Southwinds March 2006 by SOUTHWINDS Magazine

SOUTHWINDS News & Views for Southern Sailors Key West Race Week Overcoming the Obstacles to Cruising The ICW: In Trouble?

March 2006 For Sailors — Free…It’s Priceless

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March 2006

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS March 2006

March 2006

SOUTHWINDS

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SOUTHWINDS NEWS & VIEWS

FOR

SOUTHERN SAILORS

Guest Editorial: Dave Ellis

Letters

Bubba Introduces Trouble in a Leather Jacket By Morgan Stinemetz

Short Tacks: Sailing News & Events Around the South

Our Waterways: News About Our Changing Waterways

The Intracoastal Waterway: A Cruisers’ Highway in Trouble By Barbara Pierce

Business Spotlight: The Nautical Trader By Barbara Pierce

Destinations: JIB Yacht Club and Marina, Jupiter, FL By Ina Moody

Obstacles to Cruising: Lessons Learned by One Couple By Colin Ward

Catboats Come To Useppa Island By Gretchen F. Coyle

PHRF Racing Tips By Dave Ellis

Acura Key West Race Week By Rebecca Burg

Racing: News, and Events. Southern Regional Racing Reports & Race Calendars

At the Helm of the Star Clipper By Eric West

The ICW. Photo by Beach Edwards. Page 36

68-69 Regional Sailing Services Directory Local boat services in your area 76 Alphabetical Index of Advertisers 77 Advertisers’ List by Category 77 Subscription Form For this month’s regional air and water temperatures, see regional racing sections

COVER: Acura Key West Race Week. Photo © Tim Wilkes/ www.timwilkes.com. Story page 50.

Acura Key West Race Week. Photo © Tim Wilkes/ www.timwilkes.com. Page 50.

From the Carolinas to Cuba…from Atlanta to the Abacos…SOUTHWINDS Covers Southern Sailing News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

GUEST EDITORIAL

Is the Sport of Sailing Declining? By Dave Ellis

n this era of thumb-exercising video games, extreme sports and golf, there are those who say that the sport of sailing is doomed. Participation in organized sailing events has been declining. The classic Davis Island Egmont Key Race had 22 boats this year. In the 1950s and ‘60s there were more boats, though smaller in size. The St. Petersburg Yacht Club Fall Bay Race, formerly known as Tampa Bay Race Week, had 29 boats, a fraction of years ago. This year’s Thanksgiving AllClass Regatta at Florida’s Davis Island Yacht Club drew 78 boats, including Optis. Sounds like a lot of boats. But the area population has nearly trebled in forty years, and the regatta was larger then. Does this mean that sailing is a dying sport? Boat sales have remained steady and in some sizes increased. Many people enjoy sailing their boats on the bays and Gulf. But they don’t necessarily have the time or desire to race. On Tampa Bay recently I was on a

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Colgate 26 teaching two couples from northern climes how to sail. They expressed no interest in racing. They planned to charter occasionally and buy something in the 25- to 30-foot range for cruising. While on the bay we counted a dozen boats sailing on a Friday afternoon. None of them were racing. The growing segment of sailing is just that…sailing. There are places to anchor, places to avoid, ways to make your craft safer, faster, and more fun. Boats have become more user-friendly. Those of us who remember classic yachts may also remember how wet they were in a seaway, both on deck and down below. And the engine, well, I like the modern power plants better. There will always be those of us who enjoy racing. What other sport allows a 60+ duffer to race successfully against college-age athletes. But, you may have noticed that the same names come up as winners in almost every competition. Unless the racing is fun in other ways for the

rest of the participants, they may take up golf. The most successful sailing classes are not the fastest nor most exciting. They are the ones that stress fun for the participants. The Flying Scot, for example, is not fast. It has a blunt bow that pounds the waves. It is stable and forgiving. But the class emphasizes the enjoyment of the experience and is growing in numbers. Catamaran classes seem to stress the party as much as the competition, and their numbers are increasing. Our boats change, our goals for fun morph, our income changes. In the South we have Catalina, Island Packet, Hunter as well as a number of smaller manufacturers who are busy producing boats for us. The choices are legion. So don’t fret over the state of your favorite pastime. After all, the sport of sailboat racing for the average person is really only about 75 years old. I understand there were plenty of sailboats on the sea before that time. The wind will always be with us.

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Writers and Photographers Wanted Sailing Experiences Stories and photos about experiences in places you’ve cruised, anchorages, marinas, or passages made throughout the Southern cruising waters, including the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Race reporting Generally, we are always looking for someone to send us race coverage throughout the Southern states, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Cruising Notes Southern sailors cruising on the high seas or cruising our waterways and coasts: Send us word on where you’re at and what you’re doing. How the cruising life is treating you. Bahamas Trips, experiences, passages, anchorages, provisioning and other stories that are of interest. Hurricane Stories Hurricanes are a part of owning a boat in the Southern waters, and we would like to hear how you and your boat might have been affected by a storm or how you prepare your boat for one, experiences you’ve had. Send us letters or articles. Our Waterways Information about the waters we sail in: disappearing marinas, boatyards and slips; mooring fields, anchoring rights, waterway access, etc. Maintenance and Technical Articles How you maintain your boat, or rebuilt a boat, technical articles on maintenance, repairs, etc. Individuals in the Sailing Industry Interesting stories about the world of sailors out there, young, old, and some that are no longer with us but have contributed to the sport or were just true lovers of sailing. The Caribbean Stories about the warm tropical waters farther south of us. Charter Stories Have an interesting charter story? In our Southern waters, or perhaps in the Bahamas, the Caribbean, or points beyond in some far-off and far-out exotic place? Cuba Of course, there is always Cuba, and regardless of how our country’s elected officials try to keep Americans out of the largest island in the Caribbean, it will one day be open as a cruising ground. Today American sailors can legally go to Cuba and cruise if they follow the proper procedures. If you have a story about such a trip, let us look at it. Miscellaneous Photos Photographs are always enjoyable, whether for their beauty, their humor, or for many other reasons, and we take them alone. We would like photos with every story, if possible. Cover Photos SOUTHWINDS is always looking for nice cover shots, which are always paid for. They generally need to be a vertical shot, but we can sometimes crop horizontal photos for a nice cover picture. They need to be of a high resolution. If digital, they need to be taken at a very high resolution (and many smaller digital cameras are not capable of taking a large, high-resolution photo for the cover). If a photograph, then we need it scanned at high resolution, or if you send it to us, we can do so. Letters to the Editor For those of you who are not as ambitious to write stories, we always want to hear from you about your experiences and opinions. Contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com for more information and questions. For more technical guidelines about layout, grammar, etc., please visit our Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.com and go to “Writer/Photographer Guidelines.” 8

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News & Views For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS Media, Inc. P.O. Box 1175, Holmes Beach, Florida 34218-1175 (941) 795-8704 (877) 372-7245 (941) 795-8705 Fax www.southwindsmagazine.co e-mail: editor@southwindsmagazine.com Volume 14 Number 3 March 2006 Copyright 2006, Southwinds Media, Inc. Founded in 1993

Doran Cushing, Publisher 1993-2002

Publisher/Editor editor@southwindsmagazine.com (941) 795-8704

Steve Morrell

Lisa Hoogerwerf Knapp Barbara Pierce

Associate Editors southwindsnews@aol.com cruzcrossroads@yahoo.com

Advertising editor@southwindsmagazine.com (941) 795-8704 davidcurry@southwindsmagazine.com (941) 761-0048 gary@southwindsmagazine.com (727) 585-2814

Steve Morrell David Curry Gary Hufford

Regional Editors CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA waltmcfarlane@aol.com

Walt McFarlane

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Roy Laughlin

(912) 429-4197 (321) 690-0137

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA Lisa Hoogerwerf Knapp southwindsnews@aol.com Art Perez

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Production Heather Nicoll

Proofreading Kathy Elliott

Rebecca Burg Stephanie Cox Ludwig Hoogstoel Lisa Hoogerwerf Knapp R. J. Mitchellette Art Perez Morgan Stinemetz

Contributing Writers Julie Connerley Dave Ellis Chuck Husick Roy Laughlin Ina Moody Barbara Pierce Colin Ward

Artwork Rebecca Burg angel@artoffshore.com Gretchen Coyle John Grover Kim Kaminski Walt McFarlane Gene DiNisio DeeVon Quirolo Eric West

Contributing Photographers Rebecca Burg Julie Connerley Gretchen Coyle Beach Edwards Dave Ellis Chuck Husick Kim Kaminski Lisa Hoogerwerf Knapp Guy Marlow Ina Moody Barbara Pierce Colin Ward Carolyn West Tim Wilkes Martine Zurinskas 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 faroff 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 e-mail (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.southwindsmagazine.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.

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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.

SIMPLE WAY TO SECURE FENDERS TO TOE RAIL I found a great way to secure fenders quickly to a perforated toe rail. The diameter of the line tied to the fender has to be just small enough so that a bite can be pushed through one of the holes in the rail. The tail is then brought over the top of the rail and passed through the open bite on the other side. Lastly, the working end of the line (going to the fender) is pulled tight, and the fender is secured. For those who worry about this working loose (in a year’s time, I have not had that happen), the bitter end can be finished off in a hitch around the working end or just passed through another hole. Eric West Ormond Beach, FL Eric, Interesting idea. Thanks for the suggestion.

Editor

KEYS COMPANY GETS BOATERS’ APPRECIATION A new shop in Marathon that we cannot recommend enough, the Battery Shack (mm 48 in Marathon, Florida Keys 305-743-0011), recently helped us out. We lost three alternators, and his prompt, professional service at a reasonable price was greatly appreciated. He went way out of his way for us. Please include him in a marina listing. Kathie & Charlie Grove SEA FOOD SHACK – DO WE NEED ANOTHER CONDO OR A MARITIME MUSEUM AND BOAT RAMP? In reading SOUTHWINDS, I have noticed a few articles written that suggest that Manatee County in west Florida cannot manage its properties and that the cafe in Holmes Beach is an example of the management shortfalls of the county. I have been to many different coastal areas in the country, and I think that the café, aside from being a little expensive, is a pretty decent place to visit. It is an open-air beachfront restaurant. I do not know what other people are thinking what the cafe should be, but, in comparison to other beachfront establishments in the area, I think Holmes Beach rates pretty good. Due to a low budget, I am a trailer sailor myself, and if Manatee County could annex the Sea Food Shack and put in a boat ramp and hoist, I think that it would be a great idea. With the disappearing marinas and the increasing difficulties that boaters like myself (low or modest income) have in storing and launching a boat, we need to encourage the government to become more boater-friendly. I do agree with one thing that has been said in previous letters: There could be nothing worse than to have the Sea Food Shack become one of these whining “exclusive” condominium complexes—one of the very reasons we are facing the probSee LETTERS continued on page 10 News & Views for Southern Sailors

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March 2006

LETTERS lems that we have today in recreational boating in Florida. I am all for the county annexing the Sea Food Shack for the purpose of a boat ramp and hoist and for the takeover of the mooring field at the Bridge Street Pier. Maybe if it was a little more regulated and the derelict boats and boaters were removed, there would be a lot less complaining. Alas! The traffic of the boat ramp might be too much, so then let it be. Just think of the traffic that would be created by a high rise condo—not to mention living in the shadow of a 10-story monstrosity. The new view would be spectacular! A high rise just like downtown New York City. Marc Stoddart Bradenton, FL Marc, I couldn’t agree more. That letter writer who wrote about the Sea Food Shack and the Holmes Beach restaurant is a friend of mine and advertising representative for SOUTHWINDS. I was surprised at his opinion of the Café on the Beach in Holmes Beach. Maybe he had something there that disagreed with his stomach once, but I personally love the place. I now know to never ask him to meet me there for breakfast, as it is my favorite breakfast spot. I always thought that it had been maintained with an atmosphere that was simple and small town, as compared to everything else being built like a modern hotel with big windows and carpet. As for the Sea Food Shack, he mainly opposes the boat ramp (and his living a block away from there makes that understandable), as he understands the problems with disappearing marinas. He is also an avid sailor and would like to keep a public marina there. I agree with him about the boat ramp traffic problems in his neighborhood. That should be addressed, or they should not put one in. His comments about the cost and whether Manatee County can properly run a property properly have merit, but that is the way of most government-run operations. But that’s a good thing. Think how big government would really be if it ran things as efficiently as private businesses do. We’d really be in trouble. It’s just that some things have to be run by the government, and a museum is probably one. I believe, though, that the problem with disappearing public marinas and conversion of these properties to condos is so serious and so imminent that we must save them one by one and not let one go. I would like to see the county buy the Sea Food Shack, double or triple the size of the marina, making it a state of the art marina, have a maritime museum/school there, and totally rebuild the road access to satisfy the local neighbors and solve the traffic problem. I would also like to see small trailer sailboat storage across the street with a boat lift to help launch sailboats, as exists in many parts of California at public marinas. In other words, do a complete top-notch job. It will cost a lot more, but we in the boating community are in dire straits and need to spend the money. If the county can’t do it there, then let’s build a top-of-the-line similar project nearby. More condos will mean more people needing more water access, but actually there will be less access if this property converts to condos. This I call a “reverse catch-22.” Think about that for a while. Editor BOAT WASTE DUMPING AND MUNICIPAL UNTREATED SEWAGE DUMPED INTO TAMPA BAY I have a boater acquaintance who travels from Maine to See LETTERS continued on page 12 10

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March 2006

LETTERS Florida and back each year. He has a 50-gallon holding tank, flushes with the shower hose and has a ball valve where the discharge hose connects to the toilet. With this arrangement, he can flush using less than a quart of freshwater. If he uses the technique of “Here in the land of fun and sun, we don’t pump for number one,” his holding tank can hold over a month of black water. When he is traveling, he is often more than three miles offshore and can dump the tank offshore where its contents will be welcomed by somebody in the local ecology. When not traveling offshore, he occasionally dumps while anchored but always on the start of an outgoing tide, at night, and in a place with good tidal flow, so he is confident that by the change of the tide his dump will be at least three miles offshore and dissipated. He feels that without using a pump-out, he is acting as responsibly as he can. He has been saying that since the state of Florida declared the entire coast a No Discharge Zone. However, there is a standard small-yacht, black water treatment plant called a LectraSan. It sells for about a thousand dollars and basically grinds the poop up into a slurry and then kills all the biological items with chlorine provided by electrolyzing plates and seawater. He says that the output is significantly cleaner than that of the typical shoreside or commercial vessel

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SOUTHWINDS

treatment plants. He says that if the LectraSan units were allowed to be used in the NDZs, many conscientious boatowners would jump at the chance to do the right thing. After all, the water is their front yard. Some hard facts would be very helpful in examining this issue. Surveys of areas with public display of what the samplers found and fair observers under no pressure from anywhere to skew the numbers would be needed. This is all something to think about. When we visited Baltimore one year, the newspaper reported that, due to some failure, the municipal sewage treatment plant dumped several million gallons of raw sewage into the Chesapeake Bay. That is really something to think about. Norm S/V Bandersnatch Lying St Augustine, FL Norm, In this issue we have an article that discusses how the LectraSan works and to what level it cleans waste (see “Our Waterways” section). We will have more on this topic in future issues. You have hit the nail on the head (so to speak). I too believe more boaters would buy the LectraSan if you could discharge it in many of these NDZs. Your friend is acting responsibly and causing no real pollution in our waters, yet he breaks the law—tech-

nically. He would probably not hesitate to buy the LectraSan. The amount that one municipality dumps—if it has one overflow problem— in our local waters makes one boat’s waste look like the droppings of one bird flying over and dumping over a field of 1000 cattle, where cow patties are scattered throughout. In Tampa Bay, on Nov. 1, 2004, when a wastewater pipe burst, 21million gallons of untreated sewage flooded a neighborhood in north Tampa, flooding yards (leaving turds in yards and driveways) and then flowed into the Hillsborough River and eventually into upper Tampa Bay. Another big spill (and I only mention a couple of the big ones) happened in August 2003 when 2 million gallons of untreated sewage dumped because of a broken main on Davis Islands in Tampa. This went right into Hillsborough Bay. I am sure that those floating turds were blamed on the boats at Davis Island by many. The impact of 2million gallons is enormous. Think what 21- million gallons did. The city of Tampa has been ordered by the Florida DEP to clean its problems up by 2012. It’s amazing that the city had to be ordered to do so (Tampa is spending millions on an art museum). It is also interesting that the city of Tampa is trying to get rid of all the anchored boats in the Davis Island Seaplane basin. All the beach closings in the area are from these spills—and I only name two—yet a few liveaboards in Davis See LETTERS continued on page 15

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March 2006

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LETTERS Island get blamed for floating turds regularly, although those boats have never caused a beach closing. I wonder if people who live in houses in the area who complain about those liveabards might find a few of their own turds floating in the bay now and then. Maybe the city should post these sewage dumpings on the front doors of every building in Hillsborough County. That would wake a few people up. Editor

