Mount Hope Bay Model Yacht Club

DF95 Racing. 9/16/25

All,

Another fun day with the Northeasterly breeze! Will we ever get a steady southwesterly breeze.

Fokka wins 6 of 8 races and takes first place overall. Greg with the other 2 wins to place second for the day.

Louis with a nice day comes in third after placing 2^nd in race 6 breaks the third-place tie with Bill who comes in fourth.

Nick, Mike and Al all tie with 33 points but Nick takes 5 place with 2 second place finishes. Mike places 6th with 1 – 2^nd place and Al rounds out the scoring.

September 23^rd ends the yearlong scoring. Hope you all can make it.

I do plan on sailing September 30, but the scoring for the last day will not count. Rob and I plan on taking out the markers after racing and take the row boat to the shed for winter.

Bill Raposa, we need your help opening the shed. Please let myself or Rob know if you are available to open the shed

 A big thanks to Judy and Connie for your help!

Mike

DF95 Racing 9/9/25

Seven seasoned sailors strategized swirling seabreezes, succom to Fokka.

 With a swirling northerly breeze around 8 knots with gusts around 15, Fokka wins 6 of the 10 races today and takes first place. Greg had a nice day winning 3 races and placing second for the day. Paul Mercer making a guest appearance (and we hope for some more) placed third. Bill David won 1 race  and finished fourth for today. Al, Mike and Louis rounded out todays scoring.

A big Thanks to Judy and Connie for scoring and time keeping. Bill David was today’s race director.

Let’s keep an eye on Tuesday September 16th’s weather forecast. Tides look like 0936 for low tide.

I would like to keep the season going to at least September 30th if we can keep enough sailors. We can discuss “When” to cut off the scoring for the season. I am thinking that we stay with the end of season scoring September 23 but continue sailing after for non-scoring races and maybe if anyone wants to race a Soling we could do that too.

The racing results can be found on our website mhbmyc.org

MHBMYC Race Results 9-9-2025.xlsx

Mike

mmtodd83@hotmail.com

DF95 Racing. 8/26/25

The tide reached its peak at just about 11 am, with a temperature in the low seventies, and a west wind at about 10 mph. Humidity was low, and it just felt like a comfortable late-summer day. A record eleven members thought so too, and brought their boats to the cove for some high-tide fun.

Our amazing helpers, Judy and Connie, were there as usual to keep score, start races, and do whatever else was necessary. Thank you both very much.

It was good to see members Pat Donovan and Bill Reposa, who came to spectate, and Shelley, who came to support Bill.

The DroneBuoy and the pin formed the east-west start line. The boats set off heading south to take the blue, then the green to port, head north to the pink/white, also to port, and back to the line.

The second race was twice around, but too many boats collected weed, so Rob took the dinghy and put in a red mark south of the pink/white. We then dropped the green mark from the course in the hope that the bulk of the weed would be avoided. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen so much so that Rob and Wes withdrew in frustration!

There were seven races with only two different winners: Nick was racing a different boat this week, with sail number 1738, and he notched up three, while Fokka won the other four. However, Nick added three second places to become today’s champion. Fokka was runner-up. 

Other second-place finishers were Rob, Al, Bill Northup, and Kim.

Greg had three third-place finishes, which gave him enough points to place third overall today. 

Other third places went to Kim, Mike, and Louis. Kim and Mike finished level on points, but Kim got fourth place today by virtue of his second-place finish. It was very unusual for Bill David not to finish in the top three in any race. I can’t remember it ever happening before

The results are attached and can also be found on our website mhbmyc.org

DF95 racing resumes next Tuesday, September 2nd, when the tide will be coming in towards a high at 2.21 pm, Kim and I will be in mid-Atlantic, and events will be in the very capable hands of Commodore Mike, ably assisted by Connie. Judy and Bill have another appointment.

Very best wishes to all.

It’s been a privilege and a joy to play a role in this club.

Have fun and keep on rockin’

Derek

Club Dinner. 8/24/25

Twenty-two people enjoyed a very pleasant social evening at Aidan’s Irish Pub in Bristol. It was heartening that the members present expressed their fondness for the club and the wish that the club would survive and prosper. With Kim and Derek exiting active management of the club, and Paul’s wish to retire from the position of Webmaster, things had been in the balance. Mike Todd stepped forward and offered to become Commodore and Webmaster. Elected unanimously!

Wes, who was unable to attend the meeting, had offered to assume the role of Treasurer. Offer accepted!

With Rob managing the “make ready” and “put away” ends of the season, I think everything is taken care of, and the club will go forward embodying the spirit of (very) friendly competition.

There followed a discussion about the club championship and the best way to go forward. The majority supported continuing to score race days as in the past.

The short formal part of the evening concluded with the award of the Corinthian Trophy. This year, it was awarded to two people, so it’s just as well that they’re married. Judy and Bill David are the recipients. Congratulations.

Congratulations and Good Luck, too, to Mike and Wes.

Thanks to everyone for coming, and I think, a good time was had by all.

Derek

DF95 Racing. 8/19/25

Cooler temperatures made the morning more pleasant than recent race days. The light and variable breeze was from our least favorite direction (ENE), and the tide was starting to come in from a low around 10.30. 

Nine members brought boats to the cove and competed in eight races. Kim positioned the DroneBuoy to form the start line with the pin. The course was a simple anti-clockwise one today: north to the red/yellow mark, then south to the blue mark, and back to the line. 

It was good to see Bill and Shelley Northup today. Bill sailed, and Shelley assisted Judy in starting and keeping score. Connie was also there to assist and take some pictures. I hope she got one of Al winning the fourth race. Judy’s granddaughter, Maggie, also paid a visit today. Thank you all.

