:30 PM, were:

                           Races  
                           Sailed
     Sunday, April 29        5
     Sunday, May    6        6
     Sunday, May   13        4
     Sunday, June   3        -
     Sunday, June  10        5
     Sunday, June  17        5
     Sunday, June  24        -

2007 Club Racing Results

        BOLTON LAKE SAILING CLUB
     CLUB SERIES FINAL SCORES - 2007

                      Sail  Races   Avg.
Place     Name         No.  Sailed Points
  1   Steve Langford  10197   23   2.026
  2   Ken Charles        12   15   2.033
  3   Korey Charles      15   20   2.278
  4   David Nielsen   79161   20   3.611
  5   Kurt Charles     3415   20   4.111
  6   Bernie Spence    7841   10   4.867
  7   Peter Van Dine  27856   15   5.433
  8   Gerhart Menzel  34183   20   5.889
  9   Mary Charles       14    6   7.000

      Total Races         =   25
      Total Participation =  149

2006 Regatta Results

Bill Brangiforte at Bolton
by Steve Langford

The day dawned bright and sunny, but with the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. Fortunately, the thunderstorms held off until after the regatta had ended and everyone was on the way home. The frequent and large windshifts provided a challenging day for racing, and resulted in a combination of high and low finishes for many of the sailors. In a repeat of last year, Bill Brangiforte won with his consistently good finishes.

Bolton Lake 38th Annual Sunfish Regatta
Bolton, CT
May 21, 2006

1   Bill Brangiforte, Weymouth, MA  2-4-1-2-1            6
2   Mike Catalano, Miami, FL        5-1-4-4-24          14
3   John Skrzypiec, Portsmouth, RI  4-7-3-3-9           17
4   Ken Charles, Manchester, CT     3-9-12.5-5-3        20
5   Eric Woodman, Framingham, MA    11-2-2-13-6         21
6   Bill McInnis, Swansea, MA       14-5-14-1-2         22
7   Bill Boll, Glastonbury, CT      6-12-7-7-4          24
8   Drew Staniar, Sudbury, MA       1-10-10-6-8         25
9   Lee Parks, Newport, RI          13-3-6-10-10        29
10  Korey Charles, Manchester, CT   7-11-5-11-16        34
11  Steve Langford, S. Windsor, CT  9-6-8-18-11         34
12  Paul Dierze, Topsfield, MA      10-14.5-20-9-7      40.5
13  Gordon Geick, Collinsville, CT  12-13-9-8-13        42
14  Mary Charles, Manchester, CT    8-16-11-12-14       45
15  John Fonseca, Fall River, MA    18-14.5-12.5-14-12  53
16  Gerhart Menzel, Simsbury, CT    19-21-16-16-5       56
17  Paul Borse, Southington, CT     21-8-17-21-17       63
18  Ed Hnath, Stafford Springs, CT  17-17-15-15-18      64
19  David Nielsen, Hartford, CT     20-20-21-17-15      72
20  Kurt Charles, Manchester, CT    16-19-19-19-19      73
21  Peter Van Dine, Bolton, CT      15-18-22-24-24      79
22  Jon Dunlap, Vernon, CT          23-22-18-20-20      80
23  Pete Beckwith, Wayland, MA      22-24-24-24-24      94

2006 Club Racing Schedule

The scheduled club race days in 2006 at Bolton Lake, starting at 1:30 PM, were:

     Sunday, April 30    6 races sailed
     Sunday, May    7    6 races sailed
     Sunday, May   14   No races sailed - weather
     Sunday, June   4   No races sailed - no quorum
     Sunday, June  11   No races sailed - no quorum
     Sunday, June  18    5 races sailed
     Sunday, June  25    5 races sailed

2006 Club Racing Results

        BOLTON LAKE SAILING CLUB
     CLUB SERIES FINAL SCORES - 2006

                      Sail  Races   Avg.
Place     Name         No.  Sailed Points
  1   Steve Langford  10197   21   2.083
  2   Korey Charles      15   22   2.556
  3   Peter Van Dine  27856   21   3.194
  4   Gerhart Menzel  34183   22   3.278
  5   Ken Charles        12    6   4.500
  6   Bernie Spence    7841    5   5.357
  7   Kurt Charles     3415    6   5.643
  8   David Nielsen   79161    6   5.786
  9   Jim Preuss       No #   10   5.786
  10  Mary Charles       14    6   6.000
  11  Steve Samalot   79391    3   7.286

      Total Races         =   22
      Total Participation =  125

2005 Regatta Results

Bolton Lake Sailing Club
Bolton, CT
May 22, 2005

With temperatures in the 50's, showers, and intermittent wind, the weather was less than ideal. Still, 27 sailors braved the elements to compete in the 37th Annual Bolton Lake Regatta. At the end of the day, Bill Brangiforte came out on top in a series that featured some very close scores, including 3 ties on points.

