Southwindsjuly2004 by SOUTHWINDS Magazine

SOUTHWINDS News & Views for Southern Sailors

Key West Rendezvous Regatta Gulfstreamer Race

July 2004 For Sailors — Free…It’s Priceless

SINCE 1977

FLORIDA’S LARGEST HUNTER, CATALINA, MORGAN, MAINSHIP & CALIBER DEALERSHIP CATALINA • HUNTER • CALIBER • MAINSHIP

Call for ‘04 Model Year Clearance Price

Custom Massey Outfitting Quote in less than one hour with Just pick your yacht and call with your options. Catalina 310, 320, 34, 350, 36, 387, 400, 42, 470 Hunter 306, 33, 36, 38, 41, 42CC, 44, 44DS, 456CC, 466 Caliber 35LRC, 40LRC, 47LCR and Mainship 30, 34, 39, 40, 43

Call for Discounted New Yacht Prices and Delivery Information Call for ‘04 Model Year Clearance Price 2004 Hunter 41 New Model

hull #120 – Loaded with electronics, upgrade stereo, flatscreen TV/DVD, bimini, RF mainsail & jib, elec halyard winch, refrigeration/freezer, Force 10 stove, Harken hardware and much, much more. Regular Sailaway only $214,045. Call for ‘04 Model Year Clearance Price 2004 Hunter 36 – New Model

hull #116 loaded with electronics, stereo, flatscreen TV/DVD, bimini, RF mainsail & jib, elec halyard winch, refrig/freezer, Harken hardware and much more. Regular price $143,052 Call for new yacht discount.

One Phone Call One Web Site One Great Yacht Sales

2004 Mainship 30 Sedan hull #198 – In stock and ready to cruise. Rum Runner edition, Yanmar 315 diesel, bow thruster, generator, air conditioning, enclosure, TV/DVD, stereo and much more. Regular Cruise Away only $180,895 Call Massey for special new yacht discount. MONOHULLS

40 Island Packet ‘98 . . . $249,900 40.5 Hunter ‘97. . . . . . $125,000 54 Endeavour ‘90 . . . . . $395,000 40 Endeavour ‘81 . . . . . $84,000 48 Tayana ‘00. . . . . . . $398,000 40 Caliber ‘96. . . . . . . $244,500 47 Catalina ‘00 . . . . . . $320,000 400 Beneteau ‘97. . . . . $124,900 35 ft. to 39 ft. 46 Beneteau ‘97 . . . . . $199,000 45 Morgan ‘94 . . . . . . $195,000 39 C & C ‘73 . . . . . . . $58,900 45 Morgan ‘91 . . . . . . $194,500 38 Shannon Ketch ‘79 . . $114,900 45 Hunter CC ‘99 . . . . . $219,000 38 Morgan CC ‘97 . . . . $125,000 45 Hunter ‘97. . . . . . . $209,000 380 Island Packet ‘99 . . $245,000 45 Gulfstar/Hirsh ‘85 . . . $129,500 38 Hans Christian ‘83 . . $139,000 40 ft. to 44 ft. 380 Catalina ‘00 . . . . . $134,000 44 C & C ‘69 . . . . . . . $74,900 380 Catalina ‘99 . . . . . $152,000 43 Hunter ‘96. . . . . . . $164,500 38 Catalina ‘81. . . . . . . $35,000 43 Endeavour ‘81 . . . . . $139,000 376 Hunter ‘97 . . . . . . $121,000 42 Pearson ‘81 . . . . . . . $97,000 37 Jeanneau ‘96 . . . . . . $75,000 42 Pearson ‘80 . . . . . . $105,000 37 Hunter ‘98 . . . . . . . $95,000 42 Hunter CC ‘97 . . . . . $189,500 37 Hunter ‘97 . . . . . . . $82,000 42 Hunter CC ‘96 . . . . . $169,900 37 Endeavour ‘83 . . . . . $52,500 42 Catalina ‘01 . . . . . . $237,000 37 Beneteau Idylle ‘86. . . $61,900 42 Catalina ‘96 . . . . . . $119,000 365 Pearson ‘76 . . . . . . $55,000 42 Catalina ‘90 . . . . . . $128,000 36 Tashiba ‘87 . . . . . . $135,000 411 Beneteau ‘01. . . . . $174,000 36 Jeanneau ‘97 . . . . . . $89,000 41 Morgan ‘89 . . . . . . $119,900 36 Catalina ‘94. . . . . . . $85,000 41 Morgan ‘82 . . . . . . . $83,000 36 Catalina ‘90. . . . . . . $71,500 40 Jeanneau ‘03 . . . . . $184,000 351 Beneteau ‘96 . . . . . $77,500 40 Jeanneau ‘00 . . . . . $159,900 350 Catalina ‘03 . . . . . $154,500 45 ft. to 65 ft.

and Service Team

35 Island Packet ‘91 . . . $119,900 35 Baba ‘84. . . . . . . . $120,000 30 ft. to 34 ft.

34 Catalina ‘94. . . . . . . $74,500 34 Catalina ‘87. . . . . . . $44,900 34 Cabo Rico ‘90 . . . . . $122,000 320 Catalina ‘96 . . . . . . $69,000 32 Island Packet ‘90. . . . $94,500 31 Catalina ‘03. . . . . . . $91,000 30 Hunter ‘88 . . . . . . . $36,500 29.5 Hunter ‘95 . . . . . . $46,900 290 Hunter ‘00. . . . . . . $59,900 CATAMARANS

44 Dean Catamaran ‘99 . . $285,000 37 Prout Snow Goose ‘84. . $89,500 TRAWLERS/POWER

43 Mainship Trawler ‘05 . .$504,254 40 Mainship Trawler ‘05 . $378,453 36 Krogen-Manatee ‘90 . . $219,000 34 Mainship RR-Express ‘04 .$237,858 34 Mainship Trawler ‘82 . . $79,900 34 Mainship Express ‘00 . .$179,000 30 Mainship RR-Sedan ‘04 . $180,895 30 Mainship Pilot ‘01 . . . . $104,900 29 SeaRay Sundancer ‘01 . . $79,950 28 Carver Voyager ‘88 . . . . $29,900

Coming Soon New Massey Ft. Myers location – Call for info.

The Massey Team of Yachting Specialists – experienced sailors one and all – are dedicated to helping other sailors make sound, knowledgeable decisions relative to yacht selection, ownership and custom outfitting. TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU ON FLORIDA’S WEST COAST – IN THE HEART OF AMERICA’S FINEST CRUISING AREA.

Palmetto, FL 941-723-1610 • TOLL-FREE 800-375-0130

Brad Crabtree

Scott Pursell

Frank Hamilton

Dan Howland

St. Pete, FL 727-824-7262 • TOLL-FREE 877-552-0525

Edward Massey

Bill Wiard

Mary Beth Singh

Al Pollak

YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR MEASURE OF SUCCESS

www.masseyyacht.com • E-mail:

yachtsales@masseyyacht.com

David Cole

SAVE $20

15999 West Marine

VHF100 Handheld Radio Model 3677036 Reg. 179.99

15999 West Marine

VHF500 Fixed Mount DSC VHF Radio Model 5469200 Reg. 179.99

Offer valid only with coupon July 1st through July 25th. Limited to stock on hand. Not good with any other offer.

SUMMER SAVINGS ON TOOLS, MARINE GRILLS & MORE!

SAVE 30%

SAVE 40%

125

SAVE 50%

1799

West Marine

999

Pro Grill

Igloo

Model 3705613 Reg. 19.99

Model 3815420 Reg. 179.99 Mounts and propane bottle sold separately.

Offer valid only with coupon July 1st through July 25th. Limited to stock on hand. Not good with any other offer.

West Marine

Stainless-Steel Rigging Knife

36qt. Marine Series Ice Chest Model 137278 Reg. 29.99

Offer valid only with coupon July 1st through July 25th. Limited to stock on hand. Not good with any other offer.

DECK CHAIRS, ANCHOR & RODE PACKAGES & ADHESIVE/SEALANT

BUY 1, GET 1

40 OFF!* Seafit

260

From

*Of equal or lesser value.

From

SAVE 33%

SAVE 10%

West Marine Highback

Aluminum Deck Chairs

Lowback

Highback Aluminum Deck Chair, Pacific Blue–Model 5437397 69.99 Lowback Aluminum Deck Chair, Pacific Blue–Model 5437439 59.99

Offer valid only with coupon July 1st through July 25th. Limited to stock on hand. Not good with any other offer.

Performance Anchor & Rode Package

669/3oz. 3M

5200 Polyurethane Adhesive/Sealant

Model 2666501 Reg. 289.99

3oz. Tube–Model 390591 Reg. 9.99 SALE 6.69 10oz. Cartridge–Model 158485 Reg. 14.99 SALE 10.04

Offer valid only with coupon July 1st through July 25th. Limited to stock on hand. Not good with any other offer.

SAVE ON BOAT SOAP, DRINKING WATER HOSES & MACERATOR PUMPS

BUY 1, GET 1

SAVE 30%

FREE!

West Marine

Seafit

559/qt.

Drinking Water Safe Marine Hose

Citrus Boat Soap Ref. Model 5359856 Reg. 7.99

Model 5403829

Offer valid only with coupon July 1st through July 25th. Limited to stock on hand. Not good with any other offer.

SAVE $35

10499 Jabsco

Macerator Pump Model 2675387 Reg. 139.99

Offer valid only with coupon July 1st through July 25th. Limited to stock on hand. Not good with any other offer.

MORE THAN 280 STORES • 1-800-BOATING • westmarine.com HURRY! PRICES GOOD JULY 1ST THROUGH JULY 25TH, 2004

Selection varies by store.

Oops! We’re only human and occasionally make mistakes. Product descriptions, typographic, price, or photographic mistakes are unintentional and subject to correction.

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindssailing.com

SINCE 1977

FLORIDA’S LARGEST HUNTER, CATALINA, MORGAN, MAINSHIP & CALIBER DEALERSHIP CATALINA • HUNTER • CALIBER • MAINSHIP

Call for ‘04 Model Year Clearance Price

Call for Discounted New Yacht Prices and Delivery Information Call for ‘04 Model Year Clearance Price 2004 Hunter 41 New Model

One Phone Call One Web Site One Great Yacht Sales

and Service Team

35 Island Packet ‘91 . . . $119,900 35 Baba ‘84. . . . . . . . $120,000 30 ft. to 34 ft.

44 Dean Catamaran ‘99 . . $285,000 37 Prout Snow Goose ‘84. . $89,500 TRAWLERS/POWER

Coming Soon New Massey Ft. Myers location – Call for info.

Palmetto, FL 941-723-1610 • TOLL-FREE 800-375-0130

Brad Crabtree

Scott Pursell

Frank Hamilton

Dan Howland

St. Pete, FL 727-824-7262 • TOLL-FREE 877-552-0525

Edward Massey

Bill Wiard

Mary Beth Singh

Al Pollak

YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR MEASURE OF SUCCESS

www.masseyyacht.com • E-mail:

yachtsales@masseyyacht.com

David Cole

1994 Morgan 45 • $194,500 47 Catalina 2000 . . . . . . . . . .$320,000 46 Beneteau 1997 . . . . . . . . .$199,000 45 Morgan 1994 . . . . . . . . . .$195,000 45 Morgan 1991 . . . . . . . . . .$194,500 45 Hunter CC 1997 . . . . . . .$209,000 45 Hunter CC 1999 . . . . . . .$219,000 43 Hunter 1996 . . . . . . . . . .$164,500 42 Hunter CC 1997 . . . . . . .$189,500 42 Hunter CC 1996 . . . . . . .$169,900 42 Catalina 2001 . . . . . . . . . .$237,000 42 Catalina 1990 . . . . . . . . . .$128,000 411 Beneteau 2001 . . . . . . . .$174,000 41 Morgan Classic 1989 . . . .$119,900 41 Morgan 1982 . . . . . . . . . . .$83,000 40-2 Jeanneau 2001 . . . . . . . .$175,500

2001 Beneteau 411 • $174,000 40.5 Hunter 1997 . . . . . . . . .$125,000 40.5 Hunter 1993 . . . SOLD . . . . . .$119,900 40 Jeanneau 2000 . . . . . . . . .$159,900 40 Hunter 1992 . . . . SOLD . . . . . .$115,000 40 Catalina 1996 . . . . SOLD . . . . . .$134,900 40 CC Beneteau 1997 . SOLD . . . . . .$134,500 40 Beneteau 1997 . . . . . . . . .$124,900 38 Beneteau 2001 . . . . . . . . .$147,000 38 Catalina 2000 . . . . . . . . . .$134,000 38 Catalina 1999 . . . . . . . . . .$152,000 38 Catalina 1981 . . . . . . . . . . .$35,000 38 CC Morgan 1997 . . . . . . .$125,000 37 Jeanneau 1996 . . . . . . . . . .$75,000 37 Hunter 1997 . . . . . . . . . . .$82,000 36 Catalina 1999 . . . . SOLD . . . . . .$115,000

2000 Catalina 470 • $320,000 36 Catalina 1994 . . . . . . . . . . .$85,000 36 Catalina 1994 . . . SOLD . . . . . . .$66,200 36 Catalina 1990 . . . . . . . . . . .$71,500 36 Jeanneau 1997 . . . . . . . . . .$89,000 35 Catalina 2003 . . . . . . . . . .$154,500 35 Beneteau 1996 . . . . . . . . . .$77,500 34 Hunter 2001 . . . . . . . . . . .$97,500 34 Catalina 1994 . . . . . . . . . . .$74,500 33 Hunter 1995 . . . . SOLD . . . . . . .$64,500 320 Catalina 1996 . . . . . . . . . .$69,900 310 Catalina 2003 . . . SOLD . . . . . . .$91,000 30 Hunter 1988 . . . .REDUCED . $29,900 29.5 Hunter 1995 . . . . . . . . . .$46,900 290 Hunter 2000 . . . . . . . . . .$59,900

1997 Hunter 40.5 • $125,000

1997 Hunter CC • $209,000

1994 Catalina 34 • $74,500

All listings are Massey centrals

One Phone Call One Web Site One Great Yacht Sales

SINCE 1977

and Service Team

www.masseyyacht.com Call for your FREE “How to Prepare your Yacht for Sale” package.

Palmetto, FL 941-723-1610 • TOLL-FREE 800-375-0130

Brad Crabtree

Scott Pursell

Frank Hamilton

Dan Howland

St. Pete, FL 727-824-7262 • TOLL-FREE 877-552-0525

Edward Massey

Bill Wiard

Mary Beth Singh

Al Pollak

David Cole

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindssailing.com

New Orleans Northshore Gulf Coast 504-782-7434

St. Petersburg Tampa Sarasota 813-864-7633

Miami Ft. Lauderdale Key West 800-537-0050

Jacksonville St. Augustine Daytona 904-269-0027

ADVERTISER INDEX BY CATEGORY

(See page 68 for alphabetical list)

SAILBOATS - NEW AND BROKERAGE Beneteau Sailboats Back Cover Gulf Coast Yacht Sales 63,64 Windcraft, Trimarans and Catamarans, Sail or Power 20 Boaters Exchange/Catalina Sailboats 39,64 Carson Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back Cover Eastern Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back Cover Florida Sailboats, Inc. 65 Flying Scot Sailboats 66 Hanse Sailboats 65 Hunter Sailboats 10,11 Massey Yacht Sales/Catalina/Jeanneau/Hunter/Mainship 3,9,14,22,31,32,IBC Masthead Yacht Sales/Catalina 24,68 Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back Cover Raider Sailboats 65 Sailor’s Wharf Boatyard and Brokerage 57,60 Sarasota Youth Sailing Program donated boats 62 St. Barts/Beneteau Back Cover Suncoast Inflatables/ West Florida 59 Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 54 Tampa Sailing Squadron donated boats 62 GEAR, HARDWARE, ACCESSORIES Air Duck Hatch Windscoop Bluewater Sailing Supply, www.bluewaterss.com/ Boaters Exchange, boats, gear, etc. Rockledge FL BoatUS Bo’sun Supplies/Hrdwre/Rigging www.bosunsupplies.com Coral Reef Apparel Company Defender Industries, www.defender.com Fujinon Binoculars Garhauer Hardware/www.garhauermarine.com Glacier Bay Refrigeration/ www.glacierbay.com SSMR/Hood Hotwire/Fans & other products Island Marine Products/Davits,motorlocks,etc. JR Overseas/Moisture Meter Martek Dinghy Davits Masthead Ent. www.mastheadsailinggear.com Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign Rparts Refrigeration, www.rparts.com Sailor’s Soap Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg West Marine Whitney’s Marine SAILS (NEW & USED), RIGGING, SPARS, RIGGING SERVICES Altlantic Sails Banks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida Nuclear Sails BoatUS Cruising Direct/sails online by North Dwyer Mast/spars, hardware, rigging Forespar Hood/SSMR Masthead/Used Sails and Service National Sail Supply, new&used online Nuclear Sails North Sails Porpoise Used Sails Sail Exchange/www.sailexchange.com Schurr Sails, Pensacola FL SSMR/Hood UK Sails, www.uksailmakers.com Ullman Sails/West Florida West Marine

37 55 39,64 17 36 35 67 35 4 40 55 67 23 27 67 24,68 57 51 15,34,49 54 41, IFC 64,65,66 46 56 16 17 8 67 63 55 24,68 45 16 20 68 28,68 47 55 4 15 41,IFC 56 68

USED SAILING/BOATING SUPPLIES Don’s Salvage, Clearwater FL Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign, West Florida Scurvy Dog Marine/Used, Consign, Pensacola FL

58 57 48

SAILING SCHOOLS Flagship Sailing Sea School/Captain’s License www.seaschool.com St. Augustine Sailing School

60 20 68

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

23 66 43

RESORTS, MARINAS, RESTAURANTS, BOAT YARDS Bob and Annie’s Boatyard Crow’s Nest Restaurant & Marina Sailor’s Wharf Boatyard and Brokerage

19 29 57,60

CHARTER COMPANIES Flagship Sailing Sailtime, Time-Share ownership

60 5

MARINE SERVICES, INSURANCE, NAVIGATION/WEATHER SERVICES, BOAT LETTERING, ETC. Aqua Graphics/Boat Names/Tampa Bay or buy online 56 Beachmaster Photography 66 Coast Weather Services 68 First Patriot Inc, Insurance Agency, Paul Phaneuf 18 Memory Map 67 Sign Factory 56 WeatherWave 43 MARINE ELECTRONICS Dockside Radio JR Overseas/Moisture Meter Sea Tech/Navigation/Communication

15 27 21

BOOKS Bubba Stories Book Great Outdoors Publishing Gunkholer’s Cruising Guide/West Florida

16 58 58

Regional Sailing Services Directory Sailing Services Directory West Florida Subscription Information Alphabetical Advertisers’ List

25 56 This Page 68

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SOUTHWINDS NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

13 From the Helm 14 Letters 18 Bubba Evens the Score By Morgan Stinemetz 21 Boatek: Hook up Your Stereo By Stephen Sommer 23 Short Tacks: Upcoming Events and News of Interest to Southern Sailors 26 Key West Rendezvous Regatta 2004 By Steve Morrell 33 Southeast Coast Sailing: Carolinas and Georgia July Sailing, Events and Race Calendar, Race Report 36 Gulfstreamer Race: Daytona Beach to Charleston By Jim Kempert 38 East Florida Sailing: July Sailing, Events and Race Calendar, Tybee 500, Brevard Challenge, Jetty Park Ocean Regatta, Snipe District 4 Championship Jacksonville 44 Southeast Florida Sailing: Events and Race Calendar, Southeast Florida Race Report

Key West Rendezvous Regatta. Photo by Steve Morrell. Page 26.

46 Northern Gulf Coast Sailing: July Sailing, Events and Race Calendar, Regata al Sol XXIII, Spring Regatta, Navy Cup Regatta 50 Florida Keys Sailing: Events and Race Calendar, Around the Island Race 52 West Florida Sailing: Events and Race Calendar, Clearwater Community Sailing Center, Corinthian Race, Jack Iron sails to the Mediterranean 63 Classifieds 70 Another True Sailing Story By Bruce Sanspree 25 56 68 6 6 13

Regional Sailing Services Directory West Florida Sailing Services Directory Alphabetical Index of Advertisers Advertisers’ List by Category Subscription Form Calendar Photo Contest

Cover: The Schooner Liberty sails off Key West during the Key West Rendezvous. Photo by Steve Morrell.

Gulfstreamer Race. Daytona Beach to Charleston. Photo by Steve Morrell. Page 36.

From the Carolinas to Cuba…from Atlanta to the Abacos…SOUTHWINDS Covers Southern Sailing NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

VISIT OUR NEW, RECENTLY REBUILT, REDESIGNED WEB-SITE

SOUTHWINDS &V F S S

NEWS

OUTHERN

AILORS

Southwinds Media, Inc. P.O. Box 1175, Holmes Beach, Florida 34218-1175 (941) 795-8704 (877) 372-7245 (941) 795-8705 Fax www.southwindssailing.com e-mail: editor@southwindssailing.com

VOLUME 12

www.southwindssailing.com Download each issue monthly Back issues available Crew and Yacht listing service â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Pressgang Yacht Club Directory Subscribe online Place your classified ad online Advertiser links and sailing services directory Advertising Rates and Information Cuba articles and links & much moreâ&#x20AC;Ś

IEWS

NUMBER 7

JULY 2004

Copyright 2004, Southwinds Media, Inc. Publisher/Editor Steve Morrell editor@southwindssailing.com Founder Doran Cushing Advertisers & Editors Steve Morrell National/West Florida Advertising West Florida Regional Editor editor@southwindssailing.com (941) 795-8704 Florida Keys Rebecca Burg Regional Editor/Advertising angel@artoffshore.com (305) 304-5118 Southeast Florida Art Perez Regional Editor/Advertising miamiyachtracing@bellsouth.net (305) 380-0106 East Florida Roy Laughlin Regional Editor/Advertising mhw1@earthlink.net (321) 690-0137 Production Heather Nicoll Sherry Beckett Hal Gilreath Roy Laughlin Bruce Sanspree Mad Cow Jim Krippes Claire Rees

Gary Hufford National/West Florida Advertising gary@southwindssailing.com (727) 585-2814 The Southeast Coast: Carolinas and Georgia Rona Garm Regional Editor/Advertising rgarm@ec.rr.com (910) 395-0189 The Northern Gulf Coast: Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas Kim Kaminski Regional Editor/Advertising Kaminski_K@msn.com (850) 384-8941

Proofreading Kathy Elliott

Contributing Writers Rebecca Burg Kim Kaminski Arturo Perez Stephen Sommer Anne Wister Contributing Photographers Rona Garm Roy Laughlin George Regenauer

Dave Ellis Jim Kempert George Regenauer Morgan Stinemetz

Kim Kaminski Arturo Perez Someone walking down the dock EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: ARTICLES & PHOTOGRAPHY: SOUTHWINDS encourages readers, writers, photographers, cartoonists, jokers, magicians, philosophers and whoever else is out there, including sailors, to send in their material. Just make it about the water world and generally about sailing and about sailing in the South, the Bahamas or the Caribbean, or general sailing interest, or sailboats, or sailing in some far-off and far-out place. SOUTHWINDS welcomes contributions in writing and photography, stories about sailing, racing, cruising, maintenance and other technical articles and other sailing-related topics. Please submit all articles electronically by email (mailed-in discs also accepted), and with photographs, if possible. We also accept photographs alone, for cover shots, racing, cruising and just funny entertaining shots. Please take them at a high resolution if digital, or scan at 300 dpi if photos, or mail them to us for scanning. Contact the editor with questions. Subscriptions to SOUTHWINDS are available at $19.95/year, or $37/2 years for third class, and $24/year for first class. Checks and credit card numbers may be mailed with name and address to SOUTHWINDS Subscriptions, PO Box 1175, Holmes Beach FL, 34218-1175, or call (941) 795-8704. Subscriptions are also available with a credit card through a secure server on our Web site, www.southwindssailing.com. SOUTHWINDS is distributed to over 500 locations throughout 10 Southern states. If you would like to distribute SOUTHWINDS at your location, please contact the editor. Read SOUTHWINDS on our Web site, www.southwindssailing.com.

