From rugosa at acadia.net  Sat Sep  3 08:01:07 2005
From: rugosa at acadia.net (Sturgis Haskins)
Date: Sat Sep  3 08:01:35 2005
Subject: [L16-usa] Katrina
Message-ID: <001401c5b087$8d3ee4f0$77876341@Rugosa>


Doubtless our Southern Yacht Club Luders friends in New Orleans are consumed
with putting their lives and livelihoods back together and Luders racing is
furthest from their minds.

However, at some time in the future, it would be nice to know how the fleet
fared?  Were any Luders destroyed, badly damaged, etc - if so, which ones?
The awful devastation of hurricane Katrina is unprecedented and likely, too,
a landmark event in Luders class history. An account of the storm's effect
on the Southern Yacht Club and its fleet would be a valued addition to our
class history. We hope that the New Orleans fleet did not meet its demise
and will regroup for another 60 years of spirited racing.

I have heard that former Luders owner, Buddy Clarke of Pass Christian,
Mississippi, lost his house in this terrible event. He and his brother, Bo,
visited the Mount Desert Island fleet this past month as guests of our Vice
Fleet Captain, Tom Rolfes. 

All of us wish our New Orleans and Pass Christian friends well and look
forward to hearing from them.

Thanks.
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From demilner at downeast.net  Wed Sep  7 19:12:09 2005
From: demilner at downeast.net (Lawrence DeMilner)
Date: Fri Sep  9 13:39:12 2005
Subject: [L16-usa] Frenchman Bay Luders Season Wrap-up
Message-ID: <01e201c5b40a$69225ee0$6401a8c0@D9Y86Z11>

Revival of FB Luders Racing
    According to local historians, L-16 class racing on Frenchman Bay (FB), which had been inaugurated just after WWII, was discontinued in 1972, although individual Luders including BAT and ANDANTE subsequently competed in mixed fleet races on the bay. We believe the 2005 season was the first attempt to revive Luders single class racing on FB. The Sorrento Yacht Club agreed to arrange a separate start for L-16s in their weekly mixed fleet races, provided that we would have at least three boats on the line. Alas, this was to prove elusive. PANACEA and SWEET SIXTEEN which we had counted on for the season did not go in the water owing to their owners' preemptive work schedules. Tris Colket's TRIESS no longer races, and the newly arrived (for sale) Luders from Sodus Bay, NY, did not find a timely buyer. Finally, ANDANTE's launch was delayed for mast repairs and when finally launched suffered a rigging failure which sidelined her for the rest of the racing season. That left only BAT and ADAGIO to compete in the SYC mixed fleet races. The competition between the two boats during the eight race regular season was close, with BAT and ADAGIO finishing the season in a tie-- in points as well as head to head wins. Both boats finished fairly high in the overall mixed fleet (20 to 30 boats usually) Portsmouth-adjusted standings, although ADAGIO took a small edge here.. 

Other Developments  
    In other developments, the hopes of the FB Luders fleet for speedy recognition by the L-16 International Association were dashed when no action was taken on our application at this summer's meeting in Chicago. The question has been tabled until 2007 for reasons not explained.
    A further set-back was experienced in the denial by the International Association of the request by the MDI Fleet to host the 2007 L-16 Internationals, again for reasons not explained.

Our Future    
    Obviously, the FB Luders ambitions for 2005 were substantially under-realized. In particular, the loss of the 2007 Internationals for here in Maine removes what we thought would be an occasion for a  tremendous boost in public attention and enthusiasm for the Luders revival, since this would have marked the 60th anniversary of the inaugural L-16 Internationals held in Bar Harbor in 1947. However, we believe that the present momentum will be enough to carry us forward.  We have every hope that there will be at least four L-16s on the line for the 2006  season on Frenchman Bay and we will run as a single class.  In addition, we have a newly arrived water ready L-16 for sale on the bay and we have our eyes peeled for further acquisitions, albeit in competition with the rapidly growing MDI fleet.
    As newcomers to Luders racing, we of course would be greatly interested in hearing similar accounts from other active Luders fleets via this e mail exchange. We also hope very much that there will soon be occasions for other Luders sailors to visit us here in the sailing paradise of Downeast Maine. 


                                                                                                                            Lawrence DeMilner
                                                                                                                            Frenchman Bay
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From rugosa at acadia.net  Wed Sep 21 07:24:20 2005
From: rugosa at acadia.net (Sturgis Haskins)
Date: Wed Sep 21 07:24:30 2005
Subject: [L16-usa] Luders - Dim Lights
Message-ID: <000001c5bea7$65b0f940$5b876341@Rugosa>


ANY NEWS ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS FLEET?