1   Bill Brangiforte, Weymouth, MA      1-1-2-2-8        6
2   Mike Catalano, Miami, FL            3-2-3-8-2       10
3   Andy David, Bristol, RI             6-6-1-1-4       12
4   Drew Staniar, Sudbury, MA           9-9-21-3-3      24
5   John Fonseca, Fall River, MA        5-7-4-9-18      25
6   Gordon Geick, Collinsville, CT      2-20-18-5-1     26
7   Drew Moeller, Vernon, CT            22-4-9-6-13     32
8   Bill McInnis, Swansea, MA           4-12-14-15-6    36
9   John Skrzypiec, Portsmouth, RI      7-10-8-20-11    36
10  Rapid Buttner, Plymouth, MA         14-5-13-22-5    37
11  Eric Woodman, Framingham, MA        11-18-5-4-19    38
12  Peter Van Dine, Bolton, CT          8-8-23-18-9     43
13  Paul Odegaard, Guilford, CT         12-15-6-16-17   49
14  William Shaw, Bristol, RI           16-14-12-7-28   49
15  Jim Myers, Warwick, RI              19-13-15-10-12  50
16  Mary Charles, Manchester, CT        17-19-7-14-14   52
17  Lee Parks, Newport, RI              10-17-11-17-16  54
18  Korey Charles, Manchester, CT       23-16-17-19-7   59
19  Gerhart Menzel, Simsbury, CT        18-11-19-11-21  59
20  Steve Langford, South Windsor, CT   21-3-10-28-28   62
21  David Nielsen, Hartford, CT         15-21-24-13-20  69
22  Paul Borse, Southington, CT         20-25-16-24-10  70
23  Pete Beckwith, Wayland, MA          25-26-22-12-15  74
24  David Thompson, Stoneham, ME        13-22-20-23-22  77
25  Philip Brangiforte, No. Quincy, MA  24-23-26-21-23  91
26  Kurt Charles, Manchester, CT        27-24-25-25-24  98
27  Steve Samalot, West Hartford, CT    26-27-27-28-28 108

2005 Club Racing Schedule

The scheduled club race days in 2005 at Bolton Lake, starting at 1:30 PM, were:

     Sunday, May    1   No races sailed - weather
     Sunday, May    8   No races sailed - weather
     Sunday, May   15   No races sailed - weather
     Sunday, June   5    6 races sailed
     Sunday, June  12   No races sailed - No quorum
     Sunday, June  19    6 races sailed
     Sunday, June  26    6 races sailed

2005 Club Racing Results

        BOLTON LAKE SAILING CLUB
     CLUB SERIES FINAL SCORES - 2005

                       Sail  Races   Avg.
Place     Name          No.  Sailed Points
  1   Steve Langford   10197   18   2.333
  2   Ken Charles         12   11   2.545
  3   Korey Charles       15   12   3.083
  4   Gerhart Menzel   34183   18   3.267
  5   David Nielsen    79161   12   3.500
  6   Bernie Spence     7841    9   4.273
  7   Peter Van Dine   27856   10   4.364
  8   Drew Moeller    277771    6   5.727
  9   Steve Samalot    79391    6   6.818
  10  Kurt Charles      3415   12   6.833

      Total Races          =   18
      Total Participation  =  114

Scoring system (adopted January 19, 1981,
amended March 23, 2005):

Points established for each race by low point scoring
system (1 point for first, 2 points for second, 3
for third, etc.).  If more than 60% of the season's
total races are sailed, one race can be discarded
for every 2 races sailed beyond 60%.  If less than
60% of the total races are sailed, add scores deter-
mined by adding one to the number of boats in races
not raced, starting with the largest number of boats,
until 60% is reached.

                          S. P. Langford
                          Scorekeeper

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