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindssailing.com

Call for Special New Yacht Discounts

New 2005 MAINSHIP 40

Call for Special New Yacht Discounts

New 4' 11" Wing Keel On Order

New CATALINA 400 On Order

New HUNTER 410 Hull #120 in stock

New MAINSHIP 30 Sedan Hull #198 in stock

New CATALINA 350 Hull #270 in stock

Buy now. Cruise Tomorrow. Save Thousands. New is Better. • • • • • • • •

New yacht discounts-all trades considered New design, construction and performance New electronics, A/C and gensets New flat screen TVs and DVDs New yacht financing at lowest rates New yacht custom outfitting Full factory/dealer warranties and on site service Free yacht systems and handling orientation

The best part of purchasing a new yacht is that it’s NEW and really costs about the same as buying a late model pre-owned yacht. This is prime time for Florida yachting and your new Catalina, Hunter or Mainship is ready to cruise away, right now! Call or come by and discover the dollars and sense of owning a new yacht.

New is better.

One Phone Call One Web Site One Great Yacht Sales

SINCE 1977

Coming Soon

and Service Team www.masseyyacht.com Palmetto, FL 941-723-1610 • TOLL-FREE 800-375-0130

Brad Crabtree

Scott Pursell

Frank Hamilton

Dan Howland

New Massey Ft. Myers location – Call for info. St. Pete, FL 727-824-7262 • TOLL-FREE 877-552-0525

Edward Massey

Bill Wiard

Mary Beth Singh

Al Pollak

David Cole

HMidSize.2p.SW

6/10/04

11:05 AM

Page 1

Hunter’s Mid-Size Cruisers — With four models between 30 and 38 feet, you can choose the size that fits your plans and your budget. Our new designs are more stable, easier to handle, and perform better then ever before. Quality components like Selden®, Yanmar®, Harken®, Lewmar®, and Edson® complete the package and allow you to create the cruising platform you've been dreaming about. Don't let another season slip away! Visit a Hunter dealer and see for yourself what we mean by Discover the Difference.

NEW 33

NEW 38 Mid-Size Cruiser Dealers Whitney's Marine, Orange Park, FL (904) 269-0027

Mid-South Sailing, Gulfport, MS (228) 863-6969

Massey Yacht Sales, Palmetto and St. Pete, FL (941) 723-1610

MG Mayer Yacht Sales, New Orleans, LA (504) 282-1700

Florida Yacht Charters & Sales, Miami Beach, FL (305) 532-8600

Weathermark Sailing Center, Buford, GA (770) 945-0788

386.462.3077 800.771.5556 www.huntermarine.com

306

Hunter Marine reserves the right to modify or change, without notice, any prices, materials, specifications, equipment and/or accessories. See your dealer for details. Standard equipment may vary for products sold outside the United States.

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindssailing.com

FROM THE HELM PETER GOLDSMITH AND MICHELE GESLIN INDICTED IN RACE TO CUBA

nfortunately, the government has indicted Peter Gold smith and Michele Geslin for their actions in the Conch Republic Cup race from Key West to Cuba (see more on this in “Short Tacks,” page 23.) This brings politics into sailing (although I am sure it has always been there some way.) The Supreme Court ruled in 1963 that American citizens, in times of peace, have a Constitutional right to travel. International human rights accords state that citizens of a country should have the right to leave their country and return without fear of prosecution when they return. It looks as if that right has been violated in this country. It is actually true that you can leave this country and return, be questioned in some small government room and be asked, “Where did you go and what did you do?” You are guilty if you answer, “I went to Cuba and bought a cup of coffee.” You can be indicted under federal charges, sent to prison and fined. Something wrong with this picture. Although I believe that if this is taken to the Supreme Court, it will rule in favor of these two sailors, they have already suffered punishment through the indictment, intimidation, and questioning by prosecutors. This could be the government’s strategy. There should be punishment meted out to those whenever it can be proven that that is the strategy (and let’s send them to prison), as I believe they will lose if it goes to the high court. I believe the government believes that, too, and the case will be dropped—sad if this is proven to be the case. I have been told by someone who knows Michele Geslin that she said the federal prosecutors told her they were going after her sailmaking business. Let’s hope not. Destroy these two? Let’s hope not. Send them to prison (one count is for up to 10 years) and fine them (one count is up to $250,000)? Let’s hope not. They organized, with strong public support, a group of sail-

Photo Contest

ors who sailed to Cuba carrying good will and friendship-along with humanitarian supplies. Is this a crime? But can Peter and Michele fight this and not have their lives totally disrupted? Lose the sailmaking business? She owns a small shop, which is hardly making her rich enough to fight the federal government. Who has enough money to fight the federal government? I was contacted by one sailor, who is in the business of sailing, who has been trying to set up some sort of defense fund to help Peter Goldsmith and Michele Geslin. Nothing yet, but perhaps something will come of this effort. I have been involved in this magazine for two years and have talked to many sailors. Some of these have been to Cuba in one of the many races over the years, either from Tampa Bay or from Key West, and they have told me their opinions on rights of travel to Cuba. I have not yet met one (received a few letters against travel to Cuba, but don’t know who they are), and I repeat, not one, who does not believe that they should have a right to go to Cuba—especially by sailboat. This includes those from the right, the far right, the middle, the left and the far left-to name a few. I have heard from many who support the current administration (which strongly supports the travel ban), and they believe they should have the right to sail there. Where is the support for this travel ban? In the most important sense, it really doesn’t matter, as this is a basic right to travel. We do not need the rule of the majority to have this right. When the majority takes away the rights of the minority, we call it the Tyranny of the Majority. Maybe that’s what’s going on here, but I believe this is the Tyranny of the Minority. Steve Morrell Editor

SOUTHWINDS announces the

for photos for the

2005

SOUTHWINDS Calendar Send your photo in! Go to our Web site, www.southwindssailing.com for more information. 8 NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

2004-2005 West Florida Racing Calendar & Yacht Club Directory. This calendar will cover West Florida racing from September 2004 through August 2005. Call now to advertise in this publication: Steve Morrell, Editor, (941) 795-8704, editor@southwindssailing.com Gary Hufford, Advertising Representative, (727) 585-2014, gary@southwindssailing.com Contact Steve Morrell, Editor, to list your upcoming races and regattas! SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

LETTERS “Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.” H.L. Mencken In its continuing endeavor to share its press, SOUTHWINDS invites readers to write in with experiences & opinions. Cell Phone Calls in the Bahamas A few months ago, we found some people interested in knowing more about cell phone use in the Bahamas. In May, I received a phone call from someone asking about crossing the state of Florida in the Okeechobee waterway canal and tilting your boat under a low bridge. I could not answer the call, but they left a message and then I called them back. To my surprise, they answered their cell phone on their boat and told me they were anchored in the Berry Islands in the Bahamas. (Since I had been there myself years ago, my mind’s imagination immediately went to the Berrys, and I held visions of them sitting in their cockpit in this beautiful area.) I gave them the information they needed but also asked them about the cell phone. They told me that they had Cingular, which recently merged with AT&T, and the cell phone use was very good. The clarity of the call I was making with them was as though they were across the street. Editor

ANOTHER TYPE OF WATERMAKER, THE WATERLOG In Stephen Sommer’s article “Watermakers for Small Cruising Boats,” we noted the omission of yet another category of reverse osmosis watermakers, the towed watermaker. The Waterlog watermaker needs no dedicated installation cabinet, no valves, no through-hulls, and-best of all-no electricity! It is a simple design, which uses its spinning propeller to drive sea water through a stainless steel prefilter, the membrane, and then up the towing cable to your boat and the container of your choice. Made in England, the Waterlog has been popular on the other side of the pond for several years, and the American sailing community is only recently becoming aware of Waterlog’s existence, simplicity, reliability, and affordability. Yes, the Waterlog watermaker is much less expensive than electric watermakers, and replacement parts cost much less. Prices vary with the daily exchange rate of the British pound sterling, but a midsize Waterlog costs around $2,000. It is available in the United States from our company, Hotwire Enterprises in St. Petersburg, FL. For further information, go to http://www.svhotwire.com/ Libbie Ellis and John Gambill Hotwire Enterprises Empowering Energy Solutions Ph/Fax: (727) 217-9809 Libbie and John, I have heard of this through the grapevine but never really talked to anyone who has ever had one. I would be real interested in hearing from a reader who might have one and could tell us how they work, their actual experience towing one, maintenance, output, etc. Any readers out there who have experience with one, please let us know. Editor

THE GREEN FLASH RETURNS We have been in the tropics for about 12 years and have seen the green flash many times. What the observer expects to see may be important. All of our sightings were under clear conditions and looking over water. The flash occurs as the upper limb of the sun sinks below the horizon. The size and intensity vary considerably. The 14

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green spot can be fairly intense and may be quite small. We have never seen anything more than about 1/8 of the apparent sun diameter. The duration is about one second. Binoculars are a great aid in many cases, but don’t look until the sun has almost completely set. About half of the time, we would not have noticed anything without the glasses. Many, but not all of our sightings have been at sea, but there has been a reasonable percentage viewed from land, both in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. We don’t recall any sightings above about 20 degrees north. We have known cruisers who claim to have also observed the flash just prior to sunrise but think that it would be very difficult to know where and when to look. Donald and Judith Kline S/Y Daisy D Donald and Judith, I was lucky enough to see the green flash for the first time while heading south in the recent race to Key West from Clearwater, FL. It was a small, bulbous, intense round green flash that was much smaller than I expected. It was definitely quick but made my day as I had yearned to see it for many years-and I have been watching sunsets for most of my life-being from the coast of California. This area is definitely above 20 degrees north, and sightings of the green flash have been reported frequently on the west coast of Florida, which is in the high 20s. There is also a Green Flash restaurant on the beach in Mission Beach, CA (just north of San Diego), that has many times been the location of many green flash sightings, and this is in the 30-plus degrees north area. Editor

U.S. GOVERNMENT INDICTS PETER GOLDSMITH AND MICHELE GESLIN FOR REGATTA TO CUBA What’s wrong with this picture? Osama’s still out there spending his Saudi wealth. Corporate executives with multimillion dollar salaries are bankrupting companies along with thousands of employees and investors who are dragged down in the process. Consumer credit card interest rates are at an all time high while the cost of money for the rich is at an all time low. And the U.S. Attorney General finds time to prosecute two sailors who organized a regatta and carried humanitarian aid to Cuba. Peter Goldsmith and Michele Geslin are facing up to 15 years on felony charges of “trading with the enemy” due to their role in a sailing event from Key West to Cuba and return. The U.S. government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuing grand jury indictments and now criminal prosecution against Geslin, a Key West sailmaker, and her partner Goldsmith...and they likely will spend their life savings defending themselves against a politically-driven show of force which panders to the wealthy extremist right wing element of Cubans living in South Florida. Ironically, it may just be a case such as this which forces legal review of the anti-Cuba policy and ultimately ends the failed embargo. Doran Cushing St. Petersburg, FL Doran, There is something wrong with this picture. American citizens have been indicted for traveling to a foreign country on their own boats with their own money. I guess the current administration doesn’t believe it is their own money. In our July 2003 issue, which is available online at www.southwindssailing.com, we published a letter from Peter Goldsmith where he explained the conditions and situation that sailors were sailing under in the trip to Cuba, and that the agents harassed See LETTERS continued on page 16 NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

LETTERS Continued from page 15 editor@southwindssailing.com Web site: southwindssailing.com PO Box 1175,Holmes Beach FL 34218 Fax: (941) 795-8705

them on their return, explaining that they had “changed their minds” about the export license. This is truly an unbelievably sad example of government wasting its citizens’ time and money. It would be even sadder if the agents felt proud of their actions. Maybe they were just “following orders.” These indictments are an outrage, and let’s hope that people will rally to support Geslin amd Goldsmith, and that there will be no plea bargaining because of the intimidation presented by an indictment handed out by a government that has a prosecutor for every day of the week and what appears to be unlimited funds. I have heard that Michele Geslin believes she will lose her sailmaking business as they spend money and time on their defense. That would be a shame. The best would be that they will go to trial, and the law is proven unconstitutional, and they will be heroes and not lose their business. Anyone who believes in the U.S. Constitution and the freedoms it protects will be against convicting these people. Unfortunately, an indictment alone is enough of a hassle to have the same effects as a punishment. Individuals from all political spectrums in this country should defend these two. Besides, they are sailors trying to sail to the largest island in the Caribbean, and the closest one, too. Let me see, what were they carrying, besides their own good will? Humanitarian supplies. Doesn’t sound like a crime to me. Editor

WILL OPENING CUBA BRING ABOUT MORE FREEDOM AND DEVELOPMENT? The fallacy that “people to people” relations brings about more freedom and development is just a fallacy. Cuba has been “for sale” since they lost the subsidies from their colonial master in downtown Moscow a decade ago. Since then, all the “openness” has brought nothing more than more repression and executions. Now as you well know, the country is known as the “Thailand” of the Caribbean for good reasons. Go on and sail to other great destinations: North Korea, Libya, Somalia, etc., etc. Sincerely, Frank Resillez Frank, We are a sailing magazine and not a political magazine, but I do have a degree in political science, so I can’t resist too much. But I will limit the length of my discourse here. Got any successful examples where embargoes have worked? I can name some places where we had embargoes. Let’s see. Iraq, North Korea —to name two. We traded and traveled with the evil empire. Remember them? How about another perspective? Give us the freedom to not go there and not trade with them if we so choose and the freedom to go there and trade with them if we so choose. You don’t have to go and others can if they want. I won’t force you to go and you don’t force others from going. Freedom of choice. You can try and talk them out of it, though. And Cuba has been for sale since the first sailors from Europe stepped on this then-inhabited island. I apologize to many of our sailing readers. I know we are a sailing magazine, but I just couldn’t resist. But I will limit political discussions in the future that do not directly relate to sailing (kind of), although I do believe that politics begins when two or more people get together. Thanks for your letter and let’s keep the discourse open, although SOUTHWINDS might not be the appropriate place. Anyone out there want to finance a new magazine? We’ll call it The Politics of Sailing to Cuba. Editor 16

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July 2004

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BOATEK

By Stephen Sommer

SOLUTIONS TO ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, AIR-CONDITIONING, REFRIGERATION AND OTHER YACHT SYSTEMS

Hooking Up Your Stereo Steve: I have a nice automotive-style stereo system installed in the saloon, where my TV and HiFi VCR are. Can I connect the VCR audio output to the stereo for “surround sound”?

ou ask a very good and frequently asked question. After all, if you already have a nice stereo and a good quality source for stereo sound when you are watching a tape, why listen to the single 3-inch speaker that comes with the 13-inch TV? This question comes up for a variety of sources including portable DVD players, MP3 music players, and laptop computers that play everything from games to music, to DVDs to compressed video on hard disc. I’ve even been asked how to get the SSB sound to go through the stereo speakers. If you visit a stereo or electronics store, they will readily offer you two options. They sell RF modulators, which are actually micro-power FM stereo broadcast stations. You use your FM radio to receive the signal to send to the speakers. An audiophile would not approve because there is always degradation when the form of audio is put through extra conversions. This actually works fairly well on boats, because one of the problems that has given this method a bad name is when strong local FM stations overpower the micro-power FM modulator. We rarely have strong FM stations in remote anchorages out in the islands. The second method, which is commonly available in stereo stores, is a cassette tape adapter. This is often part of the “road kit” included with some portable stereos. This is a device that looks like a cassette tape with a wire attached to it. This works okay, but the audio quality suffers from the conversion from electrical to magnetic and back again, which is needed to get the signal into the “play” head of the cassette player. Another problem is that more and more automotive stereos have a CD player and no cassette player. An audiophile would accept nothing less than a direct electrical interface. There are three ways that I know of to connect directly to an automotive stereo. You can buy a stereo that has a line-level input. These are usually intended for plugging a portable device, like an MP3 player, into the front panel. A few have rear panel inputs, which makes your installation much more professional-looking. Surprisingly enough, the cheaper stereos are the ones with the line level input. If your stereo has a few years on it, consider replacing it with one of these. If you are using a CD changer, in addition to the basic stereo unit, check to see if your system uses a control cable and a pair of familiar-looking RCA phono cables, between the changer and the stereo. You can put a switch box in line with the RCA cables and introduce your new sources of audio. The only catch is that you have to play a CD in the changer constantly, or the stereo will not accept the input and send it to the speakers. I’ve seen many CD changers worn out doing just this for many hours. Check with the manufacturer of your stereo to see if it has an Aux input control unit. Some offer a box that you put between the stereo and a CD changer (if you have one), which actually interfaces with the control signals to give you additional input selections on your stereo’s “mode” menu. I’ve used one that even has a digital USB input to take data directly from a computer! These boxes are hard to find, because the majority

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

of auto stereo salesmen don’t know about them. Ask to see the manufacturer’s accessory book and look for yourself. There is a drastic alternative to avoid the limitations inherent in using an automotive stereo, which is to use a household stereo instead. There are two things wrong with this idea. First, the household stereo will be much larger. Most people don’t want a small home stereo. They spend a lot of money on it, so it should be big and impressive. The second problem is that there is almost no incentive for household stereos to be efficient with respect to power consumption. With today’s inverters, it’s not a problem to provide power to a household stereo, but it’s a major waste of battery power if you like to listen to the stereo a lot. Any of these methods will yield impressive results if your stereo is relatively well situated around your TV, but it’s still not “surround sound,” unless you choose the household stereo approach and manage to find a place for five speakers and a subwoofer in your saloon. This is totally subjective, but in my opinion, you get the most “bang for the buck” by just going for a clean interface to a simple, but good quality, two-speaker auto stereo system. You may have noticed that I have drifted from a simple interface to your VCR, to a host of other audio sources. That’s because it’s a natural progression. The new sources of music and video fit right into a cruiser’s budget, both in respect to the cost and the space required. DVDs are much more compact than tapes and hard-disc-based music players are cheaper and smaller than any other form of large music library. Your laptop computer can be your video screen, your music library, your navigation computer and your e-mail handler! The one thing that a laptop falls very short on is the speaker system. So hook it up! Stephen Sommer is a degreed electrical engineer with extensive experience in electrical, mechanical, refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and holds a USCG Masters license. He consults in all areas of yacht systems, which include all the equipment on board yachts beyond a basic hull and motor or sails. Have a systems problem or question? Ask Stephen Sommer. Email: boatek@southwindssailing.com.

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July 2004

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SHORT TACKS Peter Goldsmith and Michele Geslin Indicted by the Federal Government for Organizing the Conch Republic Cup On June 10, a federal grand jury indicted the organizers of the Conch Republic Cup, Peter Goldsmith and Michele Geslin, on two counts of providing unlicensed travel services to Cuba. This charge is for their actions in the 2003 Conch Republic Cup and for their actions in two prevous Cup races in 2000 and 2002. The federal government indictments charge that the two were providing travel services to other persons traveling to Cuba without a proper OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) permit, even though they were warned, as stated in the official government press release (www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/ Geslin.htm). If convicted on the first count of the indictment, each person faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000. If convicted on the second count, each defendant faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum fine of $100,000. Michele Geslin indicated that the federal prosecutors told her they were going after her sailmaking business, Geslin Sailmakers, a small sailmaking loft in Key West. Is the Intracoastal Waterway in Danger of Closing Down? From the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center Many boaters and marine organizations are totally unaware that the United States Congress has allocated exactly $0 in fiscal year 2005 for funding for dredging and necessary maintenance of the ICW from North Carolina to Florida. Already, Lockwoods’ Folly in North Carolina has shoaled to three feet at low water, and commercial vessels are required to request permission for passage in advance. Cruisers returning north note depths of six feet at high tide. The historic Dismal Swamp Canal still carries six-foot depths, but due to lack of funding for the locks in FY 2005, closure is a certainty without positive action. It won’t be long before many more areas of the ICW are rendered impassable to sailboats and, shortly thereafter, to vessels of all types, commercial and recreational. One problem is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has declared the ICW a “low use” waterway, basing that decision on commercial tonnage. No consideration is given to the thousands of boaters who transit the ICW on their way south to Florida, the Bahamas or the Caribbean each year, the tens of thousands of trips made by sport fisherman, and the heavy usage of the Waterway by local boaters. In fact, recreational boating is not

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

counted—at all! Recreational boaters are apparently not a factor in this decision. What are the ramifications of this decision? First of all, the many thousands of boaters who use the Waterway as their route south in the fall will be forced to either travel outside on the Atlantic Ocean ... or, far more likely, will curtail their travel south, at least by boat. This affects boaters from as far north as the Great Lakes in Canada and the United States, and all of the northern states. It affects every single marine-oriented business on the East Coast, as well as the many businesses catering to transients and local boaters on the Waterway, from boat towing companies to restaurants. Millions of dollars spent by boaters transiting the Waterway will be lost to these businesses as a result of this decision. And, not the least of considerations, a valuable and historic national resource will be lost to the citizens of the United States. We are asking all boaters and marine-oriented organizations and businesses to speak out against this decision. If we stand together, we can prevent this disastrous decision from destroying one of America’s most important recreational boating assets. Contact your congressmen and demand their support of full funding for the Dismal Swamp Canal and for maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the Corps of Engineers budget. For further information, please contact Penny Leary Smith, Director, Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, 252-771-8333, or e-mail dscwelcome@coastalguide.com. Further resources: http://www.atlintracoastal.org/; www.dismalswamp.net. U.S. Coast Guard Safety Alert – Prosar Technologies Products, May 25 The U.S. Coast Guard has issued the following Safety Alert. Recently during routine inspections, several U.S. Coast Guard offices have discovered defective lifejacket lights made by PROSAR Technologies. Some of these lights were found with very noticeable deformations due to battery corrosion while others appeared perfectly normal but did not work when tested. Attempts to contact the manufacturer for repair or replacement of this equipment failed because the company is no longer in business. The U.S. Coast Guard is canceling all approvals for PROSAR Technologies lifesaving equipment because of the lights which have failed during testing and the fact that quality control of all their safety products cannot be verified.