ST. PETERSBURG MOORING FIELDS BEING CONSIDERED I am president of the Old Bayside Neighborhood and Marina Association (St. Petersburg Municipal Marina). This association is organized under the laws of the state of Florida and is an official neighborhood association of the city of St. Petersburg. We all read your magazine every time it is published. The articles often

catalyze discussions here on our docks. I have one question, which is pressing, and your information could help me complete an overall proposal. Currently, two different councilmen are pushing forward two ideas for the waterfront. One is a mooring field in what is called Big Bayou. The other is a boardwalk with hourly rental slips. Both ideas on a very large picture have merit. However, we want to try to tie many issues together into one program. To help with this, will you please provide from your records the city and counties, etc., in Florida that have mooring fields or are considering or installing them? If there is any way to get this information, it will help. Second, we are all aware of the water quality issue(s) and the hype and most often, very bad/slanted information. In the past month many boaters have commented on the current clarity of the water. In fact, I can only remember the water being this clear once before. I can clearly see the bottom in my slip here in the St. Petersburg Marina. It is about 15 feet deep. The reason I mention this now is that the same number of boats and liveaboards are in the marina now as any other day or year. So it follows that boats or liveaboards do not cause poor water quality. It is something else. Do you know who can document the water clarity and quality? It needs to be someone (or a company) that is â&#x20AC;&#x153;official,â&#x20AC;? or has certification so as to be believable should we need the information. Paul Barbour St. Petersburg Paul, I do not know of anyone directly who can help you on the water quality, but I am sure the city can. As far as mooring fields, the ones that come to mind are Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, Fort Myers Beach and Vero Beach. Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island is currently putting a plan together to establish one, and the police chief is the best person to contact at the city for information. He has thoroughly researched this and has help from the University of Florida in coordination with Florida Sea Grant. There is a PowerPoint presentation you can view online that discusses all these, the mooring fields around the state and how they are developed. It can be viewed at: See LETTERS continued on page 16

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March 2006

LETTERS www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/dcp/waterfronts/MooringFields.pdf. Go to http://flseagrant.org and do a search there on mooring fields, and it will open up a whole group. Editor BOAT WASTE DISPOSAL: PUMP-OUT BOATS AND WHAT DO OTHER COUNTRIES DO WITH BOAT WASTE? In response to your “From the Helm” column and your quest for a solution to the sewage disposal problem, I have the following thoughts. First, I do not believe that the problem exists to the extent that the present activity level would suggest. For example, I have sailed down the Hawk Channel within the Florida Keys No Discharge Zone a few times in recent months, and the thought that the handful of boats one sees could be contributing enough sewage to affect the reef, especially with the prevailing currents, is ludicrous. I also believe that pump-out facilities are pretty much non-existent outside the United States and Canada, and somehow the rest of the world is not being poisoned. Nevertheless, we are in an environment where socially acceptable sewage disposal is the issue, not the facts around whether or not pumping overboard is in fact harmful to us or the ocean environment. Having said that, I believe I know which solutions to the pump-out problem work and which ones don’t. For most boatowners, particularly those who are living aboard an anchored boat, the thought of moving the boat to a dock every few days for a pump-out is an anathema to the boatowner. Finding a marina with a working pump-out station that has deep enough water at the dock, upping anchors, docking the boat in winds and currents, and reanchoring upon your return to the spot that has hopefully not been taken by someone else, pretty much insures that it isn’t going to happen. Comparing it to shore life, it would be like having to drive a couple of miles to the restroom every time you needed to use one. So what is the alternative? It is the simple solution that is working in Fort Myers Beach, FL, Boot Key Harbor in Marathon (Florida Keys), Annapolis, MD, and other motivated communities on the East Coast; a pump-out boat. The city or county operates a boat equipped with a pumpout facility that transfers your waste into its tank and subsequently into the city sewage system. The pump-out boats make the rounds and responds to radio calls on a regular basis. The pump-out boats we have used are set up to operate quickly, conveniently and with no damage to your vessel. The cost of operating the vessel is paid for by a modest pump-out fee ($5 in Marathon) or as part of a mooring charge (in Fort Myers Beach) and is presumably funded in the same way that sewage treatment plants, new sewer lines or new subdivisions are funded for land dwellers. Cities with only a few boating residents could band together and share the pump-out boat on an acceptable schedule (e.g. Gulfport on Monday and Thursday afternoons and Treasure Island on Tuesday morning and so on). Whether or not the problem is real to begin with, I think this solution would remove this piece of ammunition from 16

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the anti-boating community. Then these people would at least have to come up with other reasons why boats should not be allowed to use the public waterways in front of their mansions. Colin Ward (Colin Ward is a regular contributor to SOUTHWINDS, and he and his wife cruise on board their Catalina 42, Mandalay.) Colin, Thank you for your letter. This is the very discussion we are opening as there is so much prejudice and lack of knowledge on the subject that we are hoping to educate others. Several years back when No Discharge Zones (NDZs) were established, there was a big public outcry from the boating community that perhaps these NDZs went a little too far. They have definitely stifled research and development of onboard treatment systems. Were the establishment of these NDZs meant to be for the next 1000 years and beyond, as I certainly believe, science will have solved many of these problems long before that. With NDZs, solutions will perhaps take a little longer than without them. Yes, there are places where NDZs are necessary, but in many places they are creating more problems than they are solving, and we are hoping to perhaps find out where those places are, and if that is true, perhaps we can help change these laws. In the coming months we will be having articles about onboard sewage treatment systems. I am not totally familiar with how private boat discharge is treated in other countries, but I do know that onboard treatment systems, like the LectraSan, are an accepted method in Australia. They have NDZs, and they delineate NDZs as areas in proximity to other critical areas by definition. Dumping must be at least 500 meters (about a third of a mile) from shore. We will try to define these practices in other countries in future articles. We know that just because other countries don’t have NDZs as strict as the ones in the United States does not mean that their policies are right and ours are wrong, but we hope to find out. We are asking readers who might know about practices in other parts of the world to send us any information they might have. Pump-out boats are a great solution, and pump-outs at every marina again will help the situation. A new pump-out service recently started up in west Florida (see page 35 advertisement), and the owner has been staying very busy. Let’s hope he can make it profitable enough to stay in business, as he is doing a public service of a kind that generally requires public funds. If it didn’t, we’d all have leach fields and septic tanks in every backyard of every home, apartment building, factory and business location in the country. Editor

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March 2006

Southwinds Magazine does not have the electronic rights to the Bubba stories.

March 2006

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keep confidences,” I informed the livealone, live-aboard sailor. “Now that’s reassuring,” cut in Richards in a tone as flat as polished granite. He was still looking straight ahead when I turned to look at him. I mean, this guy leaked unhappiness like a partially opened body bag. Bubba was eager to tell me all about it, though. “Joe here has come up with a neat idea to make money,” he began. “You’ve heard of the Visiting Nurse Association, right?” “Of course,” I replied. “They just opened a building in Bradenton, where I live. It’s on one of the main streets. These people are on the front line of home health care, I think you could say. They do good work.” “Good. Then if you know about the Visiting Nurse Association, you’ll understand that someone could take an established name like that, change it just a little and come up with an entirely new concept, but one that, because of its similarity to the VNA, will have lots of good will attached to it. Joe here is an organizer for the Visiting Nurses’ Association, but he refers to it, in print anyway, as the Visiting Nurses’ Ass.” “What is it?” I asked with a certain amount of naiveté that carried a dash if incredulity with it. I had a vague idea of where Bubba was going with this, but I was afraid to ask. It turns out I didn’t have to. Richards looked at me with emotionless dark brown eyes that reminded me of pissholes in the snow and explained the crux of the business proposition. “What it amounts to, is that we open a business called the Visiting Nurses’s Association and send out girls who can take care of male clients in the

News & Views for Southern Sailors

“What it amounts to, is that we open a business called the Visiting Nurses’s Association and send out girls who can take care of male clients in the privacy of their own homes in ways that will be beneficial to the clients’ health and their piece of mind. In their little doctor bags that the girls will carry with them will be handcuffs, rope, several masks, some latex items and various things powered by batteries.”

privacy of their own homes in ways that will be beneficial to the clients’ health and their piece of mind. In their little doctor bags that the girls will carry with them will be handcuffs, rope, several masks, some latex items and various things powered by batteries.” “You mean to tell me…” I started to say. “…I mean to tell you that if I have to draw you a map, then you are probably the stupidest guy this side of the county line,” Richards cut in, looking at me. I noticed that his fists were balled up and he was looking directly at me with a fierce concentration I found terribly disquieting. That’s when I heard a woman’s voice, sweet as honey, cut through the gathering angst like a shaft of sunlight after the dark menace of a summer thundershower. “In this establishment, we don’t address one another in such disrespectful terms, Mr. Richards. It is Mr.

Richards, is it not?” The voice was Doobie’s, quiet as a prayer and strong as a titanium shackle. “This is my bar, and because it is my bar we tolerate some strange strains of behavior from time to time. I’d like to think that yours might fall within those standards, sir, but I would be wrong. So I am going to buy you the beer you just drank, and I am also going to put the other two beers that Mr. Whartz ordered on the house, too. But I am going to do it under one condition, and that condition is that you get your sorry organizational ass off my barstool and out the door. You don’t know me, Mr. Richards, and you never will, but I will tell you here and now it was a visiting nurse who took care of my mother while she was dying at home a number of years back. You may not have any respect for the VNA, but I do. Hit the road, Mr. Richards. You are 86-ed here for as long as I work behind this counter. The best thing I can see on this day is your bald head and slick leather jacket passing beneath that EXIT sign over there by the door. Goodbye.” Richards looked at Bubba, but Bubba was staring at the ceiling. Richards looked at me. I looked away. Then he got up off his barstool and took his tiny steps right out the door. No one said anything. When the door closed behind him, I realized I hadn’t breathed for 30 seconds. I exhaled and looked at Doobie and winked. She winked back. Bubba was still staring at the ceiling when she put two fresh beers down in front of us and said, “Drink up, guys. These are on me, too. It’s suddenly starting to smell better in here.” And you know, it was. Doobie had freshened the air.

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Events and News of Interest to Southern Sailors To have your news or event in this section, contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com. Send us information by the 5th of the month. Contact us if later.

UPCOMING SOUTHERN EVENTS BOAT SHOWS Augusta Boat Show. March 3-5. Augusta, GA, Civic Center, www.bkproductions.biz/augusta.htm New Orleans Boat Show Rescheduled. Ernest Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA, National Marine Manufacturers Association. (504) 780-1818. Originally scheduled for Feb. 8-12, the show is now scheduled for March 8-12. www.neworleansboatshow.com. Central Florida Boat Show. March 2-5. Orange County Convention Center. Orlando, FL. (407) 298-1167. www.boatshowflorida.com. Augusta Boat Show. March 3-5. Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, GA. (256) 509-3574. www.bkproductions.biz. Fort Myers Spring Boat Show. March 9-12. Lee County Civic Center, Fort Myers, FL. (954) 570-7785. www.swfmia.com. Macon Boat & RV Show. March 10-12. Macon, GA, Macon Centroplex, www.bkproductions.biz/macon.htm. Palm Beach Boat Show, March 23-26. Flagler Drive and County Convention Center, Palm Beach, FL. (800) 940-7642. www.showmanagement.com. Jacksonville International Boat Show. April 21-23.

How Can We Save Docks and Boats During Hurricanes?

SOUTHWINDS is looking for ideas and real stories on hurricane experiences to pass on to others for our upcoming hurricane section during the 2006 hurricane season. We are also looking for ideas and stories on protecting docks during storms. Should boats be forced to leave a marina during a hurricane? (See article on page 46 in this issue.) Should boat owners be required to keep their boats from destroying a dock during a storm? Should insurance companies give discounts to those who protect their boats during a storm? Send stories, letters and/or photos to editor@southwindsmagazine.com. 20

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Metropolitan Park & Marina, Jacksonville, FL (904) 7592758. www.jaxboatshow.com. Pensacola Boat Show. Pensacola Civic Center. April 2123. Powerboats. Pensacola, FL. www.gulfcoastshows.com/pensacola2.htm. Mobile Boat Show. Mar 30-Apr 2. The largest boat show on the Gulf Coast featuring hundreds of boats and marine accessories—inside, outside and in the water. Thursday and Friday, noon to 9 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, call (251)478-7469 or go to www.gulfcoastshows.com. South Carolina In-Water Boat Show. April 27-30. Brittlebank Park, Charleston, SC. www.scmarine.cmo/showsubsite. EDUCATIONAL/TRAINING Ongoing – Boating Skills and Seamanship Programs. St. Petersburg, FL, Each Tuesday night, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 1300 Beach Dr. SE, St. Petersburg. U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 72. Completion satisfies the state of Florida boater safety education requirements. The continuous rotating program has 11 lessons. One lesson is presented each Tuesday night. Lessons include: which boat for you, equipment, trailering, lines and knots, boat handling, signs, weather, rules, introduction to navigation, inland boating and radio. (727) 823-3753 Boating Safety Courses, St. Petersburg, FL: The St Petersburg Sail and Power Squadron begins the six-week Public Boating Course every Monday. The course includes safety information plus basic piloting; charts, course plotting, latitude/longitude and dead reckoning. Call (727) 867-3088 or visit www.boating-stpete.org for details. The course satisfies Florida’s education requirement for boaters under age 21. Clearwater Coast Guard Auxiliary (Flotilla 11-1) Offers Public Boating Programs: • Expanded Boating Skills and Seamanship (7 lessons). Class Days: March 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27. •Basic Coastal Navigation Program (7 lessons). Class Days: April 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24 All programs are held at the Clearwater Sailing Center, 1001 Gulf Blvd., Sand Key (Clearwater). They are open to adults and youths. For more information on upcoming education programs or to request a free vessel safety check, call (727) 4698895 or visit http://a0701101.uscgaux.info/.

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West Marine Free Seminars for March Tampa, 3905 West Cypress, (813) 348-0521, 3/4 – All Day – Davis Island Yacht Club Appreciation Day. Present membership card for discount. 3/11 – 10:30-11:30 a.m. Garmin GPS Demonstration w/ Bill Pierce. 3/18 – All Day – Spring Fling Boat Show w/ Local Garmin Rep, Tampa Bayside Marine Boat Sales and USCG Aux. Clearwater, 1721 Gulf to Bay Blvd. (727) 447-5320, start time 6:00 p.m. 2/2 – Splicing three strand and more w/ Captain Tim 2/7 – Inshore snook fishing w/ Captain Caudill 2/9 – Care and maintenance of your inflatable w/ George Hecht 2/20 – Everything you need to know about your GPS w/ Eric Lewis Clearwater, 11477 US Hwy 19 North (727) 573-2678, start time 6:00 p.m. 3/23 – Steve Steen reviews the latest GPS picks for 2006. Crystal River, 160 SE Hwy 19, (352) 563-0003, start time 6:00 p.m. 3/17-19 Citrus County Boat Show in West Marine’s Parking Lot 3/23 – GPS 101 w/ Captain Bryce Jemison

News & Views for Southern Sailors

North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort, NC, www.ncmm-friends.org, maritime@ncmail.net, (252) 7287317. Ongoing adults sailing programs. Family sailing. 2-6 people; 2-6 hours. Traditional skiffs or 30’ keelboat. $50$240. Reservations/information: call The Friends’ office (252) 728-1638 Clearwater Community Sailing Center Sailing Courses and Camps The Clearwater Community Sailing Center has been awarded up to $225,000 through the county’s Recreational Grant Program, sponsored by the Pinellas County Parks and Recreation Department and the Board of County Commissioners. The purpose of the grant is to address the demand for recreation opportunities for the 280,000 citizens who live in unincorporated Pinellas County, which represents 36 percent of the county, not within one of the 24 municipalities, ranging from the Pasco County line to Tierra Verde. With this grant, CCSC is offering full sailing scholarships for anyone who resides in unincorporated Pinellas County. Through these scholarships, residents will have the opportunity to participate in the center’s successful programs that teach sailing, water safety and environmental

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awareness in various venues, including 20hour courses geared specifically to children, adults and seniors. With the support of the center’s partner, Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc, these programs will also accommodate children, adults and seniors with special physical needs who require adaptable boats, equipment and staff. The value of the scholarships ranges from $200 to $300, mirroring the cost of the courses. To apply for a scholarship, an application must be filled out and submitted along with a utility bill. Go to www.clearwatercommunitysailing.org for the online application and information. Full scholarships are available for the following 20-hour courses and one-week sailing camps: Basic Sailing Course (Adult & Senior, able-bodied), $300 Basic Sailing Course (Special needs), $300 Basic Sailing Course (Children, 8 - 17), $300 Sailing Summer Camp (Children, 8 - 16), $200

Other Center Events: Spring Break Youth Sailing Camp March 27-31 Marine Corrosion Certification, March 13-16. Jacksonville, FL. American Boat and Yacht Council. (410) 956-1050. www.abycinc.org.

