2010 U.S. National Slow Smoking Championships
-
Bob - Jun 15, 2010
- 4 min read
By Bob Tate
Every year, since 2003, the United Pipe Clubs of America (UPCA) hosts the annual U.S. National Slow Smoking Championships at the Chicago Pipe Show. This year it was held on Sunday May 2, 2010 which was the last day of the show. Slow smoking contests are where contestants get together and see who can smoke their pipe the longest with just one light. Once your pipe goes out, you are out of the contest. The last person smoking is the winner and, at the U.S. Championships, is declared the U.S. Champion.
Each year, the contestants are issued a new, unused competition pipe that is made to specific specifications for use in the contest. Each contestant is issued a pipe, 3 grams of tobacco, a tamper, two matches (one for the charring light and one for the true light), and a piece of paper. For the 2010 contest the pipe was an Aldo Morelli line made by Lorenzetti and the tobacco was G.L. Pease Barbary Coast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pipe smokers from all over the world come to the Chicago Pipe Show and compete in the U.S. Slow Smoking Championships. This year, Kevin and I both entered the contest. This was our first ever slow smoking contest and we had no idea what we were doing. We were quite surprised by all of the rules and different ways that you could be disqualified. You can read more about the rules of preparing your pipe for smoking in the contest by clicking here, Smoking Contest Preparation.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The first person out this year was Reggie Stevens from the UK with the time of 8 minutes, 30 seconds. He was awarded the UPCA First Out trophy and a jar with 1,000 matches in it to keep his next pipe lit.
Second place went to Steven van Puyvelde (Steven) from Belgium with the time of 1 hour, 9 minutes, 28 seconds. He received a Northern Briars pipe made by Ian Walker.
First place, and the 2010 U.S. National Champion is Raymond Lykins (Birmingham0irish) from Alabama, U.S.A. with the time of 1 hour, 11 minutes, 29 seconds. Along with his trophies and Bonfiglioli Pipes Plaque,he received a Le Nuvole pipe.
Everyone who competed in the competition received a prize. The prizes ranged from lighters, all the way to pipes. Kevin received an 8oz tin of Sutliff Private Stock Sunrise Smoke and I received a Savinelli 2009 U.S. Competition Pipe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is the complete list of the 2010 U.S. National Slow Smoking Competition results:
1. Raymond Lykins 1h 11m 29s
2. Steven van Puyvelde 1h 9m 28s
3. John Hamilton 1h 7m 48s
4. Red Hat 1h 4m 58s
5. Chris Slater 1h 4m 45s
6. Tom Pfaeffle 1h 01m 10s
7. Roy Fazalare 0h 59m 02s
8. Fat Max 0h 56m 52s
9, Martin Bader 0h 53m 41s
10. Pierre Pams 0h 53m 28s
11. Brad Berard 0h 53m 15s
12. Doc Garr 0h 50m 24s
13. Craig Watness 0h 48m 22s
14. Buddy Winemiller 0h 48m 14s
15. Mike Rothenberger 0h 47m 31s
16. Jackie Craen 0h 46m 44s
17. Robert Vacher 0h 45m 18s
18. Burt Brown 0h 44m 30s
19. Terri Weist 0h 43m 55s
20. John Warner 0h 42m 11s
21. Lou Carbone 0h 42m 00s
22. Jeff Weiner 0h 41m 10s
23. Aaron Harris 0h 41m 08s
24. Andrei Knotko 0h 40m 41s
25. Dom Anticev 0h 40m 30s
26. Joe Molieri 0h 39m 38s
27. Hank Saatchi 0h 38m 31s
28. Lev Vasilyev 0h 37m 18s
29. Bob Tate 0h 36m 36s
30. Manduela 0h 36m 24s
31. Alain Letulier 0h 33m 25s
32. Kyle Southern 0h 32m 45s
33. Curtis Ellis 0h 31m 55s
34. Jim McFadden 0h 31m 41s
35. Jim Lissner 0h 31m 34s
36. Bill Miller 0h 30m 49s
37. Ian Walker 0h 30m 03s
38. Rickey Harris 0h 29m 45s
39. Martin Vollmer 0h 28m 45s
40. Antoine Grenard 0h 28m 30s
41. Mike Keilty 0h 27m 46s
42. Jaden Hewlen 0h 26m 19s
43. Craig Cobine 0h 25m 54s
44. Steve Greathouse 0h 25m 44s
45. Nathan Harris 0h 25m 42s
46. Craig Norris 0h 23m 43s
47. Tom Dinelli 0h 22m 58s
48. Greg Kowalczyk 0h 22m 18s
49. Tony Pascual 0h 22m 15s
50. Jotham Tausig 0h 21m 19s
51. Harry Malin 0h 21m 08s
52. Kevin Godbee 0h 20m 28s
53. Milton Strasburg 0h 11m 41s
54. Reggie Stevens 0h 08m 30s