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

SHORT TACKS

A complete list of the models and the complete safety alert with photo may be found on the Web: www.uscg.mil/hq/gm/moa/docs/prosar.htm. The Coast Guard strongly recommends that vessel owners and operators using any of the PROSAR Technologies equipment listed above replace those items with other USCG approved safety equipment. For a complete list of USCG-approved products, please visit our CGMIX Web site at http:// cgmix.uscg.mil/Default.aspx and conduct a search for the product desired. If similar problems are identified with other lights not manufactured by PROSAR Technologies, or if you have questions regarding this safety alert, contact Lt. Todd Howard of the Lifesaving and Fire Safety Standards Division at thoward@comdt.uscg.mil or (202) 267-6854. Sail America Announces Renaming of All of its Boat Shows to Strictly Sail The five boat shows co-produced by Sail America and National Marine Manufacturers Association will now all fall under the Strictly Sail brand, according to a recent press release from Sail America. The Strictly Sail moniker, currently in use in Miami and Chicago, will now also be used for shows in St. Petersburg, FL, Philadelphia, PA, and Oakland, CA, replacing the Sail Expo name used previously, Sail America said. The change was made because show organizers say it will allow for more powerful branding of the events as a series of

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

the best all-sail shows in the country. “Our shows include the most comprehensive gatherings of sailboats, gear and equipment in the country, and attract crowds that are passionate about sailing in five of the highest concentrated areas for sailing in the country,” said Sail America executive director Scot West. “The Strictly Sail name best reflects those elements of each of our shows.” The National Boat Show Committee—which includes representation from NMMA and Sail America—recommended to the Sail America board that it use the Strictly Sail name going forward, following the completion of surveys with exhibitors and past show attendees. Exhibitors showed no preference between Sail Expo and Strictly Sail, but when attendees were asked, they chose the Strictly Sail name at a ratio of 2-to-1 compared with Sail Expo and 5-to-1 over the next option, according to the associations. “I am extremely pleased with this decision,” NMMA president Thom Dammrich said. “With all shows falling under the Strictly Sail banner, it will eliminate confusion for our exhibitors, allow us to communicate more effectively about the shows in consumer and trade promotions and showcase these five events to sailors nationwide as the shows for everything sailing.” Dates for the five Strictly Sail shows are: Strictly Sail St. Petersburg November 4-7, 2004 Strictly Sail Philadelphia January 20-23, 2005 (Premiere event) Strictly Sail Chicago February 3-6, 2005 Strictly Sail Miami February 17-21, 2005 Strictly Sail Pacific April 13-17, 2005

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ADVERTISE YOUR SAILING SERVICES IN OUR NEW DIRECTORY. See the sample ads in the directory above for prices. Contact a sales representative for advertising. Steve Morrell editor@southwindssailing.com (941) 795-8704 Florida Keys Rebecca Burg angel@artoffshore.com (305) 304-5118

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July 2004

KEY WEST RACE

19th Annual Key West Rendezvous Regatta 2004 May 19, Clearwater Yacht Club By Steve Morrell

his year 78 boats entered the race to Key West, sponsored by the Clearwater Yacht Club. Traditionally, the race, now called the Key West Rendezvous Regatta, left from Clearwater and Naples, and this year a third start was added from off Boca Grande. Florida Sailing Association’s Big Boat Championship in Key West, and the Key West to Naples race on the return are also part of the Rendezvous. Entries have increased from 24 in 2000 to 78 this year. Much of what has made this possible has been the support of Dennis and Susan Rearden through the sponsorship The Galleon Marina with regatta boats. Photo by Steve Morrell of Vox Vodka. This year’s race was marked by a variety of wind condiskippered by Bob Buzelli, crossed the finish line with a total elapsed time of 24 hours and 15 minutes. Merlin also took first tions, some breakdowns and a few adventures—not surprising with this many boats. in the class in corrected time, followed by Key Lime in second and Strider in third. All three arrived in Key West before the The start off Clearwater was noon on May 19 with 12-15 knots of wind. Spinnaker boats were required to round the MOA monohull Velux. Doran Cushing, onboard Key Lime, a Corsair F-31 trimaran buoy farther west, and many of that class took the rhumb line from there to Key West. Non-Spinnaker, Multihull, and True that finished second overall and in corrected time in the Multihull division from Clearwater, stated, “The race was tacCruising were not required to sail that far west, and some boats hugged close to shore. Some went farther out. In 2003, winds tical only in trying to shorten the distance by not straying too far from the rhumb line while staying in the breeze through the were non-existent farther out, and many boats this year stayed closer to shore in search of evening offshore winds. night. Aboard Key Lime, we slowed to under five knots off the wind for an hour or so during the lightest part of the first night, As it turned out, winds were plentiful for almost everyone except in the middle of Florida Bay on Thursday afternoon but when the wind filled from the east/southeast, we were close-hauled and close-reaching at 10 to 15 knots all the way where many floated in the doldrums for hours-some for as little as three hours and others for as long as 10 hours. across Florida Bay to the finish. Merlin finished less than 30 minutes in front of us, but we never saw them after the first First to arrive in Key West in the Spinnaker monohull class was Steve Mills and crew aboard the J/125, Velux. Steve sailed evening. Key Lime sailed with a crew of four including owner Kurt Gregory.” with winds of 15 knots from the start and, except for several hours when the winds died down, this condition held. Although Since most boats reported hitting the doldrums in the middle of Florida Bay on Thursday from early afternoon on, first to arrive at 5:07 Thursday afternoon, Velux placed fifth in corrected time in the Spinnaker A class (Velux also was first to it appears that the multihull and faster monohulls missed these by passing through these areas earlier and a little bit finish in the recent Regata del Sol al Sol race to Mexico, although the boat placed fifth in corrected time. Velux has a rating of -3.) farther to the west. John Hargraeves, on board the Hunter Legend 37, Special First place in the class was taken by Intimidator. To no one’s surprise, multihulls were the first to arrive in K, owned and skippered by Bob Klement, sailing from Clearwater in Non-Spinnaker, said they experienced steady Key West from Clearwater. At 12:36 Thursday afternoon, Merlin, a trimaran designed by Peter Wormwood and owned and winds for most of the ride south till about 2 p.m. on Thursday 26

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when, in the middle of Florida Bay, winds came to a complete halt. This lasted till midnight giving them ten hours of doldrums-drifting and seeking any light breeze to move them out of the heat and toward Key West. Twenty knot winds then carried them into the finish to arrive just before 6 a.m. Friday. Children at Play, a Wavelength 33, in the Spinnaker class out of Naples, skippered by Jack Grafe and Brent Hamilton was about 40 miles south of Naples when the crew almost lost their mast due to chainplate failure. They dropped out in winds gusting to 33 knots and had to motor back to Naples. This year the start off Boca Grande began at noon on Thursday, and four boats, each having its own class, made the startand four trophys were handed out. Each of the boats won in their class, of course. It is hoped that next year this start will include more boats. It was reported that another boat (SOUTHWINDS is sure of this story but unsure of the boat or departure location), believed to have been out of Boca Grande, lost its rudder early on in the race and called a towing service who responded that since ocean conditions were rough that night, they would not come out in those conditions, so the boat anchored offshore and spent the night waiting till it was towed in in the morning. Many boats have found the final leg into Key West down the Northwest Channel to be a bit challenging—especially when winds forced tacking down the channel. One of the boats out of Boca Grande, Windig, an Irwin 43 owned and skippered by Bill Hoffman, with a crew of three women, was forced to tack as they approached the marker at the beginning of the channel on Friday afternoon. After losing ground in rain and three hours of tacking, they decided to motor in, knowing that tacking up the channel would probably put them in Key West after midnight. As it was, they came in at 8:30 that evening.

THE ADVENTURES OF THE SLOOP BLUE MOON The boat that had the most adventurous journey was Blue Moon, a C & C 40 owned by Bobby Crawford and Nancy Baird. Blue Moon left Clearwater sailing in the True Cruising with Spinnaker class (sailing with a gennaker, or cruising spinnaker). They raised their gennaker shortly after the noon start and were sailing in good conditions and making about 7 knots in 12-plus knots of wind. They had left most of their class competitors behind and were catching up and passing many in the Non-Spinnaker class. As the wind built up around sunset, they lowered the gennaker, which was raised and lowered in a sock. Unfortunately the halyard got stuck, and it couldn’t be lowered, so with gennaker strapped to the mast part way up— and the top part flailing in the wind—they continued on their way. In the early morning hours on Thursday they then had problems with the roller-furled headsail, and the jib came down with the halyard also stuck at the top. By this time, they were off the Boca Grande inlet and knew that racing to Key West was not one of their best options. They discussed someone going up top to investigate and possibly fix the problem, but with 4- to 5-foot seas, 18 knots of wind, and total darkness, they decided against that option but knew they needed to get repairs completed under more controlled conditions. Knowing Boca Grande pass is not the best inlet to enter unless conditions are optimal (especially in the dark), they made the decision to motor down and go inside at Fort Myers Beach, a much more protected and easily accessible inlet. They arrived at Ogden’s Marina around 9 a.m., where reNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

Blue Moon’s crew. From left to right, Julie Francis, Steve Bird, Linda Loetell, Nancy Baird, Isabelle Audet, Doug King, and Bobby Crawford. Photo by a mad cow.

pairs were quickly made, and they were on their way by 11:30 a.m. They had restocked with ice and other refreshments and were enjoying some noon beer-drinking while under way when the idea occurred to them that they could possibly join the Naples to Key West race, which departed from Naples at 7 p.m. (This could be proof that beer drinking can boost one’s boldness and creativity.) They contacted the race committee in Naples who were obliging enough to welcome them in that race, and they then proceeded to motorsail to Naples, and arrived two hours before the start time. They started with 12-15 knots of wind on a close reach, ran into one nice rainstorm and some doldrums like many others and then, at last, fighting an outgoing current with virtually no wind as they proceeded down the Northwest channel, they crossed the finish line around 11:30 Friday morning. I suggested to Bobby Crawford that they rename the boat Tenacious after that endeavor (which would also be an appropriate name), and we joked that the crew should receive a special award for their persistence, although it was rumoured that they enjoyed themselves along the way by drinking beer and other refreshment and always had good food onboard.

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

KEY WEST RACE doldrums in Florida Bay—conditions experienced by most on this trip. To save weight and conserve space, their only refreshment on board was water, and their meals were MREs. Yes, that’s right; MREs. Meals Ready to Eat. Food fit for war and other harsh conditions. Deciding not to sail back, possibly because of fear of eating more MREs, Dave’s wife brought the boat trailer down, and they towed the boat home to Tampa Bay. I have been told that the crew on Mad Cow have sailed together for a long time, know the boat well and are an exceptional crew. I applaud them and another special award and congratulations should be handed out to them for their efforts. Few would Mad Cow at the Galleon in Key West. Sleeping quarters were on deck on this J/24. Photo by make a trip like this with this many on such a boat, and even fewer would go along for the food Steve Morrell. and drink-all this while racing. Of course, doing so on a leisurely pace would make the trip last longer. Could be My hat goes off to owners Bobby Crawford and Nancy an incentive to go faster. Baird, and crew.

FIVE ABOARD A J/24: MAD COW To sail a 24-foot boat from Clearwater to Key West non-stop has certainly been done many times before, but more than likely boats that size are designed more for coastal cruising, and accommodations are probably more geared to a greater level of comfort than that offered by a J/24. To do so with a crew of five makes such a trip a truly unique feat, and I can personally testify, having talked to the crew several times as I walked past their small boat at the Galleon docks, that they were in as jovial a mood as anyone there-and enjoyed this race as much as others like myself, who had the comforts of a larger boat. I marveled when one of the crew pointed to the different spots on deck where crewmembers slept. What space on deck? Owners Ed Ruark and Dave German had recently refitted Mad Cow with new equipment and gear after two months of work and were using this race as their shakedown cruise (perhaps cruise is not the proper term here). They showed up early on Wednesday morning off Clearwater at the race start to test the new equipment and see how it would all perform, and determined that all was well. Sailing in the Spinnaker class, they rounded the MOA off Tampa Bay and then headed closer to shore in search of winds, hoping to get to another rhumb line south—somewhere around Venice. They too ran into a thunderstorm and eight hours of

AVE DEL MAR, A WESTSAIL 32, RACES TO KEY WEST—AND GOES FAST! Not known for its racing ability, Westsail 32s have carried many sailors over many sea miles in the cruising world. Ave del Mar, out of Naples and skippered by Jim Wylie, raced to Key West. Jim seemed to love the conditions and the race. He reported: “The Naples/Key West race started with ideal weather conditions for a Westsail 32. Winds were out of the west at about 10-15 knots with relatively calm seas. As expected, during the night, the winds died and then clocked around to the east at 2025 knots and the seas built to 4-6 feet (Westsail weather). We could still see many of the boats in our class all around us, but with our increased speed (7 1/2 - 8 knots) we appeared to be closing the gap with the boats ahead of us. “At about 3:00 a.m. Friday morning, I did my routine sail inspection and found that a seam in the main had parted, leaving a gaping hole from leach to luff. After an unsuccessful emergency repair, we decided to douse the main and continue with just the jib and staysail.Our speed reduced to just over six knots, but at least we were still sailing and could hopefully finish the race. “The final test would be tacking down the Northwest channel against the wind with just a jib and staysail. I lost track of the number of tacks it took, but we finally crossed the finish line about 12:50 p.m., and to our amazement found that we had taken a second-place spot just five minutes behind the firstplace boat (in corrected time). “Many thanks to the crew of Ave del Mar for their persistence and fine seamanship.”

ONBOARD DEBORAH: SNATCHING DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY Deborah, a Pearson 365, almost didn’t make the race from Naples to Key West. Two days before the start, its third crewmember (rules require three minimum) canceled. Having already paid the race fees and dockage, owner John Hodes made over 30 calls trying to find crew to make the race. He had given up on the race when he finally got a call the day before the race from someone interested in going. Back in the race, he hurriedly fuels up his boat and rushes to the skippers meeting to register and get his race packet. HearSee RENDEZVOUS continued on page 61 28

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SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindssailing.com

Clearwater to Key West on Intrepid, J/40 By Steve Morrell

had the good fortune to sail aboard Intrepid, a J/40 owned by Jeff and Susan Russo of St. Petersburg. They had campaigned the boat in the 2002-2003 series of races in Tampa Bay

go along with J-boats, yet it carries comfortable accommodations below and a large cockpit for enjoyable, above-deck cruising. Under sail, especially in winds above 15 knots, the boat gives one the feeling of a powerful boat that always yearns to go faster-and loves it. It never seems to have enough wind to be totally satisfied. With a rating of 91, many non-spinnaker boats need to be behind and out of sight for Intrepid to place well-and this has happened often in its racing past, both with Jeff and Susan as owners and under a previous owner. She has won the Clearwater to Key West Race several times. A crew of eight experienced sailors went along for the ride to Key West aboard this wonderful boat. The boat was being sailed in the Non-Spinnaker class. The first day started out crossing the line on a beam reach, port tack with easterly winds, and we were at the front of the pack for the first two hours as we headed south to take the sea buoy off Tampa Bay to port. An outgoing freighter, seemingly perfectly timed to be on a collision course with the lead boats, hailed the sailing yachts to confirm their intentions to give way. Timing could not have been more perfect (or is it imperfect?) for an encounter. Several, Intrepid included, had to significantly alter course to avoid the outbound ship. This cost Intrepid and others in the lead to lose some of the gains they had made in the first few hours of the race. The rest of our day was sailed on a broad reach, wing and wing with pole up, keeping somewhat close to shore in search

The Intrepid crew. Photo by someone walking down the dock.

and won Davis Island Boat of the Year and WFPHRF Woman’s Boat of the Year, plus number two spots in the Tampa Bay Yacht Racing Association Champions of the Bay series as well as the West Florida PHRF series. This last season they decided to take the year off from racing, but my previous experience with them proved they know the boat well and race it aggressively. Besides being the best of hosts, Jeff and Susan also pride themselves in being dedicated cooks, and there is never a shortage of good food and drink on Intrepid. The J/40 is not the typical J-boat that most people envision-the racing “sled” design that is typical of J-boats. This is a true cruiser/offshore racer with all the quality and features that NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

KEY WEST RACE

Jeff and Sue Russo, owners of Intrepid. The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, in the background, was in Key West during the Rendezvous. Photo by Steve Morrell.

of the land-effect offshore breezes that so often arise along Florida’s west coast as the peninsula heats up with the longer days. Last year, in the 2003 race, Jeff and Susan, along with many others, sailed offshore in search of winds yet ran into complete calm. Most of last year’s fleet ended up motoring into Key West as calm conditions prevailed throughout the first night of the race, leaving many barely gaining any ground over a 12-hour period. This year’s gamble to stick closer to shore definitely ended up differently. Just about every condition of sail was encountered, except extreme cold-hard to find in late May— which no one claimed to miss. Late Wednesday evening, a series of westbound thunderstorms marched across our path as we headed south. As they seemed to be dissipating on the eastern edge, we had hoped to skirt behind them and left the whisker pole up, desirous to maintain speed. We were doing fairly well in making time to Key West, but one cell captured us, forcing the crew to take down the pole and 155 headsail in heavy shifting winds while getting battered with rain. By the time all was said and done, Intrepid had lost much ground gained earlier, and we continued along at 7+ knots under mainsail only in 17-18 knots of wind. Sometime after midnight, the wind started to die down, so we put the headsail back up and were about to raise the whisker pole when the wind shifted, and we began to sail on a beam reach in conditions that the J/40s were designed for. Reaching 9-10 knots, we sailed along in the early morning hours under clear skies in beautiful and idyllic cruising conditions. Those down below felt the surge, gave up on trying to sleep, and came up top to enjoy what Intrepid does best: go fast. This continued through the early daylight hours till the wind slowly died down, whereupon we encountered several hours of doldrums. This lack of wind, of course, brought on the hot and humid conditions so typical of Florida when no breeze or shade can be found, and some of us still wondered if cold would not have been better at this point. Making little headway and stuck in the middle of Florida Bay, yet attempting to get some movement by raising a small drifter and sailing in any direction except north to try and move the boat, Intrepid seemed to have lost ground in its trek to Key West. As we slowly drifted 10 miles off our intended rhumb line and no closer to Key West, we all wondered how 30

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long this would last, and as the calm continued, we one by one gave up on reaching the Conch Republic for any late night happy hour-like celebrations. The fact that we did not turn to heavy beer-drinking under these thirsting conditions is truly admirable (one or two were consumed, nevertheless). As all things do come to an end, so did the doldrums, and by late afternoon, the winds began to increase. We again sailed under beautiful conditions till early evening when the winds picked up to 17-18 knots, whereupon we put a reef in the main and continued on towards the Northwest Channel outside Key West, planning to arrive at the channel’s outermost light sometime after midnight Friday morning. Before reaching that mark, we encountered a string of shrimpboats, which lay scattered across our path from east to west, appearing like a series of brightly lit streetlights on the dark horizon. Working our way through them, we managed to enter the channel around midnight. We were lucky with the wind as we earlier foresaw the probability of tacking up the channel—not the most desired way to enter a channel which is only a few hundred yards wide with lit red markers to starboard and mostly unlit green markers to port (one of which we saw up close). This under 17-18 knots of wind and at night. Although we did not have to tack, we did sail down the channel close-hauled, making the approach all the more exciting. At last, we managed to cross the finish line in calm waters outside the Galleon Resort and Marina around 1:30 a.m.— still enough time to have a few celebratory beers in the wee hours of the morning but too late to meander down Duvall Street for further excitement. All in all, it was a truly exciting trip down, which encountered all the fun and challenges of sailing. We’ll take this over calms and motoring any day. The rest of the Key West Rendezvous 2004 (as they now call it) included lots of walking and talking-with drinks in hand and good food all around. I also was fortunate enough to have SOUTHWINDS’ Keys editor and artist Rebecca Burg and her friend Capt. Bill Robinson (local fishing guide, sailor and photographer) act as tour guides both on land and water during my short stay in the Conch Republic. We’ll be back next year, but do we go outside or stay close to shore for those ever-sought-after winds? We’ll see, as each time it is a gamble.

Shady Lady, Cal 34, Clearwater to Key West By Capt. Anne Wister

otoring out of Clearwater Pass to the starting line, the wind was uncommitted, and we wondered if we would be sitting becalmed or motoring to Key West again this year. Some of the early boats flew spinnakers across the starting line, and by the time the True Cruising class started, the wind began to fill in, and we watched the colored chutes heading for the southwestern horizon as we set our course for the PassA-Grille outer marker. Shady Lady, Steve Honour’s Cal 34, carried her 180 genoa www.southwindssailing.com

and homemade, super-long pole as we kept the outer markers to port and settled in at 172 degrees heading for Smith’s Shoal. The wind held, and we breathed a sigh of relief as the Skyway Bridge slowly faded from view-especially after last year’s no wind and 14-hour Skyway watch. We watched the spinnaker boats disappearing westward on their way to MOA, some with chutes trimmed close to the starboard rail in the port tack southeast breeze. Sailing the familiar course (Steve’s 15th race to Key West) at around seven knots, Shady Lady slid on by some of the other true cruisers who had had a better start and then started checking off some non-spinnaker boats one by one. When I came up for my 11 p.m. watch, Craig was alone at the helm. As I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, he said, “Looks like a storm ahead.” I felt the wind freshen and heard Craig call brother Steve from below with, “Storm on the bow!” Steve called back, “Get the jib down!” and flew out of the companionway, harness on. He hooked in, ran forward and we wrestled the 180 down onto the deck as the wind sprang from 10 to 20 knots. Diane Allen counted five drops of rain as we sailed main alone till the storm front passed, then put up the 150 and sailed on through the night. It looked like a clear shot with good breeze, but by Thursday at 1:30 p.m. the wind had disappeared, and we started to sweat. We kept racing, looking for puffs, trying to skirt the holes and will ourselves to the mirage of wind lines ahead and managed a knot and a half for a bit, but finally came to a dead calm and sat in the doldrums for four and a half hours.

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The only consolation was the flat seas, after the 2- to 3-foot chop of the night before. We dropped an anchor at one point when the GPS read 54.2 miles from Smith’s Shoal after reading 54.1 a moment before. The anchor touched bottom, but Shady Lady went forward over it so we pulled it back up on deck and worked hard for our .5-2 knots for another three to four hours. We did the math and knew we had to start the engine at 1:30 a.m. Friday to make it to the first party (a Shady Lady prerequisite) and waited patiently, hoping for wind, good wind. The wind gods were with us, and at 11:30 Thursday night a storm front came over, gave us a great gust, another quick 180-150 headsail change (one minute bare-headed) and we were off at seven knots in the fresh, and lasting, easterly breeze. Watching the lights of five other boats through the night, passing two and jockeying back and forth with another, we rounded Smith’s Shoal at daybreak, putting another few boats behind us, and sailed on a freshening 16-18 knot breeze right up to the port beam of a Disney cruise ship. Three tacks and we were over the finish line with silent acknowledgment, as noise was prohibited till 9 a.m. Our slip wasn’t ready yet so we rafted up at the Key West Bight dock, showered and got ready to party. It was a great race, and we won our class, but the real reward was a weekend in Key West! Captain Anne Wister runs charter sailboats for Dolphin Landings in St. Pete Beach, www.dolphinlandings.com

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May 2004

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SOUTHEAST COAST SAILING

NORTH CAROLINA

Carolinas & Georgia Racing News & Calendar News for Sailors SAILING IN JULY By Rona Garm

SOUTH CAROLINA

July Prevailing Winds See page 62 for Windrose legend

GEORGIA

Beaufort

Wilmington

Charleston

2 31

Savannah SOUTHEAST COAST

Southeast Coast July Weather JULY WATER TEMPERATURE

id-May brought North Carolina sailors out in force. With the warmest temperatures of the season, sunny skies and light winds, participants in the Wrightsville Beach Ocean Racing Association (WBORA) Michelob Mini Series/WBORA Points 1&2/PHRF Intraclub Championship Races 1 and 2 didn’t mind the races doing “triple duty.” First place Racing went to Cothran Harris on the J/24 Double Dare while first place Cruising went to longtime WBORA sailor John Karlof and the crew of Epsilon. The following weekend saw the record for the Albemarle 100 shattered by nearly 90 minutes by the Bavaria 44 Sea Ya owned by Colington Yacht Club Fleet Capt. Frank Silver. That same weekend saw light winds for Southport’s Leukemia Cup Regatta and the first races of the Carolina Yacht Club’s ocean series off Wrightsville Beach. Bob Cowen aboard Murray Seidel’s J/24 Screaming Banshee took first in the Spinnaker fleet while Jim Pike took first in Non-Spinnaker at the Leukemia Cup Regatta. Off Wrightsville Beach, 41 sailors raced four five-leg races for CYC on Sunday afternoon. Jim Harris and crew took home the Lightning first. Top Laser finishers were Glenn Walker and Jimmy Carter, and Greg Zack tied for the Sunfish first. Southport’s Cape Fear Yacht Club ran the second race of its summer PHRF series in great conditions in the Cape Fear River, and it was won by Scott Kaseman (Lucky Stumbler). The 2004 Southeast Lightning District Voodoo Regatta was held in light, light, light winds at Lake Norman with Pete Marriott and crew Lauren and Randy Beauchamp in first. Wrapping up the month of May, the Wilmington Group Offshore Regatta ran from Wrightsville Beach to Beaufort. Robin Team and the Teamwork boys added to their 1993, 1996, and 1999 wins of this race with another first in 2004. SatNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

Cape Hatteras, NC - 78° July 4 - Charleston, urday brought rough Savannah, GA - 85° SC, has a multitude of seas and good winds to AVERAGE JULY TEMPERATURES events celebrating our the 22nd Annual NC Cape Hatteras, NC 74° lo - 85° hi nation’s independence. State Championship ReSavannah, GA 72° lo - 92° hi Last year over 35,000 gatta in Beaufort where For Real Time Southeast people visited AmeriTeamwork put together a Coast Weather go to: ca’s National Carrier string of bullets for a solid www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/ Aviation Museum for first in Spinnaker A. Devil Southeast.shtml the Patriots Point Fourth Dog (Gray) took first in of July Blast. Bands, the Spinnaker B fleet, and food, and fireworks launched from the the Non Spinnaker fleet was won by the aircraft carrier Yorktown. Fireworks will San Juan 28 Kari’d On. also be launched at Brittlebank Park following the Riverdogs baseball game. Nearby Summerville’s annual patriotic celebration, “Red, White, and Blue on the Green,” is an old-fashioned celebration around Hutchinson Square while Folly Beach launches its display from July 1 - Independence Day the ocean at dark. Regatta at the Carolina Yacht Club, www.charlestonlowcountry.com Wrightsville Beach, NC July 9-11 - The 39th Annual www.carolinayachtclub.org Hancock Regatta will be hosted by the July 2 - Full Moon Hancock Marina, MCAS Cherry Point, July 2-3 - Oriental, NC, hosts NC. Due to increased security at the Croaker Fest with a Croaker Queen Conbase, early registration is encouraged, test, music, food and fireworks. This including names of crew members. year’s theme?Croakers in Paradise! www.nyra.org www.towndock.net E-mail: mdmcculley4728@ec.rr.com July 2-5 - Southport’s first official July 10-11 - In the winter of 1962, a Fourth of July celebration was recorded Raleigh socialite and an Oriental, NC, in 1795. It’s grown to a multi-day event dinghy dealer got together with a few and is the Official North Carolina Fourth others to plan a summer social to augof July Celebration. With everything ment the one sailboat in Oriental and celfrom art shows to pancake breakfasts, ebrate the socialite’s birthday. As there games and entertainment for children were no motels or restaurants, everyone and adults, and of course, parades and brought a dish and everyone was welfireworks. The people of Southport income. This event changed Oriental from vite you to join them and share a a quiet fishing village to a coastal retreat memory that will last a lifetime. for the Raleigh workforce. Many of the www.nc4thofjuly.com. current residents are sailors who moved July 3 - As part of the NC Fourth of to Oriental as a result of the social. July Celebration in Southport, Cape Fear www.carolinasailingclub.org Yacht Club hosts its Commodore’s Cup July 16-18 - Summer Sweatbox Regatta. www.cfycnc.com Cruise, Wrightsville Beach, NC to July 3-4 - Lake Norman Yacht Club Southport, NC. www.wbora.org hosts a two-day Independence Day ReJuly 22-25 - The Cape Fear Blues gatta with sailing, fireworks, dinner and Festival brings exceptional live music to dancing. Keelboats, centerboard dinghies downtown Wilmington. and juniors will all race on separate courses. www.capefearblues.com www.lakenormanyachtclub.org

