Notes From The National Committee
National Championships will be held again this year at Stony Creek Metropolitan Park, near Rochester, Michigan. The dates for this important event are August 13 and 14. Following is a schedule of events which has been prepared by the National Committee:

Friday, August 12
Launch Boats (Gates close at park at 10:00 p.m.) Boats arriving after 9:00 p.m. may be left overnight at the Paul Ayres home which is near the park.
"Shore Leave" at Ayres from 8:00-12:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 13

9:00 a.m.	Registration ($3.50)        Launching
10:00 a .m.	Skippers' Meeting
10:30 a .m.	1st Race
11:30 a.m.	Lunch
12:30 p.m.	Skippers' Meeting
1:00 p.m.	2nd Race
2:30 p.m.	Skippers' Meeting
3:00 p.m.	3rd Race
7:00 p.m.	Cocktails
8:00 p.m.	Dinner

Sunday, August 14

10:00 a.m.	Skippers' Meeting
10:30 a.m.	4th Race
11.30 a.m.	Skippers' Meeting
12:00 Noon	5th Race

Lunch and awards immediately after 5th race.

There are several motels in the area; one that is easily accessible is the Rochester Motor Lodge. The rates are $9.00 for a single; #12. double; $14 twin. Reservations need to be in by the middle of July.
Many of the local sailors are happy to open their homes to out-of-towners who would rather stay with a family.

Please tear off the registration form found further in this issue and return it to:

Don Healy, Commodore USWA,  1168 Avon Manor, Rochester, Michigan  48063

The renter must be a USWA member in good standing and be the owner of a registered Wayfarer. The renter shall supply his own sails and shall assume liability for returning the boat to the owner in its original condition, including derigging and trailering if applicable.

The rental fee for this service shall be $20., paid to the owner.

Arrangements for boat rental must be made through the National Committee, who will assign boats on a priority basis in the order the requests are received and, regardless of the order of receipt, the renter farthest away shall be given preference if the number of available boats for rent is less than the number of renters. 

USWA will solicit boats for rent from those not wishing to compete. 

If the boat for rent is constructed from a kit, that boat must also have been issued a valid Measurement Certificate in addition to being registered with the USWA.

Juice, tossed salad, potatoes, vegetable, ham-chicken-topsirloin, coffee, rolls-butter, and ice cream.

By the way, you must be a paid-up association member to compete in the Nationals; that is, annual dues for 1966 - $2.50, registration fee of #5.00 (if you've never paid it), transfer fee if you bought a used boat and have never paid it.

Boats must be equipped with:

U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets. One for each person.
Paddle
Bailer
Bow Painter
Anchor

North American Championships
The North American Championships will be held this year at South Port Sailing Club, Windsor, Ontario, on September 3, 4, and 5. We hope many representatives from the United States will be there.
 

Around The Fleets
Fleet #1 - Chicago. The sailing season was off to another memorable start with the North American Opening Regatta held May 28, 29 at Burnham Yacht Club. There were 14 boats entered in the exciting races. Winners of the two-day event were:

first, Al Schoenborn (and Roy Coleman) of Toronto; 
second, Bill Worrall of Fleet 2, and 
third, Dick Johnson of Fleet 2.

Fleet #2 - Detroit. Racing Captain Alan Healy has published the results of the first half of the racing series.

The most recent race was a weekend camp-out at Higgins Lake in Northern Michigan. There were 17 Wayfarers and 3 Leaders participating. It was a great weekend; the weather was beautiful, the winds were steady, and the water was warm.

Fleet #3 - East Coast. Inactive. Note: It only takes three boats to organize so some of you East Coast folk get together!

Fleet #4 - Cleveland. The Cleveland people are busy planning for their first invitational as this Skimmer goes to press. It will be held on July 9, 10. We wish them well!

Fleet #5 - San Francisco. No News!

Fleet #6 - Lake Orion, Michigan. No News!

Fleet #7 - Longview, Washington. No News!

Addition to Fleet #1 News: In the Small Boat Regatta, the Wayfarers did very well finishing 

1st - Hal Lee, 2nd - Bob Spitz, 3rd - Hy Krieberg, 4th - Hans Callies.

Almost all of us who are racing Wayfarers, bought our boats as a family recreation, with racing the furthest thing from our minds. In fact, most of us weren't aware that the silly things even raced when we bought them. (Who ever heard of racing something at three or four m.p.h.?) I have found that while most new owners hesitate when the word "race" is mentioned, you can't keep them away once they have competed a couple of times. The actual race is only part of the fun. Afterwards, there is a picnic, party, or gab-fest where the races are sailed over and over. By the time the day is over, you are convinced you were cheated and should have been the winner.

Sailboat racing is a simple sport governed by a few easy-to-understand rules. The first step by a new sailor should be to acquire a rule book and read it a few times. After this, and a trip to your lawyer to figure out what you have read, the sport will begin to take shape.

