Ahoy there, fellow sailors! We’re thrilled to unfurl a brand-new addition to our club Mainsheet: “Did You Know”— your passport to the hidden gems, quirky facts, and essential rules that keep our sailing community shipshape and spirited. Whether you’re a seasoned skipper, a curious crew member, or just getting your sea legs, this column is here to sprinkle a dash of fun onto the finer points of club life.

Each issue, we’ll steer you through a sea of need-to-knows, from the mysteries of our club to essential information, and even those little rules that keep us all tacking in harmony. Think of it as your friendly navigation chart to being not just a good sailor, but a great clubmate!

So, hoist your curiosity and get ready to learn a treasure trove of facts and tips. Who knows? The next “Did You Know” could make you the star of the next post-race gathering.

Did you know?

Did you know GMSC has 65 privately held slips and another 10 leased slips over at SOCO Harbor? This infrastructure helps us serve roughly 200 members in the club!

As a reminder, our club has a unique structure whereby GMSC grants members the ability to purchase the right to use a slip (aka privately held slips).

Here’s a fun fact: If you’ve got a privately held slip at GMSC, hang onto your slip as long as you want – just follow the club’s rules and you’re golden.

Thinking of Selling? Don’t Sail Off Just Yet!

Before you set course to sell your slip, give GMSC a shout (preferably not by carrier pigeon—email or a friendly wave to the docks chairman or commodore works!). Remember, all slip trades and transfers need a hearty thumbs-up from the board before it’s official. It’s called the “First Right of Refusal”—which basically means the club gets dibs to say “aye” or “nay” first.

Your Dockside Doubts, Answered!

Any questions? Don’t try sending smoke signals. Just contact our dock chairman, David Nigus, who’s more helpful than a compass on a foggy night.

• Hang onto your slip as long as you want—just follow the rules!
• Board approval is required for all slip moves. No sneaky pirate deals!
• Notify the commodore and docks chairman before selling or transferring your slip, to ensure consideration for people on the waiting list.
• If you want to sell, be sure to list boats/slips on the Classified Ads - Grande Maumelle Sailing Club so everyone interested is in the know! Need the instructions? It’s easy - see here: Classified Ads - Grande Maumelle Sailing Club
• Got questions? David Nigus is your dockside guru.

Grande Maumelle to Host First-Ever “Le Mans sur Maumelle” Keelboat Race

The Grande Maumelle Sailing Club (GMSC) will break new ground on Sunday, October 12, with the debut of a pursuit-style keelboat race unlike anything in the club’s history. Dubbed Le Mans sur Maumelle, the event blends the excitement of a staggered start with a 17.5-mile course that sends crews on a full lap around Lake Maumelle.

In true “Le Mans” fashion, the race begins with boats docked, sails down or furled, engines off, and no crew aboard. At the sound of the start horn, sailors will scramble aboard, cast off lines, and raise sail before crossing the start/finish line at the T-Dock. From there, they’ll head east to round the island near the dam, west toward the bridge, and back to the finish — with slower boats leaving first and faster boats chasing them down.

The format is designed to make finish times tighter and competition fierce. “The beauty of a pursuit race,” says event coordinator James Corriveau, “is that, in theory, everyone could be rounding that last mark together. It’s a real test of tactics and boat handling.”

All active and past A and B Fleet keelboats are invited, with registration required by October 6 to secure a start time. Late entries may still race but will start last regardless of handicap. This is a free event for members, and at least one crew member from each boat must attend the 10:00 a.m. skippers’ meeting to review start times, course details, and safety reminders.

The course will demand both speed and strategy. Depth and underwater hazards mean crews will need to navigate smartly, giving wide berth to Jim’s Island and other shallow areas. Communications will run on VHF channel 72, and self-reporting finishes will keep the event running smoothly. After the first three non-protested boats cross the line, the race will be called.

Prizes will go to the top three finishers, but for many, the draw will be the format itself — a mix of friendly rivalry, split-second decisions, and the thrill of seeing whether the handicaps really do make for a photo-finish.

Full race details, including start procedures, course map, and safety guidelines, are posted in the official Notice of Race on the GMSC website.

Race Day at a Glance

• Date: Sunday, October 12, 2025
• 10:00 a.m. – Competitors’ meeting (mandatory)
• 11:00 a.m. – First start signal (slower boats)
• ~12:04 p.m. – Last scheduled start
• Finish – After first three boats finish, race will be called

GMSC members can register online or by contacting Yates Phillips or James Corriveau.

People join our club for many different reasons. The lure of sailing, desire for a social group, competition, or just to hang-out. Many of our members are destined to join, me included. They are legacies, they had been on the fringes for a while like Max, or they have friends or family members.  Their membership is valued, but not unanticipated.

Then there are others. People that drop out of the sky, like a gift and make an immediate impact. These are the bonus members, lagniappe if you like. They sometimes are transferred with their jobs or arrive here by unlikely circumstances and find their way to the club. I have known all these people and I would like you to know of them. I would like to use this column to introduce you or remind you of some of the extraordinary individuals that have been members of our club. Please keep in mind that my narrative for some is from the perspective of a child and with all children’s accounts, they may not be completely accurate but will be completely honest. Even more so with this person as he left when I was still young, about 17 years old. All have had a huge positive impact on GMSC, and all were people that “just came along.” 