Upcoming Events, Racing & Non-Racing

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

SOUTHEAST COAST SAILING

Sailors Survive Storm Off the Carolina Coast: Technology Aids Rescue By Rona Garm

everal North Carolina sailors got more than they expected during a trip from Wrightsville Beach, NC, to Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas. What was anticipated to be an uneventful three-day trip followed by a few days of snorkeling and bone fishing turned into a fight for survival. In March, three experienced sailors set off aboard Dulcinea, a Pearson 35. They were Bill Fuller, Sr. (owner) of Wilmington, NC, Brian Hovey (owner) of Charlotte, NC, and Tim Balding (crew) of Wilmington, NC. All three sailors and boat had significant offshore experience. Less than 12 hours after their departure, the East Coast was assaulted by a rapidly moving cold front, bringing 60 to 70 mph winds. Suddenly, their relaxing sail became a nightmare. Rescued sailors at USCG Air Station, Although the crew had reduced sail as Eliazbeth City, NC. Photo by Rona Garm. night fell, the sudden gale force winds took them by surprise as the boat was laid over on sion. Although the initial gusts subsided, winds remained her side for several minutes. Sails shredded as the crew above 25 knots, pushing the boat through 10-foot seas unstruggled to regain control of the vessel. Water fouled the der bare poles. engine leaving them without an alternate means of propulAfter an endless night, the crew found themselves still in high winds and caught in the Gulf Stream carrying them northward. Over 60 miles offshore, they were out of cellular Upcoming Events, Racing & Non-Racing and VHF range with no way of contacting help or obtaining continued a weather forecast. A lessening in winds that night gave them a reprieve well into Tuesday when they hoisted a light air July 24-25 - Southeast Lightning District Regatta in gennaker, trying to work their way against the winds and Charleston, SC. www.sailsoutheast.org seas toward the coast. The two crew members spent the day July 25 - Coastal Jazz Sunday at the Hyatt. attempting to repair the engine. Then, arcing electricity damwww.savannahga.gov aged the installed electronics. Throughout the day, the more July 31-1 - The Blockade Runner Beach Resort holds favorable winds propelled them toward the coast, and they two days of racing off Wrightsville Beach, NC. On Satfelt they were making good progress. However, as the winds urday, boats will compete in several round-the-buoy again reached 30 knots, they removed sail, hove to and atraces while Sunday is the traditional Solo Race. tempted sail repairsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with a needle made from a safety pin. www.wbora.org Conditions worsened through the night, and the next day found them drifting northward, past their port of departure, around Frying Pan Shoals and towards Cape Lookout. Little did they know that they were on the edge of a huge low pressure system rolling up the coast. A meeting on their last morning aboard found them hoping that the afternoon would bring a more easterly wind that, along with the Gulf Stream, would bring them within radio range of Beaufort, NC. The sailors huddled below, listening to the increasing winds and building seas. When the 15-foot seas began breaking, they worried that the boat would be completely rolled. By afternoon, all were in agreement. With waves towering 15-20 feet, well over the deck of the boat, they triggered the last minute addition to their equipment - a Pains Wessex SOS Precision 406 GPS EPIRB. Although they were unaware, within minutes a signal had been intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard and a call placed to the skipperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family who anticipated that the sailors were well into the Ba-

July 2004

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SOUTHEAST COAST SAILING hamas after three days of sailing. Imagine the shock when, fifteen minutes later, the USCG called with their location - 90 miles east of Wilmington, their starting point. At the same time, a USCG HC-130 was launched from the nearest facility, into the storm toward the reported location. After three hours, the plane made contact with the boat through the sailorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; handheld radio. With contact established, the HH60 Jayhawk helicopter CG6001 was put in the air with two pilots, Aircraft Commander Sherman and Lt. Harkins, AMT2 Davis, the flight mechanic/hoist operator, and Tim Kessel, the rescue swimmer. Arriving at the boat, USCG personnel reported wind gusts to 50 knots and seas routinely at or above 20 feet with some as high as 40 feet. At this point the sailors had to leave the relative safety of the boat and leap into the seas for a 50yard swim to the rescue swimmer. Cold and wet, they were whisked to the Wilmington, NC, airport where they were greeted by EMS and relieved family and friends. Two days later a salvage effort was attempted, homing on the continuing

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

Dulcinea departing Wrightsville Beach, NC. Photo by Bob Thompson

GPS locator beacon. No vessel was found. June 1, the three rescued sailors relived one of the most terrifying weeks of their lives at the Wilmington Rotary Club meeting. Along with other Rotary members and guests, they were joined by the USCG members who rescued them to view a multi-media presentation of the

rescue. USCG personnel reviewed the capabilities of the rescue craft and their mission, which includes not only search and rescue, but also Medivac and law enforcement. The sailors and their rescuers recalled their experiences so that others could learn from not only their mistakes but also their perseverance and skills during the days they were at the mercy of the sea. When asked if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d go again, all three said yes, but... All would do something different: bring additional equipment for themselves or the boat. However, all were in agreement that the EPIRB saved their lives. Specifically, an EPIRB with an internal GPS receiver that broadcasts an updated, accurate position every 20 minutes. Once activated, the EPIRB transmits for a minimum of 48 hours. Theirs, borrowed from a neighbor on the morning of departure, transmitted for over 72 hours. They all hope that others will also realize that you can never be too prepared, too careful, when dealing with the sea.

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July 2004

OCEAN RACING Gulstreamer Race: Daytona Beach, FL, to Charleston, SC May 28, 225 Nautical Miles By Jim Kempert

scaping what seemed to be a string of bad luck the last time around, this fourth installment of the Halifax River Yacht Club’s Gulfstreamer race from Daytona Beach, FL, to Charleston, SC, was relatively smooth sailing. With more than 20 boats starting and 18 eventually finishing, not to mention winds that held The crew of Knot Numb just before start. Photo by Steve Morrell. steady for about the first “I was talking to a friend who did the Bermuda race, and I half of the race, it was a welcome relief to the organizers who told him I’d like to do that, and he said to try this one,” Doolin saw only three boats finish in 2002. said. “He said it would take about a year to get everything ready, Co-hosted by the Charleston Yacht Club, the biennial so I started then and raced in this one two years ago.” event is an increasingly popular point-to-point overnight The Morgan 30 took third in the Sprint in 2002 and ocean race that takes southeastern sailors over 225 nautical dropped out of the rest of the race, but Doolin spread the word miles, with most avoiding the rhumb line in favor of a big back home. swing offshore to take advantage of the Gulf Stream’s aver“I went to the association and told them it’s a lot of fun,” age 3- to 4-knot northerly push. he said. “In Jacksonville we don’t get any ocean races longer “It was a good event overall,” said Charleston’s Jim than about 30 miles, but in this one you get to spend two or Condon, who sailed on Osprey. “This was my third one, and three days.” this was the best weather of them all.” Race Director and HRYC Commodore Bob Ford, racing on Conditions ranged from a steady southeasterly in the perennial Gulf Streamer Last Mangas, said it took a lot of work teens building to the upper teens and gusting beyond 20 knots during the two off-years to build interest in the event. Friday night that helped some of the speedier spinnaker boats “It’s tough to get these guys out there in these boats,” he push 20 knots over ground once they hit the Stream, to a nearsaid. Some of Ford’s efforts included ads in Sailing World and calm drifter for much of Saturday that was bearable only beSOUTHWINDS that he says showed definite results, and a mailcause of the great gains made the night before. ing to everyone who’s ever raced in or expressed interest in the The race has grown since its first running in 1998, deevent. “Things went our way,” he said. “You learn every time.” spite a trend in most clubs toward shorter day races. This year The race began with the traditional “Sprint” from a start saw three entries from Jacksonville, FL, up from only one, line just outside the Ponce de Leon Inlet and up the coast 10 Angel’s Wing, in 2002. That boat’s skipper, Dave Doolin, said miles to a turning buoy just off Daytona’s Main Street Pier. he found out about the Gulfstreamer after becoming interWith the sea breeze steadily building, the fleet quickly split ested in racing to Bermuda. by displacement as lighter boats shook off their momentum soonest. Winds settled in the southeast at eight to ten knots by the time the first boats reached the pier, making for a good broad reach for most. First to turn the corner was Hunter’s Child, the 1990 Warren Luhrs-designed 50-foot single-hander that finished second in the 1994-1995 BOC under Steve Pettengill and showed up in Daytona fresh off this year’s double-handed Bermuda One/ Two Race. Hunter’s Child went on to also take line honors in Charleston with an elapsed time of 31:57:28. But first place in the Sprint in the spinnaker class went to Tigress, followed by Obsession and Angel’s Wing. In the non-spinnaker class, Copperhead took first in the Sprint, followed by Lionheart, which eventually dropped out of the race, and Daytona’s Last Mangas. In the cruising class, Outward Bound won the Sprint, followed by Sweetwater, another later drop-out, and Sanity. Special trophies went to Tigress for being first to finish with 36

July 2004

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The Gulfstreamer Race in Miss Too, a Hunter 37 from Melbourne Yacht Club By Sherry Beckett

Miss Too at the start off Daytona Beach. Photo by Steve Morrell.

a woman on board at 39:24:50 elapsed time and correcting to second overall, to Shenanigan for catching the largest fish, and to Celadon for finishing last in the cruising class despite an elapsed time of 40:15:29, which was tenth best of the 18 boats that finished. Celadon, it should be noted, was scored with a spinnaker rating of 88 despite declaring cruising class and despite a long record of racing with a rating of 105 in Charleston. In a detailed post-race discussion Bob Ford explained that the race committee used its own system for determining ratings, arriving at a sort of average of various ratings available for each boat. Those who finished soon enough enjoyed a Bloody Mary party late Sunday morning at ChYC, followed later by a hamburger and hot dog cookout. Awards were presented before a Lowcountry Frogmore Stew dinner at ChYC Monday night. See below for complete results. Results: Corrected time in minutes:seconds Spinnaker Class 1. Obsession, 1676:11; 2. Tigress, 1779:50; 3. Angel’s Wing, 1790:42; 4. Hunter’s Child, 1804:58; 5. Shenanigan, 1878:18; 6. Hoodoo, 1933:25. Non-Spinnaker Class 1. Last Mangas, 1850:36; 2. Ricochet, 1880:35; 3. Absolut-Lee, 1895:40; 4. Twilight, 2066:43; 5. Copperhead, 2213:47; 6. Knot Numb, 2282:10. Cruising Class 1. Sanity, 1781:24; 2. Contente, 1788:06; 3. Special Delivery, 1918:43; 4. Outward Bound, 1928:46; 5. Osprey, 1996:48; 6. Celadon, 2086:29.

art of our day-of-race prep was scrounging a spinnaker pole, because it looked as if the wind was going to be nearly dead astern. The new skipper of Miss Too, Bob Sowden, had never even seen his spinnaker before the race. Bob and crewmember Gary Smith found an old 15-foot boom at the local used marine parts store, and bought some track and tackle at West Marine. During the trip down the river to the inlet, the crew attached the track to the mast using duct tape and heavy twine after we found that we didn’t have the right tap for the screws we bought. The “claws” on the pole were some caribiners. This thrown together right actually worked pretty well in the light winds we had. The race started at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 28, at the Ponce Inlet sea bouy, ran up the beach for 10 miles, and then headed straight for Charleston’s outer buoy. We had great conditions at the start, about 10 knots out of the SE, and everyone in the spinnaker class put their chutes up immediately after the start. It was a nice run up the beach. At the turning point, some boats dropped their chutes and went hard on the wind straight east for the Gulf Stream. Miss Too chose to harden up a little and wait for the prevailing west wind to fill in as we diverged with the coast (it ended up taking a lot longer than we expected)! The wind built all evening until we had about 20 knots out of the SE. Later in the evening, the wind switched to south and SW. We dropped the spinnaker as dark approached-we were a little overcanvassed and a little too close to the wind to keep it up all night. Once we put the jib up, we headed more easterly for the Gulf Stream. We finally reached the Gulf Stream about 1 a.m., and made a left turn to follow the stream as long as we could. Our speed over the bottom after that was about 10-12 knots all night, giving us a 3-4 knot boost from the Stream. After about 18 hours of good wind, the wind started dropping at about 8 a.m. (and clocking from SW to N), and by about 2 p.m. Saturday it had dropped to zero. It was glassy calm, but there was still chop and swell (terrible conditions to try to keep a fairly heavy boat moving in light air). We had been fighting the dropping wind for hours (spinnaker up, spinnaker down, trim in, trim out, change helmsman). What wind we’d had since breakfast was directly on the nose...the only wind direction that had not been forecast by anyone anywhere. By about 3 p.m. we were still 55 miles from finish, there was still no wind, and everyone was hot, tired, and aggravated. Skipper Bob Sowden just got fed up and asked, “AnySee OCEAN RACING continued on page 69

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

EASTERN FLORIDA COAST Racing News & Calendar News for Sailors SAILING IN JULY Hurry Up and Wait By Roy Laughlin

he rainy season started one day the first week of June on Florida’s east coast and shows no signs of tapering. The rains have not stopped sailing; it just makes planning a sail or club regatta after lunch a chancy proposition. On the coast, the sea breeze always blows for at least a few hours before rain begins. If you’re lucky enough to make your own schedule, June zephyrs provide a few random hours each day of warm, relaxing sailing. But start as soon as you can each day. Evening sails, however relaxing they can be, are uncertain until later in the summer when a strong Bermuda high circulation pattern will blow storms inland. The hyperactive spring racing schedule is winding down. Most east coast monohull sailors will relax and enjoy the evening club races when weather permits. July Fourth will be a sailing day at several clubs. Cocoa Beach Yacht Club will host the Firecracker Regatta over this holiday weekend. Many other yacht clubs will have a social that will include racing without the hassle of a big event. Catamaran sailors are the exception. Two major beach regattas are scheduled for July. The Daytona Summer Sizzler, July 10 and 11, attracts beach cat sailors from all over the state for a weekend of sailing through the breakers as it was in the beginning of beach cat sailing. (For information, contact Flyahobie16@cfl.com, or see http://www.Fleet80.com. ) The St. Augustine Summer Sizzler, July 31-Aug 1, just makes it into July’s schedule by a day. This is also the NACRA Inter 20 district 3 championships. (Contact Cindi at (904) 641-6734 or visit http:// www.fleet111.com. ) Both are well run regattas with high attendance. For beach cat sailors, these are among the best weekends of the summer. School is out and the evening westerlies are blowing. These are the golden easy days for cruisers to sail off the wind from Florida to the Bahamas. Sometime in July, the Bermuda high will strengthen over the central north Atlantic, causing stronger and more persistent southeasterlies. The easy trip to the Bahamas will be over, but the return will be a quick

Jacksonville

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Eastern Florida July Weather

Melbourne

JULY WATER TEMPERATURE Daytona Beach - 80° Jacksonville Beach - 83° JULY GULFSTREAM CURRENT 3.5 knots AVERAGE JULY TEMPERATURES Daytona Beach 72° lo - 92° hi Jacksonville Beach 74° lo - 89° hi For Real Time East Florida Coast Weather go to: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/ Florida.shtml

July Prevailing Winds See page 62 for Windrose legend

daytime return passage to almost any place south of Port Canaveral. June and July are Florida’s best months for island hopping with just a bit of blue water cruising thrown in for the spice of adventure. If you’re planning a trip this year, all the best. In June, the hurricane season officially began. All weatherfocused media focus on the hurricane season. It’s worth noting that storm lines along the sea breeze fronts here in Florida routinely generate tropical storm force winds lasting from 10 minutes to as much as an hour. If you moor or berth your boat in an exposed location, now is a good time to check the dock lines and mooring gear to make sure they’re in good condition. A hurricane may not pass over Florida this year, but each summer during afternoon storm winds, boats get pounded at docks. Beached catamarans and other sailboats are blown over, or blown off beaches or docks. Checking and replacing lines and other mooring equipment pays now more than at any other time of the year.

Events Calendar To have your sailing event, race, regatta, or club races listed please contact editor@southwindssailing.com by the 10th of the month. Races listed should be open to anyone. July 2 - Full Moon July 3-4 Firecracker Regatta, Cocoa Beach Yacht Club. www.cbyc-fl.org July 4 - Independence Day July 10-11 - Summer Sizzler, Treasure Island Resort, Daytona Beach, Fl, Flyahobie16@cfl.com, www.Fleet80.com July 31-Aug 1 - St. Augustine Beach Open Regatta & Nacra 20 District 3 Championships, Fleet 111, Contact Cindi (904) 641-6734 or www.fleet111.com July 31 - Moonlight Regatta, Rudder Club. www.rudderclub.com

Club Racing Open to Everyone Wanting to Race We Invite Yacht Clubs Along Florida’s east coast to send us your Club Racing calendar you would like included: editor@southwindssailing.com 38

July 2004

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EAST FLORIDA SAILING

Sonnenklar-Casey Win the 2nd Annual Tybee 500 By Roy Laughlin land. The rigors of sailing hundreds of ocean miles on a beach cat can hardly be overestimated. In its second year, the Tybee 500 race shows that such a quest holds surprises for even the seasoned sailors. A strong easterly wind had blown for weeks before the May 10-15 event, creating 6- to 8-foot swells along the whole Florida coastline. By the week of the Tybee 500, the wind turned southeasterly. It was hard for the racers to find a point of sail that maximized their spinnakers’ efficiency while riding off the backs of waves. It was a hard, pounding six days of sailing. Seasickness, a malady most of these seasoned sailors don’t usually experience, took its toll. Competition is always fierce, and perhaps more so this year when sea conditions gave the less seasick an edge over those with perhaps more sailing prowess. The lead was contested each day by Team Tybee, Team Casterol and Team Semp Toshiba, a team that hit its stride in the second half of this endurance event. In the end, it was only minutes that made the difference for Team Casterol between the agony after victory and the agony of second place. For more information, and photos, see: www.catsailor.com www.tybee500.com www.floridamultihullsailor.com

Team Casterol, Jay Sonnenklar and John Casey, finished first, the team’s first time in first place at a major distance regatta. Photo by Roy Laughlin.

ay Sonnenklar and John Casey, Team Casterol, won this sixday, 500-mile race by just a matter of minutes. On the final day, in Tybee Island, GA, they did not cross the line first, and they didn’t even cross the finish upright, but they crossed the line to post a time less than four minutes ahead of second place finishers, Team Tybee (Steve Lohmayer and Ken Pierce). Team Casterol pitch-poled on a sandbar less than a hundred feet from the finish line on the beach at Tybee Island, and won by pulling their Inter20 catamaran to the beach and the finish line. It was a spectacular finish and Team Casterol’s first big win in a major distance race. Other top finishers included Semp Toshiba (Roberto Pandiani and Duncan Ross), a Brazilian team, in third place, Team Key Sailing (Kirk Newkirk and Glen Holmes) in fourth place and Howard’s Pub (Doug Kirby and Andy Herbick) in fifth place. The Tybee 500’s course starts in Islamorada in the Keys, spans Florida’s east coast and ends on the beach at Tybee IsNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

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July 2004

EAST FLORIDA SAILING

Jetty Park Ocean Regatta By Roy Laughlin

each cat sailors are often a different lot of sailors. When the winds become summer zephyrs too low to entice monohull sailors to a regatta, the beach cat sailors find plenty of wind and take to the sea for a regatta. The Jetty Park Ocean Regatta, in its 32nd year and still going strong with 36 catamarans, enjoyed a great weekend of racing in Port Canaveral, June 5-6. Saturday’s races began at noon, just as a light sea breeze sprang up. The winds averaged 10 knots, enough for nimble catamarans to race. In light airs, strategy and a little luck are more valuable than brute force for boat control. The Hobie 16s in the Jetty Park Ocean Regatta. Photo by Roy Laughlin. race committee held two races on SaturHudnell/crew (third). Competition in the 16B class was inday before a squall came in from the west. While south tense, with final places up for grabs until the end of the race. Brevard County experienced a severe thunderstorm, the area There aren’t many beach cat regattas with a Hobie 18 class, off Port Canaveral had just a short rain. The storm intensified but local sailors usually come out in force to make one at this over the ocean east of the port, leaving the beach largely unregatta. Joe and Deb Krivan won first place, with Dale scathed and without enough breeze for another race. Broadwell/Rebecca Lambert in second, and Diane Rodgers/ Sunday’s weather was clear, with an early southeasterly crew in third place. breeze that held the entire afternoon, allowing the race comRush Bird, four times National Champion in the NACRA mittee to hold four races and make up for the premature end 5.5 Unirig class, won first place in the open class, high Portson Saturday. It was about as picture perfect a summer aftermouth rating, with Brian Bielfeld second and Scott McMillen noon’s race as ever happens on Florida’s east coast. third. In the open class, low Portsmouth rating, Frank Rodrick, Team Tommy Ba-hama (Alex and Patsy Schafer) led the Jerry Wolf and Rick Ushold were in first through third place, Inter 20 fleet, with John Casey/Tina Pastoor and Dave respectively. Ingram/crew in second and third, respectively. Chris Runge/ The Jetty Park Ocean Regatta is the first of three summer Jerry Butz won first place in the Formula 16 and 18 classes, ocean regattas held on Florida’s east coast. (The Daytona Sumwith Jennifer Lindsay/crew and Chuck and Mavis Harnden mer Sizzler and the St. Augustine Summer Sizzler are the other in second and third place, respectively. two.) If the Jetty Park Ocean Regatta sets the tone for the rest The Jetty Park Ocean Regatta is notable because it always of the summer, this is going to be a great season for beach cat has Hobie 16s as its largest classes (if you combine the A and regattas. B groups). The Hobie 16 is the icon of beach cat sailing, so this regatta, at least on the beach, appears to have changed little in 30 years. But the sailors are new. Matt and Gina McDonald won first place with a string of bullets. It was a hard contest for other positions in the scoring roster with Scott and Traci Corson in second and Mike Zoble/crew in third at the final tally. In the Hobie 16B class, winners were Mark By Roy Laughlin Bozman/crew (first), Jamie Brown/crew (second) and David

Brevard Challenge — Just About Perfect Sailing

he Brevard Challenge, one of Brevard County’s oldest sail ing regattas, is one of the most familiar sights on the Indian River during May. The events consist of a 17-mile distance race on Saturday and a rally format on Sunday. The regatta attracts members of multiple yacht and sailing clubs. In the past, it has included a sizable contingent of beach cat sailors, but this year, only one joined the event. The weather was just perfect both days, with strong easterly winds and no rain. Saturday’s course included some eastwest sailing to round marks near the west shore off Rockledge where the water is deep enough to sail significantly away from the ICW. South of Rockledge, for about seven miles, the course is just a straight run to the Pineda causeway and back. The Melges 24 sailors were the hot rods of this regatta. They completed the course in less than three hours, in what

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July 2004

EAST FLORIDA SAILING racing experience. The Brevard Challenge’s overall winner was Michael Nulf in Immediate Impact, a Melges 24. He and his team also won the Rockledge Centennial Cup. The Indian River Yacht Club, sponsor of the Brevard Challenge, won the Cirripedia Cup, a trophy given to the yacht club with the most and fastest entrants representing them. The contest for the cup is usually a triangle between the Indian River Yacht Club, the Melbourne Yacht Club, and the Eau Gallie Yacht Club. Even in its home waters, the Indian River Yacht Club has no special lock on the trophy and so there was great joy in winning this year. (For those who wonder, Cirripedia is the name of the group for barnacles in biological classification.) Complete race results are available on the Internet at http:// www.sail-race.com/iryc/bcresults2004.htm The Brevard Challenge is the final big spring sailing race in Brevard County. This year, it was a perfect end to a nearly perfect spring of sailing on the Indian River

