B
elow you will find an open letter to the FWYC race committee volun-
teers. This letter was written by Hal Smith, a nationally certified US
Sailing Principle Race Officer. Hal was the PRO for the Viper 640 North
Americans hosted by our club in October. Even if you’ve never been a part
of a FWYC race committee and some of the terms he uses seem foreign, the
praise he gives our volunteers in unmistakable.
The Ace Team
Y
ou did an outstanding job this
past week executing 11 great rac-
es in a wide variety of conditions.
Everyone worked beautifully as a
team. The weather
marks were always in
the right spot for im-
mediate setting as well
as change marks that
were called sometimes
and not others. The
gate was perfect with
customers using both
sides equally. And,
the difficult starting/
finishing line was
quickly set, spot on,
each time and very
difficult line calls well done. The ge-
ometry of a long line and needing 1+
mile legs challenged you to fit it in
and not waste valuable racing time,
and you did it. The signal vessel
team including Lou and Jerry/Faye
did an amazing job of figuring out
where to anchor Archelon each day
and then executing a very quick reset
as needed. And, scores were figured
and posted with lightning speed for
the competitors to see. We heard
comments from competitors that this
was better than Miami and Key West
racing. Amen. Thanks to you. You
earned a whole-hearted pat on the
back for giving some of the best com-
petitors in the world
(5 different countries)
some of the best rac-
ing in the world. Sally
and I thank you for
letting us be a part
of the team again. It
is a lot of fun being
with you. Wonder
what will come next?
The reputation of this
event will bring you
more exciting oppor-
tunities.
John Farris, Linda Wright and Craig
Wilusz all deserve special thank you’s
for all of their hard work to assem-
ble the team and keep us fed. They
are probably all still sleeping, so don’t
disturb them yet.
~Hal Smith
Viper 640 PRO
Regatta Volunteers
Scott & Jenny Bailey
Cindy Barber
Jim Bennett
Cliff Black
Jerry & Faye Black
Karl Boehm
Jack Caldwell
Lloyd Causey
Cathy Cromartie
Dick Dommel
Mike “Nerf ” Douglas
Don Faircloth
John Farris
5
Dr. Parvis Farudi
Galen Freeman
Micki Gramm
Leslie Hanley
Gerry Harvey
Charles & Jan Hine
Art Hutson
Jim Jeter
Ariel Lowerison
Donna Sue Marks
Sharmane Mattinson
Steve & Tammi Mee
Mauren Morgenthein
Lou Richard
Tim & Karen Rumptz
Phyllis Seaton
Shari Seaton
Jim & Kerrie Serpa
Carson Smith
Hal & Sally Smith
CeCe Stoldt
Jerry Vaughan
Zach Van Voast
Alister Weir