Introducing…. Tom Richards.

Tom Richards was known as “Big Tom”. He was not big, standing at about 4’11”, but to me he was huge. That little man could fill a room with his larger-than-life presence, and unwavering confidence.  His cigar chewing strut down the dock assured you he was king of the roost, a sailor’s sailor.

Tom was different, he was from a big city and he had been to real “yacht clubs” before. I believe it was Frito-Lay that transferred him from the Chicago area to Little Rock. How he found his way out to the club circa 1965 I don’t know, but he knew how to sail, and he let you know.

A Thistle sailor, he had been to the “Whale of a Sail” in Illinois, and to Thistle Nationals in places like Sandusky and Cleveland, big cities! He was determined to bring this backwoods club into the big time with his knowledge and experience, along with Thistles –according to him, a real boat. I believe this is his legacy, and it came at a vital time for our little club. We certainly needed the wisdom of someone who had been around as we were admittedly just feeling our way along. He had a big impact on our “test regatta” in 1967 and also on the real thing, the 1968 Y Flyer National Championship. It was Tom Richards that, I believe, who inaugurated us as a regional sailing club, not just a local Sunday racing place.

As a sailor he was good and he enjoyed teaching and sharing his knowledge. He gave seminars and classes to adults and juniors and was adamant that we travel to out-of-town regattas. Tom’s insistence that we travel had more impact on improving our level of sailing than anything else. His statements like, “if you’re gonna grow, you got to go,” and “you never get good until you get off your own pond” are certainly true and ring home today. He also said that, “to get someone to come to your regatta, you have to go to theirs,” and I subscribe to that theory still. This attitude was exactly what our club needed at the time! (Still does)

Of course, another great thing Tom brought to the club was his wife and three boys. Barbara Richards was one of the first Shirley Rush award winners and a wonderful lady. His three sons were good sailors and truth be known, were probably better than Big Tom as they got older. They were stalwarts of the Sunfish fleet and their names grace the champions’ plaque in the clubhouse.  His oldest, Bill became a designer for Pearson Yachts.

To me Big Tom was more than an important member of the club; he was a real mentor figure. He liked the enthusiasm in me and fostered my love of regatta travel that I have today. He took me to San Diego for Thistle Nationals in 1974, and numerous regattas around the area. I owe him for that. Tom left the club in a bit of a huff, and while I was too young to understand the situation I did see an old letter my father wrote to him encouraging him, unsuccessfully, to stay. Although his family came to the 50th reunion party, he did not and I missed seeing him. Sadly, Big Tom passed away just recently . He brought our club into a bigger limelight and willed us to be better sailors, traveling sailors. And yet, with this huge impact he was a guy who just “came along” one day.

Please welcome our new members! 

New associate members:

• Michael Lewellyn
• Jeffrey Vong
• Daniel & Shelby Robinson and family

Other Updates:

• Eric Peterson has sold his Pearson 27 and slip B10 to member Jeffrey Jurciukonis and will downgrade to an associate member.
• Mike Walloch & Sonia Picado will downgrade to an associate family membership.
• Steve Burnett has purchased a Catalina 25 & slip C12 from Daniel Lemoine and will upgrade to a regular member.

We lost two long-time members who passed away recently

Norman Hynes owned the Morgan 27 currently owned by Bill Greene.  Obituary can be found here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/loren-hynes-obituary?id=58776610

Dudley Meadows also passed away.  Dudley owned the Catalina 25 on A Dock.  His obituary can be found here: https://www.smithfamilycares.com/obituaries/charles-meadows-jr

We say farewell to the following members: Daniel Lemoine, Robert Norvell, Daniel & Vanessa White, Andy Huss, Mary Depper,  Brett Trelfa & family,  & Rodrigo Almeida & family

Additional keelboat slip activities:

• Mark Hallquist has purchased slip A13 from Kent Wood.
• Tom Davis has purchased a J24 from Sara Hartness
• Jerry Carter has purchased slip A14 from Steve Gray.
• Phillip Warriner has purchased the Alerion 26 and slip C9 from Travis Thompson.
• Brett Trelfa sold his slip, D20, to Kirt Simmons.
• JP Paul has purchased slip C14 from GMSC.

Have you purchased a new boat or sold your boat?  PLEASE update the website (membership database) and let the membership chair, Tracy Sykes, know. Thank you!

Have you checked out our MarketPlace lately -  Classified Ads - Grande Maumelle Sailing Club. 

Do you want to sell your boat or slip or any equipment?  If so, please list it in our Classified Ads section.  It is a WIN / WIN!  GMSC gets quite a bit of traffic.  The more traffic we get, the more visibility our club gets. Which is a good thing.  And, it might just help you find a buyer faster!

All slip transactions must be approved by the GMSC board of directors BEFORE taking place, but feel free to use the classifieds and share the links on Facebook.