12/15/2001 Mystere
4.3 Newsletter
Mike Fahle (Mikefahle) on Saturday, December
15, 2001 - 12:38 am:
MYSTERE 4.3 NEWSLETTER - End of year wrap-up by Mike
Fahle 12/15/2001
It seems almost unbelievable to me that we took delivery of the Mystere
4.3s just this spring. It seems like it was a couple years ago already!
Much has happened since my last newsletter, so I will get right into the
news. .
REGATTAS - We sailed the Catawba Can race on August 19th in a nice breeze
that built as we sailed five miles out into the lake to the large, steel
navigational buoy. I had a nice lead on Jamie Diamond until I capsized on
a jibe. I had recorded speeds over 16 mph on the GPS under spinnaker - what
a ride! Jamie got around the buoy first and headed upwind in pretty big
waves created with about six miles of fetch. He had to withdraw from the
race because of a crack in the hull which allowed me to sail out into the
lake on port tack, without being covered, to the layline and take advantage
of a westerly shift that put me first across the line ahead by so much that
the race committee was not ready for my finish. It was a close call for
Gillespie’s whose shroud rivet pulled out just as they were taking
the mast down after the race! (see the website for the fix posted for this)
Mike Teets, sailing with his son, capsized and his son fell into the mainsail
ripping out the window making Mike’s boat the first one with an opening
window! We told him he needed a screen! Everyone went flying by the Interlake
fleet that started first and with a warm day and warm water it was a wet
and wild sail! We will look to this to be an annual event for us! (Thanks
again, Doug Young). Yves Sansoucy attended this event and brought the sail
boxes and the new fuller mainsails that had been ordered plus a new Mystere
5.0. This “big brother” boat to the 4.3 has much more hull volume
that the 4.3 for the big lake and an innovative skeg with an inverted T
for better efficiency. It was sailed by Jim Frederick and Deb Schaefer who
normally sail their Hobie 20 or F-28 tri.
The OCRA season ending regatta at Alum Creek is always a great regatta and
this year was another example of why it is so well attended. It was warm
with light breezes that built enough both days to allow some trapezing.
The regatta was free but the race committee is great with Jamie in charge
and the food and party at Diamond’s house was excellent. The 4.3s had
their own scoring break-out for awards in the OCRA system. That put Carol
and me sailing the Mystere 5.0 in the group of 16s and 17s. With two Hobie
16s being sailed single-handed and a Supercat 17 with a hooter headsail,
we felt a little intimidated in the light breeze, especially using the 4.3
spinnaker. We ended up being very impressed with the boat which took first
in class AND FIRST OVERALL! The boat felt as big on deck as our old Hobie
18 and Carol remarked that it was easier to race the 5.0 with the spinnaker
than the Hobie 18 without one because there were no boards to mess with
at the marks, no outhaul or mast rotation to adjust, etc. The boat is simple
and fast! We were curious to know what the boat would be like and were just
amazed by it’s performance the first time we sailed it. It generated
a lot of interest by others, too.
WEBSITE - Just a reminder to check this valuable resource for news updates
and other info. Mike Teets does a great job maintaining it for the benefit
of all of us - Thanks, Mike!
MYSTERE 5.0 - The boat that Yves brought down for all the interested 4.3
owners and others to see and sail was going to go back to Montreal at the
end of the season if not sold. Good news! It remains in the U.S. looking
for a good home south of the border. It will be sold with the regular 5.0
size spinnaker for only $5400 including the delivery. Compare that to $7800
for a new Hobie 16 (no spinnaker or delivery). If you want a bigger, faster
boat like the 4.3 with room for the whole family, this is a great choice.
First come, first served. BTW, it will not be the only Mystere 5.0 south
of the border next year!
TRIP TO MYSTERE - In November Carol and I went to Montreal even though we
did not have to return the 5.0 to the Mystere plant. We decided it was worth
going to talk with Yves, bring him Jamie’s hull for analysis, bring
back a free replacement hull to Jamie, get six new spinnakers, get a new
mainsail for Connie Attard, and learn what was new. The six spinnakers were
earned by those who sailed at least seven regattas during the season and
are now made out of silicone impregnated cloth, a big improvement, especially
for use in snuffer systems because of the reduction in friction during hoisting
and retrieval. BTW, someone will have the first pink spinnaker in the fleet
next year. Our trip was fast and easy - getting through customs was no trouble
with our “kayak” on the roof rack (well, that’s what they
called it so why bother to correct them?). Yves spent his time with us exclusively
while we were there which was much appreciated because it is obviously a
very busy place. He continues to provide more support for U.S. Mystere owners
than any manufacturer I have ever even heard of in 25 years of racing. One
interesting thing we saw there was a Mystere Twister (an F-18 boat) with
a dagger board in one hull and a centerboard in the other; built especially
for the Paris, France boat show to show both board types using only the
(very expensive) floor space of one boat.
2002 USSA YOUTH CATAMARAN CHAMPIONSHIP - The Mystere 4.3 has been selected
as the cat used for this prestigious regatta! There are plans to bring twenty
new 4.3s to the event to be held at Port Clinton Yacht Club in early July.
Naturally they will be very attractively priced and will be available for
purchase with delivery immediately following the event. Of course it would
be best for existing owners if we could sell all of them in this same area
so that we can build the class and have more to race with. Here is your
chance to get friends and family a great deal on a fast and fun cat. I will
provide more details as they are determined but at least this time you are
already familiar with the quality and value of the boat. After allowing
the existing owners “first dibs” to find owners for these new
boats, at some point in time they will be available outside the area if
there are any remaining, so Please get the word out!
MYSTERE CHAMPIONSHIPS - Mystere used to hold annual championships for all
classes but they had lapsed for a couple years. Then last summer Yves revived
them on fairly short notice. This year planning has already started on the
2002 regatta and Carol and I plan to attend. They will almost certainly
be held in Canada, and probably near Montreal. We hope to get some of you
to attend also. We have already generated interest in the 4.3 up there so
it would be great to get a number of U.S. 4.3 racers to show them how much
fun the boat is at the championship regatta. As soon as we learn of any
details we will pass them along so that you can make plans to go!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS - Enjoy the winter and make plans to go sailing early and
often in 2002!