Once again, Wednesday night sailboat racing is back in Oyster Bay. The racing is sponsored by The Sagamore Yacht Club, and is open to anyone who wants to come out and sail. Last Wednesday was the first race of the season. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, at 6 p.m., the skies went from cloudy to clear, with a full moon over Cove Neck.

There are three divisions, with three separate starts, so that racers of different sailing levels can start together. The first to start are the less experienced racers. This helps when you are learning the rules concerning right of way. The start of a sail boat race is where all of the action is, with everyone jockeying for the best position over the starting line. Many races are won or lost immediately at the start. The next division to start, are the more experienced and aggressive racers. This division will often use the racing rules of "right of way" to put you in a bad position at the start. Last to start, is the spinnaker group. These sailors will use the large spinnaker sails while racing. They need experienced crew to handle these beautiful and often colorful sails. There is always a lot of action when these sails are raised or lowered as the racers go around a mark.

Even though we own our own boat, like many other boat owners, we prefer to crew on someone else's boat, than to race together on our own boat. We have two reasons for this. One reason is that our boat is set up for cruising, not racing. The other reason is the one that all of our friends get a big kick out of. On our boat, we are co-captains, which is fine when we are out cruising for the weekend. But when you are racing, there is no time to debate, which is what co-captains will often do. Good friends of ours, Gary and Bernice Garson, have another way of handling two co-captains. Gary is the captain, while Bernice is the admiral.

We also enjoy racing against each other. We sail on two separate boats, Shelley-Sue on Moxie, a 38' Hinckley, and Bob on Commanche, a 35' Beneteau. Crewing on separate boats makes for a little friendly competition, twice the amount of fun, and twice the amount of stories each week.

Wednesday night, Bob was guest crew on Jack Bernstein's boat, Luff Story, a 31' Tartan. Luff Story was beat pretty soundly by Moxie, and overall winner Fearless Frog. The good thing about sailing with Jack, who is a local attorney, is that the race isn't over until it's over. Back at the bar, for the after race discussions, Jack was able to prove that Moxie and Fearless Frog had made an error during the race, and that his boat, Luff Story actually won the race on a technicality.

Everyone is welcome to race and to stop down at the Sagamore clubhouse after the race. Fiddleheads will be providing food service at Sagamore on Wednesday nights, so feel free to stop down and to see what the fuss is all about.

Bob and Shelley-Sue Williams can be reached at swpny@aol.com