The laser fleet sat around on shore on Saturday as a major low pressure system moved up the east coast spawning tornados, heavy winds and rain then reconvened at SSA for an evening of good food, massages, and music.
Outside, we all watched the lightening and thunder over the bay, the strong southerly sending waves crashing high above the USNA seawall and the rising tide pushing the water over our seawall and into our boat storage lot.
At about 7 PM, Dave Sliom, our fleet captain, took the mike and offered an emotional toast to his father who passed away recently. He talked about his father's love of sailing and how Dave learned to appreciate the beauty of our sport through his shared experiences racing with his father. He said he always called his Dad after racing to talk about how it went and what he could have done better.
At the instant we raised our glasses to Dave's dad's memory, the sun came out and flooded the clubhouse with light. We looked out across the harbor filled with whitecaps and saw this view, captured forever by Jon Deutch:
The next day dawned bright and sunny, but with a promise of lots of wind, this time from the west. A few hardy souls led by Dave, ventured out for 4 good races. Dave, undoubtedly with a little more help from his dad, came away with the win in the Radial fleet. I sailed the best series of my laser career to finish right behind Dave.
A weekend to remember. Here's to Dave's dad!
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