Another welcome visitor was Bill Raposa, who threatens to sail his DF95 next season.

We had four different race winners: Fokka won four, Wes won two, and Al and Greg won one each.

Fokka also came second in two races and third in another two to romp home in first place overall today by quite a large margin.

Wes, with two second places and one third place to add to his two wins, was the runner-up, and in third place was Bill David, who, unusually, didn’t have any wins today but displayed the consistency that all sailors need.

Nick squeezed Al out of fourth place by just one point.

I’ve been very encouraged by all the emails I’ve had saying how much the club is liked and by all the offers of help.

This club has a future!

Relatively new member and Tiverton resident, Mike Todd, has offered to become our next Commodore. Great news, Mike. Quick, let’s hold a vote!

The results are attached and can always be found, along with other news, on our website mhbmyc.org

DF95s race again next Tuesday, August 26th, when the tide will be high at close to 11.00.Reminder:  Dinner at Aidan’s next Sunday, August 24th, at 6 pm

23 have signed up so far

See you there,

Derek

DF95 Racing 8/12/25

It was 80 degrees at the start of Rob’s workshop at 10.00 this morning. Rob covered the basics of DF95 setup and provided examples using several members’ boats. He then went on to discuss the latest thinking from experts in the sport. Finally, he gave some great advice on rounding the marks on our tricky course, covered the inside, outside overlap rules, and suggested that we should all “think vertically” when rounding a mark.                                

Rob got a well-deserved round of applause. Thank you very much, Rob. 

Eight members put boats in the water and ran seven races. The tide was very high, and the light wind was from the southwest. The start line was formed by the DroneBuoy and the pin, and the course was south to the blue mark, the north to the pink and white mark and back to the line. All marks taken to port.

 I couldn’t stay for the racing this morning, so Judy and Connie looked after starting, scoring and judging. Thank you very much

The results are attached.

DF95 racing will resume next Tuesday, August 19th, when the tide will be at a low at 10.30.

If you haven’t, please let me know if you’ll be attending our Club Dinner on Sunday, August 24th .

Take care,

Derek 

MODEL BOAT CLUB MEETING 8/5/25

The lunch meeting was held at Aidan’s Irish Pub in Bristol.

Let me start by saying how very disappointed I was with the very low turnout, not even as many as come to any given race day. Lunch was delicious, by the way.

Attendees: Bill and Judy David, Fokka deJong, Kim Hanna, Paul Mercer, Derek Melven, Al and Connie Sampson, Wes Siegner, and guest Andy David.

Apologies for absence were received from Nick Bailey, Louis Cordeiro, Jim Fuller, Rob Hill, Jim Kelly, Bill and Shelley Northup, and  Mike Todd.

Kim gave the Treasurer’s report. The Club has $1,600 before paying for the lunch, $182 more than last year.

Kim and Derek announced that they were bowing out of the club and that they have planned a trip to Europe with their wives starting September 2nd.

Kim and Derek talked about all the things that need to be done in the club, nothing earth-shattering, but they have to be done.

Calling the weather,

Preparing and printing score sheets,

Compiling results for races and the championship,

Getting the starter to the cove and ensuring its batteries work,

Ditto for the DroneBuoy,

Keeping track of club finances,

Getting the rescue boat out in the Spring and putting it away in the Fall.

Preparing and placing the marks, and removing them at the end of the season.

The Banquet?

Al rightly pointed out that the Commodore or Treasurer need not be racers. Paul asked if the officials had to be residents of the Village. With so few active members now, the answer is “no”. Resident members can always be called upon if needed to communicate with The Boathouse

Restaurant. Wes was not proposing that we do this, but said that another club he belongs to doesn’t even score races. 

It was resolved to make all club members aware of the situation via email.  This is it!

Urgent thought and action are needed. Come on, guys and gals, this is your club, established in 2007. Keep it going.

On the subject of the Pot Luck Banquet, nothing has been organised this year. It was suggested that we have a Sunday evening dinner for all members, their wives, husbands, and significant others at Aidan’s. This was agreed, and a reservation was made for Sunday, August 24th at 6.00 pm. The Club will pay! (as far as the exchequer extends)

Please let me know if you will be attending, and, if so, who will be accompanying you.

Keep smiling,

Derek

DF95 Racing. 8/5/25

Another hot but less humid morning, but still with traces of the Canadian wildfires in the atmosphere, greeted seven members at the cove today.

Judy kept score once again, with thanks from everyone. Ace photographer Connie was also there, hoping to record Al’s exploits. It was good to see Paul Mercer, who made a welcome visit, but without a boat. We also welcomed Andy David, Bill’s and Judy’s son, who took control of “00” now and again.

With the strengthening breeze from the northeast, the starting line was from a diagonal relative to the shore, formed by the DroneBuoy and the pin. From there, the course ran northwest to the red mark, then south to the blue mark, both taken to port. Once around for the first race, then twice around for the remaining eight races. Paul used a klaxon to call attention to infringements at the start line. Thanks, Paul.

There were four different race winners this morning: Nick and Fokka won three each, Bill won two, and Greg won one.

Bill had four second places and two third places to become today’s Champion. Runner-up was Fokka, with Greg in third place just ahead of Nick.

There were a couple of disputes today that got a little heated. A gentle reminder: this is a friendly club specializing in fun!

The full results are on our website, mhbmyc.org and attached to this email.

After racing, we adjourned to Aidan’s Irish Pub in Bristol for a Club lunch and meeting.

An email on the meeting will follow Tomorrow.

DF95 racing resumes next Tuesday, August 12th, when the tide will be.very high at 11 am.

In the meantime, be happy, stay calm, and enjoy whatever you do.

Derek