When we first signed up for the contest, we initially thought that it would just be something fun to do while covering the contest. But once we actually started the contest, and lasted longer than one minute, we started to become serious about it. Once Kevin saw that he was not the first person out, he became super serious and I couldn’t even coax one word from him. He just stared straight ahead and was concentrating on his pipe. It was a great time and we had a blast. If you have never competed in a slow smoking contest, make sure that you enter the next available one that you are able to attend. You will have a great time!
Written by Bob
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 619. Our featured interview tonight is with Corey Hays. Corey is a 26-year old pipe smoker that is part of our ongoing series of pipe smokers that are under the age of 30. He is from Mississippi and has never lived more than 20-minutes away from The Country Squire Tobacconist. He was influenced to smoke a pipe by reading J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and 20th Century American History. He has been smoking pipes for three years. At the top of the show, Brian will have a tobacco review of a special tobacco that you could only get a pipe show.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 618. Our featured interview tonight is with AJ Khaled. AJ is a 22-year old pipe smoker that is part of our ongoing series of pipe smokers that are under the age of 30. Interestingly, he wasn’t initially inspired to take up the pipe by The Lord of the Rings, but more so by the author Tolkien himself while he was reading some of his other works. AJ has some really unique custom made pipes where he gave design specifics to and had them made by pipe makers Chris Askwith and Arcangelo Ambrosi. At the top of the show, we’ll have an “Ask the Pipemaker” segment with pipe artisan Jeff Gracik.
The other day, I was having a conversation with a friend about tobacco moisture. He tends to believe that a freshly opened tin presents the blender’s notion of the ideal moisture content for that tobacco, and that’s how it should be smoked. He’s not wrong, but as with so many things in our wacky world, it’s a little more complicated than that. When thinking about ideal moisture content for any specific tobacco, there are criteria for determining “correct” levels that can sometimes be at odds with one another. The proper moisture content for packaging tobacco, for instance, may not be the ideal moisture for smoking it. By way of background, let’s have a very brief and simplified look at the life of our beloved leaves once they’ve left the curing barns. Whole leaves or strips, the lamina of the leaves with the midrib removed, are boxed or baled quite dry for storage and transport. Before the tobacco can be worked, it has to be conditioned to a moisture level that allows it to be handled without shattering. There are various ways to accomplish this, but the end result is leaf that is pliable and easily manipulated without breaking. It can then be pressed into soft cakes that are cut into ribbons, or blended in stacks destined to be turned into plugs or flakes. At this point, it’s too moist to be considered “finished,” and has to go through a redrying stage. Since all of these steps may take place over a matter of months, or even years, tobacco can go through several conditioning/redrying cycles before it becomes the finished product. When it’s time to package a blend, the moisture level of the tobacco may have to be adjusted once again. If it’s too damp, there’s an increased risk of mold blooms, either within the sealed tin, or when spores are introduced after the tin is opened. This is never a good thing, so there’s a fairly hard upper limit to how much moisture is acceptable at this stage. If the leaf is too dry, on the other hand, things get troublesome in a different way. Dry, fragile tobacco can break into small fragments, even to the point of some of the leaf turning to dust during handling when packing the tins, and when those tins are jostled about during transport. This, again, is not ideal, establishing a lower limit for moisture content. Then, there’s the tobacco’s potential for aging to be considered. In order for these biological and chemical changes to take place, there has to be enough moisture to support the metabolic processes of the microorganisms involved in the various stages of fermentation that begin once the tin is sealed, and to allow for equilibration of various volatile byproducts of those processes. Finally, within