Ahoy Everyone! I just came back from the Frostbite Race.  It was a little bit of a misnomer.  It should have been called the "Nice and Cool" race.  Conditions were so mild that several racers did not even finish the race.  I sailed for the first time on an Etchells.  I was a little concerned that there was no bimini nor was there a designated area for the beer cooler.  Pat and Carol Anne assured me that the Etchells did not have a design flaw by omitting the beer cooler and my ball cap would have to provide sun protection.  It was amazing that in a wind that was so soft, I could not feel it on my face, the Etchells glided effortlessly though the water.  My Mac (a fine sailing machine  :-)  would have been tied up to the Committee boat, listening to Jimmy Buffet and soaking up the afternoon sun. After the race, several of the members met at the Strasia compound to discuss the upcoming Mallory Cup.  It was an "unofficial, spontaneous" meeting that really got us excited!  We have a lot of Club support for this event and it is our chance to build upon our reputation by hosting a fantastic event.  Barbara Hawn is the Race Director and Pat Byrnes is the Principal Race Officer.  Both of them have great experience and attention to detail that makes me feel confident that they will coordinate an event that our Club can be proud of. During the next few months someone may call on you and ask you to help with the event.  Please commit the time and energy to support this cause.  If you are fluctuating with your decision to help, please think past this event and look to our Club’s future.  It would be great to establish a relationship with several of the pontoon boat owners and have them come out to assist on every race day.  They have a network of owners that could be an ongoing support team for us, something this Club has not seen before.  Your efforts will not only help the Club today, they will help build the Club’s future! There will be one or two training sessions before the Mallory Cup that will teach us how to man the race stations and conduct an "official" race.  Please make a commitment to attend and participate in the trainings.  For you racers, it will make you a better racer; for us cruisers, it will teach us more about the "finer "points of racing and enable us to take part in the race process even if we drive a "fine sailing machine" that has two or more built-in beer coolers! I hope that teams from New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska will participate in the Mallory Cup.  But the truth is that we may only have teams from New Mexico.  That's okay.  If we advertise it, and we get the exposure to the media and the general population, it will do nothing but bring us positive exposure and perhaps increased membership and participation.  There is no reason that every sail boat owner in western Texas, southern Colorado and New Mexico should not know that we have a major race and be invited to come participate or be an on-the-water spectator.  I hope to get coverage on both newspaper and television in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and El Paso.    The benefit to our racers is that more boat owners from all over the Southwest may come out and participate if the word gets out that we run a quality event.  Perhaps an unexpected benefit to our cruisers is the chance occurrence that the guy whose boat has been "sitting on the hard" for the last few years may get inspired when he hears there is an active sail club at the Butte and perhaps that person may invite you onto his boat at a future raft up and share a story about a storm he survived many years ago.   Bottom line…please get involved and make this event a success.   We need your help! Speaking about racing, one of our most proficient racers over the years has been Larry Jessie.  While I was at the Strasia's, I watched a video of Larry.  (No, it wasn't “America's Most Wanted".)   Larry was recently inducted into the UTEP Sports Hall of Fame for pole-vaulting.  I was intrigued as the speaker introduced Larry.  Turns out Larry was a fantastic high school athlete and even better as a collegian and then carried it beyond that to the Masters level after college.  At every stage of his career, Larry held records that stood unequaled for many years.  The list of his records goes well beyond my capacity to remember.  But what I did remember was that Larry gave an excellent acceptance speech and the crowd loved him.  I have heard a lot of speeches and I ranked Larry's as one of the best.  Everyone in the room at the Strasia's was proud that we knew him.  It's obvious to see that Larry's competitive drive has been part of his nature for many years and it has transferred from pole vaulting to sailing.  Congratulations Larry, we wish you continued success in everything you do.    You will notice that there is a new format to the Foghorn starting with this issue.  Perry Abernathy has offered to assume the duties of Editor and producer of the Foghorn.  This is an extremely important job that can affect the success of the Club.  We need a form of communication that will let our members know what is going on and entice other sailors to come check us out.  Perry's job can be made a lot easier if you will help as a "guest contributor".  If you recently had an exceptional sailing experience, or bought a new Map system or took a trip to an unusual location, please type up an article and tell the rest of our sailing world about it.  Perry may call you and ask you to write an article about your “sailing dreams”, tell us where your “dream boat” would take you!  The Foghorn could be a great way for us to get to know our fellow Club members even better.  The more articles we get, the better job Perry can do.  Please give him a hand with this huge task. Perry is also scheduling the monthly socials for the Northern Fleet.  They are being held the third Wednesday of the month at JB Restaurant on Eubank and I-40.  It's an excellent time to get together and share stories, some truer than others, visit with friends, and perhaps learns something new.  This month Rich will be giving a slide presentation on a delivery trip around the Baja.  There is some excellent information about ocean sailing and some great pictures.  If you have a suggestion for a topic or would like to present at a future social, please let Perry know.  We are also trying to figure out some type of socials for the Southern fleet.  The distance between towns is a challenge, but if you have a suggestion please let me or Perry know. Jen Hyatt has been updating the web site and it should have the current contact information, race schedules and Club event schedules.  If you see any changes or have any suggestions please let Jen know.  Remember, she is a volunteer and is doing her best to contribute to the Club.  Thank you Jen for making the time and for making a difference.  Last but not least, I invite you to call or write to me if you have suggestions about how to improve the Club.  If you are frustrated that I am doing something you don't like... please call me.  I need and appreciate your feedback.  Calling another Club member and complaining doesn't do anything to fix the problem except that you have vented.  If you call me, you can still vent, and I will promise to try and fix the problem.  Of course if you are happy... you can call me too and anyone else who will listen :-)  Bottom line, I care about the success of the Club, which includes the Southern fleet, the Northern Fleet, the Cruisers and the Racers and want to see our Club and our sport grow.  I appreciate the opportunity you have given me to do that! See you on the water…