OTHER EVENTS Broward County, FL, Waterways Cleanup, March 4 By Lisa Hoogerwerf Knapp The 29th Annual Waterway Cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, March 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thirty-one designated cleanup sites in Broward County from Lighthouse Point in the north, to Hallandale Beach in the south, and west to Plantation will host volunteers ready to roll up their sleeves and pitch in. Last year, over 2,200 people pulled 50 tons of garbage from 300 miles of navigable waterways. The Waterway Cleanup is Broward County’s largest annual environmental cleanup effort. It will launch the Great American Cleanup of Broward County, a Keep America Beautiful event coordinated locally by Broward Beautiful and Broward County Waste and Recycling’s Adopt-A-Street Program. Immediately following the cleanup, head to John U. Lloyd Beach State Park in Dania Beach for the “Trash Bash Par-tay” from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Food and drinks will be served and activities like canoeing, dancing, and a sandcastle-building contest are planned for those who still have energy. The waterways are our future and our responsibility. Volunteers make this event happen. If you give a hoot, don’t pollute. Show up on March 4, and help protect Florida’s most precious resource, its waterways. The cleanup is sponsored by a host of organizations led by Charlie’s Locker Nautical Outfitters and the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF). For more details contact Melanie Daily or Carlen Singmaster at (954) 524-2733 or visit www.waterwaycleanup.org.

Tampa Bay’s 3rd Annual Marine Flea Market. March 10-12. St. Petersburg, FL Buy, sell or trade. Marine and nautical outdoor market. Fri. 12-5, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-3. This is not a boat show. Flea market and food. Located at St. Pete’s Spa Beach Park (base of St. Pete Pier), near the Renaissance Vinoy Resort Marina, Municipal Marina and across the street from the St. 22

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Petersburg Yacht Club. The Crawfish Festival and Spa Beach Splash are the same weekend and will bring thousands of people to the area. Both events are held within 1/4 mile of the market area. Bulk parking and trolleys for the area originate at the parking lot right next to the market area. This will ensure maximum exposure to the market. www.tampabaymarinefleamarket.com. Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival and Parade March 11-12. Lynn Hall Memorial Park Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet. Lots of shrimp and other foods. Entertainment. (239) 463-6986. www.fortmyersbeachonline.com. Gulfport Nautical Flea Market. March 18 Gulfport Marina.

www.ci.gulfport.fl.us.

10th Annual Defender Warehouse Sale. March 30-31 and April 1-2

Sale prices will be available on the Defender Industries Web site, www.defender.com. Over 50 manufacturers’ representatives will be in attendance at booths set up boat show style. Everything is put on sale. Last year Defender took 10 percent off almost everything, with 5,000 people attending last year. For more information call Libby Wilson or go to the Defender Web site

28th Annual Dania Marine Flea Market, New Location, March 30-April 2 The 28th annual Dania marine flea market, thought to be the largest marine flea market in the world, will be held Thursday through Sunday, March 30-April 2. After 27 years the flea market has moved from its Dania Jai Alai Fronton location to Dolphins Stadium (Pro Player Stadium). The stadium is located at 2269 Dan Marino Blvd. Miami, FL, off Florida’s Turnpike. Free parking. Entry $12 Thursday thru Saturday, and $10 on Sunday. Hours are 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (till 4 p.m. Sunday). Under 12 free. With the new location there is better parking and more vendors, with 1200 vendors offering various marine goods, including fishing, boating, diving, used boats and more, along with food and beverages. www.thedaniamarinefleamarket.com.

Great Florida Gulf Coast Small Craft Festival, Cortez, FL, April 1-2 Come sail, row, or paddle your classic or traditional boat. Race and/or “mess about,” sing sea shanties, chow down and pig out on fresh local seafood. Go for a pre-festival “gunk hole” trip. This is a family affair and there will be children’s activities. Bring stuff to sell of a nautical flea market nature. There will be stuff to buy. The registration fee includes free on-site camping, an awards dinner, coffee and News & Views for Southern Sailors

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March 2006

doughnuts, good times, great company and some live music. Special guest speaker is to be raconteur, boatbuilder, and writer Robb White. For further information: Florida Gulf Coast Maritime Museum at Cortez, P.O. Box 100, Cortez, FL 34215. (941) 708-4935. Roger.Allen@Manateeclerk.com. www.FGCSCF.org. Sail a Small Boat Day, April 8, Cocoa, Brevard County, FL Go sail a small boat for free. (For more information, see the last Sail a Small Boat Day under “News” in this section.) Contact Jerry Butz at Boaters Exchange, in Rockledge, FL, for more details at (321) 638-0090. www.boatersexchange.com. 22nd Annual Interstate Mullet Toss and Gulf Coast’s Greatest Beach Party. April 28-May 30. (251) 980-5116. Individuals on the beach throwing a mullet from a circle in Alabama to the state line in Florida to benefit the Alabama Sheriffs Boys’ and Girls’ Ranch and the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Escambia. www.florabama.com

NEWS Conch Republic Takes Over Land Rejected by U.S. Court When 15 Cubans landed on the old Seven-Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys in January, they thought they were on U.S. territory and would be allowed to stay, since the U.S. government has a policy that if Cubans fleeing Cuba land on U.S. territory, they can stay. (If intercepted at sea, they are returned to Cuba.) A U.S court decided that the bridge was not U.S. territory and the Cubans were returned. Upon hearing this news, the Republic of Conch Secretary General Peter Anderson decided to claim the

property as part of the Conch Republic, and in a ceremony held on the bridge—also attended by several other citizens of the Key West state— he stated they would be offering the property for use as affordable housing. Conch Republic flags were planted along bridge sections where the Cubans landed. The U.S. government made no moves to defend the property as their own. Southwinds magazine editor, Steve Morrell, speculated that to do so would have been admitting that the property was U.S. territory, clouding the court decision that returned the Cubans to their homeland. And the U.S. courts already have a black cloud hanging over them from other Cuban-related decisions concerning Key West sailors.

Eastern Cuban Artists Documentary and Art Show to Benefit Reef Relief March 2-31, Key West The premier worldwide showing of Luminous Shadows: The Artists of Eastern Cuba, a 45-minute documentary shot on location in Oriente, Cuba, is opening March 2, from 6 p.m.–7 pm, at the Tropic Cinema in Key West. It was produced by Clyde Hensley, who has assembled one of the world’s largest collections of Eastern Cuban art. This educational, nonfiction film profiles the art and artists of Cuba’s easternmost region, Oriente, in association with paintings that will be presented at a monthlong art show to benefit Reef Relief. Following the film, from 7-10 p.m. on March 2, is the opening show of the Cuban art featured in the documentary at Reef Relief headquarters on the boardwalk of the Historic Seaport in Key West. The works will be available for purchase throughout the month of March as a benefit for Reef Relief. For more information, go to www.reefrelief.org.

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S News & Views for Southern Sailors

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March 2006

Sail a Small Boat Day is Another Success, Cocoa, Brevard County, FL, Jan. 28 Sail a Small Boat Day in Cocoa. Photo courtesy Boaters Exchange.

Several families from around the state showed up in Cocoa for another edition of the IRYC Sail a Small Boat Day event, on Saturday, Jan. 28. This event, hosted by Indian River Yacht Club, is featured five times a year in Cocoa Village to introduce families to the beauty of sailing on the Indian River. The “chamber of commerce” weather treated the crowd to 75-degree temperatures, fair winds and blue skies, as sailing enthusiasts plied the waters of the Indian River on a wide variety of sailboats. “Not only is sailing a great family activity,” says Jerry Butz, father of three daughters and organizer of the event, “but sailing on this river in this county is unmatched for warm breezes and protected waters. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day with the ones you love!” The next Sail a Small Boat Day event is scheduled for Saturday, April 8, from 11 to 5. Contact Jerry Butz at Boaters Exchange, in Rockledge, FL, for more details, (321) 638-0090.

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New Service and Web Site for Finding a Slip A new service was recently launched to help boaters find a slip. The business, called Findaslip.com, has a Web site to hook up boaters and available slips for either rent or sale in four categories: liveaboards, non-liveaboards, homes for rent or sale with slips, and dockominiums. The area covered is from the upper Chesapeake Bay to Key West, FL – 1200 nautical miles of coast. The Web site, www.findaslip.com, is searchable by

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state, city, ZIP code, ICW mile marker, and category. Each advertiser will be able to launch and change its entire ad at any time. Findaslip.com is a member of the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce.

The Society of the Four Arts Presents “Upon the Sea.” Palm Beach, Florida, March 11 – April 9 Sailing meets sculpture in an outdoor presentation of two America’s Cup winners racing into the wind. Models of America3, the 1992 winner, and the Italian yacht she beat, II Morro di Venezia, will be on display. The boats are supported with minimal structure under them, so that they appear to be sailing on land, leaning into the wind. Tethered to the ground with a network of rod rigging, they demonstrate the principles of sailing. Described as “inspiring awe,” the exhibit created a stir when displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston last year; it drew large crowds. Rodger Martin Designs created the project for the maritime collection of William I. Koch. The collection is one of the largest and most diversified collections of maritime antiques and art in the world. It includes art by Winslow Homer, Claude Monet, Frederic Remington; 19th century navigation instruments, ships figureheads; furniture such as lap desks, day beds. For more information, call (561) 655-7226 or www.fourarts.org.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

Sail America Announces Management Change On Feb. 8, the Sail America Board of Directors announced that Scott H. Evans has left his position as executive director of the national sailing trade industry association, effective Feb. 6, 2006. Evans had joined Sail America on Aug. 1, 2005, assuming the post vacated by Scot West. During a conference call on Feb. 7, Sail America’s executive board named Sail America National Show Manager Kevin Murphy as interim executive director while options are explored for moving forward. “We thank Scott for his efforts on behalf of Sail America and wish him well in his future activities,” said Sail America President Bill Bolin. Evans echoed the sentiments with a farewell message for members of the association. “I have truly enjoyed working with the wonderful members of Sail America, but it is time for me to step down and pursue other endeavors. I wish all of you the very best in keeping the sport of sailing alive and well.” “Kevin Murphy has a wonderful track record as Sail America’s national show manager, and we are confident that with the assistance of his top-notch staff, both upcoming shows will be highly successful,” said Bolin. “Our board, volunteer committees and industry leaders are in strong support of Kevin and his team during this time of transition.”

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OUR WATERWAYS SOUTHWINDS “Our Waterways” Section SOUTHWINDS has created this section to inform our readers about changes in our waterways. We believe that Southerners are in the midst of a great change occurring on our waterways—through the conversion of many boating properties to condominiums, restrictions on anchorages once thought to be more open and now being more restricted and regulated, and other economic forces at work. The waterways belong to all of us, and all of us have a right to use them. The waterways are not just for those who can afford to live on the water, and it is up to us boaters and lovers of these waters to protect that right. We hope that by helping to inform you of these changes, we will contribute to doing just that. We are looking for news and information on changes, land sales, anchorages, boaters’ rights, new marinas, anchoring rights, disappearing marinas, boatyards and boat ramps, environmental concerns and other related news. Contact Steve Morrell, editor@southwindsmagazine.com, or call (877) 372-7245.

Charlotte Harbor, Florida – #1 Cruising Destination of the Future? By Barbara Pierce Unlike much of the state, one west Florida community is putting out the welcome mat for boaters. Boaters in the Charlotte Harbor area are excited: Two new marinas in Punta Gorda will open soon, and a mooring field is planned. Fisherman’s Village Marina will re-open after being closed for nearly three years. A new 80-slip marina will be built at Laishley Park. A mooring field is planned near the Fisherman’s Village entrance channel. Predictions are that sailing will become a significant activity here, and that this area will become the number one cruising destination on the west coast of Florida. “With an infrastructure of dinghy docks, mooring fields, and land transportation, there will be nothing like it from Key West until you reach the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs,” says Bill Hempel, who has cruised the west coast extensively. Charlotte Harbor is a wide, elbow-shaped bay, 15 miles from the Boca Grande Pass. Formed where the Peace and

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The shops and restaurants of Fisherman’s Village are an attraction to cruisers and tourists, and the popular Fisherman’s Village Marina in Punta Gorda will soon re-open (see SOUTHWINDS “Our Waterways” section in the February ’06 issue). Photo by Barbara Pierce.

Myakka rivers join, the harbor stretches 20 miles long and 10 miles wide. It is the second largest bay in Florida (Tampa Bay being the largest). The open sweep and relatively uniform depths of the harbor are a welcome change from the ICW. Depths of at least nine feet lead to the waterfront town of Punta Gorda at the mouth of the Peace River. Rebuilding Punta Gorda after Hurricane Charley isn’t quite finished. For many residents, the goal in rebuilding has been to create an active, dynamic community that will attract attention. They are succeeding. For some groups, sailing will be a big part of this new action in town. The two local yacht clubs are expanding their facilities as they rebuild. Both are involved in year- around racing, with three sailboat regattas each spring. Charlotte Harbor has always been a good place for day sailing. Local sailing clubs have full schedules of races and cruises. It is anticipated that when the two new marinas open, long-term cruisers will be attracted to the area. The recently-formed Punta Gorda Boating Alliance, a diverse group of people who are interested in the promotion and future needs of the boating community, have had a major role in planning. From their wealth of boating knowledge, their input to the city manager has been valued and utilized. They have been a key ingredient in putting Punta Gorda on the map as a top cruising destination. Despite Hurricane Charley, Punta Gorda is thriving. What was once a quiet fishing village has become an inviting, lively area. “It offers incredible potential with the shops and restaurants of Fisherman’s Village, the quaint downtown with its shops and restaurants within walking distance, lots of shoreline, art galleries, murals on the walls, sculptures on the corners,” Hempel adds. “Where else can you cruise to and have this variety of things to do?” Turn-of-the-19th-century mansions line the waterfront, along with several picturesque parks. Several sites in the unique downtown are on the National Registry of Historic Places. The city has received a number of accolades for its quality of life. Port Charlotte, the region’s newest city, lies across the Peace River from Punta Gorda. Though the cities have many things in common, each maintains its own distinct www.southwindsmagazine.com

Murray Yacht Sales New Orleans, LA Mobile, AL Pensacola, FL (504) 283-2507 info@MurrayYachtSales.com

Murray Yacht Sales Sailor s Wharf Marina Complex 1421 Bay Street, S.E. St. Petersburg, Florida (727) 823-1155

St. Barts Yachts Charleston, SC (843) 577-7377 Jacksonville, FL (904) 387-5047 sales@st-barts.com

Eastern Yachts West Palm Beach & Fort Lauderdale, FL (531) 844-1100 (954) 828-9071 yachts3@attglobal.net

OUR WATERWAYS Want to Set Up a Mooring Field? Guide to Creating a Mooring Field in Florida Available Online The “Community Guide to Creating a Mooring Field or Managed Anchorage,” a guide designed for local communities considering mooring fields, can be accessed at the Florida Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) Web site on waterfront planning, http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/ dcp/waterfronts. The state of Florida has a program called Waterfronts Florida, which works with local waterfront communities throughout the state to “revitalize, renew and promote interest in their waterfront district. Waterfront revitalization targets environmental resource protection, public access, retention of viable traditional waterfront economies, and hazard mitigation.” One of the publications available through its Web site is the mooring field guide. The guide was put together through the Florida Sea Grant program and the University of South Florida. The guide goes through a general overview of the process of establishing a mooring field as a two-stage process: project initiation and project development. The guide discusses moorings versus anchorages and the advantages and disadvantages of the two. It then lists and describes some of the mooring fields and municipal anchorages that different communities throughout Florida have established. These are Stuart, Fort Myers Beach, Fort Myers, Vero Beach, and Sarasota. The principles of anchoring, mooring field/anchorage management and then the process of setting up a mooring field or anchorage are described. Diagrams and aerial photos of the proposed mooring field at Bradenton Beach are also in the guide. The guide

Send Us Information On Public Mooring Fields Southwinds is trying to catalog all the public mooring fields and anchorages that are regulated by local municipalities in the South, whether fresh or saltwater. We ask our readers to send us information on those that they know, with contacts, locations, regulations, news etc. Contact Steve Morrell, editor@southwindsmagazine.com, or call (877) 372-7245.

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was prepared to be presented as a PowerPoint presentation. Unfortunately, finding the link to it from its Web site (noted above) is like finding a certain, single grain of sand on a Florida beach, so go to the following location to view the guide in PDF format: www.dca.state.fl.us/fdcp/dcp/waterfronts/MooringFields.pdf. There is more information on mooring fields available at the Florida Sea Grant Web site at http://flseagrant.org. Search there on mooring fields, and it will open up a whole group of links on the subject.