As our national officers seems a mute lot, I wonder if anyone else might
have news of the fate of the Southern Yacht Club Luders fleet?

We wish the survival of this old fleet and hope for the best. As I recall,
they, together with Chicago, began in 1945 - though I am not certain about
this.
Were our leaders not so disengaged (OOPS..) from their Luders newsgroup, we
might had some preliminary information. (Rarely a peep on any front here.)

Eventually, it would be nice - for our own information as, too, the
historical annals - to have a boat by boat accounting of their fate. 

Lunging on another tack, the Mount Desert Island and Frenchman's Bay fleets
have given accounts of their August series and we await similar reports from
Chicago and the West Coast. Could the series listing include boat names,
sail numbers and skippers of all entrants?  

Some of us were disappointed that the Frenchman's Bay fleet was not accorded
fleet status. It is true only two Luders raced actively this season (in the
local club's handicap class), but there are about 5 other Luders on the bay
and another is en route from a distant State. Given the rather tenuous
nature of the national organization, one should imagined they would have
tilted toward the hopeful.   In contrast, It is curious that Bermuda is
allowed entry into the nationals (does anyone seriously believe this event
should be labeled "international?"), presuming some official status.  Likely
this is because the owner of the Bermuda Luders had shipped it to Chicago
several years ago  where our quiescent national secretary is said to race
it. The Bermuda fleet has, I am told, not raced in years. This entry is
rather pushing the limits of credibility and, indeed, seems more padding
than anything else. But I don't mind - though their seems a double standard.

The national Luders class is, of course, fading ( cautiously I replaced
"dying."). In light of the annual meeting's decision to deny Mount Desert
Island the right to host the 60th anniversary nationals (where it was first
held), we can see why the class is so moribund. This decision was not
logical, it was spiteful. Mount Desert Island has not only the largest, most
active fleet, it, together with its sister fleet, are the only  ones
actually getting larger.  We in the provinces are quite aware that our
nationals officers make little effort to remain in contact with these pages
(which could be used to great advantage one would think.)  The little annual
parade between New Orleans and Chicago will continue each year (or so), but
even that seems in doubt as the formers bout with Katrina remains uncertain.
However, we wish everyone well and hope that the occasional noisy darts will
keep them awake.

Tom Rolfes, Vice Fleet Captain, of the Mount Desert Island fleet has been
hospitalized lately for triple by-pass surgery. We here owe him much for his
considerable effort in bringing new additions to our fleet from Mississippi.
His great house, Some View, has been a favored meeting place both for Luders
meetings and that of Club post-race teas - and, indeed, this year's annual
meeting for both groups.  We wish him - and Ginny - well in the coming
weeks. 

Rumor that at least two races were held in the September series, but due to
Tom's absence and that of several others (I was on the Isles of Shoals for a
week), no more races will be held. (Though I am uncertain if that is true.)
Luders remaining afloat will be participating - we hope! - in the annual
International One-Design's Columbus Day weekend Trollphy Race.  The winners
received hideous prizes (An awful troll for the IOD's.). Different rules
prevail for this event, the season's final, races. The leading boat cannot
use a spinnaker  (in a close downwind match, one can imagine the frequent
hauling up and down of spinnakers as leads change) and only old sails can be
used. All in great fun. An after-race pot-luck  supper is held mid
considerable frivolity.)

Following my decision not to race on a regular basis next summer, Ondine has
been sold by its owner, Ann Waldron. The new owner assures that she will
compete on a regular basis.  Her family owns one of the most extraordinary
antique auto collections in the Country. Two Herreshoff Bullseyes, built for
her family c1930, remain under family ownership to this day.  We welcome the
new owner to our ranks! 

Cheers.






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From rugosa at acadia.net  Wed Sep 28 05:09:09 2005
From: rugosa at acadia.net (Sturgis Haskins)
Date: Wed Sep 28 05:09:17 2005
Subject: [L16-usa] Luders - Slight News from New Orleans
Message-ID: <000a01c5c414$ac0cd7c0$0c876341@Rugosa>


RE:  New Orleans Luders Update

I recently had a thoughtful response to my query to the Commodore of the
Southern Yacht Club about the state of the Luders fleet there.  He reports
that the great pile of boats washed up on the southeast corner of their
small harbor has yet to be untangled. This is not encouraging news as likely
this implies much damage.

The Club website shows awful photographs of heaps of wrecked boats and the
burned club house. No Luders were detected in the pictures.






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