On November 19, 1999 another Cup Night was held at the Cottage Park Yacht Club and numerous trophies and awards were presented to the deserving and striving sailing contingent of the Massachusetts Bay. The evening was hosted by the ever-entertaining and witty BH Star Fleet captain, Steve Braverman.

<this photo is not endorsed by Bass Ale>

After a very tedious season, full of intense competition on the water and a very open exchange of ideas and drinks on land, the four Boston Harbor Star Fleet Trophy Winners have emerged after the last scoring race of the season:

The Boston Harbor Star Fleet Championship Awards go to…

1^st: TeamCosta, Peter & Jessica Costa

2^nd: Stephen Braverman & Ron Rezac

3^rd: Fran Charles and John Murphy

4^th: John Siljander & Sarah Siljander, Doug DeCuto, Bob McKie.

It may please the old-timers that all four groups of the award recipients were camera-shy, that good old modesty that is so carefully fostered in the Star Class.

Great effort from all and the deserving placing for the four crews. We hope to have more boats on the starting line next season.

Our tentative season schedule was handed out at the November 9, 1999 meeting at Jeveli’s Restaurant and will be posted on our fleet web site shortly. Please take a look at it and send the comments to Steve. The schedule reflects fleet members' comments from the 1999 season and alleviates some of the full weekend racing pain, while adding Wednesday night races on the PHRF starting line, adds races later in the season, provides for more than one Open Day to introduce anyone willing to see-and-listen about the Star boats, and includes Skipper’s Choice (non-Star skipper driving with a Star skipper crewing) and Crew Appreciation (where skippers learn how lonely it can be down there in the vest cocoon) races.

The races/series later in the season are just a way to get more time on the water while the weather is still cooperative.  This year some of our members, especially the excited Joe Z with his newly-acquired tubMader and TeamCosta searching for that perfect flat mainsail shape, went out throughout November and the weather was just gorgeous.  It just makes no sense to waste these days sitting home and reading your Star Logs.  Everyone seems amendable to an idea of a new annual event, the Octoberfest Regatta.  Being in Boston, we can easily visualize a beer sponsor with its kegs on the porch.  We want to choose the timing of it that is convenient to the club (before or after the clubs packs the docks for the winter), and also preferred by the members of our neighboring fleets.  Comments on this topic are welcome from CPYC administration, BH fleet, as well as from the fleets whose members we hope to see at this late regatta of the North East season.

We will try to be really liberal with the Open Day(s).  Generally, if anyone has any interest in a Star, there are always BH fleet members who will be willing to show, demonstrate, tell, explain, extrapolate, reminisce and tell tales.  The Open Days will not replace this notion and will allow for some additional planning for some extra bang of the promotional buck.

The Skipper's Choice regatta is already a tradition in our fleet and we should not let it loose its strength.  The past events were very successful and the fleet members were extremely helpful in donating their boats and shoulders.  We have observed that different sailors have their interests in test drives piqued at different time in the season.  That's why, while we should definitely keep the early season regatta, we think that an addition of a late or mid-season event will serve those who are not thinking of other boats in May.

The Crew Appreciation regatta is not only a way for a skipper to learn that it is, indeed, hard to get out on the rail quickly for a tack, but it is also a great way for the team to take a different perspective at their collective work.  It is always beneficial to have your crew drive the boat in real racing.  It is no less beneficial to have the skipper look at the crew's workstation and maybe to think of new layouts, procedures and maybe even adjust his/her driving style.  At least one weekend worth of racing will guarantee a flow of new ideas, some positive adjustments and a free beer for the skipper.
 

Thomas Tranfaglia Trophy:  Dave Winkler. As the presenter noted, David has not been sailing the Stars this season but his presence was always felt, was very welcome, and on many occasions was imperative to an event's or project's success. David was one of the people pivotal in the success of the NA’s, as no Star crew, no matter how big, would want to mess with sail measurements when they were thoroughly checked by David.
		Francis X Dolan Trophy for a crew went to elated Sergey Leonidov. Thank you. My girlfriend is really proud of me now.  The trophy took its deserving place in the living room and I am going to add the missing plaques for past years.
This was a big day for Gary MacDonald, who sailed with David for more than 14 years and who had the patience to teach me how to walk on the boat without falling over. Thank you, Gary.
The runner-up for Francis X Dolan Trophy was John Murphy, Fran Charles’ crew, whose continued appreciation for the Star boats will now be supported by an inflatable pillow presented to him by the fleet.
			The Fleet wants to thank again Joe Zambella and Peter Costa for dreaming up the NA's and for effectively executing the dream. The fleet is pleased to acknowledge the support provided to this effort from the Cottage Park Yacht Club contingent of David O'Brien, Jim Burns, Phil Marks, and Dan Mullane.

 

Bill Paton was the recipient of NA Appreciation Award for making the initial contacts with our 1999 Star North American Championship name sponsor Keane Software. Thank you, Bill

Ken Woods, who coincidentally skippers for Bill Paton, was the recipient of Fleet Service Award for his greater-than five year commitment of holding one or both offices of the BH Star Fleet. Thank you, Ken.

On November 9, 1999 our fleet elected its officers for the next season.
Fleet Captain:Steve Braverman, for the second year.  Steve did a great job last year, showed passion for the class and fleet and was very punctual and organized where it counted the most.  Steve will bear the ultimate responsibility for the fleet and its member's behaviour at the regattas.  That's a lot of responsibility!
Fleet Treasurer: Jessica Costa.  Congratulations!  Trivia question: are we making history in the Star class by having a female officer?  Jessica is the only person in the fleet I would trust my money to.  She will be dealing with the fleet's money, cash flow, communications with the district and central offices, keeping the scores, and maintaining the trophies and awards.  That's a lot of work!
Fleet Assistant Captain: Sergey Leonidov.  I will be dealing with the promotion of our fleet and Star sailing in general.  Skipper's Choice, Open Houses, stealing sailors from MH, replacing all of the boats in MH town yard with Stars on Halloween night ("horror-horror, my Sonar now has foot straps and is a foot shorter, oh no, it became a Star boat!"), telling PHRF crews about the pleasures of mini hike, etc.  That's a lot of excitement!

Yours truly,
Serge