Slow Progress on Repair and Upgrades on Eau Gallie’s Pineapple Pier Along the ICW in Central East Florida By Roy Laughlin The historic Pineapple Pier, also known to locals as Library Pier, because it riverfronts the Eau Gallie Library, is a gateway to the Indian River for both local boaters and ICW cruisers. Cruisers know this pier, which lies directly across the Indian River from Dragon Point, as a convenient and safe place to visit and shop on the annual transit through central Florida’s ICW. The dock and adjacent anchoring area has been the site of the Seven Sea’s Cruising Association’s annual gam. The auditorium across the street from the pier is the group’s meeting headquarters. According to Nancy Zapf, SSCA’s administrative secretary, “The many cruisers who sail down the ICW to attend the SSCA Convention each November will be pleased to see that the pier has been repaired.” Locals cherished its presence as a crown jewel among the city’s riches for recreation and lifestyle. That was until Hurricane Wilma’s waves and a pole or tree trunk acting as a battering ram breached the pier. Since the end of October 2005, the pier has been closed to public use. Engineers examining damage found that in addition to the breach, planks were torn from the pier’s decking throughout, and they deemed even the unbreached portion unsafe for public use until repair. Repair and reopening is dependent on a complex web of interaction between the city of Melbourne’s departments of planning, grants administration and risk management. The planning department has been working under a $50,000 waterfront development grant from the Florida Department of Community Affairs to design, draw structural plans and obtain permitting for an enhanced pier. Desired enhancements include a larger end platform and boat slips for day use. According to Carol Crispen of Melbourne’s planning department, the design for a new pier is very similar to a pier built during the 1930s and destroyed in the late 1940s, perhaps by 1948’s strong hurricane. The enhancement process stalled in permitting discussions with the Corps of Engineers and Florida DEP. These permitting agencies wanted a four-foot rather than an eightfoot dock to protect a very small patch of sea grass near the pier. Also, the proposed end platform was larger than usually permitted. That was until Hurricane Wilma damaged the pier. www.southwindsmagazine.com

Eau Gallie’s Pineapple Pier. Photo by Roy Laughlin.

Afterwards, the city’s risk manager closed the pier and applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for repair reimbursement. The project worksheet has been neither approved or denied, but repairs await word from FEMA. The planning and grants departments have applied to several other agencies for funding to complete the construction end of this project. They often find that agencies have diametrically opposite requirements. For example, funding to preserve a historical landmark may be jeopardized if FEMA-funded work required specific repairs that alter the structure’s historical character. Permitting agencies have also proposed significant structural modifications to meet contemporary permitting requirements that would jeopardize landmark status and funding potentially available. No official interviewed for this story expressed doubt that the pier would be repaired and opened to the public again, but not one would hazard a guess when that would be. With any luck, it will be well before the height of the

next hurricane season. Writer’s Viewpoint: No date is set for even interim repairs to restore the Pineapple Pier for any public use. A site that has been a focus of the community’s hospitality and social life is now moribund, contributing nothing to the life of the city’s residents and visitors. Ironically, the pineapple has been a symbol of welcome since Columbus returned to Europe with tales of Indian’s greeting

Writers & Ideas Wanted on Waterways Issues SOUTHWINDS is looking for writers, acting as independent subcontractors, to research and write articles on different subjects discussed in the “Our Waterways” section. Must be familiar with boating, good at research, have computer skills, high-speed Internet access and work for little pay. Most important, you must have an interest and passion for the subject and want to bring about change and improvement of boater’s rights, waterways access, and disappearing marinas and boatyards—and have lots of ideas and energy to help bring about improvements through various means (that are, of course, legal and principled). You may choose your subject within these parameters. We would also like to get an organization going to promote these interests if you can help. Writers, photographers, cartoonists, jokers, magicians, philosophers and others of questionable professions may apply. Send info to: editor@southwindsmagazine.com. News & Views for Southern Sailors

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March 2006

OUR WATERWAYS him in the new world with this fruit. The pineapple is no longer a part of the city’s picture. The view is more descriptive of departmental turfs with different growth characteristics, and financial nutrient requirements competing for resources associated with the pier’s rebuilding and enhancement. Some day, the Pineapple Pier, in some form, will be returned to public use. But public expectations must be tempered by the knowledge that grass grows slowly. Sometimes very slowly.

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Real Security: No Discharge Zones and Onboard Treatment Systems By Chuck Husick This article is about protecting the waters on which we sail from pollution that might be caused by the discharge of waste (sewage) from navigating vessels. I believe that everyone reading these words knows that we need to protect our aquatic environment. I also

believe that many sailors—and most of the non-boating public—rarely think about or know the real world effectiveness of either shoreside or onboard sewage treatment systems. While we would never willingly return to the vehicle exhaust situation that existed in the mid 1970s, we allow our government to constrain the widespread use of advanced waste treatment technology that can provide virtually total protection for our waters. The purpose of this article (and those that may follow in Southwinds) is to provide you with some facts that, hopefully, with them, you and your boating friends will be able to educate our non-boating friends and enlist their help in educating our government, so that the present largely unworkable waste disposal rules are changed in order to best protect our waters. Our bodies, as well as those of all living creatures, along with all energy systems, both man-made and natural, operate below 100 percent efficiency: We take in more energy than we can convert to whatever the task may be; whether it is thinking and walking or turning a shaft as in an internal combustion motor, like a gas or diesel engine, or an electric motor. The unused, leftover energy burns off as heat energy plus exhaust in various forms. Human waste is one of those items exhausted out, and in virtually all “western” countries, the attitude about human waste is “out of sight, out of mind.” Flush the head and don’t worry about it. Someone will take proper care of it, including preventing it from adversely affecting our environment, both on dry land and in adjacent waters. Unfortunately, the real world system for waste disposal is far from being even close to totally effective. We are all too familiar with what happens in coastal waters when, as so often happens on the Gulf Coast, very heavy rain floods the storm sewers, overflows into the sanitary sewer system and results in the inevitable release of thousands to millions of gallons of partially treated or totally untreated waste into the bays and rivers we sail on. In addition, the www.southwindsmagazine.com

A LectraSan onboard treatment system

The LectraSan treatment system fits under the sink.

operating licenses that specify the level of treatment required for sewage treatment plants require achievement of an average level of success. Sewage treatment plants are complex, and, despite the best efforts of their operators, can encounter problems that somewhat or severely limit their ability to prevent the discharge of potentially harmful waste into the environment. As long as their average success meets the license requirements, they are considered to be doing a good job in protecting our environment. What this means is this, and keep this important fact in mind: Partially treated and totally untreated waste is sometimes dumped by our sewage treatment plants into the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; often thousands, even millions of gallons at one time.

Our faith in the efficacy of our sewage treatment plants is mirrored in the more than 30-year-old Clean Vessel Act. The law is very clear: You may not discharge untreated waste into the coastal waters of the United States. The law requires that you either refrain from producing any human waste, retain the sewage on board in a holding tank until in international waters where it may be legally dumped into the sea, or pump the contents of the holding tank into a collection system for transfer to a shoreside treatment plant. A few onboard, flow through, waste treatment systems were available when the law was written. Specifications for two levels of treatment were written into the law; one for a Type 1 Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) capable of reducing the

Send Us Information and Opinions on Boat Waste Disposal More and more communities are restricting our rights to anchor or moor in their local waters, frequently complaining of sewage disposal from boats. Do boaters pollute the waters in which they anchor? What are the alternatives to the traditional methods of sewage disposal? What about composting toilets? How much pollution is caused by local communities compared to what a boat discharges? Should sewage treatment toilets like the LectraSan be allowed to dump in no-discharge zones? Do boaters regularly dump overboard illegally in marinas? Contact Steve Morrell editor@southwindsmagazine.com

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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March 2006

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www.southwindsmagazine.com

OUR WATERWAYS bacteria content of the processed waste to no more than 1,000 coliform bacteria per 100 ml (about 3 ounces); and a Type 2 MSD that was required to limit the bacteria count to less than 200 per 100 ml. The Type 1 was legal for use on boats less than 20 meters in length. Larger vessels were required to use a Type 2 device. The treatment systems are to be tested by the EPA and certified by the Coast Guard. Unfortunately (my choice of word and strong belief), a further section of the law permitted a state to request that specified waters be approved as “No Discharge Zones (NDZ)”—places where waste, regardless of how thoroughly treated, could not be legally discharged. The “unfortunate” aspect of the law is that it required NO evidence whatever that the use of either a Type 1 or Type 2 MSD was or could create any possible harm to the environment. Designation of an NDZ for a poorly flushed coastal area is unquestionably a good idea, provided there is reasonable scientific evidence that the discharge of properly treated waste from navigating vessels would create an unsafe condition. A result of the total lack of any requirement for evidence of possible harm from the use of Coast Guard-certified MSDs in our coastal waters can be seen in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) NDZ, which bans the use of onboard treatment systems of any kind or capability in thousands of square miles of largely open ocean. The establishment of this NDZ was particularly egregious since it was justified on the basis of the need to reduce the discharge of nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorous into the water. Control of bacteria discharge was never proposed as a reason for the NDZ. Other jurisdictions have established NDZs without any evidence of need, some as in the case of the state of Rhode Island, encompassing all “state” waters. The establishment of NDZs has had a number of negative effects. Boat owners are reluctant to invest in and install MSDs since they can’t be legally used in areas like the FKNMS. Faced with limited markets, manufacturers have been loath to invest in new and better technology (although to their credit some have made MAJOR advances in the efficacy of the treatment process). Reliance on pump-out facilities led to the establishment of funding sources for the purchase and installation of units. However, funds for necessary and often costly maintenance is not provided. The bottom line is that many vessels that should have Type 1 or 2 MSDs onboard do not. Depending on the environmental responsibility of the captain, they may be using holding tanks, pump-out facilities or dumping stored sewage into offshore waters. We need to change the status quo. We need to take advantage of the available technology to treat waste on board as it is generated and after treatment to the point where it can do NO harm. We will discuss the operation of onboard treatment systems in a future article. For the moment consider that available treatment devices reduce the bacteria content of the treated waste to less than 10 coliform per 100 ml, 1/20th of the level at which the EPA and the state of Florida consider the water to be unsafe for bathing. As a famous radio commentator is fond of saying, “Now for the rest of the story.” But unlike his broadcast, you will have to “tune-in” to a future issue of Southwinds to learn News & Views for Southern Sailors

more of the FACTS. Meanwhile, if you are interested in this subject, you might visit a few Web sites. At www.boatus.com, enter the letters “msds” in the search window and click “GO.” Visit the Raritan Engineering Web site (www.raritaneng.com), and enter the words “white paper” in the search window to access a detailed commentary on the false claims made by the president of Dometic Corporation’s SeaLand toilet and holding tank division. Reading as much of the above cited material as you are willing to deal with (the plot stinks!) will enable you to make an informed decision about actively supporting a unified, coordinated effort to educate our fellow citizens and lawmakers in order that we can move forward 30 years in the way we protect our waters.

Links for Our Waterways Issues www.boatus.org. BoatUS Foundation – Great source of information and links on miscellaneous issues. www.atlintracoastal.org. Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway issues. www.gicaonline.com. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. www.waterways.org. National Waterways Conference promotes, educates and lobbies on behalf of all of the nation’s inland waterways. www.boatflorida.org. Marine Industries Association of Florida with links to local associations. www.aicw.org. Florida Inland Navigation District, a taxing district for management and maintenance of the AICW in Florida. www.reefrelief.org. Reef Relief. A non-profit group, which is dedicated to preserving the reefs, based in Key West. www.oceanconservancy.org. The Ocean Conservancy dedicated to the protection of the oceans. www.gulfbase.org. Gulfbase.org. A research database for Gulf of Mexico Research.

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

CRUISING

THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY:

A Cruisers’ Highway in Trouble By Barbara Pierce A swing bridge on the ICW. Photo by Beach Edwards.

tretching nearly 4,000 miles from Massachusetts to Texas, the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) takes advantage of one of the most extensive protected coastlines in the world. A collection of rivers, inlets, and man-made canals, it is designed to give commercial and recreational boats safe passage from the dangers of the open ocean. “It’s a blend of history, engineering, natural areas, flawed human visions, precious living parts and present day hopes,” says journalist Tim Ohr. It’s a cruiser’s highway, used by thousands of cruisers migrating up and down the coasts every spring and fall. It’s an economic superhighway, created for commerce, with huge barges pushing millions of tons of fuel, building materials, foods, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy each year. Boaters from around the world marvel as they travel the ICW, through heavy forests, swamps dating back to the Pleistocene era, wild marshes, barrier islands with lonely beaches, through major cities, fishing villages, areas of palatial homes. In our travels on the ICW, neither of us ever wanted to go below. Every 10 miles, we were in another world. There was always something to see from the cockpit; the view was always fascinating, always changing. The ICW consists of two primary segments: the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) from Brownsville, TX, to

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Apalachee Bay in northwest Florida, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) from Key West, FL, to Boston, MA. Along the west coast of Florida, the GIWW is fragmented. From Key West north to Marco Island, boaters must go offshore in the Gulf. From Marco Island to Naples is an inland waterway, and then boaters must go offshore again from Naples to Fort Myers, where the GIWW officially begins. (The Okeechobee Waterway connects the east coast of Florida from Stuart to Fort Myers.) Just north of Clearwater, the GIWW temporarily ends, and boaters must make an outside run to Apalachee Bay. These toll-free waterways, authorized by Congress in 1919, are to be maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at a minimum depth of 12 feet for most of their length. A great part of the waterways is natural, created centuries

ICW Information and Contacts The following non-profit organizations actively work on our nation’s waterways. • The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA) works to publicize information on the Atlantic ICW, lobbies to promote the public interest on the waterway, works with government entities to solve AICW problems and more. The public can post problems found on the AICW at the organization’s Web site, www.atlintracoastal.org. History and miscellaneous information about the AICW is available at their Web site. • The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Association (GIWA), formed in 1905, promotes the public and commercial interests of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW). Go to www.gicaonline.com for more information. • The National Waterways Conference promotes, educates and lobbies on behalf of all of the nation’s inland waterways. Go to www.waterways.org for more information. • The Florida Inland Navigation District. A Special State Taxing District for the continued management and maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in Florida. www.aicw.org. www.southwindsmagazine.com

Critical Issues Today ago when the ocean Many of the man-made receded, leaving pools cuts in the ICW require and creeks. The waves periodic dredging to created sandbars, and maintain their legal channels formed indepths. By federal law, shore. Utilizing these the channels are to be natural waterways, the maintained to 12 feet at ICW is a series of low tide (except from ponds, creeks, rivers, lakes and sounds. The The ICW is an economic super highway, with barges regularly pushing millions of Fort Pierce, FL, to Miami, where it is 10 man-made portions are dollars of products. Photo by Barbara Pierce. feet). The U.S. Army a small percentage of Corps of Engineers, charged with the responsibility to the total mileage; even these areas have beauty and charm. maintain the waterway, says it would cost about $20-million annually to do so. An Ancient Concept The federal government has consistently cut spending, The ICW is an ancient concept. Only recently have its many violating its own laws that require the waterways be mainparts, both natural and man-made, been joined into a single tained to a 12-foot depth. The budget cuts began almost continuous water route. unnoticeably a decade ago, but have accelerated dramaticalWhen Ponce de Leon arrived in Florida in the early ly in the past few years. In many places, silting has left the 1500s, the Calusa Indians had a system of inland canals for waterway half of the legal depth. their canoes. Some of the canals even went uphill through Despite the legal depth, the actual depths vary. They are locks. Perhaps this could be considered the real beginning often eight to nine feet, or as shallow as two-and-one-half of the ICW. feet. In some areas, the ICW is impassable, forcing many The coasts and inland waters along the coast, were boats into the temperamental Atlantic. In many other areas, heavily used for commerce. Several proposals to connect captains are able to travel only at high tide. the inland waterways were discussed over the next two The Corps recently identified no less than 27 hazardous centuries. shoals in the portion of the waterway running through the In pre-Revolutionary times, George Washington visited state of Georgia. At all 27 locations, the depth is less than the Dismal Swamp on the outskirts of Norfolk, VA, and seven feet, and as low as two-and-one-half feet at six locasuggested a north-south canal to connect Chesapeake Bay tions. The U.S. Coast Guard has expressed concerns about with Albemarle Sound, NC. He owned much of the land in boater safety to the Corps. that area. One problem is that funding comes from the federal In 1793, slaves began digging the 22-mile trench. The government and therefore must be authorized by the Dismal Swamp channel, (named for an early impression, United States Congress. Members of Congress traditionally but in reality a beautiful area) is the oldest navigable manlook after their own local interests; no one looks at the ICW made canal in the United States, and is on the National as an integrated project involving several states. Register of Historic Places. Members of the U.S. Congress from Florida and the In 1808, the secretary of the treasury introduced the Carolinas have gained minimal funding over the past two idea of an inland waterway to connect Brownsville, TX, to years. Georgiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s representatives have not. Boston. His idea was not funded, but that year, a private The shoaling impacts the use of the ICW for both recrecompany did begin a canal to connect Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay, until it ran out of funds. See ICW continued on page 76 After years of proposals, the federal government finally funded construction of the canal. The first canal connecting the Chesapeake Bay to Delaware Bay opened in 1829. Within a few years, a vessel could travel from Connecticut to North Carolina without going out to sea. The canals were created for purposes of commerce and for the military. The few recreational vessels that existed at the time took advantage of the canal. During the next 100 years, miscellaneous canals were built connecting waterways heading south. Delayed and postponed for generations, World War I and the Depression of the 1930s provided the impetus for its completion. Only then did the United States have the unity to complete the original dream of a nationally managed, protected inland route for commerce and the military. By 1940, the route was essentially complete. News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

The Nautical Trader: An Adventure in Shopping for Used Marine Supplies By Barbara Pierce

f you’re a boater on the west coast of Florida, chances are that you’re familiar with the folks at The Nautical Trader in Nokomis, a small community just north of Venice. If not, you’re in for a real treat when you meet owners Joe and Claire Monroe and manager Jim Johnson. Over the past 12 years, the Monroes have transformed a small, little-known boaters’ consignment store into an active 4500-square-foot store with customers from all over the world. The Nautical Trader sells new and used boating equipment, which they buy and/or take on consignment. From a base of just 400 boaters bringing things in for consignment 12 years ago, there are now nearly 2900 consignors selling used boating equipment. You’ll find sail hardware, ground tackle, electronics, radios, dinghies, dive gear, wet suits, cruising guides—“Everything and anything for your sailboat, all at substantial savings,” say the Monroes. “I find things here that I need for my boat that I can’t find anywhere else,” says Jim Shai, who drops in regularly to check out the inventory. “They’ve got unique parts here, and at a better price.” The inventory changes daily. “If we don’t have it today, either we sold it yesterday, or it’s coming in tomorrow,” proclaims a sign. What is available is neatly displayed in an inviting manner, easily visible, with no boxes to sort through. “I’ve equipped several boats with things I’ve bought here,” adds John Ferguson, a frequent customer. “I’m a bit of a scrounge. They sell things for half of what I’d pay if I bought it new.” The Monroes say that most of their used items are sold at about 50 percent of what the item would cost if you purchased it new. If it’s out-of-the-box new, the cost would be slightly more than 50 percent. If it’s considerably used, it will cost less than 50 percent.

