age. The “Apprentices” are under 50 years old, “Salts” under 60 and “Masters” 60 years and over. In the Sunfish class, top honors went to Rita Steele (Luffing Lassies, Sarasota), Paula Shur (Windlasses, Dunedin), and Beth Anderson (Bitter Ends, Venice). The International Optimist Dinghy winners were Lori Ledbetter (Salty Sisters, St. Petersburg), Rita Root and Sylvia Mabe (both from Windlasses, Dunedin). Clearwater Optimist Prams winners were Tove Kullman and Nancy Strite (Salty Sisters, St. Petersburg), and Trish Birkenstock (Mainsheet Mamas, Tampa). Congratulations to all who took part in the 40th Rainbow Regatta. Don’t wet seats and feet, wind burn, capsizing, and close encounters with other racers, beat playing cards?
the east. The slowest boats start as early as 7:30 a.m., the fastest after 10:30. I was sailing a borrowed Raider Turbo with the new furling genniker for reaches and runs. Starting at 8:21 on a close reach, the boat was passing others quickly. I saw a WETA trimaran behind me using his genniker, so I unfurled mine. Two minutes later, a big gust hit, necessitating a subsequent dive downwind to keep the boat upright. It was time to furl that big sail up. Looking behind, the WETA with his genniker was on its side. Whew! The river makes a right turn for about two miles, and that was a beat. The wind kept increasing, but the river then turns left, north, again. A reach, right? No, the wind went northeast and became very puffy with massive shifts in the puffs. This wind comes off the Atlantic and then crosses
The 60th Annual Mug Race, Jacksonville, FL May 4 By Dave Ellis Paul Scoffin's Flying Dutchman, Copacabana, winner of the Mug Race, sailing in rough weather. Photo by Brian Milhous.
The weather forecast looked ominous, but we all got text messages Friday from regatta guru Dick Allsop saying that the regatta was a “Go.” The usual shuttling of trailers and launching of boats for this 38-mile one way dash up northeast Florida’s Saint Johns River was completed during the day. Saturday dawned with a steady rain and breeze from
Winners Paul Scoffin (on the right) and crew Pavel Ruzicka, who sailed on a Flying Dutchman, enjoy a beer after the race. Photo by Kathy Summers. News & Views for Southern Sailors
miles of land before hitting the river. Many smaller boats dropped out of the race at that point, making the fast run back to Palatka. Those who slogged on encountered steep waves generated by the water flow upwind. Twice I “auto tacked” in massive gusts that came in from more north. Other times, sails had to be let out quickly when a gust came from nearly east. There were many crews with tired arms. Single-handers had very tired right arms with blisters through the gloves. I was on starboard tack nearly all the way, with an occasional port tack to clear a headland. I chose to furl the jib and sail under main alone. But furling in a big puff made the flailing jib sheets tie a knot around the partially furled jib. What a racket! A sail up into the hyacinths and reeds was made to clear the mess. Watch for gators. And snakes. The quickest to finish, as usual, was Eric Roberts on the RC 30, sailing the 38 miles in 2:57:56, beating his elapsed time record by just 14 seconds, but he was third to finish. Paul Scoffin and crew Pavel Ruzicka on a Flying Dutchman flew upwind to finish just ahead of a fast closing AHPC Formula 18 sailed by David Ingram. There were 115 registrants, 82 starters and 70 who finished Anyone who finished this event was a winner. As the years go by, the wind will get stronger and the waves larger, but the results will still be at: www.rudderclub.com. SOUTHWINDS
June 2013
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