Hi all-

Sorry for the lack of response, but I'm away in Maine with spotty Internet. First, thanks everyone! It was a great regatta, and a great win for us after all these years. We seem to have the boat pretty dialed in (although Fuzzy still seems to have an edge on starboard in light-still trying to figure that out). The fairing of the keel seems to have noticeably improved performance, and the aforementioned tweaks thanks to the hard efforts of a few members of the crew along with Steve L. Gave us a better "transition" game.

Lopez is a great addition to the crew when I can get him to stop sailing with other RYC boats-as Neil (Misthos) said, he helps me keep my focus on the steering, and is great setting up the sails as conditions change. Not to mention that his tactics were spot on until the big ugly shift on the last day-which a lot of us missed.

Finally, and most importantly, my team is fantastic! On bow, Neil Feldscher is without question the best bowman I've ever had, on mast Jeff Easton is a solid reliable presence with a great eye for breeze, on spin trim Wilma Friedman is perfect despite sailing with a damaged Achilles tendon, in the cockpit I have Jon Pope (who comments above) and calls the scary port tack side crosses with great confidence, and Lou Rugulo, who trims great and also does invaluable maintenance work on the boat that is beyond my skill set. Lastly, (besides Lopez), Donna Webber is as good a pit person as could ask for, flawless on the race course, a master bartender post race, and our crew organizer par excellence. Not to mention, we are all great friends and enjoy each others company immensely.

Looking forward to Annapolis!

Steve Buzbee
Blue Meanie J/30 #485