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The Nautical Trader store in Nokomis, FL. Courtesy photo.

Recently, the Monroes initiated their “Progressive Markdown” program: The longer the item is available, the more the price goes down. If it’s not sold after eight months, it’s marked down to almost half of its original The Nautical Trader price. “The consignors like it, as we don’t have to call them each time,” claims Monroe. “The customers like it. They wait for the items they want to be marked down.” Personalized Customer Service “If you don’t see it, we can have it here the next day,” states a sign over the counter. Monroe confirms this is so: “We provide personalized services to our customers. Our next-day service is impressive to people. We’ll run down a part someone needs if we don’t have it. We run a good operation here. We try to go the extra mile.” This was demonstrated a short time ago when cruisers who were traveling south needed to replace their dinghy. The Nautical Trader staff met them at the dock and bought their dinghy from them there. “If cruisers want to get off their boat and come to the store, we’ll pick them up at the dock and bring them here,” he adds. Places to beach a dinghy near the store have recently disappeared due to development. Therefore, the Monroes will pick up boaters from the public dock at Higel Marine Park in Venice, near the Venice Yacht Club on Roberts Bay. This is about a mile, and one-half from the store. Long-time boaters from Annapolis, MD., the Monroes have lived aboard for 21 years, first on a Krogen trawler, then on a 1954 Huckins. They are currently looking to buy another trawler. In 1995, when they were living in Longboat Key, they learned that the couple who owned this then-small store wanted to retire. The store had been open for about a year and a half at the time. It was only open three days a week then, and Joe and Claire decided to buy it. Joe is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, serving in the Navy for 10 years as a naval flight officer. He had owned retail businesses before as had Claire. “This store seemed ideal for us,” they said. Under their expert, friendly leadership, the store has prospered. “We have a large following,” Claire adds. “We feel like we run a good operation.” Customers agree. “They’re good people,” says Ferguson. “They know what they’re talking about. They’ll help you, or refer you to where you can go to get something done. It’s always fun to go into the store. They’re so personable.” Jim Johnson has been the manager for seven years. As commodore of the Venice Sailing Squadron, he’s also an www.southwindsmagazine.com

experienced boater. In additures of the item, so he can tion to being store manager, see it before purchasing it. Johnson is responsible for “We make sure everything the wood shop in a corner works before it leaves the of the store. He makes projstore,” continues Joe ects from teak and other Monroe. “We test out the woods. With his backradios and the electronics. ground as an electrical We blow up the inflataengineer, he’s well qualibles.” fied to assist customers in The Web site also idenwhatever projects they’re tifies new items that have completing. just arrived at the store and Expertise in fishing is may be of interest to reguavailable through employee lar shoppers. John Mather. Stop by to see the folks The Chamber of Com- From left to right, Claire and Joe Monroe, Jim Johnson of The Nautical at The Nautical Trader. merce voted The Nautical Trader. Photo by Barbara Pierce. You’ll agree with John Trader as Business of the Ferguson that “It’s more of Year. The Chamber does extensive research on each nominat- an adventure than a shopping trip.” ed business before selecting a winner for this honor. Items Available Through the Net Through their Web site, www.nauticaltrader.net, they ship and receive items from cruisers all over the world. The business they do on the Web is increasing, now making up to about 15 percent of their total business. When a cruiser wants to purchase a certain item on the Net, they’ll take digital pic-

News & Views for Southern Sailors

The Nautical Trader is located at 110 E. Colonia Lane, just off route 41, in Nokomis, FL 34275. N 27 07.00’ W 082 26.80’. They are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They can be reached at (941) 488-0766, or by e-mail at sales@nauticaltrader.net. The Web site is www.nauticaltrader.net

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

DESTINATIONS

JIB Yacht Club & Marina Jupiter, Florida By Ina Moody

hen is a JIB Therefore, it was not a head mid-to-late afternoon sail? When it when we approached refers to Jupiter Inlet Jupiter Inlet. Since the Beach, as in JIB Yacht name JIB appealed to Club and Marina, on us as sailors, we Florida’s southeast radioed the marina coast. Actually Kristie for possible accomGendron, JIB managemodations for the ment representative, night. Dockmaster told us that JIB could Glenn Wiles answered also stand for Jupiter with an affirmative, Island Bums. But that “Sure!” and told us was before celebrities that if we arrived after such as Dan Marino, the office closed at 5 Tiger Woods, Nick p.m., we could just Price, and others, pull in, “past the little bought homes on the yellow house,” and tie island, making the The JIB docks. Just pull past the little yellow house and tie up. Photo by Ina Moody. up at the first electric gorgeous mansions on outlet we saw, and Jupiter Island a tourist attraction all in their own rights. that he’d settle with us in the morning. This bit of trust was Nevertheless, for regular mortals like my husband and our first pleasant surprise after coming up from Florida’s myself (captain and mate, respectively, on Eclipse, our 33Gold Coast, where dock fees run $2-plus per foot, and you foot Morgan OI we call home), JIB still means a triangular are warned to lock up everything that is not fastened down. head sail, and therefore “JIB Yacht Club and Marina” caught It was past six o’clock when we arrived at JIB Marina our eye, as we went hunting through our well-worn and got our second pleasant surprise because David Cruising Guide for a place to hook up for the night. Michell, one of the dockhands, had lingered behind to help We had made the rounds of the keys and were coming us tie up and give us the combination to the showers. This up the east coast, heading for Stuart, where we intended to was a courtesy well appreciated, for standing in a shower— take the Okeechobee Waterway back across Florida to the with the hot water streaming over you without worrying Gulf of Mexico. We had originally planned on spending the about how much you use—has a special appeal to cruising night anchored in St. Lucie River, but a lunch at the sailors even if you have a shower onboard your boat. Waterway Cafe (just south of the PGA Boulevard Bridge at JIB Marina is located on the east side of the ICW, just Mile 1012.6) was so exceptional, that we wound up thrownorth of Jupiter Inlet and to the immediate south of the ing our schedule to the winds and decided to take our Jupiter Inlet Bridge, and well worth a layover. In addition to chances on where we spent the night. friendly, affordable service ($1.50 dock fees with BoatUS discount), they offer nice clean showers, laundry facilities, and a wonderful swimming pool, as well as beach access. We had intended to stay just one night, but since JIB also offers cable TV hook-up, we learned on the Weather Channel that a cold front was expected, and temperatures were to drop into the 30s and 40s for the following two nights. With the comfort of shore power for heat—plus everything else JIB offered—the decision to stay for a couple of days was easily made. Jupiter is a pleasant little town, whose claim to fame is purebred Arabian show horses bred at Sunrise Farms, and— as most Floridians know—Jupiter is the hometown of Burt Reynolds. But Jupiter is much more than that, for when we went exploring the next day, we got our third pleasant surprise, for although JIB Marina doesn’t have a restaurant on the premises, there are several shopping centers with many 40

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good restaurants within walking distance, and there is also a Publix and Walgreens for any provisioning needs you may have. JIB Marina has bikes available for boaters, but we preferred to launch our own bikes, especially since we have motorized our Dahons, with neat little 1.5 hp motors, purchased from American Chain Drive in St. Petersburg, FL. On our second day in Jupiter, we biked down AIA to Jupiter inlet and had lunch at the Crab House, which is only one of several restaurants overlooking the inlet. The boat traffic was light that day. The pool next to the docks at the JIB Marina. Photo by Ina Moody. Presumably the cold weather kept many boaters from going out, and only a few boats were coming in through the inlet that has a mittent beacon of light out into the dark, announcing to seareputation for shoaling and is considered dangerous to negofarers that they are approaching land, although today it is tiate without local knowledge. But the food was good, the all for show, for—as has been the fate of most lighthouses— day was gorgeous, if cold, and we had an excellent view of this classic red tower is now a museum. Unfortunately, the Jupiter Lighthouse. when we were there, the museum was closed—temporary After lunch we went to climb up the lighthouse. The victim of this past hurricane season. previous evening, we had noticed that it still sends its interOn our last day in Jupiter, we went to the fuel dock at the marina to top off the tanks on our Dahons (it takes a cup of gas and a teaspoon of oil), but the fuel dock was closed for repairs. We looked at each other: Should we pedal, walk or stay put? Glenn Wiles, the JIB dockmaster, came to our rescue. He keeps a five-gallon can of gasoline in a shed for emergency and was happy to accommodate us. So we were able to end our stay at JIB Yacht Club and Marina with an excellent dinner of roast duckling at Cafe Heidelberg in Tequesta. The following day, the weather began warming, and we were off on our return trip to our home port of Bradenton on the beautiful Gulf coast of Florida. For more information, go to www.jibmarina.com, or e-mail at info@jibmarina.com. (561) 746-4300. The marina is just north of the Jupiter Lighthouse on the east side of the ICW and south of the Jupiter Inlet Bridge. It is the only public marina on Jupiter Island. 26.57.107N, 80.04.680W

News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

CRUISING

Obstacles to Cruising: Lessons Learned by One Couple after Six Years of Cruising Part I By Colin Ward

The author’s Catalina 42. Mandalay, moored in the Bahamas.

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olleen and I recently spent a weekend with a couple of old sailing buds we had not seen for several years. We were all lake sailors and racers together throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Our friends have plans to go sailboat cruising when they reach retirement age. Since we have been cruising for about six years ourselves, guess what quickly rose to the top of the pile of subjects to be discussed. After our friends left to return to work, I started thinking about all of the cruiser wannabes out there and the reasons that many of them will never leave the dock. Before I dive into the topic of cruising obstacles, I should reflect on what is important to our friends versus what is important to us at this point in our cruising lives. About six years ago, we outfitted our boat and made most of the decisions about the boat and cruising equipment we now use to lead a thus far comfortable, successful and safe cruising life. I remember having our own five-year plan that ultimately got us on board and under way in 1999. We owned our present cruising boat for two years before we departed on our first lengthy cruise. We devoted lots of time and money during those two years to preparing the boat. Air-conditioning was added first so we could stand to do the rest of the projects in the Florida heat. Then came davits, radar, autopilot, wind generator, solar panels, navigation equipment, watermaker, anchors, charts, and so on and so on. Once we left the dock, our attention turned to navigation, destinations, weather, and finally the really fun parts—the sailing, the new friends we met, the islands we visited, the local people, the fishing, the snorkeling, and the activities we got involved in. Fortunately, the equipment and the boat behaved themselves for the most part, and the equipment became just the tools of our job of cruising. Presently, we do not spend much time thinking about different boats or newer equipment and I certainly do not relish the thought of any more projects aside from normal maintenance. We rarely read magazine articles about the latest whiz-bang technological cruising toys, and we seldom listen to Jimmy Buffett because we have our own www.southwindsmagazine.com

cruising tales. Our old sailing friends are on a time line mostly dictated by their corporate retirement program. They plan to begin cruising in seven years. They have purchased a very nice cruising vessel, which they will use for weekending on a large lake while they install and improve cruising equipment as their dream approaches reality. While we were together, our some- Colleen Ward, on the right, and another times passionate dis- Rhapsody. cussions centered around windlasses, batteries, chartplotters, RAM microphones, freezers, storage, dinghies, SSB radios and so on......topics that are critical to them but have been relegated to my back burner. We made our own choices several years ago so I could not offer an opinion on the latest inverter/ charger or chartplotter (we primarily use paper charts, although we do have some charts on our computer). It was fun to hear about the choices they are making, but I am glad I am not making all those decisions again. I hope our friends stay on their schedule (or move it up) and get to go cruising on their beautiful boat. Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks with similar dreams who never manage to go. In case you are thinking about cruising yourself, let’s take a look at some of the obstacles in the hope that it might help you overcome them. I don’t have any statistics to rank the reasons for not making it, but you can guess which ones might be your dream-breaker.

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Finances Ignoring those who are very wealthy, there are essentially two ways that cruisers finance their lifestyle. One is to wait until retirement when lump sums, IRAs, and pensions become available, and the other is to save up for a sabbatical from work for a year or two. Some retirees buy their boat with the proceeds from selling their home. They are cruising couple brunch on their boat, usually the folks who can afford one of the new extremely expensive cruising vessels that are on the market. Others maintain a home or downsize to a condo and buy a more modest (read “old”) boat. Some rent out their home and cruise on the income. Some return home to work during the off-season. We have met younger cruisers on a “sabbatical” aboard anything from an ancient 30-foot Columbia up to a fairly new 44-foot Island Packet, but they all regard the boat as a temporary expense to be eliminated when they return to the working world. What are the pitfalls? Well, needless to say, there are many reasons people do not have as much money as they would like. With respect to going cruising, some of the pitfalls are:

• Taking On Too Much Boat Either the boat is too expensive to leave any funds for cruising, or the boat is old and worn out and becomes a very

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March 2006

CRUISING large money pit. I recommend going as simple and new as possible. A fixer-upper bought in haste can easily cost years of toil and all the money you have plus more. Complexity adds tremendously to hassles and costs. We know a couple who purchased a beautiful, new and very complicated 45-footer and now sail it back to the dealer’s location every summer so he can continue to troubleshoot and repair the systems. Some people not only try to duplicate all the conveniences of a house, but also the local electric company, the water and sewage treatment plant, the cable TV company and the telephone company…all of which are supposed to work in a rolling saltwater environment. Why go cruising if you can’t leave “Sex and the City” and “Seinfeld” behind?

• Underestimating the Cost of Monthly Expenses While Out There I have read books that talk about cruising on $1000 per month. While that much might buy you a few sacks of beans and some fish hooks, it will not go far buying boat insurance and bottom paint, diesel fuel and gasoline, groceries in Caribbean countries, transient slips, flights home, and newfangled gadgets like the telephone. Doubling that number is a more likely minimum. Note that some experts claim that the annual maintenance cost of the boat is 10 percent of its value.

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• Wasting Too Much Money on Perceived Luxuries Rather Than Saving Money for Cruising In addition to interest on credit card debt, examples of unnecessary expenditures would include $100 restaurant meals, driving (and maintaining) a European luxury car or SUV rather than an economical car or minivan, buying a 4,000-square-foot house for two people, buying snooty designer clothes from the mall rather than no-name clothes from a discount store (all of which were made in the same Chinese factory), getting every family member a cell phone, etc. etc. It is very easy to get sucked in by a barrage of advertising, peer pressure and salesmanship from folks (including marine retailers) who will gladly take your last dollar (and lend you more) if you let them. On the other hand, you don’t want to spend 20 years denying yourself all of the pleasures of life while you save for an uncertain future, so you must strike a subtle balance.

• When Do You Have Enough? Yes, some people do not know when they have enough assets to stop working and start cruising. It’s not as difficult to figure out if you have reliable pensions, but what if you just have a nest egg of investments? Check with your financial advisor...some say you can remove 4 percent per year for life without depleting your principal—that’s $40,000 per year for every million you have invested.