Snipe District 4 Championship, May 1-2, Florida Yacht Club, Jacksonville, FL By Hal Gilreath

Getting wet in the Brevard Challenge. Photo by Roy Laughlin.

appeared to be a fierce competition between three teams. This event accepts applicants with any type of sailboat. Cruisers form the largest contingent, in sailboats from 16 to over 40 feet. On the return trip, they are scattered like moths down the Indian River. It’s a beautiful experience whether you’re watching or sailing. Sunday’s event is a rally. The race committee designates an approximate 10-mile course. On the north end it is a sinuous path around marks for the ICW in the middle of the river and the Brevard Yacht Club’s own marks near the east and west shores. At the south end, the racecourse is a triangle that all boats round three times. The course is a challenge no matter the wind direction. But more than that, a team has to round the marks in the correct order and to port or starboard as designated by the race instructions. Teams in dry boats resort to writing the course down on paper. The most successful teams on small wet boats such as beach cats write the course on the crew using an indelible marking pen. It is not unusual for teams to be disqualified for the incorrect course. This format, which is used only occasionally by yacht clubs elsewhere, is, in this writer’s opinion, one of the most challenging and engaging types of race courses. The race does not always, or even usually, go to the swiftest. It goes to the clever and the careful. It is a couple of hours of the most intense 42

July 2004

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lorida Yacht Club (FYC), host of the 2004 North Americans, warmed up for the big event by hosting the District 4 Championship/Jacksonville Tea Party on May 1-2. Thirtyone boats convened from as far away as Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Newport. There was no lack of talent, with the current World and National Champions in the pack. FYC provided a beautiful venue, skilled race management, drinks and lunch on the water, and a Saturday night dinner. The fleet sailed four very competitive races in varying conditions. Early arrivals started off the regatta with a little practice Friday afternoon and then enjoyed an oyster roast hosted by Steve and Danielle Suddath. Saturday started out sunny, with a nice southerly breeze to carry the sailors to the course. The first race started in a shifty southwest breeze, with varying pressure across the course. The approaching storms made for interesting racing as the positions changed constantly. Hal Gilreath and James Liebl jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They were followed by Augie Diaz/John Kehoe and then by Charlie and Michele Bustamante. The race committee tried in vain to complete another race. The fleet sailed the better parts of two races, but cancelled both due to unstable winds. Booms of thunder and flashes of lightning led the RC to exercise caution and abandon the second try at the leeward mark, and the sailors called it a day, on the water at least. That evening, the club relocated the dinner from a very wet outdoor location to the beautiful dining room overlooking the river. The sailors were treated to nature’s light show while feasting on Southern barbeque. Sunday dawned more promisingly. A medium southerly breeze of 8-10 knots filled in, and the fleet sailed a windwardleeward course. Gilreath and Liebl again led at every mark with the Bustamantes finishing second and Andrew Pimental in third. The breeze began to build, and the course was changed to an Olympic course for the third race of the series. Ernesto Rodriguez and Lynne Fitzpatrick of Miami came on strong with the breeze. The front pack of sailors sheeted in www.southwindssailing.com

EAST FLORIDA SAILING tight, flattened their sails, hiked hard and made their trek upwind look effortless. The rest tried to keep up, but Gilreath/Liebl posted yet another bullet, with Rodriguez/Fitzpatrick in a close second and Peter and Sheehan Commette in third. By the time the fourth and last race started in 12-15 knots of breeze, the only question was whether anyone was going to beat Gilreath/ Liebl in a race. Augie Diaz and John Kehoe came out in winning form and managed to win the last race, with Rodriguez/Fitzpatrick again in second and Gilreath/Liebl finishing third. They wrapped up the championship with a 5 1/2-point lead over Augie and John, who finished second. The top junior award went to Max Hardage and Robert Gregory, who edged out Anna Lee Bradley and Kate Hodges (both crews from Atlanta YC). Juniors who were crewing for seniors included Morgan and Sheehan Commette, An- Snipe District 4 Championship. Photo Courtesy FYC. drea Griffith, Kelly Suddath and some local high Lynne Fitzpatrick, 20; 4, Andrew Pimental/Sara Jane McMann, 21; 5, Mike Blackwood/ school students who sailed a Snipe for the first time. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun Jason, 30; 6, Lee and Andrea Griffith, 30; 7,Charlie & Michele Bustamante, 31; 8, Shawn to see them enjoying themselves so much and getting good Burke/Nancy Gilreath, 33; 9, Steve Suddath/Danielle/Kelly, 44; 10, Steve & Ashley Lippincott, enough to start beating the rest of us (for a lesson in how to 46; 11, Ed Sherman/Diane Fowler, 48; 12, Gonzalo Diaz/Connie Commette, 48; 13, Krysha hike, watch Andrea Griffith!). Pohl/Morgan Commette, 53; 14, RD & Olivia Burley, 54; 15, Stephan & Monica Irgens, 59; 16, George Gibbs/Leonard Doldren, 59; 17, Don Hackbarth/Pam Mercer, 60; 18, Peter The Florida Yacht Club (http://thefloridayachtclub.org) and Sheehan Commette, 71; 19, Bob Foster/Jake Evans, 76; 20, Gary Beck/Mary Corbett, proved that it will run a first class event for the NAs, October 78; 21, John Hill/ Marie hompson, 89; 22, Max Hardage/Robert Gregory, 90; 23, Lee & 15-17, and we hope to see twice as many boats! Courtney Bradley, 92; 24, Brent McKenzie/Tucker Wan, 92; 24, Anna Lee Bradley/Kate Results (4 races - place, name, points); 1, Hal Gilreath/James Liebl, 5.25; 2, Augie Diaz/John Kehoe, 10.75; 3, Ernesto Rodriguez/

Hodges, 95; 26, Ian & Blake Elliott/, 104; 27, Bob Panza/Mink, 106; 28, Michael Moore/ Mike Hammer, 109; 29, Michael Palazzo/, 110; 30, Ava Moore/Anne Hammer, 118; 31, Tom & Kate Henderson, 119.

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SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA SAILING

July Prevailing Winds See page 62 for Windrose legend

Racing News & Calendar News for Sailors

July Upcoming Events To have your sailing event, race, regatta, or club races listed, please contact editor@southwindssailing.com by the 10th of the month. Races listed should be open to anyone. July 2 - Full Moon July 2 - Abacos, Bahamas - The Great Turtle Cay Race. Host GTYC. Tune-up race for Regatta Time in Abacos. July 3 - 11. Abacos, Bahamas - Regatta Time in the Abacos. (305) 665-8316. Fax: (305) 665-0318, E-mail lightning@cofs.com. Web site: www.rtia.net. July 4 - Independence Day July 17 - The BBYRA “First Series” Award Party. With the end of the seven-race series over, the best is yet to come. Trophies will be handed out at one of the participating yacht clubs yet to be named. The award presentations will give way to the traditional night of festivities guaranteed to last into the late hours of the night. July 27 - J/22 and J/24 Summer Series. Flat Earth Racing. The second of a five-race series for J/22 and J/24. Organized by Flat Earth Racing. The series will last until September 11. Contact: flatearthracing@hotmail.com July 31 -Aug. 1, Lime Cup. BBYC The Lime Cup is back for another year under its traditional format. The race starts in Biscayne Bay, Miami, and winds through Stiltsville and out to the Atlantic Ocean. From there it’s a straight shot north to the finish, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Sunday the race goes in the opposite direction ending back in Biscayne Bay where the finish line will be waiting for the competitors.

August Upcoming Events Aug. 14 - CGSC Single-Handed Race. Sailors test their skills in single-handed sailing. Open to all classes. Aug. 15 - CGSC Double-Handed Race. For the more adventurous, spinnakers will be flying in this two-person per boat race. Open to PHRF and One Design classes.

Club Racing

Open to Everyone Wanting to Race We Invite Yacht Clubs Along Florida’s Southeast Coast to send us your Club Racing Calendar that you would like included: editor@southwindssailing.com Legend GTYC CGSC CRYC MYC KBYC BBYC BBYRA LYC 44

Yacht Clubs & Organizations Green Turtle Yacht Club Coconut Grove Sailing Club Coral Reef Yacht Club Miami Yacht Club Key Biscayne Yacht Club Biscayne Bay Yacht Club Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association Lauderdale Yacht Club

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

Southeast Coast July Weather JULY WATER TEMPERATURES Maimi - 87° GULFSTREAM TEMPERATURES 3.5 knots AVERAGE JULY TEMPERATURES Miami Beach 77° lo - 91° hi For Real Time East Florida Weather go to: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/ Florida.shtml

West Palm Beach

Fort Lauderdale Miami

Sailing News New Trailer Sailing Club Formed in Miami The Miami Macs Sailing Club is a club for owners of trailerable sailboats and is open only to owners of trailerable sailboats. At present there are 27 members with 13 boats. They meet monthly at the Pirates Den Restaurant at the Black Point Marina in south Miami. They schedule two group outings each month, a weekend overnighter and a Saturday day sail. They are the only club in the South Florida area for trailer sailboats and are rapidly growing. They offer fun sailing adventures, new friends, and members who are willing to help out with boat repairs. The Web page is still under construction, but it can be seen at www.miami-macs.com. Anyone interested in joining the fun can contact us at (954) 475-2718 or (305) 233-7423, or e-Mail kubiakw@bellsouth.net. Castle Harbor Sailing School, Located at Matheson Hammock Park and Marina, in Coral Gables, FL, will begin offering their sailing summer camp beginning June 21. Next dates are July 5-16 and July 19-30. Sailing Session will run for two weeks, Monday though Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For additional information contact the office at (305) 665-4994 or visit the Web site at www.castleharbor.com/sailing. Rigging Systems has recently moved to its new location at 3470 N.W. 7th St. Miami, FL. Its owner, Frank Atkinson, has serviced area sailors over the years with quality workmanship.For more info you may contact Frank at (305) 649-1540 or e-mail: frank@riggingsystems.net .

Race Report Hospice Regatta, Lauderdale Yacht Club, May 22 By Art Perez

he 8th Annual Hospice Regatta hosted by the Lauderdale Yacht Club and Hospice Care of Southeast Florida, met on May 22 with everyone’s expectations. The combination of temperatures in the low 80s and a light sea breeze provided ideal conditions for some fun racing. The format, pursuit type racwww.southwindssailing.com

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA SAILING ing, provided an interesting twist to this year’s event. More than 80 boats from the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area registered to compete in one of the seven classes. The highlight of the afternoon was the New England Clambake party and awards presentation at Riverwalk where everyone had a chance to enjoy the festivities and make plans for next year. Results (skipper/boat ): PHRF1; 1 -Valeri Safuillin, Breeze;2 - Pat Cacace, Blackbird; 3- Rick Rahm, Sic’em; PHRF2; 1- Dan Myers, E-Ticket;2- Jim Wallace, Contrails;3- Dr. Ira Zaslow, Willowwind;Hobie 16;1- Danny Steyn;2- Bill Stolberg;3- Scot Corson;ARC;1- Dr. Roman Gastesi, Risque;2- Tim Leonard, Meantime;3- Frank Brown, Phoeniz;Multihull;1- Brett Moss, A-Cat;2- Don Balthaser, Double Trouble;3- Brian Broad, Third Child;Cruising 1;1- Richard Heidelberger, Bedouin;2- Gery Hull, Arcadia;3- Scott St. Clair, Angelique;Cruising 2;1Michael Limuti, Blue Highway;2- Jim Albe, Cruseder;3- Joesph Strycharz, Insanity.Special Award Winners: (trophy/winner);Robert” Skip” Hershberger Sportsmanship Trophy - Linda Greaber;Wes Holmes Cup - Patrick Mitchell, Judy Mae PHRF; 1 Jim Wallace - Contrails;2- Dan Myers, E-Ticket;3- Tim Leonard, Meantime;Cook’s Trophy - Roy Rindom, Turnabout II;Yacht Club Challenge - CAT 44

Goombay Regatta, Coconut Grove Sailing Club Miami, FL, May 29-30

eryone managing to get back to the yacht club in time for the festivities and awards ceremony. Race Results: PHRF 1: 1st Sazerac Gordon Ettie 2nd Group Therapy, Tom Seghi 3rd Sleeper, Malcolm Schwartz;PHRF 2: 1st Hot Air III, Dave Berg; 2nd Blackbird, Pat Cacace; 3rd Caraluna, Cai Svendson.;PHRF 3/J24: 1st FastTac, Iker Belausteguigonia; 2nd Mild to Wild, Russell Horn; 3rd Touchstone, Jaime Topp Stollman; PHRF 4: 1st Three Gimps, Karen Mitchell; 2nd Blew Ba You, Kerry Gruson; 3rd Hot Streak, Jack King; ARC: 1st Finesse, Bill Beavers; 2nd Marion, Albert Ivaldi; 3rd Night Moves, Mercedes Vingon; Etchells: 1st Pipe Dream, Scott Piper; 2nd Pipe Line, Tom Piper; 3rd Pipe Dream IX, Jeff Nehms;Lightning: 1st Mach II, Bill Mauk; 2nd Bullet, David Kurtz; 3rd Gladiator, Dimitri; Flying Scots: Vladamir Stroleny, Being There; 2nd Enigma, Bud Price; 3rd Noname, David Boudreau; Snipe: 1st NolaPeto, Gonzo Diaz; 2nd I.C.U., Peter Commette; 3rd Danilu, Augie Diaz.

Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association #6 – Key Biscayne Yacht Club Annual Regatta Miami, FL, June 5 By Art Perez

By Art Perez Hey Mon, tis Goombay time down Miami way!

The Goombay Regatta in Miami. Photo by Art Perez.

BBYRA #6 in Miami on June 5. Photo by Art Perez.

he CGSC hosted their Annual Goombay Regatta held over two sun-soaked days of typical South Florida weather. Part of the Bahamian Heritage celebration, this year’s race returned with the true and tried pursuit format but with an added twist. Instead of the usual around-the-bay, rounding-governmentmarks-type race, the RC opted for a more competitive windward/leeward 10-mile course. There would be no easy-going reaches this year! Almost everyone in the PHRF/ARC fleet was able to decipher the starting sequence and was off the line in pursuit of victory. The long windward/leeward legs provided competitors ample opportunity to work the wind shifts, a welcome change from the shorter courses. Last year’s winner, Tiburon, sailing in the PHRF2 division, saw its fortunes fade early on due to some erratic sailing. The contest came down to the “Comeback Kid of the Year,” Dave Berg, aboard Hot Air III and Pat Cacace in Blackbird. Dave, now well into his retirement years, has come back this year with a winning attitude and finds himself on the leader board for the BBYRA Annual Championship. In the PHRF 1 fleet, Gordon Ettie on Sazerac dominated, making him a favorite to win his class in the series. The winds held steady throughout the afternoon with ev-

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

ummer has arrived in Miami. Although the temperatures weren’t quite in the 90s, the day turned out to be a hot one in more ways than one. By race time the sea breeze had filled in from the southeast holding steady for most of the day.

See SOUTHEAST FLORIDA continued on page 60

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

NORTHERN GULF COAST SAILING Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas Racing News & Calendar News for Sailors JULY SAILING By Kim Kaminski Photos

ere we are halfway through the year, and where has the time gone? Well, for the sailors here along the Gulf Coast it has been a year filled with sailing adventures, races, raft-ups, and fun events. And yes, there are still more adventures to look forward to throughout the rest of the year. As you can see, sailors enjoy a year-round flurry of sailing fun in the Gulf Coast region. Temperatures in July typically range in the mid 90s, with moderate winds of 8 to 12 knots that fill in from the Gulf of Mexico generally from the south. The unpredictable summer afternoon weather conditions can keep the active outdoor enthusiasts on their toes. But with careful planning and a watchful eye to the skies, outdoor activities abound. July not only is a patriotic month for all of us, but also a month where the lady sailors of the region take to the waters as well as the youth of our community to demonstrate their love of the sport we know as sailing. For the patriotic enthusiast, the Fourth of July holiday weekend will be filled with sailing adventures, races and the USA Junior Olympics. Yacht clubs from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida will have various raft-ups, barbeques and fun races scheduled for the long three-day Fourth of July weekend while they wait in anticipation for the various firework displays along the coastal region. The Pensacola Yacht Club will also kick off the holiday weekend with the Junior Olympic sailing festival (the only junior event of its kind scheduled from Houston, TX, to Tampa, FL). This Independence Day Regatta, scheduled for July 2-4, is one of the 30 to 40 U.S. Sailing-sponsored events that are held throughout the year across the country. It is a regatta that encourages youths to explore the world of sailing, and you do not need to be a member of a yacht club to take advantage of this opportunity. Offered as a way to enlighten new youth to the sport, the Pensacola Yacht Club will be hosting the festival program that is organized by U.S. Sailing, with participation sponsorship by West Marine (official supplier of U.S Sailing) and Gill (official technical apparel supplier). Youths from ages 8 to 18 will have five different boat classes to choose from including the Optimist Pram (Red, White, Blue and Green Fleets), Laser, Laser Radial, Sunfish, and Club 420. The regatta will start off with an opening ceremony and competitor’s sailing clinic offered by Optimist specialist Tom Coleman from Chattanooga,

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

LOUSIANA

ALABAMA

MISSISSIPPI

TEXAS

Mobile

Gulfport New Orleans Pensacola

FLORIDA

NORTHERN GULF

Northern Gulf July Weather JULY WATER TEMPERATURE 85° AVERAGE TEMPERATURES Pensacola, FL 75° lo - 91° hi

July Prevailing Winds See page 62 for Windrose legend

Gulfport, MS 74° lo - 91° hi For Northern Gulf Weather go to: www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/

TN, followed by two days of racing activities and three different racecourses (one specifically designed for the beginner). This is a fun-filled event the whole family can enjoy. Besides the fireworks and the Independence Regatta Festival, July would not be complete without the annual Blue Angel Air Show scheduled for July 10 over Pensacola Beach, FL. This much-anticipated free event will see upwards of 150, 000 people converging along the waterways, beaches and at various vantage points along the coast to watch this incredible Navy Flight demonstration team as they take to the skies and perform for their hometown family and friends. This awesome display of aerial skill fills every spectator with patriotic pride and wonder. It is definitely an event you don’t want to miss. July is a month for lady sailors...three different racing events will be offered for female sailors and their crews. Starting on July 17, the Point Yacht Club of Josephine, AL, will host the Fast Women Regatta on the waters of Perdido Bay. On the following weekend, the Navy Yacht Club of Pensacola will host the Bikini Regatta on July 24. And finally, the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club will host the Gulf Yachting Association’s Women’s Performance Handicap Racing Championship otherwise known as the Race for the Roses, a two-day racing event. So, as you can see, the year may be halfway over, but the sailing fun continues along the coast. Check out these upcoming events as well.

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NORTHERN GULF COAST SAILING

Upcoming Events, Racing & Non-Racing JULY July 2 - Full Moon July 3 - Patriot’s Day Regatta - Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, Pensacola Beach, FL July 3 - Horn Island Hop - Ocean Springs Yacht Club, Ocean Springs, MS July 3-4 - Junior Olympic Festival Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL July 4 - Independence Day July 10-11 - Melges Regatta - Fort Walton Yacht Club - Fort Walton Beach, FL July 10-11 - Rhodes 19 Regionals Fairhope Yacht Club - Fairhope, AL July 17 - Fast Women’s Regatta - Point Yacht Club, Josephine, AL July 17 - Biloxi Summer Series - Biloxi Yacht Club, Biloxi, MS July 17 - Summer Regatta - Mobile Yacht Club, Mobile, AL July 24 - Bikini Regatta - Navy Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL July 24 - Summer in the Pass, Pass Christian Yacht Club, Pass Christian, MS July 24 - 25 - Junior Lipton Cup, Bay Waveland Yacht Club, Bay St. Louis, MS July 31 - Weatherly Regatta, Gulfport Yacht Club, Gulfport, MS July 31-Aug 1 - Race for the Roses Women’s PHRF Championship, Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL July 31-Aug 1 - J22/Lightning Regatta - Pass Christian Yacht Club - Pass Christian, MS

The Regata al Sol XXIII: Pensacola, FL, to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, Pensacola Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club, Club de Yates de Isla Mujeres, May 12 By Kim Kaminski

Dominic Johnson enjoyed sailing in an Optimist Pram at the 2003 Junior Olympics Festival in Pensacola, FL. This year between 40 and 60 youth sailors are expected to participate in the 2004 event to be held July 2-4. Courtesy Photo by Jim Krippes.

n May 12, the cruising fleet of the Regata al Sol departed from Pensacola, FL, for the Regata al Sol XXIII. The following day, the racing fleet made their start in the 550-nautical mile race to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Tweny-five of the 35 sail-

AUGUST August 7-8 - Knost Regatta - Pass Christian Yacht Club, Pass Christian, MS August 7 - Commodore’s Cup Race #4 - Navy Yacht Club of Pensacola, FL August 14-15 - Round the Rig - Mobile Yacht Club, Mobile, AL August 14 - 15 - Charles Galloway Sunfish/Laser Gulfport Yacht Club, Gulfport MS August 21 - Big Mouth Regatta - Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL August 21 - Summer Swelter - Pontchartrain Yacht Club, Mandeville, LA August 21 - Summer Splash - Buccaneer Yacht Club, Mobile, AL August 28 - Lundquist Multihull Regatta - Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL Open Entry Fun Sailboat Races - on the second and fourth Wednesday evenings of every month, from April to October - at the Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL Open Entry Fun One Design Races - Wednesday evenings - Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL For additional race schedules check the Gulf Yachting Association Web site at: www.gya.org

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

NORTHERN GULF COAST SAILING boats entered completed the race (11 boats officially had to retire from the race). The weather conditions were not kind to these adventurers. One sailboat, White Trash, owned by Greg Smith of Fairhope Yacht Club, was de-masted during the voyage, but thankfully every one of its members arrived safely back home. Another boat that returned to Pensacola after approximately 90 miles into the journey was Loafer’s Glory II owned by Larry Bowyer of the Pensacola Yacht Club. At 3:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 13, the weather conditions (heavy rain and 15- to 20-knot winds from the stern) forced the crew into changing the sails. The boat owner went down below to change into his foul weather gear prior to the sail change. While he was in the process of putting on his gear, the boat was slammed by a wave causing the owner to lose his balance and fall. He lost consciousness for approximately two minutes, and when he awoke, he was aware of pain from his head to his Mallory Buechler heads out to the race course during last year’s Junior Olympic Festival. Courtesy Photo by Claire Rees. lower torso. Woozy and lightheaded, experienced some difficulties of one kind or another. Several Larry Bowyer gathered his crew (which included his family boats blew out sails during the trip but still managed to arrive members) and made the decision to contact the Coast Guard safely in Mexico while others arrived with very little working and relay his condition. A helicopter was quickly dispatched equipment. For instance, Kativa blew two Spinnaker sails. from the New Orleans, LA, office, and a medical diver was Jambalaya tore two sails and finished with its only working inlowered to the ship. Upon examining the boat owner, it was strument, a handheld GPS. determined that his eyes were not dilating properly and now he was experiencing additional pains in his chest as well as RESULTS: RACER A - 1; KATIVA; 2; MAD MAX I;3; PRETTY WOMAN;4; ANIMAL; 6; WHITE numbness in his left foot. The Coast Guard decided to remove TRASH ; DNF; RACER B - 1; PARADOX ; 2; MONDAY’S CHILD; 3; ATLANTIC UNION; 4; him from the boat and transport him to a nearby hospital in JAMBALAYA;CRUISER/RACER - 1;SAPPHIRE; 2;KANOLA; 3;FIDELIS; 4;ANTR SEA HORSE; Pensacola. 5;AQUAVITE;6;SEA FEVER; 7;CHANGS IN ATTITUDES; 9;QUEST; DNF; CRUISING A - 1;REThe boat owner, not wanting to disappoint his crew, inCESS; 2;LINDA GAYLE; 3;AVALON; 8;ESPRIT; DNF; 8;PARADICE; DNS; 8;LOAFERS GLORY; DNF; 8;DeADELAAR; DNF; CRUISING B-1;LANGOSTA; 2; RADIO FLYER; 3; ODIN; 7; BLACK structed the remaining members of the boat to carry on withFINN; DNF; 7; BIG SKY; DNF; 7; OH MY LOVE; DNF; CRUISING C - 1; CARIBBEANSOUL; 2; out him. However, the group refused to leave the country withSECOND WIND; 3; WINDFALL; 6; SOUTHERNESE; DNF; 6; PELICAN; DNF. out him and returned the sailboat back to Pensacola. The Coast Guard was unable to get a basket to the sailboat due to the weather conditions, so the diver and boat owner got into the 3- to 5-foot seas and were airlifted to safety. Upon arrival at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, FL, tests were run on Larry, and the doctors found everything to be okay. He was discharged from the hospital about the same time Loafer’s Glory By Kim Kaminski returned to its home dock in Pensacola. Of course, there were various other boats in the race that n May 15-16, 2004, one-design sailors traveled to the Buccaneer Yacht Club located on the west side of Mobile Bay off the Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, AL, to participate in the Spring Regatta. Flying Scots, Sunfish and PHRF boats sailed on the muddy waters of the bay in the second Gulf Yachting Association’s Capdevielle race of the year. Twenty out of the 33 member yacht clubs managed to send their yacht club’s Flying Scot boat and club representatives who were ready to compete and sail during this two-day event.

