BLISS 1999

August 13-14th, 1999

Essex Island Marina, Essex, CT.        

Newsletter Summary

The second annual BLISS 99 rendezvous was held at Essex Island Marina, Essex, CT. on August 13-15, 1999. 28 boats attended in less than ideal weather conditions. The summer long Northeast drought chose that weekend to break, with rain, fog and generally less-than-desirable conditions for the event. Island Packet owners, however, proved of hardy stock and did not let this deter them from a good time.  Over 90 people attended, including those sailing to the event, their guests, packeteers who drove, and sponsors.

Essex Island Marina is about 7 miles up the Connecticut River from the Saybrook Breakwater.  A typical boat would wait for the railroad bridge to open (10-15 minutes), sweat a little while making sure their mast would clear the I-95 bridge, (there is plenty of clearance), and then buck the 3 knot current in the river for about 40 minutes or so. There is some shoaling on the river, so caution was required.

On Friday night, the “Pot Luck” supper was held. As usual, people outdid themselves with salad, entrée, and dessert donations. Our tent, while “cozy” at times, did hold the people needed, and kept us dry for dinner. Post the dinner, seminars were held on anchor riding sails and tuning an Island Packet’s rigging.

One of the more “vocal” sessions was held by Dick Waterhouse on “Backing up your reluctant Island Packet”. Many Island Packet owners have come from boats with fin keels or having different handling characteristics and they were looking forward to insights on boat characteristics and tight quarters handling. Dick’s message was basically one of “use your engine”. Don’t be afraid to use the power at your disposal as well as the natural tendency of the screw to turn the boat. While Dick did not answer everyone’s questions (this author was pretty much told he needed to find a new slip for his boat), it did give people some help. Everyone expressed interest in following up on this theme next year.

The “kids vs factory” tug of war was held with Karsten Johnson holding his own, but eventually succumbing to relentless kid effort and a soaking unlike any other in rendezvous history. Fortunately Karsten had a change of clothes nearby. In the end, the kids prevailed, and gave their rallying cry for next year: “Bring on Bill Bolin!”.

Packet Pet pictures were taken on Saturday, and it was clear that dogs make fine sailors based on the turnout.  Jack Levitsky took honors for the most well trained sailing partner, with others an honorable mention.

The annual lobster/clambake was held on Saturday night. Once again, the heavens smiled upon the rendezvous by holding off the rain until late that evening. While we had the tent for dinner, charcoal tends to burn less effectively in the rain and we were concerned about cooking and socializing. These fears proved unwarranted however, as our “weather subcommittee” managed to keep the rain away until after dinner.

Bruce Gregory was back as chief of chefs and once again orchestrated a fine meal for all. Lobster, clams, mussels, sausage wrapped in fish as well as steaks, chicken , salads and corn were provided. Sean Buckley and George Betancourt served as assistant chefs in the dinner and our thanks go to them for a fine job as well.

Once the coffee was served, the annual BLISS prize drawings were held. Our sponsors were particularly generous this year, with everything from hand held electronics to flags being given away.

George Betancourt was rewarded for his cooking labors by winning one of the handheld computing devices, and Herb Kuschner somehow lucked into the Island Packet step-plates that he was eyeing all night long and Hampton Smith took home rendezvous prizes again, although not for the “oldest boat” contest he won last year (too easy).

After the meal, after the cake, after the coffee, and after the prizes, we had a talk from Dick Treworgy of Mystic Seaport Museum on stargazing and celestial navigation. Dick competed at times with the wind, rain and occasional lightning bolt, but held the audience’s interest with an interesting history of navigation, navigational aids, and sailing by the stars. At this point is was 10:00PM and some of the group had to catch the last launch back to the mooring field. Slowly the group began to adjourn for the evening, with the die-hards gathering at the tables with the last of the coffee.

Many thanks to those who attended, and many thanks to our sponsors for making this possible. 

BLISS 1999 Group Pictures

BLISS 1999 Dock Pictures

BLISS 1999 Rendezvous Dinner Pictures

BLISS 1999 Event Pictures

BLISS 1999 Publications 

BLISS 1999 Attendees