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If you wait until the future is 100 percent certain and the stars are all in alignment, you will never go. When we retired, my employer was obligated to provide low cost medical insurance as part of the deal. But three years into retirement, the news came that “whoops, the company will not be providing insurance any longer.” Of course, that was a blow, but we came up with alternatives that allow us to continue cruising. Not every event can be anticipated. Next Month Next month, we will discuss miscellaneous obstacles that people run into about cruising, like pets, parents, health, seasickness and more. Colin and Colleen Ward sail on their Catalina 42, Mandalay, and have written several articles about their cruising experiences, many of which are about the Bahamas.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

A cruisers’s dinghy dock in the Bahamas.

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

Catboats Come to Useppa Island, Florida By Gretchen F. Coyle

ine Island Sound in southwest Florida was flooded with Catboats for the 15-foot Marshall Sandpiper Worlds and Big Catboat Midwinter Championships that took place the last weekend of January. In winds gusting over 20 mph during the first few of seven races, one Catboat turned over and started to sink, prompting the race committee to announce an early Jeri and Bob Treat of Cedar Key, FL, sail Freddie the Cat around lunch break while the boat was towed to the beach. Eighty-acre Useppa Island had 150 Catboat aficionados— Useppa Island. This 12-foot Chappaquiddick Catboat was voted Best-Looking Catboat. Photo by Guy Marlow. from as far away as Berlin, Germany, and France—attending the three-day Useppa Island Catboat Rendezvous. They stayed at the marina, at anchor, in rentals, and on the neighboring islands of Cabbage Key and Pine Island. Events were lively, ranging from a Friday night beach party, Saturday sailors lunch, dinner at Useppa’s Tarpon Bar and Restaurant, to a Sunday morning brunch and awards ceremony. Visitors to the historic island were given a tour of the island, ending up at the Useppa Island Museum learning about the Calusa Indians, Barron Collier’s southwest Florida “development” and Bill Dolan of Placida, FL, stands on the bow his private Useppa home. of his 18-foot Marshall Sandpiper, while Catboats of all sizes and makes crew Kevin Chieff maneuvers out to the The start of the Catboat race. Gretchen Coyle photo. descended on Useppa, including a group race course. Gretchen Coyle photo. of large cruising Catboats led by Steve Luta from Cape Coral, FL, who has organized regular get-togethers and cruises throughout southwest Florida. One visitor was heard to remark, “I would have started sailing Catboats a lot earlier in life if I’d known how much fun Catboat people can be.” Useppa Island Commodore Jim Doherty gave out the awards. The Big Catboat Races were won by Griff Nolan and his crew from Pass Christian, MS, with Cindy, Charlie and Chip Clifton from Sarasota in second (eight boats). The 15-foot Marshall World Champion ships (18 boats participating) were won by Richard Dimmit of Sarasota, FL. Second was Bill Welch of Useppa; third, Mike Albert of Sarasota; fourth, Dan Crabbe of Rumson, NJ; fifth, Geoff Marshall of South Dartmouth, MA; sixth, Michael Carmichael of Ocala, FL, and seventh, Michael Spark of Barnegat Geoff Marshall helps reel in Charlie Chapin’s 15-foot Marshall Sandpiper after he capsized in Pine Island Sound during the 15-foot Marshall World Championships. Photo by Guy Light, NJ. Marlow.

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

PHRF RACING TIPS

The Art of the Smooth Jibe By Dave Ellis

ome sailors get sweaty palms just hearing the word “jibe.” Done incorrectly, a jibe can wreak havoc on a boat or a noggin. Done well, a jibe is easier and faster than any tack. An accidental jibe is to be avoided. If you think you are about to jibe without wanting to do so, on tiller-steered boats simply remember to “push the tiller toward the boom to avoid doom.” If you have a wheel, steer the boat away from the boom, as it were.

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Let’s go through a good jibe on a boat without a spinnaker. From whatever course you were sailing, head smoothly down away from the wind, letting the mainsail and headsail out as you bear off. As the bow gets close to the dead downwind direction, slow your rate of turn. You will know you are close to dead downwind because the wind will be coming over the back of the boat, and the arrow on the masthead wind indicator will be aiming straight behind the boat. You will find as you very slowly turn more, the jib or genny will try to go to the other side of the boat with no effort on your part. It just slides to the other side if you will let it. When that happens, stop your turn! Hold that direction. The headsail is telling you that you are heading just beyond dead downwind, what is called “by-the-lee.” This is the time to quickly pull in the mainsheet to what would be the close-hauled position of the boom. If the boom flops to the other side, simply let the mainsheet run out, allowing the boom to go out on the new side. Unless you have tough gloves, don’t try to slow the mainsheet’s run. Let the friction of the winch or blocks do it. If the wind is really heavy, there may be enough force holding the boom on the original side that a slight turn farther beyond downwind will be needed to get it across. But only a little, as too much turn invites a broach, the uncontrolled rounding up into the wind caused by excessive heeling with the rudder out of the water. Once the boom is out on the new side and the boat is behaving, only then should you head smoothly up to the direction you wish to go, pulling in the sails to match. Is this a wimpy way to jibe? Well, don’t say that to an America’s Cup boat crew. If you watched the matches of the last Cup, you would have noticed that in the all-important maneuvers before the start there were many tacks and jibes. Each jibe was done just as described above. They may hesitate at the slightly by-the-lee point less than we do, but in a breeze, they do hesitate. If they allowed the boom to freely go from one side to the other, they very well might lose the mast, boom, or sweep the deck with high-tech mainsheet line. New sailors often mistakenly believe that a jibe, as a tack, requires a 90-degree turn. But a sailboat can be on either jibe if it is headed straight with the wind. You can jibe the mainsail as often as you wish without any turn of the www.southwindsmagazine.com

boat in lighter air. Only in a blow, when the forces are greater, do you need to turn a bit to get a little wind behind the sail to help it over. Oh, and given the choice, keep the boom on the port side of the boat when heading downwind. Starboard tack has the right of way, so given the choice, take it. One trick to a good jibe is to manage the jib sheets. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let the sheets run out too far during a jibe. The headsail can wrap itself around the head stay, or the sheets can get tangled. Or both. Taking up the slack with the sheet that will be on the new jibe usually is the best way to manage the headsail in a jibe, and that makes it ready for any later course change you may want to make. Suppose you need to jibe in strong winds with big waves. Gulp. Well, you will find it easier with those big waves than in strong winds with no seas. Do the actual flopping of the boom to the new side when you are scooting down the face of a wave. The sail will be unloaded, as the apparent wind will be less on the sail. Small-boat sailors know that the waves help the jibe if you time it right. Time it wrong and they swim. On our PHRF boats, if we try to jibe while the bow is laboring to punch through a wave in a strong breeze, we just broach one way or the other, depend-

News & Views for Southern Sailors

ing on whether the mainsail has jibed or not. Be ready to jibe, with the main pulled in. When the bow dips and the boat accelerates, turn a bit more to the new direction until the boom goes over and is let run out. Keep that direction until the boat settles. Only then continue your turn to the direction you want to go. Adding a spinnaker to the jibe does not change the plan of action of the mainsail. So often the crew is so anxious to do a good job on the spinnaker during a jibe that the main is neglected. But it is essential that the boat remains under control. Excessive heel will cause a broach. It is often the slamming over of the main that causes it. As for jibing the spinnaker, it is ROTATION that makes for a successful jibe. Just pretend that the spinnaker is stuck in the direction the wind is taking it. Rotating the boat in a jibe makes it necessary to rotate the spinnaker relative to the boat to keep that sail heading downwind. As the boat is turning, the spinnaker guy (the one on the original windward side) should be pulled IN, while the old sheet should be let out about the same amount. Forget the pole for this discussion. Deal with it before, during or after the jibe, depending on your boat and preference. There are many ideas on the mechanics of jibing the spinnaker. That remains for a later issue of SOUTHWINDS .

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March 2006

Born 2 Run, a J/80 from North East, MD. Photo © Tim Wilkes/ www.timwilkes.com.

Superstars of Sailing: Acura Key West Race Week 2006, January 16-20 By Rebecca Burg

omething big was about to happen in Key West. “We’re already getting calls from the racers,” said Christine Stack of the Stock Island West Marine. “I love it!” Meanwhile, sailmaker Michele Geslin made arrangements for several extra hands from North Sails. “I just try to stay out of their way,” said James, a local charter fisherman. Parking his boat, he carefully dodged the slick new arrivals that were clustering near the Historic Seaport. Class flags and team ensigns fluttered in the balmy breeze. From around the globe, 286 sailboats and a few thousand sailors prepared for this year’s finest racing challenge. Unlike other sports, in this regatta the new guy gets to compete with sailing celebrities like Russell Coutts, Buddy Melges or Randy Smyth, just to name a few. Play the cards right and the new guy can rise to the top and enjoy star status just the same. In this game, anything can happen. Of course, it did.

PHRF 3 Fleet “We’ve got a bilge full of nuts and bolts,” a Blue Dog crewmember called out as he rushed away to effect repairs in time for the race. Daniel Gourash’s brand-new C&C 115 of Rocky River, OH, was caught in a roaring cold front with 20-foot seas during her sail from Tampa to Key West. Blue Dog saw a torn sail and some broken gear, but things were back in order enough to join Monday’s mayhem. The battle began in a shifty, increasing wind with unusually choppy, 50

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pale green seas. The 15-boat PHRF 3 fleet made waves as Lloyd Grifin’s Hadley 40, Cash Flow, (North Carolina) took a first in race one. Maintaining a good upwind speed was the key and by race two, Carinthia, owned by Frank Kern of Detroit, MI, stole Monday’s show. By Tuesday, El Ocaso gained a solid hold in the top ranks. Bill Hankel’s Emocean (South Carolina) found her wings by mid-week and settled in the middle of the fleet. Thin Ice, a familiar force on the racing circuit and owned by Stuart Hebb of Coral Gables, FL, finished just behind Emocean. Rick Wesslund and his El Ocaso crew enjoyed their first Key West victory after four years of trying. The team also earned the Key West Trophy as PHRF Boat of the Week. Wesslund used to race cars, but found the solo aspect of the sport unfulfilling. The organized teamwork and communication needed for sailboat racing brought more satisfaction to a guy who just loves to bring out the best in people. Wesslund also coaches his son’s high school football team. Transpac 52, PHRF 2 Fleets Southern favorite in the Transpac 52 fleet, Fred Detwiler’s Trader (Fort Lauderdale, FL), had a handful with Tom Stark’s Rush and his secret weapon, tactician Ed Baird. Rush, of Newport, RI, finished the week in second. Fleet winner and brand-new boat Stay Calm II, owned by Stuart Robinson (London, UK), had to sail hard all week to fend off Rush and Windquest. “Preparation is everything,” notes Sister Golden www.southwindsmagazine.com

Hair owner Peter Conrad. The South Carolina Farr IMS 40 took a first in the close and highly competitive PHRF 2 class. It wasn’t easy. “We owe a lot to the boat,” says Conrad. The fact that he’s been a quality sailmaker since 1968 and was racing sailboats since the age of nine probably made a difference as well. Melges 32 Fleet It’s the first time ever that a group of Melges 32 boats gathered together for an official race. This wild bunch sailed at the same dizzying speed and were getting the thumbs-up and nods of approval by the nearby big-boat crews. “They pretty much dominated,” said Shawn Burke about the class winner New Wave, Michael Carroll’s Wisconsin entry. Burke crewed onboard Rick Orchard’s Grins of Flowery Branch, GA, which took a fourth. Second-place winner, Jeff Ecklund’s Star (Fort Lauderdale, FL), had Melges 24 world champ Harry Melges onboard. “As a fleet, we’re learning as we go along,” said Ecklund. “We were all getting faster by the end of the week.” The award-winning legend Buddy Melges sailed onboard Beck Swanson’s XSNRG of Milford, CT. Bounding down the docks after the last race, Buddy had more energy than the fresh-faced reporter trying to catch him.

Wairere, a Thompson 30 from Kill Devil Hill, NC, sailing in the PHRF 2 division, suffers damage in high winds. Photo © Tim Wilkes/ www.timwilkes.com.

there is,” says Milnes. “It is mental, physical and social, but the best part is the people you meet. You get to compete against the best in the sport, unlike most other sports.” Another Key West favorite is Evalena Worthington and her J/24 Freya. It’s Freya’s first Race Week, but lifelong sailor Evalena is the force behind the local Wrecker’s Cup Regatta and the host of lively waterfront parties at the famous Schooner Wharf Bar. Another Key West boat, Class Act, also joined the action with Miami skipper Karen Mitchell. Chances are that you’ll be seeing Karen in the keelboat event winner’s circle at the 2008 Paralympic Games. Though she became a quadriplegic after a diving accident at age 19, she didn’t let that stop her from grabbing life’s reins and becoming an award-winning sailor. On Thursday, Karen had stopped Class Act during the race to rescue a sailor from Mistress who was lost overboard during a broach. Corsair 28R Fleet Hot, aggressive, and edgy, the Corsair 28R trimarans orbit-

IRC 2 Fleet Henry Fretz and his Florida entry Tang was the only Southern spirit in the IRC 2 fleet. The competition was merciless. The lithe little Corby 29 was left behind by James Bishop and his Gold Digger team. The speedy J/44 placed first in every race but one where the seemingly immortal yacht twitched and allowed Highlife to nose in on Thursday. Earning an admirable second, Peter Roger’s Highlife had been shipped from England to participate in Key West for the first time. The rivalry with Gold Digger was classic and by week’s end, the two teams were celebrating and having drinks together. PHRF-7 Fleet “We want to know if we’re the oldest crew out there,” said Ginger Bourguignon, crewing on the bow of Loki III. “We’re spending our Social Security money in Key West!” Richard Correll’s team joked about their near retirement years, but they sure didn’t let the idea of age, or anything else, stop them on the battlefield. Loki III remained near the top of the fleet, keeping her PHRF 7 opponents on edge. The smooth S29.1 had sailed all the way from New York state to be in Key West for the race as well as to get away from winter for a while. Sam Vasquez and his Wavelength 24, Outtashock (Gulfport, MS), enjoyed a good start, then gave way to the week’s fleet winner Mistress and second place earner Circus. J/24 Fleet Mark Milnes and his J/24, Blah Blah Blah, thrived in the stronger winds midweek and earned third in class. The hometown Key West entry sails with all local crew and has never missed a race week. “Sailboat racing is the best sport News & Views for Southern Sailors

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March 2006

Boat of the Week Bellicosa, a Swan 45 from NY, NY. Photo © Tim Wilkes/ www.timwilkes.com.

ed around the mark and then flew downwind in freefall. Second place winner Dealer’s Choice of Stuart, FL, with Steven Marsh and Todd Hudgins was edged out by the high flying Rocketeer II. From Fort Walton Beach, FL, Rocketeer II is owned by Ken Winters and had multihull ace Randy Smyth onboard. After scoring six bullets in a row, the tri’ claimed a flawless victory. Bob Gleason’s Hot Flash (Wareham, MA) and Bob Harkrider’s Bad Boys (Augusta, GA) saw some tight, score-swapping sailing with each other. Hot Flash was only two points ahead by week’s end. Steve Rhyne’s Mojo (Kemah, TX) took a first in the highly competitive J/109 class. John Halbert’s Vitesse from Dallas, TX., Storm and Phoebe’s Phling swapped ranks with every race. Competing for Key West as well as the American J/109 Midwinter Championships, this lean, mean fleet made the most of the week’s strong winds. PHRF-4 Fleet The brawl began at the PHRF-4 starting line. Fred McConnel’s Kokopelli of Panama City, FL, ruled the roost until Temptress nudged her out by one point in the end. Temptress, Robert Hibdon’s SR33, took first for the fleet. A winning strategy for Hibdon’s crew was having a chase boat videotape Temptress during each race. At the end of the day, the boat and crew’s racing performance were reviewed and any bugs identified and corrected on the spot. “We ran over one of our spinnakers and we kept blowing out our sails,” Greg Petrat says about his classic Swan 48, Constellation, of Sarasota, FL. This week’s hairy weather wasn’t easy on the

canvas. Constellation’s wardrobe malfunctions slowed her down, but savvy sailing kept her near the PHRF-5 class leaders. Bruce Gardner’s L’Outrage, a Beneteau 10M from Annapolis, MD, was the alpha wolf in this pack with six firsts. Trailing a scant five points behind was Jeff Gastrau’s Invincible, also out of Annapolis. Swan 45 Fleet In Division 1, the Swan 45 fleet raced for both Key West honors and the coveted Swan Gold Cup. The atmosphere was especially festive near the Swan hospitality tent since it’s the popular yacht’s 40th anniversary. Racing in tight formation, the raw power was unmistakable as 16 suave Swans vaulted over the steep seas, taut sails flashing in the sun and spray flying everywhere. Early on, William Douglas’ Goombay Smash got a jump on VIM and DSK-Comifin. In a dramatic comeback, Massimo Ferragamo’s Bellicosa (New York, NY), leaped into third and by week’s end was first in fleet by one point. The Bellicosa team, a new Swan 45 World Champion and Gold Cup winner, was thrilled. Ferragamo and his crew have extra reason to celebrate after being awarded the Acura Trophy for Boat of the Week. Mumm 30, Farr 40 Fleets The racing world has its own terminology, and crews have added to it over the years. For example, when a trimmer calls out “buttcleat,” a crewmember is sitting on a line that needs to run free. There probably were no buttcleats onboard the top Mumm 30 boats. With skilled, almost otherworldly sailing, Nelson Stephenson’s TeamBOLD (Southport, CT) hit pay dirt with seven firsts. Turbo Duck sailed to second in the fleet with father and son team Nick and Bodo Von der Wense of Annapolis, MD. “Turbo’s sailing an exceptionally good regatta,” said Stephenson with a sincere respect for his opponents. “They’re quality guys.” Last year’s Key West Mumm 30 winner, Deneen Demourkas’

