“On ne saurait faire d'omelette sans casser des œufs”, or so the French would have us believe, but have you ever noticed that when you do crack some eggs to make an omelette, the yokes invariably remain perfectly formed until you whisk them up. However, should you crack the shell with the intention of making a fried egg, you can bet your life that the yoke will be mutilated, thus ruining the appearance of your breakfast. Whether this law originates with Murphy or Sod is a moot point but I assure you I can testify to its veracity. What’s he going on about now, I hear you say.

Well, I am making an attempt to provide an introduction to the fact that February’s newsletter co-incides with Shrove Tuesday, so not omelettes, admittedly, but pancakes most definitely. I am assuming that you have all answered the call of the ‘pancake bell’ and that you are well and truly shriven. On the subject of sinning, quite a few Laser sailors felt the need to absolve themselves of guilt after a very hairy race in the Perisher series. If you’re interested, you can find out more by reading the race report on our in-house web-site.

You can also find detailed results of the four races that have been sailed so far. Below, you will see printed a list of the top ten sailors after discards have been activated. The duel between Mike and Jon looks like it is going to be a close one but let’s hope it isn’t as close as last Sunday’s, (Feb. 21^st)! Read the report for further information.

Here’s a question for you. How many of the top ten listed above did not capsize during last Sunday’s race? (Clue: 36 kts. gust recorded!). I know that at least one person didn’t, but I think you’ll be surprised at some of the names that don’t make the list.

By the end of February, we will have allocated duties, (as requested so to do by the club, i.e. 2 duties per boat for every boat that is in the yard or has entered a series). They will then be placed on Dutyman by the ‘powers that be’, (not us!). Those of you that sent us your preferences should be able to see that we have managed to meet them pretty much 100%. Those people that didn’t do this have been slotted in where there were gaps to be filled. Please remember that it is your responsibility to arrange any alterations to those printed duties.

I’m writing this on the night before the AGM and the fleet’s Annual Prize Giving and dinner. By the time you read this, both will be over. If you’ve attended both, I’m sure you feel a little slippage on your Lenten promises will be forgiven. The following story might well be of use to male members of the fleet who have female partners to consider:

“A man found a bottle washed ashore. When he opened it, to his surprise a genie popped out. He granted the man three wishes. The man wished for a million pounds, and poof! There was a million pounds. Then he wished for the new Aston Martin, and poof! There it was. Finally, he wished he could be irresistible to all women....poof! He turned into a box of chocolates!”

Sail fast and fair,

Ann & John
Commanding Officer and Dog Robber

p.s. Not long now before I can write a bit more about sailing!