[Rhodes22-list] Re: the official Annapolis Rhodes 22 Show Report

[Chris Geankoplis]

Oh Stan,
            Thanks so much for the story......You made my day!

Chris-far-away-from-Annapolis-G
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "stan" <stan at rhodes22.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Cc: "stan" <stan at rhodes22.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2006 9:40 AM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Re: the official Annapolis Rhodes 22 Show Report



          The Show started on a balmy note as Art and I motored into our
rented slip and raised the mast just outside the show entrance in time to
beat a radical weather change.  Five days later we are happy to report a
successful show, a wiser and older crew and a safe at home call - after a
series of offensive and defensive errors.

          As the only surviving charter exhibitor still showing a 22 foot
sailboat at the greatest sailboat show on earth, we had been given a gold
badge on the show's 25th anniversary (some many years ago) and invited to an
exclusive party where we were allowed to tell our story:

          For years we had been taking the same space and show biz was good.
One year we came and could not fit into our sacred territory.  I called
Carol, the show manager, and explained the problem.  She explained that we
had fit this space for all these years so we must be cheating and showing a
bigger boat this year.  We explained that we had managed all these years by
projecting into the exhibitor's space in front of us and allowing them to
project into our space and that this year she had put a tented exhibitor in
our projected area and so this year we could not fit.   She explained that
the show was sold out and that we would have to cut 3 feet off the boat and
call it the Rhodes 19.   I explained that there already was a Rhodes 19 and
that, in fact, another exhibitor was showing it at this very same show and
therefore the public would be confused - but not to worry, I would go into
my creative mode and scan the show for a way out.   She gave me one hour to
come up with an ingenious idea and get the boat out of the aisle which, she
explained, the fire department considered a fire lane, or go buy a chain
saw.  I looked up and in 2 seconds saw the solution.
  w
          "Carol" I said, "take that row of toilet booths and put them in
our space and move us into the toilet exhibit".

          "Brilliant" she said, "Maybe you should be managing the show", and
in two seconds a fork lift was lifting the first of the green toilet booths
high into the air, when I noticed the door of the booth starting to open.
Immediately I wanted to shout a warning; what came out was, "Watch that
first step".   Other exhibitors were envious when they saw the crowds at our
exhibit during the show, not realizing the public was lining up to use the
Rhodes head.

          But now Carol, the show owners and all our old friends from the
original show team have passed on and new management, seeing us as the tiny
nothing company we are and nullifying longevity values, put us at the end of
the line, squeeze us in between Catalina and Hunter and take away our free
in-the-water demo space. But not to cry for good old GB - we manage a slip
just outside the show for our demo boat sailing while loyal Rhodies like
Art, Jay, Ed and others are showing up in our doting years to give us a Tom
Sawyer like hand.

          This year it was Art helping the demo boat launching at the
Thruxton Park ramp.  And when we parked the emptied, unsecured trailer
there, I explained I simply remove the 2 extension tongue pins so any
trailer thief would soon find he was pulling a ten foot length of clanking
metal tubing down the street while the falling-behind-trailer was causing a
massive car pile up behind him that would undoubtedly result in his being
called by the court as a witness.

          When we were finally set up to slay the giants, the weather
suddenly turned on us.  It rained, the winds howled and the temperature
convinced us the wizard had moved us to Minnesota.  Nevertheless Art gave
demonstrations - unfortunately, to prospects who already owned Rhodes 22s.
Jay and Art did sell some boats.  Unfortunately, they were not Rhodes.  (I
think Art sold one Catalina and Jay two Hunters.)

          During the show I noticed that Art was explaining the Rhodes swing
keel to prospects.  Now I know for a fact that the Rhodes does not have a
swing keel since every few years I read the promotional material we hand out
at the show. But Art is a smart guy and has not one but two "Rhodes" with
swing keels so they have to be counterfeits.  Or, I must have been remiss in
explaining to owners the difference between the Rhodes combination
keel/centerboards and swing keels.   So let me state right here, if you have
a Rhodes with a swing keel, you do not have a Rhodes, no matter what the
year.

          The last day of the show the weather changed again.  The sun came
out and the temperature rose and the wind died, completely.   This gave us
the excuse to pull out of the war zone before the 5 o'clock massacre when
all sailboats must evaporate to allow the circling motor boats into their
spaces for the US Motor Boat Show.   (You have to see this amazing annual
ritual at least once in your lifetime.)   With Art an Annapolis graduate, I
gave him the job of navigating the boat back to the ramp while I drove the
car there to position the trailer for the retrieval.

          Another instruction booklet failure:   My van has this great
feature of a second hitch, this one on the front bumper so I have this great
view of my retrievals.  I could see Art raising the centerboard in
preparation to motoring onto the submerged trailer, now attached to the
front of my car.  So let me state right here:  With a real Rhodes and a real
Rhodes trailer, you lower the center board before sailing, motoring or
pulling the boat onto its trailer, not raise it.

          Remember the trick of pulling the extension tongue pins to foil a
trailer crook?.  Well, I found the enemy - and he was me.  As I backed up
the ramp to pull the rig out of the water, the boat and trailer stayed put
and the 10 foot extension bar came out of the water just as easy as can be.
I sat there and watched the entire foiled heist.  My first fear was that,
now detached from the van, the boat and trailer would roll down the ramp.
And, while the boat floats, trailers generally do not.  And once off the end
of the ramp our only Thruxton Park trailer would join the Chesapeake ship
grave yard.  And, sure enough, the rig started to move down the ramp!
Then, a miracle, the law of gravity was repealed, long enough for Art to
jump in the water, Gucci shoes and all and hang on for dear life; a miracle
to give me pause to raise my faith one notch, from atheist to Brad's
category.  I quickly recovered from that lapse and jumped out of the van and
cleverly disconnected the trailer winch strap from the boat and attached it
to the car and started to winch the boat back up the ramp - and got punished
for jumping faith by the fabric strap parting in the water and a drowning
Art again having to hold on for dear life.

          Art then got the brilliant idea that the trailer would be a lot
lighter if we floated the boat back off it.   So we tied a line to the car
and backed the rig deeper into the water and relieved the trailer of the
boat load.   With some miner engineering feats and submerged jacks, we got
the run-a-way tongue back into the trailer sockets and eventually got the
boat out of the water.  Besides shoes, I think the only casualties were some
landside watchers deciding that buying a sailboat was not for them.

          It is all relative.  Up to now things were going relatively
smoothly.   Outside a-by-now dark Washington DC, just before the new Potomac
River bridge where the shoulders disappear, on highly utilized, high speed
I-95, the trailer bounced off the hitch ball.   Someone had forgotten to
tighten the coupler's locking knob.   You do not want to hear the rest of
this story but when it was all cleared up and I asked the Maryland Highway
crew chief what I owed for the wonderful service, the graceful response was,
"Nothing.  Just get out of my state".

          Virginia State Route 460, for the first time in my experience,
suddenly ended with a barricade.  If I had known then it was merely because
of flooding, having a boat, I would have gone for it instead of taking the
hour and a half detour.   Actually I would have enjoyed seeing the new-to-me
rural countryside detour - if it were not so dark and I wasn't driving in my
sleep.

          As I learned to chant as a kid growing up in Brooklyn and rooting
for the those bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers, "Wait til next Year".   I think I
got it down pat now.

          To Art, Jay, Mary Lou, Michael, the Greens and all the other
Rhodies who showed up at the show to lie about the boat to all those
prospects who braved the elements, many thanks.

  stan
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