TIGHT LINES
MAKING WAVES
with Andrew Spencer
So it's the Fourth of July again, which means it's kind of like a warm-weather Christmas with a patriotic twist to it. It's the time of year when we're all grateful for all of those brave men and women who fight and die for our country. Serving in the armed forces is, to my mind, the single bravest thing a young man or woman can do today, and my hat is off to those brave enough to answer the call of duty. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have, will and currently do serve our country.

There are also those among us who serve their communities in different ways. Elected officials, case in point, aren't necessarily on the front lines of wars being fought overseas, but they certainly endure their fair share of slings and arrows. One such gentleman, who I have the pleasure of knowing quite well, is our own Chairman of the Nantucket Board of Selectmen, Whitey Willauer.

I've known Whitey pretty much since birth. My birth, that is, not his. He's a couple years my senior, but that's not so much the issue here. What's important to keep in mind is that Whitey is a public servant of the highest caliber. And just like any public servant worth talking about, Whitey works long and hard to make the world a better place. And if I do say so myself, he does a pretty good job at it. Anyone who lives on Nantucket knows that being a selectman is no easy gig, and being the Chairman of the Board adds a whole new degree of difficulty. But Whitey pulls it off with a level of panache that I find inspiring.

If you encounter boats that look like these, watch your wake.

Okay. Enough with pumping up Whitey's ego. Let's talk about Whitey the non-selectman. As I said, I know Whitey pretty well, and I spend a fair amount of time with him serving as part of his crew during weekly sailboat races. There's nothing quite like being with a man on the race course to really find out what makes him tick. And to find out what really ticks him off. Whitey, though, is a pretty cool customer.

For example, the typical start of a sailboat race involves a lot of screaming, usually a fair amount of profanity and more than a few adrenalin-arousing close calls. When somebody cuts you off, you verbally go after them, their crew and their mother. Whitey, though, is a cucumber, and a polite cucumber at that. When Ted Kennedy (who was, ironically enough, Whitey's backup on the Milton Academy football team back in the day) once tried to cut him off at the start of a race, Whitey calmly remarked, "Senator, you can't do that, sir." Cool as a genteel watermelon, boys and girls. Ice water in those veins.

But there's one thing that'll set him off like none other, and that's people who disrupt his racing. And you know who among us is the chief culprit of disrupting sailboat races?

That's right, kids. It's we anglers in our boats.

So starboard has right-of-way over port, and leeward has right-of-way over windward. But where's the segue fit into all of this?

Power boats leave a wake, and the size of that wake is directly related to the size of the engines on the back of the boat. There are those out there who think it's kind of funny to throw a huge wake at a little Sunfish and watch the poor person on the boat get all bug-eyed when they see the waves. There are also those who think it's funny to play games with the kid behind the wheel of the "student driver" car. Let's just say that neither is that funny when you're on the receiving end, so take it easy out there. Think safety - both for yourself and for those on the water around you.

With the Fourth of July upon us, there are going to be increasing numbers of sailboats out on the water. Remember that those boats can't stop on a dime like your center console Grady White, and they can't accelerate quite the same way, either. So ease back on the throttle and give the sailors their room. It's a big ocean, and it's a lot easier to power a motorboat around the outside of a race course than it is to steer a sailboat through the wake left behind by twin 250s.

How can you tell if sailboats are racing? The easiest way to tell is if you hear a lot of four-letter words being hurled across the water. Lots of cussing going on? Chances are they're racing. Alternatively, if you see a bunch of sailboats heading more-or-less in the same direction towards a big orange tetrahedron, they're racing. Now, if you cut through the course, it creates a pretty major disturbance in the water. Remember that headache Obi-Wan Kenobi got in Star Wars from the major disturbance in the Force? Same deal, only it's worse when you're racing, because we're not getting George Lucas-style money. And just as a heads-up, the main racing areas are in the Chord of the Bay and the Head of the Harbor, Saturdays and Sundays. Yeah, yeah. Prime fishing spots during prime fishing times. I'm not asking you to do cold fusion in a jar. Just be courteous and steer around the course. Much obliged.

It's a big ocean, friends and neighbors, and we can all be friendly and neighborly if we just understand one another. Let's start with a couple of introductions and see if we can find some common ground. Sailors, these are anglers. Anglers, these are sailors. Now what say we all get together and make fun of those guys in the funny pants out on the golf course.

Now that's common ground, kids.

Tight lines. I