F16s and F18s provided lots of color on the water. Photo by Rachel Harvey.
Corsairs competing at a start. Photo by Rachel Harvey.
Sixth Buzzelli Multihull Rendezvous with 33rd Stiletto Nationals By Nana Bosma, Regatta Organizer Cover: Ravi Parent of Bradenton, FL, and crew, took first in F16s. Photo by Rachel Harvey.
Charlie Barmonde was pushing it hard, in the lead going for the finish, when he pitch-poled Clockwork, a Stiletto 23, on the downwind leg and buried his bows and mast in the mud during race five, the first race on Sunday. He still placed sixth in the regatta that was named after his uncle Bob Buzzelli. Photo by Nana Bosma.
T
he Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosted yet another well attended regatta, this one with lots of hulls. On the third weekend of October, 67 multihulls gathered for three days of racing and cruising. The fleet consisted of 11 Stilettos, 10 Corsair/Farriers, a Roberts Cat27, three Hobie16s, a SuperCat19, six F18s, 11 F16s, 17 WindRiders, and six Wetas. About 180 sailors travelled from Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, the Dominican Republic, and all corners of Florida, to attend this annual event. Thanks to all the sailors, volunteers, and sponsors who made this regatta possible. The fall weather was fresh with sunny skies and breeze starting light at 3 knots filling in to 6 on Friday. A front came through early Saturday morning that perked things up for Saturday and Sunday racing with winds up to 16 knots on Sunday morning. Friday’s Gulf of Mexico long distance race of 25.5 miles took the Stilettos, a handful of Corsairs, and the Roberts Cat, from New Pass south to Big Pass, north to Longboat Key Pass, down to the USF buoy and to the finish at New Pass. The first Stiletto to finish was Peter Wormwood with Deuce Coupe after 4 hours and 41 minutes. Randy Smyth, first to finish, was 28 minutes faster with his Farrier 25c. Early on, Rich Brew severely ripped the main of his Roberts Cat, putting him out of the regatta. While the big boats were out on the Gulf, a well-attended race clinic was conducted by Jim Barr, the Sarasota Sailing Squadron’s E-Scow sailor and fleet captain. Jim Brown, who has been involved in the development
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and design of modern multihulls for over 50 years, was back again this year and shared with an appreciative crowd some of the stories he collected over half a century of sailing and cruising trimarans, catamarans, and proas. Jim designed the Searunner series of cruising trimarans, and more recently, the WindRiders. You can get Jim’s book at www.outrigmedia.com. Saturday and Sunday races were held on beautiful Sarasota Bay on three separate courses with multiple starts. The WindRiders had 11 races on their own course. The F16s, F18s, and Wetas shared a course, and each class got nine races in, while the far-north course served up six races to the Stilettos, Corsair/Farriers, and the other Portsmouth boats. The Stiletto Nationals Championship was won by brothers Peter and Chris Wormwood on Deuce Coupe, a Stiletto 27, with outstanding crew Eric Macklin, who was last year’s recipient of the Robert Buzzelli Perpetual Trophy. They finished six races first and one race second. Mike Speth on Swim Mart took second, and Jon Dowd on Iguana took third. Charlie Barmonde was pushing it hard, in the lead going for the finish, when he pitch-poled Clockwork (one of the two Stiletto 23s and his Uncle Bob Buzzelli’s first Stiletto) on the downwind leg and buried his bows and mast in the mud during race five, the first race on Sunday. Ouch. He still placed sixth in the regatta that was named www.southwindsmagazine.com