Spring Regatta, Buccaneer Yacht Club, Mobile, AL, May 15-16

Results (Place, Yacht Club): 1, Bay-Waveland; 2, Pass Christian; 3, New Orleans; 4, Southern; 5, Buccaneer; 6, Pensacola; 7, Pontchartrain; 8, Singing River; 9, Fairhope; 10, St. Andrews Bay; 11, Ft. Walton; 12, Birmingham; 13, Navy; 14, Mobile; 15, Gulfport; 16, Point; 17, Lake Forest; 18, Jackson; 19, Biloxi; 20, Pelican. PHRF Class - First Place / Overall Geotechnical Perpetual Trophy - Holly II - David Jefcoat Sunfish Class - First Place - Tom Whitehurst (PBYC) Awards for first female and first junior; Lauren Whitehurst Award for first master; Tom Whitehurst 48

July 2004

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www.southwindssailing.com

NORTHERN GULF COAST SAILING

Navy Cup Regatta, Navy Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL May 22-23 By Kim Kaminski

hirty-three boats of vari ous sizes and class determinations participated in a two-day sailboat racing event in Pensacola, FL, at the annual Navy Cup Regatta. Over 130 sailors enjoyed a weekend filled with good old-fashioned racing competition, pitting yacht club against yacht club in a friendly team sailing race event. Beautiful weather (sunny skies, moderate temperatures in the mid 80s and warm tropical winds from the southeast at 10 to15 knots) set the stage for the May 22-23 contest. The Navy Yacht Club of Pensacola played host for the event, and its members offered up their hospitality by providing refreshments for the sailors as they gathered for the Dick Piatt, Fleet Captain of the Navy Yacht Club of Pensacola, accepts this year’s presentation of the perpetual morning regatta briefing. from Commodore Bill Hayes. The Navy Yacht Club captured the win by a mere 2 points over the Pensacola The Performance Handi- trophy Yacht Club and the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club. Photo by Kim Kaminski. cap Racing Fleet included the RESULTS: one-design Flying Scot class. This class raced in Pensacola Bay SPINNAKER - 1, Phaedra, PBYC; 2, Applejack, PYC; 3, Forerunner,PYC;4, My Dixie Wrecked, while the smaller one-design classes, the Sunfish and Hunter PBYC; 5, Awesome,PBYC; 6, Beach Birds,PBYC;7, Soulshine,PBYC; 8, Antares, PYC; 17s, raced in Bayou Grande just off the shores of the clubNON-SPINNAKER - 1,Delphina,PBYC; 2, Ez-Duz-It,PBYC; 3, Sundance,NYC; 4, White house facility. The PHRF classes would enjoy two back-toLightning,NYC; 5, Mariah,PYC; 6, Intrepid, NYC; 7, Eagle,PYC; 8, Roka Dobi, back races on Saturday and finish up the event with one race PBYC; CRUISER - 1, Heather,NYC; 2, Sea Crest,NYC; 3,Foray,3,PYC; 4, Don’ Worry,PBYC; 5, Carpe Diem, PYC; 6,Kellie, NYC; 7, Miss Teak, NYC; 8, Dolphin,NYC; 9, Cinnabar,PYC; on Sunday. The Flying Scot class only participated in two races SUNFISH - 1, PYC - Lauren Whitehurst;2, PYC - Susan McKinnon; 3, NAVY - Will Walker/ on Saturday and did not sail on Sunday. The smaller one-deVince Cook; 4, NAVY- Richard Smith; sign classes enjoyed multiple races on both days. HUNTER 17- 1, PYC - Hunter Riddle; 2, NAVY - Ted Germain; The unique aspect about the Navy Cup Regatta places each FLYING SCOT - 1, PYC; 2, NAVY 2004 Navy Cup Winner; The Navy Yacht Club of Pensacola. boat that races not only in competition against each other but against other yacht clubs in the overall contest. This version of “team racing” places a fun aspect into the whole event. Race competitors who normally sail against each other throughout the year find themselves on their yacht club team cheering on their fellow club members. This year’s regatta was no different, and the comradery among its participants was high. During the competition, a few official race protests were heard from various racers, which eventually helped to determine who would win the coveted silver trophy. Based on the overall point total between yacht clubs, the 2004 Navy Cup was decided by a mere two-point difference, and the Navy Yacht Club ended up capturing the prize over the Pensacola Yacht Club and the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club. Congratulations to all who put their time, energy and efforts into this fun annual event, from the sailors to the behind-the-scene support crew and the race committees. A special thank-you goes out to the members of Navy Yacht Club, Race Chairman Brian Silk and his staff on a job well done.

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

FLORIDA KEYS SAILING Key Largo

The Keys Sailing Scene Weather Calendar of Events Hot Happenings

Cape Sable

By Rebecca Burg

Marathon Dry Tortugas Key West

SAILING IN JULY

Florida Keys July Weather

July Prevailing Winds See page 62 for Windrose legend

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE

West 80° lo - 89° hi cal air harbors an average high of 89° F to a he harbor was chaos. Blue lights were flash Key GULF WATER TEMPERATURES low of 80° F. Average sea temperatures are an ing on numerous small police boats while Key West 87° inviting 87° F. As evening falls over the ripa steely-gray Coast Guard cutter slowly moFor Real Time eastern Gulf pling sea, the summer sky in any direction is tored forward. Sails rippling, a cluster of cir- weather, winds and marine often a dramatic display of distant, soundless cling schooners dashed toward the Coast forecasts, go to lightning. Safe in a slip or anchored out, many Guard vessel and sprayed it with water can- http://comps.marine.usf.edu sailors relax in the cockpit and watch nature’s nons. Overhead, small planes and a helicopnightly presentation. ter dropped rolls of toilet paper over the commotion below. The T-paper unrolled into long, undulating ribbons as it wafted downward. I couldn’t stop laughing. This recently happened in Key West’s harbor. Every year the boats and planes engage in a play sea battle as part of the Conch Republic’s Independence Celebration. Of course, this month the entire Keys will be commemorating America’s birthday. Every Saturday - Open House at the Key West Sailing You just might be out there on the water to view the pyroClub. 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. technics. The Keys are most fond of throwing a good party, July 4 - Islamorada. Holiday Isle fireworks. A beautiful and if there are no immediate reasons to have one, we’ll make beachfront, tiki bars and tropical atmosphere is a great way something up. From turning local cuisine into a reason to to celebrate Independence Day. Village of Islands includes celebrate to playing a tune under the sea, local creativity is daytime family fun for the kids before the fireworks show at most captivating. nightfall. Contact: Eileen (305) 664-2321 “Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a Disney set,” said July 10 - Big Pine Key. Annual underwater music festival Bill, a full-time salty Key West captain. “My boat and I are at Looe Key coral reef. (305) 872-2411 like one of the stage props.” I understood what he meant when July 20-25 - Key West. Hemingway Days festival. Writer’s I found a couple of friendly Japanese tourists posing and pholectures, fishing tournaments, “Papa” look-alike contest at tographing each other on the bow of my trimaran. “Hah-hah, Sloppy Joe’s and events about the legendary author. (305) 296now you’re part of the show!” Capt. Bill would say. Sailors, 2388 ext.21 who know how to take a break from life’s too-serious side, July 25-August 1 - Florida Keys. Reef Awareness Week. easily adapt to the Keys’ lively and free-spirited ambiance. Special events, tours and programs to foster public interest in Soft summer winds or not, hoist those sails, join the party caring for our area’s fragile underwater treasures for generaand become part of the show for a while. tions to come. www.reefrelief.org or call (305) 294-3100 for more information. WEATHER July 28-29 - Lobster mini season in the area’s state and federal waters. Atlantic side anywhere beyond three miles out The weather and sailing atmosphere during the summer seaand Gulf side anywhere beyond nine miles out. Special bag son is far different from winter. Without those early season limit. Call 800-DIAL-FMP for more info. winds to stir things up, the water becomes exceptionally clear July 30-August 8 - Key West. Summer food and wine fesin most areas. Abundant shallow tidal flats and the water’s tival. Highlights the tasty range of cuisine available on the shimmering jewel-like blue-green hues are reminiscent of the island. (305) 296-6909 Bahamas. Sailboats notice the easy summer breezes, which August 6 - Lobster season opens. Call 800-DIAL-FMP for average 9 knots from the east to southeast with periods of no more info. wind at all. During storms, winds may gust as high as 40 knots or more. Humid air and warm sea temperatures produce healthy thunderstorms most commonly in the afternoon and evening hours. Liveaboards secure extra sunshades over their cabin tops only to frantically remove them as a sudden squall Key West. Wednesday Night Racing at the Key West Sailing gusts through. Boats offshore are especially vigilant since large Club. Racing begins about 6:00 p.m. Bring your own boat or storm outflows from Cuba and from the mainland can be excrew on a club boat and join us in a series of social races around treme during this time. The coconut fragrance of sunscreen, the buoys with beer, soda and food after racing. straw hats and sandals are fashion norms as the sultry tropi-

Upcoming Events, Racing & Non-Racing

Club Racing

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindssailing.com

FLORIDA KEYS SAILING

Racing Calendar July - Key West Sailing Club’s traditional Hemingway Bell Regatta. All boats 20 feet and over are invited to play. Race day to be determined. Contact: Fleet Capt. David (305) 296-7939 Upper Keys Sailing Club - Upcoming Races. Mile Marker 99.5 (Bayside) Key Largo, FL. For more info call (305) 4519972. July 3 - Firecracker Regatta - PHRF, skipper’s meeting 11:00 a.m. race 12:00 Small boats mix it up in the Around the Island Race. Photo by Kellye McMullen. July 4 - Firecracker Regatta - Portsmouth, skipper’s meeting 11:00 a.m. race 12:00 tors and kept the older salts on their toes. Commodore Tom August 14 - Dog Day Regatta - Portsmouth, skipper’s meetwas in the spirit, his tongue-in-cheek hip-hop gangster garb ing 11:00 a.m. race 12:00 befitting his hot Laser ride, Mr. Big Stuff. Another local Laser August 21 - Dog Day Regatta - PHRF, skipper’s meeting ace, Dr. Chapin, sprung toward the front of the pack and over11:00 a.m. race 12:00. Beach party and picnic 4:00 p.m. took Cheryl as she skillfully helmed The Exterminator. Wildly flinging spray and also catching up to the front were Jessie and Heather on a sprightly 420. The Hobie Cat was nowhere to be seen. Approaching Tank Island, the wild pack of sails fanned out and approached the tiny key from different directions. Race veteran Bud and his slippery Sunfish squeezed around the island one way while Walt powered Hunky Dory Key West Sailing Club. In Key West off Palm Avenue to around the other way. My trimaran, Troika, and I strayed too Sailboat Lane. Sailing is out of Garrison Bight. (305) 292-5993 far out, and we sailed around the wrong key. Strong gusts and Marathon Sailing Club, Marathon Key. Web site pending. the harbor’s steep, choppy waves kept most participants thorUpper Keys Sailing Club. Buttonwood Sound, Key Largo. oughly wet. The larger boats such as Bob’s newly designed www.upperkeyssailingclub.com Norseboat and the club’s 17-foot O’Day, sailed by Jeep and SeaWolf, stayed slightly drier. The O’Day ended up being surprised by the Norseboat’s nimble windward performance and the two were tight for the entire race. “...we fought to keep her right side up on more than one occasion,” noted SeaWolf on the O’Day. “It was blowing like stink out there! The perfect race conditions.” All boats safely returned to the club, and soaked sailors enjoyed a social cookout.

Keys Sailing Club Locations & Contacts

Race Review – Florida Keys: Around the Island Race at the Key West Sailing Club — 30-year-old small boat tradition, April 24th

See KEYS continued on page 69

ike some sort of avian courtship dance, the pack of small sailboats waved their sails and swiftly circled near the committee boat. Starting just outside of Garrison Bight, racers wrestled with easterly 16- to 18-knot winds under sunny skies. A few boats fell over in the prestart scuffle while three others momentarily tangled together. In a multihued blur, the club’s Hobie Cat hustled past the start and overtook the fleet. Piloted by Eric and Michael, the twin-hulled rocket vanished into the distance. The remaining racers, a vibrant mix of monohulls and a tiny trimaran, vied for second. The high speed dog fight would breeze through Fleming Key channel, around Tank Island and back to Garrison Bight. Young talents such as Abalyn in her frisky Laser and the Norseboat’s 10-year-old skipper proved to be spirited competi-

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

WEST FLORIDA COAST Cedar Key to Cape Sable Racing News & Calendar

Cedar Key

West Florida July Weather St. Petersburg

Cruising Upcoming Events Calendar West Florida News for Sailors Sailing Services Directory

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE St. Petersburg 78° - 90° hi Naples 73° - 91° hi GULF WATER TEMPERATURES St. Petersburg 86° Naples 87° For Real Time eastern Gulf weather, winds and marine forecasts, go to http://comps.marine.usf.edu

Tampa

7 Fort Myers Naples

July Prevailing Winds See page 62 for Windrose legend

39 Cape Sable Key West

SAILING IN JULY By Dave Ellis

uly’s windrose for the west coast of Florida and inland shows that the wind varies in speed and direction. Just figure that the wind speed and direction is for every day, not for the month. You are likely to get just about any direction. Wind speed will be light, except when it is strong during storms. If the Bermuda high is out in the Atlantic north of Florida, we will have our classic thunderstorms that are pushed westward to the coast and beyond. If the high moves southward, the storms will build and move north parallel to the coast and possibly get severe for the inland sailors. If the high gets far enough south, over the Bahamas, then we will have a reverse storm situation where the coastal sea breeze will be substantial, and the storms will move eastward, away from us. Since the high is the product of the heat over the equatorial regions flowing north and then descending at around our latitude, the high is more likely to stay north in the summer. At the latitude of Florida, all around the earth it is desert, except here. Take a look at a globe. So, we need those thunderstorms. On occasion, a tropical wave will move into the Gulf. Those are the sultry days with southerly winds, cloudy days and thunderstorms, always thunderstorms. The old timers used to tell us that when you get those heavy, sultry days and see the soaring ocean birds, the man o’ war hawks, frigate birds, flying inland, start preparing for a big tropical storm or hurricane. Fiddler crabs filed in lines to higher ground. But there are so few fiddlers left that they may not have to line up anymore. Some less-domesticated dogs and cats seem to sense that something is coming and lay low. Most sailors are prepared for the minor rain squalls that are everyday occurrences in July. It is the lightning that we have the utmost respect for. Keep safe out there.

resident County mascot, “Snooty.” Punch and birthday cookies for the kids. Every child wins a prize at game booths. Reduced admission to museum and planetarium. Coloring contest held for area children. So. Fla. Museum (941) 746-4132 July 22-25 - 11th Bi-Annual Nautical Boat Show & Sale See the latest in boats and marine accessories and services from the area’s top boat dealers and exhibitors. There will be in-water boats as well as a large variety of boats from fishing, cruising, power, sailing, personal watercraft. Private boat owners will be on hand with their used boats. Manatee Convention Center, Palmetto. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (941) 748-0411 x5353. July 28-29 - Lobster mini season in the area’s state and federal waters. Special bag limit. Call 800-DIAL-FMP for more info. August 6 - Lobster season opens. Call 800-DIAL-FMP for more info.

Events Calendar

Open to Everyone Wanting to Race The races listed here are open to those who want to sail. Please send us your race schedule for publishing to editor@southwindssailing.com.

July 4 - Independence Day - Fireworks and various locations along Florida’s west coast. July 21 - Snooty the Manatee’s 54th Birthday Bash - South Florida Museum, Bradenton. Featuring a Birthday Bash for the 52

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

Racing Calendar To have your race, regatta, or club races listed, please contact editor@southwindssailing.com by the 10th of the month. Races listed should be open to anyone. FLORIDA WEST COAST & INLAND LAKES The races and regattas listed here are open to those who want to sail. Please send us your race schedule for publishing to editor@southwindssailing.com. July 3 - Cortez Yacht Club. Party 4-8 then fireworks at beach house on Holmes Beach. www.cortezyachtclub.com July 4 - Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Firecracker Regatta 1:30 warning. www.sarasotasailingsquad.com July 9-11 - US SAILING Area D Semi-Finals. Bemis (Laser), Smythe (C420) Sears (J-24) Davis Island Yacht Club, host. www.diyc.org July 11 - Race #3, Cortez Yacht Club, CYC Cup Series. www.cortezyachtclub.com

Club Racing

Davis Island YC. Thursday evenings. Tampa. Windsurfers, dinghies, cats, PHRF, keelboat one designs. 6:30 start of first class, sailing around upper Hillsboro Bay. Lots of boats; Daywww.southwindssailing.com

Local News For Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

WEST FLORIDA SAILING light savings time of year. Must be US Sailing member. Register before racing, once for summer. An RC duty day may be in your future. www.diyc.org Davis Island YC - Wednesday Evenings Dinghy Series. First warning 6:30 p.m. Laser, Laser Radial, C420, Sunfish, Lightning, Flying Scott, 470, Fireball. Andrew Sumpton at asumpton@earthlink.net or Allison Jolly at abjolly@aol.com Bradenton YC. Thursday evenings. Starts with daylight savings. PHRF racing on Manatee River. For info call Bob Miller, (941) 795-4646 St. Petersburg YC. Friday evenings. 6:30 start off the Municipal Pier. PHRF, Snipes Starts May. Look for the RC boat at the Pier if an easterly, a half mile downwind from the pier in other breezes. Course around nearby navigation buoys. Sail by the RC boat to register. Anywhere from 10 - 25 boats www.spyc.org Treasure Island Tennis and YC. Friday evenings.7:00 start outside of John s Pass in Gulf of Mexico. PHRF racing. Starts May. Get together to go under the bridges. www.tityc.org Clearwater YC. Saturday Afternoons 2:00 p.m. start near the Clearwater Pass buoy in the Gulf of Mexico. PHRF racing June thru August. www.clwyc.org Venice Sailing Squadron. Saturdays. First Saturday of each month, PHRF racing. Start at mouth of Venice Inlet. www.venice-sailing-squadron.org Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Friday evening. Begins April 9. Start at 6:30. Everyone welcome. www.sarasotasailingsquad.com Edison Sailing Center, Fort. Myers. Sunfish and dinghy racing once a month, year-round john@johnkremski.com Port Charlotte. Third Saturday of month, year-round. pbgvtrax@aol.com

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

West Marine/BoatUS Free Seminars for July — Of Interest to Sailors (Call the store-reservations sometimes needed) BOAT U.S. Bradenton, 5627 14TH St West, (941) 755-9670, start time 2am 7/11/04 - Basic line splicing, 3 strand, Capt. Bob 7/25/04 - Basic sail trimming, Capt. Bob Clearwater, 11477 US Hwy 19 N, (727) 573-2678, Start time 6 pm 7/14/04 - Gps basics, Klaus Gansel, 11 am 7/31/04 - Saltwater fishing, 11 am Tarpon Springs, 41286 US Hwy 19 North, Start time 7 pm To be announced, call Clearwater store for details WEST MARINE Apollo Beach, 268 Apollo Beach Bvld, (813) 645-6144 Start time 7pm – To be announced, call store for details Bradenton, 4569 14TH Street West, (941) 753-3585 Start time 7 pm – To be announced, call store for details Clearwater, 1231 Cleveland, (727) 443-2280, Start time 7 pm To be announced, call store for details Clearwater, 18891 US Hwy 19 North, (727) 536-4002 Start time 7 pm – To be announced, call store for details Crystal River, 160 SE Hwy 19 North, (352) 563-0003 Start time 7 pm – To be announced, call store for details Holiday, 3346 US Hwy 19 North, (727) 846-1903 Start time 6 pm – To be announced, call store for details Largo, 10289 Ulmerton, (727) 586-7040, Start time 7 pm To be announced, call store for details Madera Beach, 203 150 th Ave, (727) 392-4939, Start time 6 pm To be announced, call store for details Saint Petersburg, 2000 34th st. (727) 327-0072 Start time 7 pm To be announced , call store for details

www.southwindssailing.com

WEST FLORIDA SAILING Saint Petersburg, 5001 34 th Street South, Start time 6 pm 7/27/04 - Preventing electrical fires aboard Capt. Charles Johnson, PE, JTB Marine Corp. Saint Petersburg, 119 1st Ave North. (727) 822-6565 Start time 3 pm – To be announced, call store for detatils Tampa, 3905 West Cypress, (813) 348-0521, Start time 6 pm To be announced, call store for details

Sailing News Young Skippers Learn the Basics By George Regenauer

Photo by George Regenauer

oung skippers are learning the basics during the youth sail ing camp at Clearwater Community Sailing Center on Sand Island. There are many articles written about excellent youth sailing programs around the Tampa Bay area, but from time to time, one organization stands out among the crowd. Clearwater Community Sailing Center has earned its 15 minutes of fame and deserves special recognition for its achievements during the past few years. Their motto, “Sailing for Everyone,” has lived up to its claim. CCSC has offered sailing camps for several summers, and the number of participating youth are growing each year. Dan Roeder, the director of the sailing center, stated that two years ago there were only 20 students interested in learning to sail. Last year the attendance topped 200, and this year, he anticipates the number to be around 500. The large increase in the number of participants is due to the variety of programs available and the number of US Sailing-certified instructors onboard this year. CCSC offers weekly, half day and full day instruction from beginning swabbies to advanced sailors on Prams, Sunfish and Hobie Waves. Windsurfing I and II are also available during the summer schedule. Three age groups keep the training and competition fair. The age groups are 8-10, 11-13, 14-16 years old. For the younger folks ages 6-8, there is a Youth Adventure Camp, which includes sailing activities, fishing, crafts and field trips. The sailing center also has boats specially designed and equipped for the physically challenged sailor through their “Sailability” program. Everyone having the desire to learn the art of sailing can do so through one of the programs offered at the center. It is impressive to witness the professionalism and dedication of the instructors who provide one-on-one assistance for those who are experiencing difficulty grasping the fundamentals of sailing as readily as others. The instructors are there to teach, and the participants demonstrated their eaNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

West Florida Sailing Services Directory

Cedar Key

St. Petersburg

Tampa

From Cedar Key to Cape Sable

Fort Myers Naples

Sailing Services Directory starts as low as $96 a year. Call (941) 795-8704 or e-mail editor@southwindssailing.com BOAT LETTERING – GRAPHICS

SAILBOAT SERVICES AND REPAIRS

Cape Sable Key West

SAILMAKING, REPAIRING & CLEANING continued

ELLIE’S SAILING SHOP Clearwater Lifelines, rigging, hardware, repairs Serving small boat sailors Since 1958 Sunfish Boats and Parts...........(727) 442-3281

SUNRISE SAILS PLUS WEST FLORIDA Complete Yacht Outfitting Service Sails – New, Repair, Cleaning Complete rigging service, masts, cushions, canvas & more (941) 721-4471 sunrisesailsplus@msn.com

SAILING INSTRUCTION/SCHOOLS Adventure Cruising & Sailing School A sailing school for Women and Couples • ASA • West Florida and Chesapeake www.acss.bz .......................... (727) 204-8850 CAPT. JIMMY HENDON (727) 459-0801 ASA Cert./BBC Instruction * USCG Lic. Master Deliveries • Gulf • Atlantic • Caribbean (866) 221-2841 .. captainjimmy@gosolo.com THE SIGN FACTORY FLORIDA BOAT GRAPHICS Screen Printing • T-shirts • Hats (941) 792-4830 ..... thesignfactory2@juno.com

CANVAS & CUSHION SERVICES

SAILMAKING, REPAIRING & CLEANING ADVANCED SAILS (727) 896-7245 Quality Cruising Sails & Service Closest Sailmaker to St. Petersburg Marinas Keith Donaldson .................... (727) 896-7245

Banks Sails Tampa See ad in Sailmaking

YACHTING VACATIONS SW FLORIDA Live-aboard/non-live-aboard ASA instruction www.yachtingvacations.com .. (800) 447-0080

Scuba Clean Yacht Service See ad in Underwater Services

CAPTAIN SERVICES ADVERTISE IN THIS DIRECTORY CAPT. 3JIMMY 459-0801 line HENDON ads for $8 a (727) month ASA Cert./BBC Instruction * USCG Lic. Master 4-line ads for $10 a month Deliveries • Gulf • Atlantic • Caribbean 1" boxed in..ads for $20 a month (866) 221-2841 captainjimmy@gosolo.com Ads paid in advance for 1 year COMMUNICATIONS Taller boxed in ads start at 2" tall Dockside Radio Pactor II/III modem sales & for –$34 a month support; FCC marine radio license filing; SailMail pageinstallation 29 or call &See WinLink and(941) training795-8704 www.docksideradio.com .........(941) 661-4498

RIGGING SERVICES SSMR. Inc. 727-823-4800 Complete Rigging Services On-Site Swagging & Splicing Commisssioning Services At Harborage Hi & Dry Dock • Crane Service Fax 727-823-3270 ............. St. Petersburg 56

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

FLAGSHIP SAILING/TAMPA BAY AREA ASA Sailing Instruction – Basic thru Advanced Instructor Certification • Sailing Club Bareboat & Captained Charters www.flagshipsailing.com ...... (727) 942-8958

UNDERWATER SERVICES

Scuba Clean Yacht Service See ad in Underwater Services SARASOTA PORPOISE SAILING SERVICES • New and Used Sails • Buy • Sell • Trade • Furling Packages • Discount Sunbrella (941) 758-2822 ww.porpoisesailing.com

Scuba Clean Yacht Service • Underwater Services • Canvas Shop • Sail Cleaning & Repair • Detailing • Mechanical • Electrical • Electronics Serving Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota, Pasco & Manatee Counties. (727) 327-2628

Advertise in this 1" tall ad for $20 a month. See page 29 for details or call (941) 795-8704. www.southwindssailing.com

WEST FLORIDA SAILING gerness to learn. There is more to it than just sailing. Each student must rig his or her own boat, learn to sail it properly and when finished, wash it down, fold the sails and return everything to the proper storage area. Maintaining the boats and equipment is a major part of the learning to sail experience at CCSC. You may think, with this much activity going on, things would tend to get a little hectic. It does, but the trained staff manages to keep the programs running smooth. Many long hours of preparation and hard work from the staff contribute to the success and safe operation of the summer sailing programs. Youth sailing is a wonderful program for the children. It not only teaches sailing techniques, but also, responsibility, teamwork, safety on the water, and sportsmanship. An article written by Mike McNulty, in the May issue of SOUTHWINDS, stated that his daughter Ashley wants to become a certified sailing instructor. Go for it, Ashley, and you will be rewarded many times over. What you teach someone today will last a lifetime. My wife Patricia is an instructor, and she loves every minute of it. For more information on CCSC’s Youth Sailing Programs, call (727) 517-7776. You can visit their facility at 1001 Gulf Boulevard, Clearwater, FL, or visit the Web site at www.clearwatercommunitysailing.org/ youthcamp.html.