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A Corsair 28R leaps out of the water on a windy day. Photo © Tim Wilkes/ www.timwilkes.com.

broke four things but still managed to survive.” Dan spent one long afternoon working to free a stuck halyard in time for the next day’s race. The week’s winds kept the fleet on its toes, and Dave Ullman’s Pegasus 505 won out in the end. Texas heat dominated the J/80 class with Jay Lutz’s Synergy breezing to the top with five firsts. The venerable J/80s were also competing for part of their Midwinter Championships. Key West was also a venue for the J/105 Midwinters. The large 29-boat J/105 class couldn’t topple Masquerade’s dynasty. Class winner in Key West 2005, Thomas Coates (San Francisco, CA) once again stood at the top of the winner’s circle. Long-time friendly rival, Rich Bergmann’s Zuni Bear (San Diego, CA) smoothly sailed into second. Behind the scenes, volunteers helped maintain order on shore and at sea. Ed Gully, a multiple boat owner and sailboat racer from way back, lent a hand offshore with the committee boat. Phil directed the rush-hour Melges 24 traffic at the docks. “I love watching these guys race,” Phil said. Chuckling, the leisurely cruiser describes his own racing activity at the local club. “Well, we’re out there sailing and my buddy drops his beer into the water. I start laughing, the committee boat yells at us—” he shrugs. “You know.” Phil’s experience may be a little different from Race Week, but there is a similarity. In the end, everyone has a heck of a lot of fun. Grooverderci, won Acura Boat of the Day on Friday. The massive 25-boat Farr 40 class was graced with nine international entries. Sleek Italian class won out in the end with Vincenzo Onorato’s boat, Mascalzone Latino, on top. Russell Coutts called the shots as tactician. Another smooth Italian entry, Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma, stood in second and tied with Fred and Steve Howe’s California entry Warpath. Melges 24, J/80, J/105 Fleets The acrobatic, bowsprit-jousting downwind rush through the finish was nothing short of dramatic for the Melges 24 class. Sixty boats tangled for the highest honor that only one would have by the regatta’s end. Dan Hauserman, owner of Personal Puff, sums up the week. “It was crazy out there. We

Boat of the Week: Swan 45 – Bellicosa. Massimo Ferragamo, NY, NY PHRF Boat Of The Week: J/120 – El Ocaso. Rick Wesslund, Tiburon, CA Boat of the Day: Monday: Nautica Day – Farr 40, Norwegian Steam. Eivind Astrup, Oslo, Norway Tuesday: City of Key West Day – Melges 24, Team Pegasus. Dave Ullman, Newport Beach, CA Wednesday: Mount Gay Rum Day – Swan 45, Jeroboam Canova. Vittorio Codecasa, Porto Cervo, Italy. Thursday: Industry Partner Day – J/109, Storm. Rick Lyall, Wilton, CT Friday: Acura Day – Mumm 30, Groovederci. Deneen Demourkas, Santa Barbara, CA For complete results, go to www.premiere-racing.com. The official race photographer of the event was Tim Wilkes Photography. To view photos of the event and to purchase photos, go to www.timwilkes.com.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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RACING/REGIONAL RACING UPCOMING MAJOR SOUTHERN SAILING EVENTS Acura Miami Race Week March 9-12

Acura Miami Race Week, run by Acura Key West race organizer Premiere Racing, is a week of two racing venues, one on the ocean with two divisions in four days, and the other on Biscayne Bay with one division over three days. TP52s, Swan 45s, Farr 40s, J/105s, Mumm 30s, and Melges 32s will also compete on the ocean courses. Key West Acura Grand Prix Trophies will be awarded at the conclusion of Acura Miami Race Week. These awards recognize the boats with the best combined score from both Key West and Miami race weeks. The TP52, Swan 45, Farr 40, J/105, Mumm 30 and Melges 24 classes are currently eligible. Event details, entries and past results are available at www.Premiere-Racing.com

Charleston Race Week, Charleston, SC, April 6-9

An annual, three-day premiere One-Design, PHRF and IRC regatta for sailboats over 22 feet. Race headquarters at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina in Mt. Pleasant, SC,

offer docking, parking, hotel accommodations and evening festivities beachside. Free boat trailer storage and free dock space go to the first 50 boats registered. This is now the largest regional keelboat regatta with 143 boats and 800 sailors who participated last year. The regatta is sponsored by the South Carolina Heritage Maritime Foundation and the Charleston Ocean Racing Association. (843) 722-1030 . www.charlestonraceweek.com.

Regata del Sol al Sol 2006 On Track With New Online Tracking System The 38th Annual Regata del Sol al Sol, April 21-23, is this year both a relief fund for the island to help it recover from the impact of Hurricane Wilma and a growing regatta that could be the biggest ever this year. For those who don’t sail, but would like to partake in the festivities and events that follow the race, you can travel by plane. Contact Dolly Rote, (727) 898-6158 or Judy Malone, (727) 866-2839 (jmalone@humresources.com) for accommodations on the island and flights. Something new this year is the new tracking system available on the Web site. You will be able to “click” on your boat and see speed and direction, plus other options. This system will take the place of having to report manually as it is totally automated, each boat being fit with a transponder sending location information out. For questions, contact the co-chairs: Mike Boom at (832) 725-4959, mike.boom@verizon.net; Larry Wissing at (727) 278-5508, lw@ipsc.cc. Go to the event’s Web site at www.regatadelsolalsol.org.

REGIONAL RACING Reports, News And Race Calendars

Regattas and Club Racing— Open to Everyone Wanting to Race

The races listed here are open to those who want to sail. No individual club membership is required, although a regional PHRF rating, or membership in US SAILING or membership in a regional sailing association is often required. (If individual club membership is required, please contact us and we will not list their races in the future.) For publishing of your event, questions and information, send us your race schedule by the 5th of the month to editor@southwindsmagazine.com. Send in the name of the event, date, location, contacts (Web site, e-mail and/or phone), and, if you want a short description. Do not just send a link in to this information. Since race schedules and venues change, contact the sponsoring organization to confirm. For changes to be published, contact the editor. Changes can be put on our Web site, if possible. 54

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SOUTHEAST COAST: CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA March Water Temperature Cape Hatteras, NC – 52º See page 76 Savannah Beach, GA – 59º for windrose legend Average March Temperatures Cape Hatteras, NC 46º lo – 60º hi Savannah, GA 47º lo – 71º hi For Real Time Southeast Coast Weather go to: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southeast.shtml

RACE REPORT The Lake Lanier Sailing Club 1064 Regatta, Jan. 29 By R. J. Mitchellette The Lake Lanier Sailing Club (LLSC) launched the lake’s 2006 regatta racing season with its annual 1064 Regatta.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

Twenty-one boats competed in two races each, a PHRF timeon-distance protocol race, consisting of high, low, non-spinnaker and sport boat classes. The weather was great with the wind out of the southwest at an average nine knots, and the skies were clear and sunny. The average VMG for all the boats in both races of each class was 4.9 knots. The races were hotly contested with some very close calls, but the good news was there were no collisions. The regatta’s name, “1064,” was derived from the theoretical low level of the man-made lake during a drought and/or area water supply needs. For more information, go to www.llsc.com. Results: Sport Boat: 1,Mike Krantz (Melges 24); 2, Reid Collins (Melges 24); 3, Scott Baste (Melges 24); Low Spinnaker; 1, John McCarthy (Soverel 33); 2, Mas Azuma (Wavelength 30); 3, Jeff Freeman (Soverel 33). High Spinnaker; 1, Jim Chinik (Beneteau 29); 2, Warren Doyle (Tartan 28); 3, Rob Whitely (J-24). Non-Spinnaker; 1, Darryl Lanier (C25); 2, Wink Porterfield (S-20); 3, Lance Jones (C-22). Complete race results at www.llsc.com.

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REGIONAL RACING SOUTHEAST COAST RACE CALENDAR

Atlanta Inland Sailing Club Annual Dogwood Regatta, March 31 – April 2, Lake Lanier, GA By R. J. Mitchellette The 30th 2006 Annual Atlanta Inland Sailing Club (AISC) Dogwood Regatta presented by Aqualand Marina will be held March 31 thru April 2 on Lake Lanier, GA. This event was named after its namesake, the dogwood tree, which begins to bloom this time of the year in Georgia. The regatta headquarters and party tent will be set up at the SailMax store located beside the ship’s store at Aqualand Marina. Unlike past Dogwood Regattas, this year’s racing event will have three separate courses, including the new Performance Cruising Racing Fleet (PCRF) squadron with its own long-distance course, plus the traditional PHRF windward/leeward courses. The club will attempt a fiverace series. The PCRF is a special class of larger cruiser/racers that began last year at the Special Olympics. The class is called the PCRF and consists of some of the lake’s largest cruising boats, ranging from 30 to 45 feet. The skippers of these boats prefer to race under a staggered start protocol

where time across the start line is determined by a skipper’s PHRF rating with approximately one or two minutes separating each boat across the start line. This approach helps prevent unwanted start-line collisions more prone in the traditional races. Mike Krantz of SailMax will be presenting midway awards on Saturday night for the first-place boat in each of the fleets including live interviews with the winning skippers. The theme of this year’s regatta festivities will be a Luau party on Aqualand’s grounds. Rafting connections for out-of-town skippers and race participants will be available at Aqualand’s courtesy dock. A comprehensive list of all rules, classes and times are available at www.lakelaniersailing.com/aisc/. MARCH Lake Lanier, GA. www.lakelaniersailing.com 4–5 Laser Southern Regatta (open), LLSC 11 – 12 Atlanta Cup J-22 & J-24 (open), LLSC 25 – 26 Melges Southerns –SAISA Collegiate Regatta, LLSC 31- Ap2 AISC 2006 Dogwood Regatta, AISC South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association, www.sayra-sailing.org 4 – 5D12 Intradistrict Laser Southerns, Carolina Yacht Club – NC., Wrightsville Beach, NC. 11 – 12 Deep South Regatta, Lightnings, Savannah Yacht Club, Savannah, GA. 26 – 26 St. Patricks Day Regatta (open), Geechee Sailing Club, Thunderbolt, GA. South Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association, www.saisa.org. 18 – 19 NP 6, Brunswick, GA. 25 – 26 NP 7 Lake Norman Yacht Club, Charlotte, NC. APRIL Lake Lanier, GA. www.lakelaniersailing.com 29 – 30 MC Rebel Rouser (open) Charleston, SC. www.charlestonraceweek.com 6–9 Charleston Race Week 2006, One-Design, PHRF, and IRC regatta for racing sailboats 22 – 60 feet in length. South Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association, www.saisa.org. 21 – 23 District Championship, Carolina Yacht Club, Charleston, SC. South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association, www.sayra-sailing.org 14 – 16 Easter Regatta, J24, Carolina Sailing Club, Columbia, SC. 21 – 23 Bald Head Island, PHRF – One Design, Cape Fear Yacht Club, Cape Fear, NC. 22 McIntosh Cup, PHRF, Savannah Yacht Club, Savannah, GA. 22 - 23 D12 – Wrightsville Beach Ocean Race, Laser, Carolina Yacht Club – NC., Wrightsville Beach, NC. 29 – 30 D12 NC States, Laser, Lake Norman Yacht Club, Charlotte, NC.

EAST FLORIDA March Water Temperature Daytona Beach – 65º Jacksonville Beach – 61º Gulfstream Current – 2.3 knots Average Temperatures Daytona Beach - 54º lo – 76º hi Jacksonville Beach - 53º lo – 70º hi For Real Time East Florida Weather go to: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtml 56

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See page 76 for windrose legend

www.southwindsmagazine.com

EAST FLORIDA RACE CALENDAR 2006 First Coast Offshore Challenge, North Florida Cruising Club, April 19-22 The North Florida Cruising Club and the St. Augustine Yacht Club will hold the Offshore Challenge, April 19-22. The 100-mile race runs up the northeast coast of Florida and lasts for four days, stopping at three different ports for festivities and food at each stop. The first leg, on April 19, goes from Mayport, FL to St. Augustine. The second leg, on April 20-21, continues on to St. Mary’s and the third leg, on April 22, goes on to Mayport. The race is a benefit for Safe Harbor Boys home. For more information, go to www.nfcc-sailing.com. March – Central East Florida 3-5 2006 Rat Island Yacht Club 2006 Azalea Festival Regatta, Palatka, FL, David Burnham, (305) 325-3032. www.ratis land.com/index/Notice.html. www.flazaleafest.com. 4 First Saturday Sailing at Sebastian Inlet. Indian River Catamaran Association. 4,19 ECSA Spring River Race #1,#2. Melbourne Yacht Club 5 Winter/Spring #5 Indian River Yacht Club 5,19 Small Boat Sunday Racing, Spring Rum #2,#3 Melbourne Yacht Club 3-6 Calema Windsurfing. Midwinters. Calema Board

News & Views for Southern Sailors

Surfing, Merritt Island Trans Monroe Regatta. Lake Monroe Sailing Association, Sanford. 8-9 Zenda U C Scow Clinic by Andy Burdick. Lake Eustis Sailing Club 10-12 1st Annual Melges 17 Midwinter Championship Regatta 10-12 7th Annual C Scow Midwinter Championship Regatta Lake Eustis Sailing Club. 11 Space Coast 45, (beach cat distance race) Space Coast Catamaran Association, www.fleet45.org. 11 East Coast Racing Association Women’s Spring #3 12 Spring Series #2 Titusville Sailing Center 12,26 Small Boat Racing. Melbourne Yacht Club 14-15 Zenda U MC Scow Clinic by Andy Burdick and Eric Hood Lake Eustis Sailing Club. 16-18 34th Annual MC Scow Midwinter National Regatta. Lake Eustis Sailing Club. 16-19 Sunfish Mid-Winters. Melbourne Yacht Club. 18-19 Cruise to Melbourne Harbor for St Pat’s Day. East Coast Sailing Association-Cruising. 19 Sail a Small Boat Day. Indian River Yacht Club 20 Women’s Spring Series #3. East Coast Sailing Association-Women’s 20 Small Boat Sunday Racing. Melbourne Yacht Club 26 Spring #1. Indian River Yacht Club March – Northeast Florida. www.sailjax.com 4-5 River City Regatta (Saturday: one design; Sunday: onedesign & cruisers). Jacksonville. 17-19 Orange Peel Regatta. Snipe Class. Jacksonville. April – Central East Florida 1 First Saturday Sailing at Sebastian Inlet. Indian River Catamaran Association. 1-2 Mt. Dora Regatta. Mt Dora Yacht Club. 5-7

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REGIONAL RACING 1,15 Spring River Race #2, #3. East Coast Sailing Association 2,23 Spring #4,#5. Titusville Sailing Center 2,14,28 Spring Rum Race #4,#5,#6. Melbourne Yacht Club. 5,12,19,26Spring Wed #1,#2,#3,#4. Indian River Yacht Club 8 Womens’ Spring. East Coast Sailing Association. 9 Spring #2. Indian River Yacht Club 9 Small Boat Racing. Melbourne Yacht Club 22-23 Spring Regatta, Small Boats. Melbourne Yacht Club 22-23 Progressive Dinner Cruise. East Coast Sailing Association, Cruising. 29-30 Spring Regatta Big Boats. Melbourne Yacht Club. April – Northeast Florida. www.sailjax.com 1 Blue Max Race. North Florida Cruising Club 19 First Coast Offshore Challenge. Offshore Series #1 - 3 & Race #3 of Tommy Hall Memorial. North Florida Cruising Club 22. Mug Race Pre Registration Party. Rudder Club.

the size of a class’s fleet, only the top 10 made it into the Medal Race. This was one of the first ISAF Grade 1 events for the newly selected Olympic windsurfer, the Neil Pryde RS:X, which replaces the Mistral in the 2008 Olympic Games. Three teams earned the right to skip out on the last day, partially due to the large number of entrants that mathematically increased the odds. Classes competing were the Star, Yngling, Tornado, Laser Radial, Laser, 49er, 470 Men, 470 Women, Finn, Neil Pryde RS:X Men; Neil Pryde RS:X Women; Sonar. For results, go to www.ussailing.org/olympics/Rolex MiamiOCR. Contact Lisa Knapp with sailing news in southeast Florida at SouthwindsNews@aol.com.

