Michelob Light OneDesign Midwinters, Sarasota, FL, March 22-24 By Charlie Clifton The Michelob Light One Design Midwinter Championship was sailed at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron March 22-24 in conditions that built each day. Sixty-five boats entered to compete in seven classes. After medium air races on Friday, a fresh breeze filled in on Saturday. On Sunday, it cranked with some gusts over 20. Only two classes braved the fresh Sunday breeze as the others self-cancelled. The VX One Class showed up with seven boats, including a couple of the builder’s demos. The builder’s team sailed one, and another was crewed by two different Sarasota Youth Sailing teams led by Mike Dowd and Jason D’Agostino. Initial builder concerns over the ability of the youth sailors to handle the high performance craft in strong winds were soon dispelled as the local boys reeled off six bullets in eight races to run away with first place. Their drop was a 3. Downwind legs on Sunday were spectacular as the VXs ripped through the course on a furious plane with only the stern quarter of the hull in the water. The 15-boat Albacore fleet was not only the largest; it was hands down the pluckiest. When the other fleets were fretting about whether to go out on Sunday, the Albacores did not hesitate. Asked under what wind conditions they would like their races cancelled, they did not hesitate to answer resoundingly, “NEVER!” Male and female, young and old, 15 of the 16 Albacore sailors braved Sunday’s gusts and raced. George Carter from Toronto, Canada, won 6 of 11 Albacore races and dropped a 3. Multi-time previous champion Barney Harris from Virginia finished 10 points back. Not all the S2 7.9s were happy with their class decision to cancel the Sunday races, but the final outcome was never much in doubt. Tom Bryant from Holland, MI, won 5 of the 6 races and dropped a 2 to win that 10-boat fleet. Although it elected to cancel Sunday, the eight-boat Day Sailer fleet still got in eight races. Mark Rother of Dunedin Boat Club showed great upwind speed and often led at the top mark. That was not enough to hold off David Kelly, whose speed downwind and exemplary spinnaker work led him to five bullets in the eight races and the class championship. The five-boat International Canoe fleet was dominated by John Kells of GDIYC. He won five of eight races to take the class by six points over Willy Clark. The two-race E Scow series turned out to be the closest of the regatta. Two Sarasota sailors, Richard Elsishan and regatta organizer Jim Barr, were tied with identical 1-2 scores. Elsishan won on a tie break. The strangest fleet of the regatta had to be the Flying Scots. After receiving agreement from the RC to a list of requests, one boat of that eight-boat fleet came out Saturday and sailed all three races…alone. Zeke Horowitz, with dad Jay as crew, squeaked out first place with three points. The other seven boats were all tied for second, 24 points back. News & Views for Southern Sailors
Bob Miller leads the S2 fleet in the first race, despite electing not to use his spinnaker. Photo by Peter Robinson.
Upcoming Regattas
4th Annual Bone Island Regatta, West Florida to Key West, May 14-18 This is the 4th Annual Bone Island Regatta and it will have three start locations this year: Tampa Bay (off Marker 70 at 10 a.m.) and Sarasota (off Big Pass at 11 a.m.) on May 15; and Naples (at the pier) on May 16 at noon. The Skippers Meeting for Sarasota and Tampa will be at the Sarasota Yacht Club on May 15, the skippers’ Meeting for Naples will be at the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club on May 14. The regatta is open to any single-hulled, self-righting, enclosedcabin sailing boat, and to all offshore multihull yachts that hold a current, valid WFPHRF rating, Entry fee is $150 if received by May 1, and $175 by the final entry deadline of May 10. For more information, email gap4737@aol.com, and to register online, go to www.boneislandregatta.com.
27th Annual Couples Race, St. Petersburg, FL, May 18 Sponsored by the St. Petersburg Sailing Association, this is a double-handed race and the crew must consist of one male and one female sailor. It is open to any single-hulled, multihulled or one-design sailboat. In addition to the usual classes, this race will include a “just for fun” class. After the race will be a party with great food, racing awards and fun awards. NOR and entry form available online at www.spsa.us.
Fifth Annual Summer Sailstice River Regatta, Regatta Pointe Marina, Palmetto, FL, June 29 This regatta celebrates the global holiday held annually on the summer solstice, the longest sailing day of the year. Open to all sailboats, the expected classes are Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker, True Cruiser, Pocket Cruiser, Racer Cruiser, and Multihull. A pursuit race, the course will be on the Manatee River and will be visible to spectators. This year, because of a conflict with other events, the regatta will be held the following weekend on Saturday, June 29. Complimentary docking, launching, and parking are available at, or adjacent to, Regatta Pointe Marina. Race boats
SOUTHWINDS
May 2013
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