The live-aboard course is scheduled from September 25 Oct 1. departing from and returning to Sorrento, Italy. For more information contact: SEA SENSE…The Women’s Sailing & Powerboating School, St. Petersburg, FL, (800) 332-1404 or (727) 865-1404 or www.seasenseboating.com.

Tampa Bay Sailors Leave on 18-Month Sailing Trip Across the Atlantic

Singles Sailing Club

new club is forming in the Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda, FL, area. Must be single, boat owner or nonboat owner, with interest in sailing. Basic sailing lessons available. Plans are to have daysails, social get-togethers on land and water, weekend charters, and more! Contact (941) 623-0337 or figmentx2@earthlink.net.

Sailing with SEA SENSE on the Amalfi Coast of Italy

n irresistible 7-day sailing class for women, departing from Sorrento, Italy, and sailing along the Amalfi coast to Naples and the Isle of Capri is being offered this September by Sea Sense, the women’s Sailing and powerboating school. This course is designed to give women the opportunity to become competent and comfortable as both skipper and crew. Participants will learn sail trim, boat handling, docking European style, as well as navigating in international waters.

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

The Jack Iron crew on the day of departure. Photo by Mike Starr.

n May 10, four sailors from Tampa Bay departed Diemens Landing at the St. Petersburg marina for an 18-month voyage. Along with Capt. Kent Dudley are Terry Clark, Michael Funky, and Tim Ashe. Some of the crew are from Florida and some from Colorado. The boat, named Jack Iron, is a center cockpit cutter-rigged Corbin 39. The trip began by heading down the west coast of Florida to Marathon where they waited for a weather window to head north along the east coast of Florida before they were off to Bermuda. From there, they will continue across the Atlantic, stopping at the Azores. Then it is on to Lisbon and then into the Mediterranean where they will cruise, making it as far as Turkey. After leaving the Mediterranean, they will sail back across the Atlantic to Brazil, head north into the Caribbean, eventually making it back to the Tampa Bay area in the fall of 2005. Kent resigned from a job in St. Petersburg after 20 years.

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

WEST FLORIDA SAILING

First Annual Massey Yacht Sales All Cruisers Rendezvous and Boat Show Palmetto, FL, May 21-23

assey Yacht Sales & Ser vice hosted its first annual All Cruisers Rendezvous & Boat Show this past May 2123 at its Regatta Pointe Marina, Palmetto, FL, dealership. Massey wanted to show appreciation to all the area Catalina, Hunter and Mainship yacht owners. The boat show and seminars were open to all yachting enthusiasts. There were some 300 plus attendees who enjoyed eight informative seminars, the Tropica Marine Electronics boat show display, boat demo rides, and the Friday and Saturday night meals and entertainment. Factory representatives from Hunter and Catalina spoke at the seminars and answered questions before and after on the boats. West Marine provided the featured Saturday night dinner door prize, a $500 gift certificate. The Coast Guard Auxiliary kicked off their local boating safety campaign. A Gloria Rector Vessel Documentation representative was on site. Each of the attendee groups received a tote full of gifts. The woven totes were supplied by Cruising World and Power Cruising magazines. They had items from Cruising World, Power Cruising, Latitude and Attitudes, SOUTHWINDS and logo caps from Sail. Catalina and Hunter supplied T-shirts and other items for owners of those yacht lines. There were over 60 sail and power yachts, new and pre-owned, available for inspection. Those yachts were well reviewed. All new yachts were boat-show decorated and had yacht purchase information on board. Those in attendance were also given a full collateral package of services offered by Massey Yacht Sales & Service and information on the Catalina, Hunter and Mainship lines of yachts.

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindssailing.com

WEST FLORIDA SAILING

“The All Cruisers Rendezvous & Boat Show success was beyond our expectations. “We look forward to making this a must-attend annual event.” Ed Massey, president and CEO of Massey Yacht Sales & Service

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

WEST FLORIDA SAILING He left two hours after resigningâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not as a surprise to everyone but worked up to the end. His manager came to see him off at the docks. They are using the services of Winlink 2000 (www.winlink.org) for weather planning services and to track their voyage. Friends and relatives can locate them by inputting their station call letters on the Winlink Web site, which will immediately take one to their location. With a link to Mapblast, one can see their position. Their last reported position before SOUTHWINDS went to press was in the middle of the Atlantic on June 15. Jack Iron and crew should be reporting in regularly. We did receive an e-mail from them on May 24, and they were motoring in no winds not too far west of Bermuda. We should be hearing from them regularly.

Second Annual Corinthian Race from Tampa Bay to Key West June 2-5

The one boat that did not make it experienced eight hours of hand pumping after a thru-hull fitting broke-crew was unable to plug the hole. They eventually were towed in. One crew member, anxious to enjoy Key West with the others, drove down for the festivities. Boats were required to check in and log in with two other boats every six hours. Sailors enjoyed a Bloody Mary breakfast Saturday morning and awards dinner on Saturday evening. The Corinthian Race will be held again next year and is being limited to a small number of boats. Many that make this race do so because they cannot make the earlier Key West Rendezvous-some because of the school year scheduling. The race will be held June 1. Contact the Bradenton Yacht club for more information. The race is open to anyone who wants to race. Results: 1, Sierra Hotel, Lagoon 47; Seraphim, Mason 53; 3, Millertime; Catalina 36; 4, Star Wake, Freedom 30; 5, Spring Fever, Catalina 34; 6, Sea Quest, S@ 9.2.

even boats that sailed in the Corinthian Race, sponsored by the Bradenton Yacht Club, departed from the mouth of the Manatee River on June 2 at 8 p.m. Because of the possibility of light winds that frequent west Florida, motoring is allowed in this race to Key West. On the starting night, there were no winds, and the seven boats motored out the Southwest Channel and headed south where they found winds later that evening off Longboat Pass. Official time starts were held at that time. They enjoyed 10-15 knot winds from the southeast most of the trip, ran into six to eight hours of doldrums, and then good winds carried them into Key West. The first to arrive was the catamaran, Sierra Hotel, about 5:30 Friday morning. All of the boats, except one, had made it into Key West by 4 p.m.

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA (continued from page 45) Add to the mix a 1.5-mile windward/leeward course and a lot of eager racers itching to race, and you know that the action will be hot. At the start for the PHRF 1 class everyone was maneuvering for position. With boats tightly grouped together and luffing, no one was backing down. When the gun finally went off, the fleet was still tightly-packed, sailing for the windward mark. At the top mark the difference was minimal, and it was still anybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race. Rounding the chutes went up with everyone fighting for every ounce of air. It would remain this way until the finish when Mostly Harmless (SR33) opened up a 20-second 60

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

lead to take first place after completing the 3.8 mile course. The excitement in the PHRF 2 class was no less intense. At the start Hot Air III (J/30) closed the gap next to the favored end, forcing four other boats to bail out at the last moment. When the gun went off, Tiburon (Lindenberg 28), who had wisely stayed clear of Hot Air was off the line at top speed. A challenge up the course by Caraluna (C & C 99) went to no avail. A tacking duel ensued, but Tiburon forced Caraluna to short tack on its approach to the weather mark, preventing its from making the mark. While all this was develping, Mistral (Beneteau First) was lurking in the shadows and made www.southwindssailing.com

KEY WEST RACING (continued from page 28) ing that it is not required to be at the meeting, he leaves and goes home in hopes of getting some sleep to make a 4 a.m. start from his inland dock. In John’s words, “My first mistake. I should have stayed for the skipper’s meeting. I thought that I would, of course, have plenty of time while off watch enroute to go below and read the sailing instructions. Besides, how hard can it be to find a committee boat, flags and orange buoys in the channel by Galleon Marina in broad daylight. Right? That was my second mistake.” But John Hodes and crew did not make too many mistakes, as they raced well. In his own words: “The 365 is designed to reach a 17-20 knot wind on the beam and is ideal for this vessel. It is a seaworthy non-racing vessel designed for open ocean sailing and she thrives on these wind speeds and sail point. Just need to add crew with hutzpah. “Contrary to NOAA, winds were moderate and westerly at first; predictable onshore effect. Aware that this would change, we stayed alert for the veer, and later in the evening, the wind moved to the east, and we were ready with the jibe without losing any boat lengths. Winds started to build to a steady 17 to 20 with no gusts, which are the dangerous things and force reefing. We did not reef anything (as most of the other boats did, I was told). “Since I know that the 365 is very stiff and moves forward fast in these winds-not sideways-we had a full 150 Genoa out, full main and mizzen (though fouled). I know from experience that when I feel a strong weather helm, we are moving at our fastest speed. I used GPS speed over bottom only and steered a straight course in spite of sore shoulders. Since Craig, my crew, was too sick to go below, he helmed for more than two watches and got real good at it. Also, this avoided the change of helm weaving around and going aback that often occurs when a new hand grabs the wheel in these winds. We noticed that a lot of boats were west of us off the rhumb line, I suspect, attempting to find the wind, which was lacking earlier. Cost them time. “Basically, we won by not reefing and pushing weather helm hard on for 17 hours as we watched the speed over the bottom increase, steering a straight rhumb line course. A cleaned bottom helped a lot, but primarily help came from Bill Shaw, the Pearson 365 designer. Also, seasickness helped because the crew would rather helm than go below, and they got real good at it. “The speed over the bottom was the only fixation that dominated me. Whatever makes that speed over the bottom number get bigger we do. Period! By capsize or mal de mer, it is immaterial. This is the way I choose to die-booking 8 knots

an attempt to run down Tiburon. At the finish, 15 seconds separated the two boats with Tiburon finishing first. Not bad for 3.8 miles of racing. The winners of the other classes had an easier time beating out their competition with time differences of over four minutes. On Sunday, the one design fleet was out in force with a total of five classes showing up for the start. With the forecast calling for afternoon thundershowers, the RC started the race with no time to spare. Unfortunately, the third race was called off because of the approaching rainstorms. NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

! We are seeing masthead lights too close ahead-these boats had to give us five and a half hours on corrected time! They shoulden’t be this close. Hell. We are winning this thing!” As Deborah and crew came down the Northwest Channel, with wind on the nose, into Key West, they knew they were doing well, but alas, there’s more surprises to come. John continues as they cross the finish line, unbeknownst to him: “As my CMCS (Calloosahatchee Marching and Chowder Society) compadres and competitors screamed and waved flags and stomped at us from the Galleon Tiki hut at the finish, and while Fay Nicholson, regatta administrator, actually prayed, we proceeded to leave marker 24 to starboard (red right return after all)-the wrong side-thus brilliantly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. This was our third and fatal mistake. “We read the amateur strip map as placing the finish line around the corner by the fuel dock, so we proceeded to it. Attendants there saw us fast tacking in this narrow channel and rushed around wide-eyed, worried about being rammed, and trying to throw us a line, convinced we were out of fuel. Not my finest hour. “Thus, I was looking at my watch every minute or so, and we crossed the Tiki Hut/marker 24 on the wrong side of the mark by one boat length at 12:15 p.m. A moral victory. Who cares about hardware, and awards dinner, peer acclaim, and legal finish line technicalities. NOT ME! Winning time is winning time as I see it. (I can’t speak for my crew of course, who still suffer from peer acclaim addiction syndrome and need therapy.) “Yes, we went to great effort to convert a clear first place in the regatta True Cruising class to a DNF.” Officially, John Hodes, who, in my opinion deserves a medal for something-perhaps a congratulatory bottle of champagne at least-had one more thing to say, as he was proud of his performance in the race: “In spite of wind on the nose in the Northwest Channel when we finished, after 17 hours of fighting seas and weather helm, we had the winning corrected time by 29 minutes in class-the slowest boat in the fleet by PHRF law. Scoffed and scorned by the racing hot shot clique with their Kevlar sails, etc., awsome winning records, and hand-picked elite crews, the slowest boat in the fleet just KICKED their ass on corrected time. This is Rocky VI. “All absolutely true.” Amen. Go to www.clwyc.org/KeyWest04/index.htm for complete race results

Results:. PHRF #1;1st Pl - Mostly Harmless/Chris Woosley; 2nd Pl - Triptease/Rubin Shellow; 3rd Pl Sic’Em/Rick Rahm;PHRF #2;1st Pl- Tiburon/Art Perez; 2ndPl- Mistral/Craig Setzer; 3rd PlHot Air III/David Berg;PHRF #3;1st Pl- Mild to Wild/Russ Horn; 2nd Pl- Touchstone/ Jaime & Vicki Topp; 3rd Pl- Tango/Jeff Parker;PHRF #4;1st Pl- Three Gimp/Karen Mitchell; 2nd PlMaiden/Lea Hume; 3rd Pl- Ibis/Trevor Gaffney;ARC;1st Pl- Free Bird/Ken Ellis; 2nd Pl-Blew Ba You/Kerry Gruson; 3rd PL Trekka/Bud Price;J24;1st Pl- Blue Strip; 2st Pl- J Tripper/ Casstleberry & Hansen; 3rd Pl- I’ll Go/Gonzolo Diaz, Sr;Etchell;1st Pl- Leading Edge/Jeffrey Devers; 2nd Pl- Pipe dream XII/Scott Piper; 3rd Pl- Victory/Buddy Cribb;Flying Scot;1st PlEnigma/Bud Price; 2nd Pl- #2852; 3rd Pl- Being There/Vladimir Stroleny;Lightning;1st PlMach II/Bill Mauk; 2nd Pl- #13861; 3rd Pl- Booby Trap/Fay Regan;Snipe;1st Pl- Danila/ Augie Diaz; #29312/David Moorhouse; 3rd Pl- Por Una Cabeza/Gonzo Diaz, Sr;Westphal;1st Pl- Shadow/Ray Hoffman; 2nd Pl- Sashay/Bill Zumpfe; 3rd Pl- Moon/David Crawfor; SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

DONATE YOUR BOAT Tampa Sailing Squadron is looking for boat donations for their youth sailing program. Take a tax write-off and donate a boat to YOUTH SAILING, INC. a non-profit organization to help kids learn to sail.

Call Bud at 813-645-5704 www.tampasailingsquadron.org Explanation of Wind Roses

ach wind rose shows the distribution of the prevailing winds in the area and month. These have been recorded over a long period of time. In general the lengths of the arrows indicate how often the winds came from that direction. The longer the arrow the more prevalent were the winds coming from that direction. The length of the shaft is generally to a scale to indicate the percentage of the winds from that direction, but not as printed in the magazine, but the proportions are correct and as a general indicator, the diameter of the circle is a little over 15 percent. The wind blows in the direction the arrows fly. When the arrow is too long to be printed in a practical manner, a number is indicated. In the sample here, that would be the number 32, which means that 32 percent of the time the wind blew from the west. The number of feathers on the arrow indicates the strength of the wind on the Beaufort scale (one feather is Force 1, two is Force 2, etc. See below). The number in the center of the circle shows the percentage of the time that the winds were calm. They all add up to 100 percent. In this example, 32 percent came from the West and 9 percent were calms (a total of 41 per cent), so the remaining arrows add up to 59 percent. These symbols are used here to generally show where the winds came from during that month, how strong and how often. In this example we can see that about a third of the time the winds came from the West, about 20 percent of the time from the NE, Force 3, about 20 percent from the SE, Force 4, maybe 15 percent from the south, Force 2, about never from the NW, and 32 percent from the West, Force 3. It was calm 9 percent of the time. We had some winds from the East at Force 4 and the SW at Force 2.

Beaufort Scale (in knots): Force 1(1-3); Force 2(4-6); Force 3(7-10); Force 4(11-16); Force 5(17-21); Force 6(22-27); Force 7(28-33); Force 8(34-40); Force 9(41-47); Force 10(48-55); Force 11(56-63); Force 12(64-71 Hurricane) Wind Roses are taken from Pilot Charts 62

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“In August, you began running an advertisement to sell my diesel engine in your classifieds section. I am pleased to advise you that I have a buyer as a result of the advertisement. Please discontinue it. FYI, I have also had inquiries from West Africa and France as Capt C.T., St. Petersburg, FL a result of the Internet ad you made available. I’m MAJOR impressed!! Thank you very much.”

CLASSIFIED ADS for $5 PER MONTH 1. Classified ads for boats are $5 a month for up to 30 words, 3-month minimum ($15). Check or credit cards accepted. 2. Add $5 a month for horizontal photo (vertical photos $5 a month more), 3-month minimum, ($30 for three month ad for boat with photo). 3. Free ads for boats under $500 (sail and dinghys only), all gear under $500, and windsurfing equipment. Add $5 a month for photo. 4. Boats must be for sale by the owner to

qualify for the above. 5. E-mail ads (including art/photos to editor@southwindssailing.com. Add $5 typing charge for ads mailed in or faxed in (including free ads). 6. Photos not accompanied by S.A.S.E. will not be returned. Photocopies of photos will not work. E-mail or send actual photo. 7. Ads (and renewing ads) must be received by the 10th of the month. 8. The last month your ad runs will be in parentheses, e.g., (10/04) is October, 2004.

9. All other ads are $20 a month for up to 20 words. Add $5 a month for each additional 10 words. $10 a month for a horizontal photo. Frequency discounts available. Contact editor.

Now pay on-line at our Web site www.southwindssailing.com editor@southwindssailing.com Southwinds PO Box 1175, Holmes Beach, FL 34218-1175 (941)795-8704 (941) 795-8705 fax

All ads go on the Internet, and your Web site or e-mail address in the ad will be linked by clicking on it. SOUTHWINDS will only be responsible financially for mistakes for a one issue period. Please check your ad. Let us know any mistakes by the 10th of the month.

BOATS & DINGHIES

DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDS Advertise your business in a display ad in the classifieds section. Sold by the column inch. 2 inch minimum. (3 column inches is 1/8 page) Monthly Cost Ads Per Inch

9' CAPTIVA ESCAPE with trailer, great fun, easy to sail, good for learning. $950 OBO. Call Nora at (727) 397-4309. (8/04) 10-foot sailing dinghy, fiberglass, sail rig in good condition. $600. Eve. (850) 648-2241. Panama City (7/04) Dinghy – 10' Quicksilver RIB and 5hp Nissan 4stroke outboard, less than 10 hours on each. Includes trailer. $2500. (727) 379-0554. (9/04)

12 6 3 1

Minimum Inches

Total Cost

2" 2" 2" 2"

$34 $40 $46 $54

$17 $20 $23 $27

12’ 1981 Areys Pond, Catboat, monohull, 10” draft, gaff-rig, teak trim, bronze fittings, fiberglass hull, Shoreline trailer, all in very good condition. $5500 or best offer. (239) 218-6969. (7/04) 23' Southerly, excellent day and light weekend cruiser that can easily be raced. Several suits of sails. Also 4hp outboard Mariner to put in cockpit well. Proven PHRF jib and main winner. An excellent boat for the family. Truly a boat to see and sail. $2800 OBO (813) 503-6728. (8/04)

Accepting offers: 1978 Buccaneer 27’x8’, documented, shoal-draft hull/rig. Interior removed. Zero blistering. No sails. Most voluminous trailerable sailboat built. Delivery possible. (850) 442-6510. Bob Burnham. 392 East Lake Rd., Quincy, FL 32351. (7/04)

1982 Merit 25. Great condition. Stored out of water 8 of the last 9 years. Photographs and details at http://www.intelligentstrategies.com/merit. $7,995. (770) 932-9382 or dpope@intelligentstrategies.com (7/04) 27' Pacific Sea-craft Dana 24, 1987. Blue water boat. 3’10" draft. Yanmar diesel. Staysail. H/C pressure water. Cockpit shower. Propane stove w/oven. Much more. Lying Miami. $47,500. (954) 683-7372; lv2_sail@yahoo.com (7/04)

DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDS

Cape Dory 27’ 1977, Yanmar 8hp diesel. Roller furling, bilge pump, depth meter, full keel, 4’ draft. Carl Alberg design. Sleeps 4. Xlnt. $17,000. Madeira Beach, FL. Call for appt. (727) 398-0796 (9/04)

27’ Stiletto, super nice, totally re-done. Outstanding fast sailer, goes from 14’ sailing width to 8’ to trailer. All gear, Yamaha OB, sail ready. $23,900. (727) 235-1173 jemotis1@yahoo.com (8/04)

STARTING AT $34/MONTH NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

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July 2004

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Voyageur 30.5 LOA, cutter, AJA, 1981, traditional coastal/bluewater, 3.4 draft, Florida/Bahamas, 5 sails, Yanmar 8 hp. 1/3 gal/hr, full keel, tiller, heavy rigging, custom teak topsides and below, gimble kerosene 2 burner w/oven, excellent ground tackle w/new lines,9 opening bronze ports, ideal for 3 or small family, asking only $29,500 for prompt sale, wilmad@cuisp.com (941) 794-1604 (7/04) 27' Watkins, 10' beam, 3’8" draft. Ideal cruiser. Well-equipped. 20-20 Yanmar diesel, roller furling, new bimini, fully battened main, lazy jacks. (305) 852-8158. Key Largo $14,000. jmilekey@msn.com. (7/04) 1978 Tartan 27 full keel/centerboard, 3' draft, 6' headroom, 6 opening ports, 12 hp diesel, large vberth, new marine head, stove, sink. steal this $3000 in Melbourne. (321) 960-0235 (8/04) 28’ Bristol Channel Cutter 1993-94. 27 hp Yanmar diesel, ABI windlass. 300’ new chain, traditional layout with work bench. $135,000. For more information go to: http://bcc.fortworks.com or jim25525@yahoo.com. (7/04)

