The 35th (I guessed wrong in a previous post) Cruisers Regatta race around Stocking Island was yesterday, beginning at 10am. Ed and I were walking Luna on the beach around 9:15 or let's say I was walking and he was in the dinghy talking to someone on the VHF handheld radio. I figured he was talking to someone who was asking about the free beer we had advertised on the net earlier that morning, some Shipyard Pumpkinhead that Ed will not drink nor serve to others. I'm not sure why. Our plan was to take the dinghy out to watch the start of the race after Luna had her beach time. As it turns out, Ed was talking to our friend Dennis on s/v Spitfire who invited us to crew on one of the monohulls entered in the race if we could get there immediately. We were totally unprepared to crew for a 3-4 hour race (no water, snacks, sun protection, shoes) so he declined. Minutes later I had him hailing Dennis back to say "OK" for just him to crew and off we sped in the dinghy to Spitfire who we then followed in another dinghy to s/v Island Hopper across the harbor, an Island Packet 38 owned by Rick from NJ. Onboard were two single women in very small bikinis, four single men and Ed. I was invited to join them but wasn't wearing a bikini and therefore felt out of place. Just kidding. It would have been difficult for both of us to crew since we didn't have time to drop Luna off and leave our dinghy somewhere; there was only time enough to deliver Ed. They all had a great time and in fact, won first place in their division. Not bad for a raucous group on a heavy boat! This is Island Hopper as it was passing Skylark, just after a squall hit and about a mile and a half from the finish line. I was on the radio at this point reporting on the order of boats coming down toward the finish. After #22 passed by, I abandoned my unofficial job and raced off with Luna in the dinghy to welcome them back. I hope no one wondered what became of the anonymous radio announcer who took it upon herself to report the order of boats coming down to the final mark. I was a fair-weathered friend whose loyalty was to my team only.