Now that you know the rules, you are ready to get in the boat and try your newly acquired knowledge. Right away you discover the rule book didn't tell you everything because here are twenty wild, gyrating boats all trying to cross the same ten feet of starting line at the same second. With that part of the race over, and all boats on their way, you suddenly encounter some nut trying to run you over while all the time he keeps screaming, "Starboard!" like this gives him the right to ram you. After having several more of these nuts trying to ram you, you finally arrive at the first mark only to find all twenty boats again thinking they can sail in the space of one.

After rounding the mark, your nerves are shot, your wife (crew) is screaming and you're sure that the thing to do is quit right now. However, the worst is over. From here on it is follow the leader to the finish line.

Once back on shore, you're sure there must be an easier way and there is. What you need are a few secret tactics. Here are a couple that always seem to work. While everyone else is eating, you sneak around and pull the rubber plugs out of all the other boats. Method #2 will cost a few cents but seems to do the job very well. First you check the standings and pick out the first two or three boats. Now locate the skippers of these boats and while you are being a regular guy buying them three or four drinks, you're putting your plan into effect. Not only will they be easier to beat, they might not even be able to find their boats.

Now to be serious for a minute, those of you who have never raced are only getting part of the fun out of your boat. You will find that other Wayfarer owners are more than willing to assist you in any way they can.

So come on out and give it a try. I'm sure you will find it most rewarding.
 
 

The hotter the summer gets, the shorter the tempers! While leafing through umpteen magazines, books, and pamphlets trying to decipher what the leeward side of our Pandora is, the skipper lost patience and decided to enrol me in a driver-training sailing course. Now when do I find time for that? I'll just continue to sail the boat from crew position for awhile -- at least until this black electrical tape wears off my mouth.

These sailing terms are the greatest, though. Where else except from outer space do you hear the musical lyrics #%&*#%? Ah yes, no doubt about it, this sailing is the hobby every wife should encourage. The long periods of silence are very productive. While he broods on the wheres and whys of "middle of the fleet" standing, the dishes are washed and the ironing caught up. The best way to brighten his corner is to stay out of it.

Overall, this season has gotten off to a great start -- for everyone else. We're in there plugging but so far the hole punched in the side of the boat and two leaky bailers have been great excuses for mediocre finishes. Turn in my sneakers?

Never! After all, how else would I have seen Chicago?

The "windy city" is just that when it comes to hoisting sails. Mother nature sees the flying W every year and begins to whistle her smartest.

The Chicago fleet really turns on for this big annual event. More boats than the 14 of us who went swimming above water really would have crowded Lake Michigan. The helicopter went whirly trying to pace our dizzy, zig-zagging course. If that pilot would take up sailing, he probably wouldn't have been available to help Sheldon, though. It seems that Wayfarer wants to sail like a seal - only coming up for air at the local fleet outings where it holds claim to second place this season.

The jolly skippers from Canada were out teaching again. Showing us the ropes (excuse me, the sheets) and the sterns of their boats were George - you know George - and Al, you'll hear more of him this year because he can drive now, and John, the jolly Green giant that uses tacks to out-point you.

Gentleman George dropped his sails in his sail bag with a fourth place but the revolving trophy for first place in the first race. Al sort of broad reached himself into first place and Bill Worrall of the Michigan Fleet #2, beat it into second place while Dick Johnson (Fleet 2) blew into third. Dick and Bill also came home with first place revolving trophies.

About the night life in that town, try it next summer!

After a silent jaunt home (five and one-half hours), Pandora needed a face lifting on her bottom side. This, I believe, is the hull, but it was the keel or centerboard box or bailers or something that poured more water in than out. Like a grease-monkey without a rack, the skipper crawled and scraped under her with a microscope and some goupy stuff that just "anybody knows is to repair leaks in boats."

Some tears were still showing on her bottom June 5, but the old gal rode proudly down machine-cluttered Detroit streets to the clean (fishy) smelling fresh water Detroit River for the Civic Center Regatta.

Red, blue, white, yellow, green, and many other colored boats greeted her. They even went so far as to exchange colors as they were launched and bobbed bunched together for the big day.

Now after the big gun and the big weather and the big, big maze of sails cleared away, we had a new winner and a familiar name in first place for this unbelievable mess of boats. Jack, you know big Jack, shot home ahead of Don, he's the one with the mottled blue boat and the commodore's gavel, and again that "now coming on strong to fame" Bill Worrall.

A word of congratulations to our women crew: Dorothy Grimm was not grim after this six hour ordeal. It was her skipper's first race in their new boat and he happily sailed on to eighth place. She came shoreward with the wettest curls you ever saw. She also was the only female crew of the day - her husband gave her directions to Belle Isle and she followed them. The rest of us somehow got lost at the zoo or Cobo Hall.

From in between the shores of lakes and the new cleat on Pandora, the tryingest skipper and crew in the USWA wish you luck for the next outing. There will be plenty of space for your boat's name and number in the next Skimmer -- that is, if we don't take first place -- then it'll need the whole paper.