Baba 30 Offshore cruiser, beautiful, strong, highquality cutter, great singlehander, well-equipped and maintained, 27hp Yanmar, Shaeffer roller furlings, Autohelm 4000, much more $49,000. Located Ft Myers. lyttraveler@yahoo.com, (239) 5606078. (8/04)

FILE PHOTO 1986 Hunter 28.5 New bottom, Autohelm 4000, Lazy Jack, Wheel steering, new batteries, All safety equipment, Yanmar 16 HP diesel, Portable AC, Excellent Condition. (504) 259-5740. $22,500 or Best Offer (9/04)

Island Packet 32, 1990. Fully Equipped, Beautiful Condition. Ready-to-cruise; just add food and clothes. Newly finished teak. Bimini and dodger. Yanmar 3GM-24hp. Maintenance records available. $91,900. (727) 409-1768. sue.nutt@verizon.net (7/04)

Catalina 30 1986 27hp diesel, boat has been completely refreshened inside and out. New lines, new bottom, new electrical, etc. Must see in Southport, NC. Call (484) 955-9736. Asking $25,000. (9/04)

Pearson 33 1986 Hull #16 Draft 3’10' w/cb, perfect for racing or cruising the shallow waters of Bahamas & Florida. A/C, davits, refrig., many extras; documented, $37,000. sailboat86@att.net; (239) 549-2849 (7/04) Bombay Clipper 31’ 1978 sloop 11.5' beam, 3.5' draft, 6’2" headroom. Furling jib. Well-maintained with new bottom job, batteries, alternator, stove Great for cruising. $24,995 OBO Details: www.bombayclipper.blogspot.com (321) 946-1275 (7/04) Hunter 31, 1986, 18hp Yanmar, Profurl, 150%, 135%, working jib, spin, LOF #2, windlass, 80 ft chain, Bimini, Dodger, interconnect canvas, teak doors, Mermaid Air & heat, cockpit table, refrigeration, 3 batteries, microwave, wind, speed, depth, inst. TV, $29,500. Located 5346 Bay Point Ct., Cape Coral, (239) 549-0001 work, (941) 575-8834 home. (7/04)

See Classified info on page 63 64

July 2004

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1983 C & C 35 Mk III Great cruiser/racer, Yanmar, 11 sails, bunks for 7, stove with oven, A/C (’00), refrig (’00), feathering prop (’03), self tailing winches, Harken roller furler, bimini, covers for everything, autopilot, new batteries, etc., etc. This boat needs nothing. $62K. (504) 392-0840 or cwilke@haywilkgalvanizing.com (7/04)

UCE

RED

1984 37’ Dickerson Cutter, Beautiful boat featured in World’s Best Sailboats. Furling main and jib, staysail on boom. New ST6000 AP, new water heater, lectrasan head. 4’6” draft. Perkins 4108 diesel, new sailor prop. $77,000/Best offer e-mail dosukoenig@aol.com Cortez, Fl. 941-755-9316 (8/ 04)

Endeavour 40, 1985. Center cockpit sloop. Perkins 4.108, roller furling jib, full batten main with MacPac, dodger, bimini. New epoxy bottom, fresh brightwork. All systems working. Good basic boat, ready to go anywhere. Asking $72,000. Call: (850) 380-6236. (7/04) Catana 411 catamaran, 1995. Loaded for cruising. SSB, Radar, Chartplotter, APs, generator, solar, wind generator, liferaft, EPIRB, much more. She is fast, safe, comfortable. Excellent condition. $265,000, Go to www.catana411.com, (949) 4638287 (7/04)

Lagoon 37 1994. totally equipped for comfortable, safe liveaboard/cruising excellent condition. Original owner. $185,000 (239) 543-7208 or (239) 898-9522 (8/04)

1976 CT41 Cutter-rigged ketch. Come to Louisiana to see La Mouette, beautiful, seaworthy doublehanded cruiser. Many improvements. Offered by liveaboard owners of 20 years. $80,000. (985) 7815625 Details www.ct41ketchforsale.com. (9/04)

Brewer 42’ 1986 Ted Brewer-designed sailboat. 80hp Lehman/Ford, just rebuilt. Two staterooms, 2 heads, full galley, 4.5 generator. Center cockpit, bimini & dodger. Ready to cruise. (727) 409-8952. johnw.burney@verizon.net (8/04) Endeavour 37 Well-loved, One owner 1979 A plan. New Main, Teak interior, new upholstery, SS ports, auto pilot, depth sounder, Origo stove/oven, refrigeration. Rebuilt Perkins 4-108. Provision and sail! 39K. (305) 745-9030 (9/04) 39' Bristol Yawl, 1968, Westerbeke 4-107 diesel, hard dodger, ss 3 burner stove w/ oven, Aries wind vane steering, auto pilot, depth sounder. contact Bill at (907) 388-3035 jubi@linkrvs.net (7/04) 1996 Beneteau 40. 3 cabin, 2 head. Fully equipped. New Caribe v-hull inflatable. Listed at $118,600 but see reduced price and photos www.TheCruisingDVDs.com/Beneteau40 or e-mail info@TheCruisingDVDs.com (8/04)

NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

1989 Irwin 43 CC Sloop Raytheon ST50 Knot Log Depth apparent wind and speed, Raynav 520+plotter WAAS GPS, AP7000 auto pilot, radar RX20, ICOM dual station VHF, roller furling, Stack Pack by Mac Sails, main 2 years old, Jib 4 years old. 2 AC reverse cycle units, full galley with SS stove and oven, microwave, Adler Barbour freezer/refrigerator, 2 heads with separate showers, large saloon and large nav station. 8KW Genset, 66HP Yanmar

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

C L A S S I F I E D

A D S ELECTRONICS

SeaTech Systems – Computerized navigation & communication. Call for free Cruiser’s Guide to the Digital Nav Station and CAPN demo disk. (800) 444-2581 or (281) 334-1174, navcom@sea-tech.com, www.sea-tech.com

HELP WANTED Ad Sales Reps wanted in the south for Southwinds. Editor@southwindssailing.com or (941) 795-8704

1500 Hours, fuel polisher, 3 anchors, 2 Plow 35 & 45 and Fortress, 165’ chain and 300’ rode. New cockpit cushions. Safety package and much, much, more. $137,500 or BRO. (941) 350-8113 (7/04)

BOAT SLIPS FOR RENT Florida Keys boat slip for rent, $450 per month/ annual. Live in Dade and dock your boat in the beautiful Florida Keys. MM 51. Marathon. Zoned, live-aboard community. Full utilities including pumpout at dock. Easy ocean access. (305) 2894338. davidk@terranova.net. (7/04)

BOOKS & CHARTS 1988 Brewer 44’ shoal-draft w/board. Center-cockpit cutter, Perkins 85, sale by original owners, (941) 962-7100 or (813) 671-0862 or paritytwo@yahoo.com. (9/04)

Ocean Routing – Jenifer Clark’s Gulf Stream Boat Routing/Ocean Charts by the “best in the business.” (301) 952-0930, fax (301) 574-0289 or www.erols.com/gulfstrm

45’ Columbia Sloop, 1973, 85 hp Perkins, R/F Main and Genoa, completely new fuel system, hard top bimini, davits, windlass, solar panel, AC, comfortable cruising boat, Jacksonville, FL, $35,000. (904) 541-1585. (7/04)

BUSINESS/INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

51’ Airex foam Trimaran 1976. Cruising Equipped. 4 cylinder 40 hp Isuzu diesel. Selling for medical reasons. $60,000. For more info and photos. www.salinet.com (id#12820) or call (530) 6472757. randk@d-web.com. (7/04)

Yacht Sales Person Wanted. Massey Yacht Sales has sales positions available for professional, successful yacht sales persons for the new Ft. Myers dealership location. Massey is one of Florida’s largest dealers for the sale and outfitting of Catalina, Hunter, Caliber and Mainship yachts plus sells a wide range of pre-owned sail and power yachts. Sales candidates need to be computer literate, self-motivated with a good knowledge of the sail and power industry. Massey offers the best marketing and sales support system with a large lead base for the right candidate. Call Edward Massey for interview appointment. (941) 723-1610. (9/04) Looking for Salesperson for St. Petersburg marina office location of Sailboats Florida, knowledgable in both sail and trawler/motoryachts. Also new boat sales for Hanse Yachts. We are expanding, so contact David Erdman at (727) 553-9551 Sales Representative for SOUTHWINDS magazine to call on national and southern advertisers. Can live most anywhere for this job. Must have experience. Commission. editor@southwindssailing.com or (941) 795-8704.

MARINE ENGINES

Construction/Real Estate investment Highly-experienced, honest, licensed, responsible and reliable contractor seeks investor/partner in new construction/remodeling in west Florida. Perhaps a spec house or purchase to remodel. Contractor is experienced in custom homes of all sizes, including very high-end homes. Only interested in doing interesting and enjoyable projects. (941) 795-8711 Sailtime.com is looking for base operators on the Florida coast. This may suit existing marine business owners who wish to add an additional income stream. Sailtime is a unique business model that requires minimal capital and no staff. Tel. (813) 8170104 or jtwomey@sailtime.com

MISCELLANEOUS BOAT GEAR CREW AVAILABLE

NEW & USED

Visit SOUTHWINDS new boat and crewlisting service at southwindssailing.com

NKE MAXI TOP LINE DISPLAYS AND PARTS One maxi and dual display with wired remote control and parts. All segments are good. Asking $500. (727) 321-5880 *3. wmarois@ij.net (9/04)

CREW WANTED Visit SOUTHWINDS new boat and crewlisting service at southwindssailing.com

THULE CAR RACKS Two complete sets of 400 gutterless series racks with locks. Go to www.thule.com for the fit kit for your car. Asking $150 per set. (727) 321-5880 *3. wmarois@ij.net (9/04)

DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDS starting at $34/month editor@southwindssailing.com 66

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

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One 34’6" B&R Rig Mast complete with standing and running rigging - $2700 Also Lewmar winches, 25s and 7s. Much more equipment for boats up to 30 feet. (985) 892-4133 or E-mail 2voodoo@bellsouth.net Wheels Custom Leathered – Satisfaction guaranteed, 1 year warranty. Free turks head. Over 100 satisfied customers last year. Contact Ray Glover at Sunrise Sails Plus (941) 721-4471 or sunrisesailsplus@msn.com

Automatic variable pitch propeller. Good condition. Right-handed, was on a 37 Irwin, diameter 16 3/4, shaft 1 1/8. $1495/OBO. (386) 423-8778. (9/04) Wanted: Marine single-side band radio transceiver/ receiver. (941) 235-1890 (7/04)

DINGHY DAVITS Only $360.00

Bimini Top with front and side zip-in clear curtains. Approx size: 94" front X 72" sides X 45" height. Excellent condition. Dove Grey color. Call for exact dimensions and details. Asking $500. (850) 624-0470 (8/04) Mast Mate 42-foot – $125, Fortress FX23 anchor$125, teak sailing seat-$100, Mark 15 Sextant with case-$95. Life Sling $50, Deck Sun Cover, Sunbrella, for Hunter 31-$50, Signal Flags-complete set-$40. (941) 769-5794. (8/04)

TIRALO floating deck chair - a beach chair that floats in water and rolls easily on the sand. Looks great. Folds and fits on your boat or inside your car. More info: www.tiralo-usa.com or swti@oasisllc.com AC/DC Refer, 22# Bruce Anchor, Anchor Ball, Sospenders, Magma Grills, Mariner 9.9, Mercury Long Shaft 7.5 HP, Folding Bikes, Windsurfers, Metzeler Sailing Rig, Windscoop, Drogues, Lifesling, Type I Life Jackets w/strobe. Nautical Trader. (941) 488-0766. www.nauticaltrader.net

NAVIGATION SOFTWARE

www.martekdavits.com

727-686-5020

www.southwindssailing.com NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

CLASSIFIED ADS OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE Office and warehouse space available for lease to marine-related businesses. Great for boat brokers or sales representatives. High speed Internet access. JSI (727) 577-3220

LODGING FOR SAILORS Ponce de Leon Hotel Historic downtown hotel at the bay, across from St. Petersburg YC. 95 Central Ave. St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727) 550-9300 FAX (727) 826-1774 www.poncedeleonhotel.com

PERSONAL Live-aboard sailor looking for rich woman with connections to people who can acquire Micron 44 bottom paint. This bottom paint is not generally available through the normal commercial channels. Bad government research has determined that Micron 44 kills shellfish and other marine critters because of the tin content (TBT) in the paint. Because of the fact that Micron 44 is not readily available for a boat of Right’s Guard’s size, the woman I am seeking has to have some experience in the marine trades and know how to solder electrical connections. It would also help if she had an American Express platinum card, knew how to cook gourmet meals and was drop dead gorgeous. Tobacco chewing optional. Contact Bubba Whartz at rightguard@southwindssailing.com

SAILING INSTRUCTION

SERVICES FOR SAILORS

SAILS & CANVAS USED SAILS SAVE $$$ 1000s of headsails, mains & spinnakers. We ship everywhere, satisfaction guaranteed. We also buy sails. Sail Exchange. (800) 6288152. 407 Fullerton Ave. Newport Beach CA 92663 www.sailexchange.com See Display ad in Index of advertisers

See Classified information on page 63 68

July 2004

SOUTHWINDS

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Air Duck 37 Aqua Graphics 56 Atlantic Sails 46 Banks Sails 56 Beachmaster Photography 66 Beneteau Sailboats BC Beta Marine 23 Bluewater Sailing Supply 55 Boaters Exchange 39,64 BoatUS 17 Bob and Annie’s Boatyard 19 Bo’sun Supplies 36 Bubba Book 16 Carson/Beneteau BC Coast Weather 68 Coral Reef Apparel Company 35 Crow’s Nest Restaurant & Marina 29 Cruising Direct Sails 8 Defender Industries 67 Dockside Radio 15 Don’s Salvage 58 Doyle Sails 12 Dwyer mast 67 Eastern/Beneteau BC First Patriot Insurance 18 Flagship Sailing 60 Fleetside Marine Service 66 Flying Scot Sailboats 66 Forespar 63 Fujinon Binoculars 35 Fun Maritime Academy 38 Garhauer Hardware 4 Glacier Bay Refrigeration 40 Great Outdoors Publishing 58 Gulf Coast Yacht Sales 63,64 Gunkholer’s Cruising Guide 58 Hanse Sailboats 65 Hood/SSMR 55 Hotwire/Fans and other products 67 Hunter Sailboats 10,11 Island Marine Products 23 JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 27 JS9000 PHRF Racer 64 Memory Map 67 Martek Dinghy Davits 67 Massey Yacht Sales 3,9,14,22,31,32,IBC Masthead Enterprises 24,68 Mid Island Marine Services 56 Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau BC National Sail Supply 45 Nautical Trader 57 NBOA 53 North Sails 20 Nuclear Sails 16 Porpoise Used Sails 68 Raider Sailboats 65 RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke 43 Rparts Refrigeration 51 Sailboats Florida 65 Sail Exchange/Used Sails 28,68 Sailcovers and More 68 Sailor’s Soap 15,34,49 Sailor’s Wharf Boatyard and Brokerage 57,60 Sailtime 5 Sarasota Youth Sailing Program 62 Schurr Sails 47 Scully 20 Scurvy Dog Marine 48 Sea School 20 Sea Tech 21 Sign Factory 56 SSMR/Hood 55 St. Augustine Sailing School 68 St. Barts/Beneteau BC Suncoast Inflatables 59 Tackle Shack 54 Tampa Sailing Squadron 62 UK Sails 4 Ullman sails 15 West Marine 41,IFC Whitney’s Marine 64,65,66 Windcraft Catamarans 20 Weather Wave 43 Yanmar Diesel 66 Sailing Services Directory West Florida 56 Regional Sailing Services Directory 25 Calendar Photo Contest 13

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BUBBA (continued from page 19)

KEYS (continued from page 51)

“Phyllis rubbed me the wrong way in Key West. Some women are born nice. Some women learn to be nice. Phyllis was born mean and learned to be meaner,” Capt. Whartz explained. “I had been in Key West and stayed in a marina where she worked. She wouldn’t give me the time of day. I mean, literally. I asked her what time it was, and she wouldn’t even bother looking at her own wristwatch to help me out. She said she was too busy. That was a first for me. This woman had all the personal warmth of dry ice. Then, when I got my bill, it had charges for water, charges for electricity, charges for cable TV, charges for a telephone hookup and also the normal slip rental charges. I told her that I didn’t order all that extra stuff when I signed in. She said I certainly did, and then she pointed to some agate type so small I hadn’t noticed it on the bottom of the docking agreement. When I signed in, I never saw the paragraph that said that I had to pay for the extras, even if I had made no use of them while I was docked there. “I complained that I was being railroaded. She told me that was tough. I had signed the agreement, and if I didn’t come up with the money, then she would call the police, and the marina would chain my boat to the dock and lock the chain. I thought about it for a minute. I was between a rock and a hard place. Then, I had an inspiration. I apologized profusely to Phyllis, told her that I was all wrong and wrote her a check on the spot for everything that she said that I owed. Then I left and went into the Waterfront Market at Key West Bight and made a couple of purchases. They came in two containers, but I mixed the two together. Then I went back to the marina, apologized again and gave her one of the containers and told her it was a present and there were no hard feelings. Then I got on Right Guard, untied the lines and took off.” “What was in the container?” I asked. “The one I gave her as a present?” replied Bubba. “Of course,” I shot back at him. “It was about half an expensive shampoo and about half Nair,” Bubba said. “Bubba, you put Nair in the shampoo you gave to Phyllis?” gasped Doobie. “Sure did,” said Bubba. “Apparently she used it. Works like a charm, doesn’t it?” “Bubba, you are the most devious, twisted, fiendish man I have ever met,” smiled Doobie. “You get the next six beers on the house.” “Thank you,” said Bubba, ducking his head. You know, as God is my witness, Bubba was actually blushing at Doobie’s kind words. And you thought that he never showed his sensitive side.

Results: Corrected time placement: 1-Eric Pesty & Michael Beavers, Hobie 16. 2-Jessie Combs & Heather Tidwell, 420. 3-Commodore Tom Theisen, Laser. 4-Bud Case, Sunfish. 5Sa.m. Chapin, Laser. 6-Jeff Serrie & Natalie Watson, JY15. 7Nils Rydbeck, Sunfish. 8-Bobbie Combs & Daniel “the wine guy” Johnson, JY15. 9-Bert Bender & Haven, JY15. 10-Curtis Craig, Laser. 11-Dave Oatway, Laser. 12-Julie & Ed Gully, JY15. 13-Jack Worth, Sunfish. 14-Craig Beavers, Laser. 15-Rebecca Burg, WindRider16. 16-Cheryl Bradley, Laser. 17-Jeep Caillout & SeaWolf, Oday Daysailer. 18-Walt Mathews, Cape Dory Typhoon. 19-Abalyn McMullen, Laser. 20-Larry Fagan, Victoria 18. 21-Dolly Honsholder, Sunfish. Bob Willia.m.s and his new 17' Norseboat, hull #1, did not yet have a rating. The Norseboat finished in the middle of the fleet.

OCEAN RACING (continued from page 37) one object if we start the engine and go in? We could be at the dock with the air conditioning on by midnight.” Though I know a couple of the crew would have preferred to finish the race, nobody dissented (too tired to argue, mostly!) So we did. We didn’t actually make it to the dock until 3 a.m. Sunday morning. But once we quit racing, everyone relaxed, had a drink, and felt better. A little wind in the cockpit (from motoring) felt really good. We felt really sorry for the boat we motored past, with limp sails and a hot crew. We went into Charleston Harbor at night-it was a little scary (the race organizer said... “unless you are familiar with the harbor, we advise you to wait until daylight.”). But we had charts, two GPSs, radar, etc. It took the whole crew helping out to make sure our fatigued skipper didn’t make any mistakes, but we got to the dock safely. The bulk of the rest of fleet started arriving at Charleston City Marina about 7 a.m.. A good time was had by all. Miss Too performed well on her first ocean race, and the crew learned a lot about longer distance racing. We slept a few hours, had breakfast, went and picked up the rental car, and the transient crew took off about 10 a.m. for Melbourne. I don’t know how we would have ended up in the race. Probably not first, as we were within the pack when we quit (and we were about the fifth lowest-rated boat). Bob said only about 17 boats finished out of 24 starters. NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

Marathon Sailing Club, Sunfish Summer Series

he Marathon Sailing Club Inc. announced its First Annual Sunfish Summer Series. The series will be governed by the “rules” as defined in the 2001-2004 Racing Rules of Sailing and the Sunfish Summer Series Sailing Instructions. Racing will be held off the east end of Sombrero Beach on the following Saturdays: July 10, July 24, August 7, August 21, September 4 and September 18. Weather days will be announced as needed. All Sunfish are eligible to sail. Competitors should register on the beach with the organizing authority and check in with the race committee on the course before the start of each day’s racing. No entry fee is required for Marathon Sailing Club members. US Sailing members: $4/ day of racing. All others: $5/day of racing. PFDs (life jackets) shall be worn at all times when on the water. To request further information or a copy of the Sunfish Summer Series Sailing call (305) 766-2737. Instructions, contact Ridge Gardner at liveaboard@mindspring.com or as a last resort, call (305) 766-2737.

Florida Keys Now a No Discharge Zone

ffective June 19, all state waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary are a No Discharge Zone for boater sewage. For information or a map of pump-out facilities, contact (866) NDKEYSO or www.co.monroe.fl.us/ ndz/info.htm, Reef Relief, (305) 294-3100, www.reefrelief.org, or the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (305) 292-0311, 743-2437, 852-7717. SOUTHWINDS

July 2004

Remembering the Important Stuff: Another True Sailing Story By Bruce Sanspree

y friend and I had been sailing for several years together on his Catalina 22. One of his last adventures may have been the cause of him selling his boat. He commented one day that as his daughters were getting older, they were not as interested in spending time with him on his sailboat as they used to be. His two daughters would rather do other stuff that included phones, air-conditioning, and TV. Dad was determined and managed to work family vacations around sailing and camping on the boat. As they got older, this was harder to do. He moved up to a Catalina 25 to entice them with the extra room, but this had no effect. The girls stated during their teenage years that they had become accustomed to air-conditioning and hot showers when Dad had this great idea. His daughters were involved in the church youth group. The youth group was going to have a long weekend at the beach near Emerald Isle, NC. Dad volunteered to take the group out to sea for a day stopping in at Cape Lookout National Seashore for a day exploring and then sailing back. Cape Lookout is the lower Outer Banks of North Carolina and has wild ponies and other assorted animals 70

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as well as coastal wildlife. The ponies and goats are remnants of shipwrecks from past years that have survived on the wild grasses and marsh water. There is no development along these barrier islands. The plan was to get all the kids excited about sailing and thereby endear himself and his hobby to his daughters. Perhaps even get them interested in sailing again. The time came for the daylong sailing adventure in a 25-foot Catalina. There were four teenage girls and three teenage guys as well as the skipper sailing out to sea that day. The skipper knew his reputation was on the line so he tried to think of everything, He filed a float plan, checked the weather, obtained water, ice, drinks and snacks. He doublechecked life vests, extra lines and sails, anchor rode; he insured that the marine radio was operating. Even carried a phone on board. He made a list-checked it twice. All went well. Everyone loved the sailing to the Cape Lookout seashore. Birds were abundant and the weather was perfect. Dolphins accompanied them over to the island. He brought the Catalina over to the ocean side of the island and anchored. He had done this on many occasions before in smaller

sailboats. They anchored the boat and used the dinghy to transfer the girls to shore. The boys braved the water and swam the 30 yards or so to the beach. They had a great day on the island. Horses were photographed, and everyone was having a good time. Dad was a hero. Dad had thought of everything. Almost. When they came back over the dunes, there was the sailboat over on its side with the keel in the sand. The tide had gone out. The daughters said “Daaad.” The guys said “Coool.” The other teenage girl said, “ I have to pee.” Nothing to do but wait until the tide came in, which it did, and the boat refloated. The trip was much longer than originally planned. There was the embarrassing phone call back to announce they would be late arriving and why. Some of the best trips can be ruined or at least become awkward because of lack of pre-planning. It is the simple things that can make you feel the worst because these are the things that could have easily been done and a crisis prevented. Although some sailors would say that this day was just another day’s adventure at sea. www.southwindssailing.com