[name-auto-insert]

Happy Holidays!

We recently had our fall meeting of PHRF New England. It is important for your yacht clubs to have representation that cares, and then shares with others from your club what we are doing and have been doing. Whether you are a handicapper or a governor, thanks for coming to our spring and fall zoom meetings. If your representative could not or cannot make it, let them know that you would like to watch the zoom in their place at the spring meeting, it's important PHRFNE and to your club to have representation, see you in the spring!

First things first, I would like to thank some people for their contributions over the last two years while I served as the Commodore of PHRFNE.

The executive board has worked well together thru this interesting time. PHRF racing is healthy, and next year is going to be another great year.

Our vice commodore Rob Gorman was in charge of working with the Ted Hood Regatta to use PHRF as the primary rating once again. Through his efforts, we were able to proudly have the PHRFNE Championships at the Ted Hood Regatta, Bravo! Rob was also our representative to Mass Bay Sailing.

Rob Bova as our Rear Commodore, represented us in the expanded short-handed sailing endeavors. With his efforts and others, we were able to come up with short-handed ratings for the first time. He was instrumental in getting short-handed racings for people who don't like big crews. Rob also was a great help with the rating committee's efforts.

Jay Watt as our secretary kept each of us in contact, and he kept our affairs in order.

Bump Wilcox is our treasurer taking care of finances, which are in very good shape. He also holds other hats; historian, head of the rating committee, information chairman, interim head processor,etc. you get the idea here, Bump really makes PHRFNE go, and he has been doing this for many years. He has always been there whenever I have had a question for several years, not just these last two. Thru his efforts and expertise in rating boats, people from other fleets throughout the entire U.S. contact Him when they have a problem rating any special boats.

Our resource people are very important when we are trying to rate a new boat or re-rate an old boat. Jud Smith of Doyle Sail, Jack Slattery of North Sails, and Matt Delany have helped the rating committee to make fair judgments. I would also like to add Don Logan of Maine to the list of resource people. As the former secretary, he has stayed on helping the rating committee keep the people in Maine happy.

Past Commodore Greg Nourjian has been serving as the Commodore Emeritus over the last 2 years and has been our link to the Buzzards Bay area. PHRF racing is alive and well in Southern Mass due to Greg's efforts.

Lindsay Smith worked diligently as our certificate processor until her accident. We are looking forward to when she will return. Keep getting stronger Lindsay!

Blake Jackson of Headway maintains our website, phrfne.org, and also all of the emailing of FREE regatta advertising and PHRF news to all of our members. This is a very important function, and it's handled in a very business-like manner. Any time you wish to email your area's members, or other areas, Blake is the brains behind this FREE service to you all.

Rick Meyers and Nancy Glover gave us a very good zoom presentation during our covid hibernation phase of the last two years. It was informational even though the rules had not changed much, and fun.

Sadly, I want to thank Brad White of North Sails Salem for joining Rob Bova in presenting a zoom meeting about short-handed sailing. Brad recently passed away after a long illness. He was a real friend to all sailors and to PHRFNE, rest in peace Brad. During Covid, we donated to the Courageous Sailing Program in Boston, and Sail Salem, both worthy charity sailing programs teaching hundreds of children each year the joy there is in sailing.

Thank you everyone for making the position of Commodore easy and enjoyable. It was a real privilege and an honor to serve all of you, the members of PHRF New England!

Covid was a pain in the transom to all. I still know people who are affected by it. In fact, I spent time recently taking a mainsail off of Heat Wave the boat I race on, and two hours later got a call from my friend that I had been with all afternoon telling me he had tested positive after he got home. Thankfully, I have had all the shots and my immune system strangely was strong enough to ward off those evil Covid germs. When Covid was attacking, it really affected yacht racing. Many races and regattas were canceled, and others that did run were changed from normal. The number of boats that ventured out went down immensely. After a time of confusion, Short handed sailing started to really get going, partially due to the fact that there wasn't enough room to stay 6 feet apart on most boats. (One of the confusing rules politicians put on group events) Finally, races started to open up, rules on crews went away, and we got back to normal racing again. This past year was still affected, but the numbers improved.

Through the many years I have spent racing day races, regattas, and the Marblehead to Halifax Race,(9 times and counting),I have always enjoyed racing PHRF. Years ago I raced MORC, New England Rule, IOR, and probably others I cannot remember. PHRF has always been the most enjoyable, and easiest to understand. I could usually always tell how I was doing while still on the race course. Our survey that we sent out to all members last year told me I was not alone in enjoying those traits of PHRF vs the alternatives.

There were several regattas that once again have come back to using PHRF. They did this for its simplicity, for the fact that everyone that wanted to race actually had a PHRF rating, and they came back in hopes that the number of boats racing would increase from the last few years under a different rating rule. We are all happy that the numbers did increase!

Our number of certificates issued next year, which is a Halifax Race year, should be great. We are looking forward to an outstanding year for PHRF racing in all of New England in 2023!

I will be staying on as Commodore Emeritus (if you will have me), for the next two years. Good luck to the next Commodore, someone I have known and sailed with off and on for the last 30-plus years: Rob Bova. I am positive he will do a great job. Just as I started out on my local yacht clubs regatta committee (Jubilee Yacht Club), then became a PHRF Governor representing Jubilee, and then was asked to join the Executive Board of PHRF New England, this was the same track Rob has been on out of the Palmer Cove Yacht Club. Any Governor or handicapper that wants to get a little more involved should realize that the door is open. It's a worthy effort to help PHRFNE stay healthy and move forward.

Thank you all for racing PHRF and good luck in 2023!

Chuck Twombly
Commodore PHRFNE - 2021/2022
Past Commodore Jubilee Yacht Club