Mutineer
Fleet 2 - Alive and Growing in Grapevine, Texas!
By:
Kathy Koerber
Now
with more than 10 boats participating, Fleet 2 continues to grow from its
humble beginning to a new, active, group of North Texas Mutineers. Fleet 2
evolved out of the 2011 Mutineer Nationals, which were hosted by the Grapevine
Sailing Club and led by Rey Garza and Chad Harris. After getting a chance to
sail as crew with Tate Beckham who trailered in from
Alabama, Greg Reed, another GSC club member, caught the Mutineer fever and
decided to build a fleet in Grapevine Texas. Ray Garza helped Greg get his
first boat and with Ray and Chad as his mentors Greg went to work building a
fleet one boat at a time.
Convincing
people to go out and invest in these little “water bullets” was not always an
easy task. “Race a Mutineer? What the heck is a Mutineer?” This was heard more
than once by those of us who were not involved in the 2011 Mutineer Nationals
held in Grapevine. But for those who did participate, the response was more
than enthusiastic.
First
there was a local, state, and nationwide search for boats available to
purchase. Then there was the organization of the group and the first meetings.
Greg worked tirelessly to convince people to get involved even if they did not
have a Mutineer yet. Working closely with the Mutineer 15 Class Association,
Fleet 2 was born.
With
keen foresight, and with lots of help from the National Association, Greg worked
to arrange a well-attended spring seminar in Grapevine. Ernie French agreed to
come down from Nebraska and provide the fleet with exceptional instruction on all
aspects of rigging and racing Mutineers. This was a fantastic weekend where all
who participated, brand new or experienced, came away with new knowledge and
enthusiasm. The seminar included class-time instruction going over sailing and
racing techniques, on-the-beach instruction and review of boat rigging, and
on-the-water sailing and racing practice. Of course there was also the fantastic
cook-out and pool party with everyone sitting around and chatting about the
day’s lessons and plans for the future.
Through
the summer and fall, Fleet 2 continued to meet almost every Sunday afternoon at
“the swamp” to rig, sail, and race. Typically you could see four to six
Mutineer masts rising up from the shoreline every weekend. Canopies were
raised; chairs and coolers set up, and then the boats would head out for the
afternoon fun. After the races everyone would come back in and spend the rest of
the afternoon and evening relaxing in the shade and talking about the day’s
sail. Usually other friends from Grapevine Sailing Club would stop by and so
the group would grow in numbers with everyone chatting and watching the sun go
down. On more than one occasion, the grill would come out and everyone pitched
in for some great brats, dogs, BBQ chicken, and sides. These weekly Sunday
gatherings became the highlight of the summer and fall.
With
winter shortly around the corner, our attention turned to a road trip. Fleet 2
mustered five boats to make the 200+ mile trek to Lake Canyon Yacht Club to
participate in the 44th Annual Wurstfest Regatta I for board boats
and centerboards. Most brought tents and camped right at the yacht club and a
great time was had by all. The evening party was great and some of us had the
added bonus of meeting Rey Garza and sharing a few (OK maybe more than a few)
German beers. Even though the wind was almost a “no show” for most of the
races, we all learned a lot from the experience. Lake Canyon Yacht Club puts on a fantastic
regatta and we all look forward to returning again next year.
Now
our thoughts have turned to having a respectable Fleet 2 presence next year at
the Mutineer Nationals in Nebraska. We have a lot of work to do to get boats
ready, sails updated, and plans made but we look forward to meeting other
Mutineer sailors and making new friends.
Fleet
2 has become a close-knit group of Mutineer 15 sailors each ready to help out
each other as we buy, repair and rig, learn to sail, and compete with these
little boats. Most are husband and wife teams but there are others as well and
we cover all age groups. Greg continues to guide our fleet from infancy and
through our first year as we all look forward to even more good things to come.