the relatively wide window of upper- and lower-boundary conditions, there’s the moisture level for best smokability to be considered. That’s where things can get a little tricky. Different smokers have different preferences, and this is confounded by the fact that different types of tobaccos behave differently when their relative moisture content changes. To my palate, mixtures containing high percentages of latakia or oriental tobaccos generally tend to smoke and taste their best when on the dry side, while blends that predominantly comprise Virginia tobaccos like a bit more moisture to bring out their sweetness. But, this is a very general guideline, and I often find exceptions. Sometimes the same tobacco can be quite mercurial in its presentation depending on how damp or dry it is. The other day, I had a bowl of a latakia and Virginia-rich flake, fresh out of the tin with no drying time, and it was delightful, with the sweetness of the virginias taking center stage. A subsequent bowl, after a bit of drying time, rendered the orientals more forward, softened the sweetness, and polished the sharper edges of the latakia’s flavor profile. Same tobacco; two very different experiences. Additionally, things like ambient air temperature and relative humidity can play a significant role in the way any tobacco burns, but more importantly, how it tastes. (When it’s hot and humid, I generally abandon my latakia mixtures in favor of VAs and VA/perique blends.) If you haven’t experimented with this, it’s a fun thing to play with. Take enough tobacco out to fill your next bowl, and let it sit out for a while – anything from a few minutes to an hour or two, depending on the climate. (For those in tropical zones, this might actually have the opposite result. Yes, there really are people in some parts of the world who keep their tins sealed to keep moisture from getting in, not out.) See how it tastes in comparison to fresh from the tin. When tobacco is on the dry side, a gentle hand when packing is advised. What about when we rediscover an opened, long-forgotten tin whose contents have become all but desiccated? Can it be brought back to life? While the tobacco won’t return 100% to its best form, as some of the volatile components from aging will be lost to the ether, it can certainly be made smokeable again, and might yield some pleasant surprises. Of course, first give it a try as is, and see what it’s like. There are a couple of good ways to bring the moisture level up, and some not so good ways. I don’t recommend spraying it with water, putting apple or potato slices in the tin, or any other drastic measures. Tobacco takes up moisture much more slowly than loses it, and it will take time for all the strands to reach equilibrium, so a gentle approach is advised. My favorite is to put the leaf in a small bowl, cover the bowl with a damp cloth or paper towel, and set a plate on top. Keep an eye on it over a day or two, checking the progress periodically and ensuring the cloth remains damp. This also works […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 617. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general, including Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s acquisition of Mac Baren. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss pipe shows, pipe show organizing, and the Las Vegas International Pipe Show.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 616. Our featured interview tonight is with Gabe Hall. Gabe is a 23-year old conservative Californian from Bakersfield that is involved in politics part time. He is part of our newer ongoing series of pipe smokers that are under the age of 30. Both his story of starting pipe smoking, and his smoking routine are a little bit different than the usual story. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, the old Pundit is gonna say this only once. Well, maybe twice: It’s beach time! Some of my happiest pipe-smoking memories were created on the back deck of an original Pawleys Island, S.C., beach house. Listening to the waves dash and flop were pure music, highlighted by the squealing laughter of children frolicking along the beautiful Atlantic shoreline. Now, before you go bellowing about shark attacks, Pundit has his No. 1 Rule about sharks and warning flags, even if no flags are flying on an empty stretch of coastline. Having fished the surf many a day and evening, and even occasionally on a high pier resting on mighty shell-encrusted pilings and stretching out over the aqua-tinted waters, it became apparent that predators with large, sharp teeth prowled menacingly close to splashing bathers So, Pundit Beach Rule No. 1, ankle-deep wading and strolling, only. Make quick swims if it is not too windy, and never if menacing fins are seen cutting the water like the bow of a battleship. Rule adjustments might be needed for kiddies and exuberant beach paddlers in the family. Another necessary adjustment in the rule is no swimming alone. OK, beach lesson over. You don’t have to take Pundit’s word. Check out sea-going pipe-smoking experts: Herman Melville, who knew a thing or two about ferocious whales, and Sir Ernes Henry Shackleton, a famed adventurer who took on frozen seas. No sharks, but the message loudly proclaims oceans harbor many a menace, some large in body with huge teeth and some just frozen solid mountains of floating ice. And while checking up on Pundit, you might enjoy Chuck Stanion’s Herman Melville’s Literary Pipes February 4, 2022, in Pipe Line and his masterful story on the Shipwreck of Shackleford’s Endurance, also in Pipe Line. Now back to Pundit’s time on the beach, in a chair at sunrise on a screened-in deck, seas dancing, pipe in hand. Vacations today seem to be all hurly-burly, hurry, scurry, and worry. Back when a seaside deck beckoned, I packed not only fishing equipment, and some clothes, but also a shoulder bag full of pipes and enough tobacco to survive a voyage with Sir Shackleton. Each morning, noon, and night watch was accompanied by different pipes and different blends. Pipes ranged from Dunhills, Cavicchis, Ser Jacopos, Ashtons, Petersons, and Savinellis. Blends tended to be simple: aromatics and English containing various additives, of course. On rare occasions, I made a Pundit blend, which combined English with Latakia and aros with Virginia. Pundit blends were meh, but there were Cornell & Diehl, Capstan, Samuel Gawith, Three Nuns, Wessex, and the late lamented McClelland, plus a couple of others to save the rare moments. Pundit beach time was also a time for testing THESIS (taste, heat, enjoyment, strength, issues, satisfaction). There is but one way to do this properly and that is to employ a new cob pipe. Cobs give a good overall THESIS, sort of the cheaper version of precious sea-borne meerschaums. Cobs are, in a way, landlocked meers, and provide an excellent idea of how a particular blend will emerge. Ok, enough of experimentation. We are on a beach vacation, right? Observing the sun rising over an orange-lit horizon with a pipe and a cup of coffee is simply put, enchanting. Sun and ocean seem to merge for a brief moment in a blur of beauty. You can find yourself at the beach, leaning back in a chair, letting the morning-salted breeze sweep over you whilst you puff gently in between sips. Ahh, that’s a morning on the beach. There is nothing quite like it in the Pundit’s mind. And now for a couple of thoughts from real experts on sea adventures: Herman Melville is an American author, poet, and novelist best known for “Moby Dick.” But let us not forget Cornell & Diehl’s Melville at Sea tobacco series of blends: Billy Budd, Redburn, and John Marr, other noted works from Melville’s pen as well. It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. He who has never failed somewhere, that man cannot be great. Failure is the true test of greatness—Herman Melville. Then there is Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. Pipes, as mentioned by Chuck in his excellent piece on the great explorer, who relied on his pipe when the going got rough. Through endurance we conquer― Ernest H. Shackleton And finally, a Pipe Smoker of the Past cannot go without mentioning: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, born May 22, May 1859, and died July 7, 1930. If you are struggling to identify Sir Doyle in your mind, then you might be too young to be reading this. Of course, he is the prodigious author of the great detective Sherlock Holmes novels. Holmes and his drama are must-reads on any pipe-smoker’s novel list. ‘Nuff said! It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
