CYC Home
By Bruce Sherman
CYC Commodore
If you've never volunteered for race committee and seen our PROs at work, you have a treat in store. Charley Rathkopf and Kevin Cunningham are masters of detail, organization and quick thinking, and they probably run as many races as anyone in the country.
So it should come as no surprise that this year's Whidbey Island Race Week, for which Rathkopf orchestrated the racing July 12 - 17 in Oak Harbor, was a great success on the water. With the exception of the first day, when the wind never appeared, the regatta featured sunshine, great wind and, of course, excellent race management.
"Charley was awesome," said Race Week promoter Gary Stuntz. " Everything went very smoothly."
Charley Rathkopf, in the front row holding daughter Grace, and his Whidbey Island crew with CYC's YC V in Oak harbor
Rathkopf is quick to give credit to his group of whaler drivers, scorers and volunteers, all who wore this year's race week staff uniform Hawaiian shirts.
"The people are the biggest thing - it's like being on a sailboat," Rathkopf said. "If you have a good crew things go smoother. "Everyone except Grace (Rathkopf's and his wife Schelleen's eight-month-old daughter) had done this before."
Rathkopf has been the Whidbey PRO for six years. He was an assistant three years before that and drove a Whaler for a year before that.
He takes a staff of 15 people to Race Week and says he starts assembling the team six months ahead of time.
Aside from his people, Rathkopf credits Stuntz's hands-off approach, which makes the PRO's job much easier.
"There used to be a lot more pressure to get in so they could start the party," Rathkopf said. "Now, if the wind is up, we stay out and get more races in."
Having a second committee boat on the water to finish PHRF boats, a practice Stuntz initiated when he took over Race Week in 2008, has helped cut confusion that occurred when starting and finishing boats at the same time.
And Rathkopf had nothing but good things to say about his whaler drivers. "They are the best in deep water, and they love Penn Cove. It is less than a hundred feet deep which is cake for them."
Rathkopf's staff at Race Week included:
YC V. Schelleen Rathkopf, timing, boat boss and mom; Stan Butchart, flags; Rebecca Law, placards and one-design finishes; Garron Billock, placards and line; Grace and Arden Rathkopf, Charley and Schelleen's kids.
Finish Boat. Catherine Picha, score keeper; Joyce Butchart and Lorraine Carter, finish scribes; Skip Anderson, finish sight and DRO (deputy race officer); Avis Barney, finish fleet checker.
Peg Johnson, one of our associate members and a frequent and appreciated volunteer, suggested a great addition to the web page recently: a link to a live web cam on the roof of the Shilshole clubhouse. First, we'd need the cam, so please contact me if you have the expertise to set one up and the wherewithal to donate the camera and associated gear. Imagine sitting in your office chair and seeing that carpet filling in from the north.
Another possibility for a would-be donor: We've spent quite a bit of time and money over the last couple of years sprucing up our committee boats and Whalers. I've heard several people suggest that it's also time to spruce up our PROs and Whaler drivers. Responding to my request for a quote, local SLAM rep Pat Dore is willing to provide us six full sets of matching foul-weather gear for deeply discounted price of $1,455.
See you on the water.