Thanks, Fleet 3

It was just over two years ago that I crewed for my longtime sailing buddy, Dean Fulton, in the Vanguard 15 Nationals on San Francisco Bay. The boat was just a few months old, and neither of us had done any competitive sailing since when we were teenagers banging around in a Lido 14 having outgrown our Naples Sabots. We didn’t do well that regatta, but the intensity of the competition and the pure thrill of punching through, planing over, and occasionally crashing into the tortured waters off Crissy Field had me hooked on dinghy racing again. Gotta get me a racing boat.

A Laser would have been the natural choice, but after seeing how much money people wanted for their old ‘70s beaters, I started to look elsewhere. Poking around the Internet, I stumbled upon the Megabyte. Now that looks like a good boat—maybe what the Laser would have evolved to had it not been a one design (turns out Ian Bruce was responsible for creating both of them.) I discovered a boat for sale in Seattle and luck would have it I’d be up there on business in a couple of weeks. A quick email to the captain of Fleet 3 was promptly returned by Dean Eppley with info about the local fleet and some tips on what to look for in an old boat (the plastic bailers were the only concern). Saw the boat, bought it, shipped it home, and two weeks later I was on the starting line for the Lake Washington Turkey Shoot. I met Fleet 3 that day--very welcoming and enthusiastic about their fledgling Megabyte fleet.

All told, I think I hooked up with Fleet 3 for about seven different regattas, and from the time Dean introduced me to the rest of the guys at that first Turkey shoot right up to the end when they all knew I was on the way out of the class with my boat up for sale, they made me feel most welcome. A chest bump from Mack, a warrior’s grip handshake from Charles—I always felt included. It’s not always like that in sailing. My family often came to watch the races—usually my Mom and her husband, Bill. In other classes/fleets I might have felt a bit silly with the full entourage—maybe more “appropriate” when I was a kid getting shoved off the Mission Bay beach by Mom and Dad for the Sabot Nationals. But, they were welcome, too—invited to pull up a chair at Whiskeytown or join the potluck at Huntington Lake. My sweet Mom reciprocated with her famous shortbread boat cookies customized with sail numbers for each competitor. Of course, other Fleet 3 family were integral to the onshore camaraderie. Sharon and Daria were always there providing encouragement and shore support for all of us.

It’s not all hugs and kisses with these guys, though. On the race course, every one of them will fight hard to get to the front. That’s a good thing. Have you ever sailed against people who don’t try hard? It turns out that it’s not much fun. Give-it-your-all competition is what makes this sailing such sport. I’m grateful for that challenge. It was almost always Charles out front for us all to chase, but everybody had a good look at the front at least a few times. The finishes have been more mixed than ever this year, proof that the skills of the whole fleet have improved, and if Dean had only started droop hiking a year earlier, we might all have been chasing his transom by now! I’ll miss racing with these guys but hopefully will cross paths in the future as I find my way back to the typical regattas as crew on that Vanguard 15 or who knows what.

I picked the Megabyte North Americans as my final regatta before switching my sailing focus to adventures aboard the family cruiser. Dean did a great job getting the event on the West Coast and very well organized. Mack and Charles were ready to go having arrived the previous day and gotten in a test sail on the venue. John who is always a delight to sail with could only stay for Saturday, but it was great to have him out there. Fleet 3 was ready! One might think that the North American Championship would be a huge event, but in reality there just aren’t that many of us Megabyters to go around. Nobody from the West went east for last year’s championship, and this year the opposite was true. We did, however, finally get to meet “Big Joe” from Arizona and also discover that Chuck Hawley had been hiding out in Santa Cruz with a Megabyte for some time. These two guys flew the retro rig and competed well in both the light and heavy air. Back at the dock, they were both full of great stories to share, the likes of which we don’t hear too much of in Fleet 3—like singlehanding a 24 foot boat to Hawaii or “cruising” to Catalina in a Megabyte! I hope Chuck will find the time to fit in another regatta here and there and I like Joe’s idea of a California/Arizona event swap starting with a big regatta in January.

Well with the Megabyte up for sale, it’s off to keelboating with the family. (Geez, this is sounding like a sappy retirement speech!) I’m looking forward to that. If I’m lucky, my kids will take to sailing as I did growing up on my dad’s boat.

I will miss Fleet 3. It’s been a great two years on the Megabyte circuit. I wish each of them best of luck as they continue to build the fleet, connect with other regions, and attempt to reel Charles in! Go for it!