BBYRA #2, Miami, Feb. 5 By Art Perez

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA March Water Temperature Miami Beach – 75º Stuart – 70º Gulfstream Current – 2.8 knots Average Temperatures – Miami Beach – 66º lo – 75º hi Stuart – 60º lo – 78º hi See page 76

For Real Time East Florida Weather go to: for windrose legend www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtml

RACE REPORT 610 Sailors From 40 Countries Compete in Rolex Miami OCR, Jan. 22-27 By Lisa Hoogerwerf Knapp Credit to Barby MacGowan, Media Pro International for Rolex Four hundred and six boats representing 40 countries, including seven reigning world champions, turned out for the biggest week of sailing in a decade on Miami’s Biscayne Bay in late January, where the high-caliber competition took place on seven circles in 10 Olympic classes and one Paralympic class. “With only two years to go before the Olympic Games in Beijing, sailors have flocked to this event to see how they stack up against the best Olympic and Paralympic talent the world has to offer,” said Dean Brenner, chairman of US Sailing’s Olympic sailing committee, which organized the event. The new Olympic format—which calls for a “medal race” to conclude the series for each of the classes—was applied for the first time in the United States. Whereas a throw-out was allowed in the series leading up to it, the “high stakes” Medal Race could not be dropped and counted for double the normal amount of points. Regardless of 58

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For years, the BBYRA has done an outstanding job in promoting yacht racing, but in one swift moment, all the good will of the organization was swept away when it decided to cancel the second race of the season due to a football game! This unpopular decision created an uproar among fleet members who once again felt defrauded. Forty-eight hours later, though, the good news arrived. The race was back on. BBYRA had reversed its decision, and the Coral Reef Yacht Club stepped up to perform the role of RC. With the reversal, the fleet responded affirmatively with a total of 34 boats showing up for the start, including a few from Fort Lauderdale. So much for a football game taking priority over a good day of racing. And besides, that’s what TIVO is for! The race got under way in pristine conditions thanks to a fast-moving cold front that had passed through the day before. Winds out of the west at 10 knots gradually shifted to the southwest and increased to 12-15. This created the shifty conditions typical with this kind of weather pattern. The starting sequence in the PHRF 1 class was as exciting as it gets with 10 boats maneuvering for position on the starting line. From my vantage point it seemed that a collision was inevitable, but fortunately everyone got under way once the starting gun went off. This fleet just gets better with every regatta that goes by. With Shadowfax still savoring its victory from the race before, in comes newcomer Jammin, an Evelynn 32 owned by Russ and Vicky Horn. Fair to say that Russ and Vicky are not newcomers to the racing scene and proved it with two first-place finishes. Blackbird, though, came in second overall and showed that the crew still has their game going for them. Word is that 2003 winner Tiburon is coming out of the boatyard soon and will return to the fleet. Although not a contender since dominating in ’03, it still has the potential to be at the front of the fleet. LacaLaca again won the J/24 class with relative ease. Two for two this year. Gotta Go and Joe Cool wound up in second and third place respectively. In each of the two races, LacaLaca outclassed the competition with wins of over a minute and a half over its next competitor. Melges 24 Huzzah!! scored its second regatta win with www.southwindsmagazine.com

Moving Party a close second. A rivalry is already developing between these two contenders. It should be interesting as the year moves on. Once again it’s worth mentioning the great work performed by CRYC and its commitment to our sport. Trophy presentation was brief with plenty of time to see the start of the Super Bowl game. Does anybody know who won? Results: PHRF1;1, Breeze/Valeri Safiullin;2, Pipe Dream XIV/Tom & Scott Piper;3, Primal Scream/ Steven Stollman;PHRF2;1, Jammin/ Russ & Vicky Horn;2, Blackbird/Pat Cacace;3, Hot Air III/ David Berg;PHRF3;1, Magic/John Degen;2, Sailing for Life/Karen Mitchell;3, Blew BaYou/Kerry Gruson;PHRF4;1, Just Chillin’/Steve Perry;2, Leprechan/Eduard Asmus;3, St. Clair/Richard Hall;J24;1, LacaLaca/Iker Belausteguigoitia;2, Gotta Go/Peter Benziger;3, Joe Cool/Lionel Baugh;Melges 24; 1, Huzzah!!!/George Coggeshall;2, Moving Party IV/Mike Catalano;3, TBD/Dave Helmick.

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA RACE CALENDAR March 2-5 4

Shake A Leg Midwinters. KBYC “Round the Island” Race. KBYC (Rescheduled from Nov.12/05) 5 J/24 Spring #3 (Flat Earth Racing). Flat Earth Racing – Third race of twelve for J24 class. 5-10 Stars Bacardi Cup. CRYC - 79th annual three-day regatta for Star class. 9-12 Miami Race Week – Ocean Racing. Premiere Racing 10-12 Miami Race Week – Bay Racing. Premiere Racing 14-15 Lightning Mid Winters. CRYC - 48th annual two-day regatta for Lightning 25 BBYRA PHRF#4. CGSC – Fourth race of the Series 1 for PHRF class. 26 BBYRA One Design #4. BBYC – Fourth race of the Series 1 for One Design class. 31-2 Don Q Rum Keg Snipe Regatta. CGSC - 40th annual S.C.I.R.A. sanction regatta. April 1-2 20th District Star Championship, CRYC 1 J24 Spring #4 (Flat Earth Racing), Flat Earth Racing – Fourth race of 12 for J/24 class. 8 Nancy Gorman Hughes Cup Regatta, CRYC. The 6th annual racing event promoting women sailing. Helmsperson must be a woman. 14-15 38th Annual SE Dinghy Championship, KBYC – This annual two- day event is open to Optimist, Lasars, Radials, Bytes, Vanguard 420s. 22 The 51st Miami to Key Largo Race, MYC – Open to all classes over 14 ft. Starting in Miami (Biscayne Bay) and finishing at Jewfish Creek, Key Largo. 29 Annual Sunburn Regatta – BBYRA OD #5, BBYC – Race #5 of the BBYRA annual series. This race is open to all non-registered boats as well. 29 Ron Payne Memorial Snipe Regatta, LYC 30 Annual Sunburn Regatta – BBYRA PHRF #5, BBYC Race #5 of the BBYRA annual series. This race is open to all non-registered boats as well. Legend for Yacht Clubs and Organizations BBYRA Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association. www.bbyra.net BBYC Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. www.bbyra.net CGSC Coconut Grove Sailing Club. www.cgsc.org CRYC Coral Reef Yacht Club. www.coralreefyachtclub.org KBYC Key Biscayne Yacht Club. www.kbyc.org. MYC Miami Yacht Club. www.miamiyachtclub.net.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

FLORIDA KEYS RACING March Water Temperature Key West – 75º Average Temperatures Key West 69º lo –79º hi For real-time eastern Gulf weather, winds and marine forecasts, go to http://comps.marine.usf.edu

Upper Keys Sailing Club, www.upperkeyssailingclub.com.

See page 76 for windrose legend

Key West Sailing Club. Every Saturday – Open House at the Key West Sailing Club. 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (305) 2925993. www.keywestsailingclub.org. Sailboat Lane off Palm Avenue in Key West. Casual racing/sailing on the weekends during winter months after October till Spring. Come by the club to sail. Non-members and members welcome.

RACE REPORT Trade Winds Beach Cat Regatta, Key Largo, Jan. 14-15 By Roy Laughlin The Trade Winds Regatta in Key Largo is the first major beach cat regatta each year in the Eastern United States. It attracts sailors from all over the East and South. Conditions in the Keys seldom disappoint, and this was half the case in 2006. A strong cold front arrived early on Saturday, January 14, bringing winds that eventually gusted past 40 knots in the afternoon. Race officials postponed the races until Sunday. Sunday’s races began at 9 a.m. under 20-knot winds with higher gusts. This is enough wind to rouse adrenaline in the most competent beach cat sailors, and to give the race committee the option of long courses. The Trade Winds is an open regatta, so a combination of a long course for the hightech catamarans with a three-sail rig, and a shorter, inner course for traditional cats is essential for orderly finishes. The wind steadily dropped to 10 knots when the third and final race started just after noon. This scenario gave all teams a chance to enjoy favorable conditions. With 15 teams registered, the F18 class was the largest class at the regatta. This is a one-design fleet that includes both the NACRA Formula 18 catamaran and the Hobie Formula 18 Tiger. Olli and Kathy Jason dominated the class with three first-place finishes. Following in order by size of the class, the Inter 20 class and Hobie Wave each had nine teams that raced. As is typically the case, Team Tybee, John Casey and Ken Pierce, dominated the Inter 20 class. They ranked first with two first places and a second. The Hobie Wave class this year was the Trade Wind’s largest. The standings were Sharon Woodruff, Kathy Kulkowski, Leah Soales, Stan Woodruff and Barb Short in SOUTHWINDS

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REGIONAL RACING first through fifth place, respectively. Despite the interest in larger high-tech racing catamarans, the Hobie 16 class is typically among the largest classes at any beach cat regatta and seven teams raced this year. The top three teams were William and Colleen Stolberg, Scott and Tracey Corson and Doug and Debbie Russell. In this class, no team decisively dominated scoring. The top scoring team had only second- and thirdplace finishes (consistently) while the other top scoring teams had at least one first between them. This was an exciting class to watch race. The Formula 16 class included high-tech catamarans such as Blade, Taipan and a new Gcat F16 that fit into the class requirements. The top three finishers were Chuck and Maevis Harnden, Matt and Gina McDonald and Seth Stern and Kelly Gray, respectively. This was another of the exciting classes to watch. No team consistently came in first place. Although Chuck and Maevis Harnden had only first- and second-place finishes, their victory was not assured until they earned the first-place finish in Sunday’s final race. Carla Shiefer and Magnus Boberg, on a Marstrom 20, came close to dominating the low Portsmouth fleet with a second and two first-place finishes. The high Portsmouth class had two entrants. Kelly Davis, a local Hobie 17 sailor prevailed for first place over Dale Gronniger and Jan Adair on a Nacra 5.8 NA. For complete results, go to www.catsailor.com/ Stories_Temp/TradewindsResults06.html. Additional photos are on www.catsailor.com and www.floridamultihullsailor.com.

KEYS RACE CALENDAR March 5 Key West Sailing Club. Small boat winter racing in the sea plane basin. 1:30 start. 19 Key West Sailing Club. Big boat Larry Hills Memorial Race & Fourth race in Commodore series. 26 Schooner Wharf Wreckers Cup Regatta. Key West. Captain’s Meeting 7:00pm, March 25, at Schooner Wharf. www.schoonerwharf.com. Upper Keys Sailing Club March 4 Ladies Sailing Program 5 Oceanside Championship, Final Regatta 11 Early Spring Portsmouth Regatta 12 Marlin Cup 18-19 Glander Cup

WEST FLORIDA March Gulf Water Temperature St. Petersburg – 68º Naples – 71º Average Temperatures St. Petersburg 60º lo – 75º hi Naples 58º lo – 79º hi For real time eastern Gulf weather, winds and marine forecasts, go to http://comps.marine.usf.edu. 60

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See page 76 for windrose legend

MAJOR UPCOMING EVENTS 30th Annual Southwest Florida Regatta, Naples, FL, April 1– 2 The Gulf Coast Sailing Club will host the 30th Annual Southwest Florida Regatta, April 1– 2. Five classes of sailboats will compete in the blue waters just off the Naples Pier beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday. For more information go to www.gulfcoastsailingclub.com, or e-mail Photosail@aol.com.

Leukemia Cup Regatta, Predicted Log Race, Golf Tournament and Tennis Match, Punta Gorda, April 21-23 The Punta Gorda Sailing Club and the Isles Yacht Club will again conduct the Leukemia Cup Regatta and auction on April 21-23 for the benefit of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There will be a sailboat race, auction, predicted log race for powerboats, a tennis tournament, and a golf tournament. The events are open to everyone. The regatta is open to spinnaker, non-spinnaker, monohull, multihull and small boats. It is one of the biggest races in southwest Florida and is part of the Boat of the Year competition for west Florida. For more information and race applications, go to www.pgscweb.com. For additional information contact Mike Savino, publicity chairman, at (941)505-2063 or by email to captmikes@comcast.net.

RACE REPORT 505 Midwinters, St. Petersburg, FL, Feb. 10-12 By Dave Ellis Ethan Bixby and crew Erik Boothe of St. Petersburg won four of the seven races and placed no worse than third to dominate the 505 Midwinters. Isla Del Sol Yacht Club on Boca Ciega Bay near St. Petersburg was an ideal venue with easy Gulf access. Friday’s races were off Pass-a-Grille beach with winds from 5 to 12 knots. Close racing was enjoyed on windwardleeward courses. Saturday, the winds were southerly, averaging 20 with higher gusts. Two masts were broken and many spectacular capsizes occurred. The 505 class has recently greatly increased the size of its spinnaker, making the already high performance boat more of a handful in a breeze. Henry and Doug Amthor from Hampton, VA, were second with Nick Nelson from Baltimore sailing with Ben Moon from Australia, in third. Dave Ellis’ race committee enjoyed the 49-foot Grand Banks supplied by Wayne and Diane Beardsley of Cape Coral, FL. Paul Warren used Mike Ritner’s Bay Rigging powerboat for mark set and rabbit starts. www.southwindsmagazine.com

Appleton Estate Rum Gasparilla Regatta, Tampa Sailing Squadron, Feb. 11: High Winds and a Boat Sinking By Gene DiNisio Tampa Sailing Squadron Hosted the Appleton Estate Rum Gasparilla Regatta on Saturday, February 11. There was to be a woman’s regatta scheduled for Sunday, but after the events of the 11th it was postponed to a later date. The weekend weather forecast didn’t look good for a regatta, but both the officers in charge of the regatta and many of the sailors who entered their boats decided that the race should go on as planned. Approximately 25 percent of the boat owners didn’t agree with that decision and kept their boats tied to their docks. For the remainder who sailed, it turned out to be a real gear-buster day. Two race venues were set up with two committee boats to accommodate the two different types of sailors; the hard core racers on a windward/leeward course, and the more laid-back sailors were on a course with little windward work. The wind at the start of the races was no more than 12 to 15 knots, but within half an hour, a gust came down the bay at 40 knots. It hit the fleet with predictable results. Most boats broached, sails were torn and poles were bent. On my boat, Shrew, we were pinned on our side for almost

News & Views for Southern Sailors

a minute, and that was the longest time that has ever happened since I’ve raced the boat these many years. For one sailboat that was not racing, but was out there enjoying a day on the bay, disaster struck. The boat was pinned on its side as my boat was, but then a wave caught it and filled the cockpit and cuddy cabin while it was in this position. In a second, the boat started to go down, leaving its crew of three to struggle free of the rigging and sails and abandon ship. The boat, with the weight of its keel and the extra weight of the water pulling it down, went to the bottom of Tampa Bay. The three crewmen were now facing another peril: struggling in the water due to the amount of clothing that they had on in order to keep the cold wind off them. Now they found that the extra clothes absorbed water, weighed them down and seriously hindered their efforts to tread water. As cold as the water was, they had to strip off their wet clothes in order to swim and save themselves. Thankfully, they weren’t in the water long as several of the boats racing in the regatta spotted them and went to their aid, as did one of the regatta’s mark boats. They were picked up and brought to the committee boat where they were attended to. One sinking, lots of damage, but no injuries, and a lot of stories to tell by all. That was the Appleton Estate Rum Gasparilla Regatta hosted by the Tampa Sailing Squadron for 2006. For full results, go to www.tampasailing.org.

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REGIONAL RACING WEST FLORIDA RACE CALENDAR On line West Florida Race Calendar Go to editor@southwindsmagazine.com to view the annual on line race calendar on the Southwinds Web Site with links to clubs and information and changes to schedules. To have your race listed, or changes in your race schedule, e-mail the information to the editor, Steve Morrell, at editor@southwindsmagazine.com. The West Florida list of yacht clubs and sailing organizations is also on line. Club Racing Bradenton YC. Sunday Afternoon Races at 12:30 p.m. October till beginning of Daylight Savings. PHRF racing on Manatee River. For info call Larry Lecuyer, (941) 729-5401. Venice Sailing Squadron. Saturdays. First Saturday of each month, PHRF racing. Start at mouth of Venice Inlet. www.venice-sailing-squadron.org 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 Boat of the Year Races (BOTY): Southwest Boat of the Year (SWBOTY), Charlotte Harbor Boat of the Year (CHBOTY), Sarasota (SBOTY), Suncoast Boat of the Year (SBOTY) MARCH 3-5 Davis Island YC. Fireball Midwinters. 4-5 Punta Gorda SC. Conquistador Cup, PHRF. (SWFBOTY) (CHBOTY) 4 St. Pete Sailing Assoc.Rich Gahn Memorial Race, PHRF. 5 Bradenton YC, Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Manatee SA, Sarasota Bay Yachting Association. Tampa Bay Pursuit Race. PHRF reverse handicap. 5 St. Pete Sailing Assoc. Women’s, PHRF. 5 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Pot of Gold Race. 5-10 St. Petersburg YC. Flying Scot Midwinters. 10-12 Davis Island YC. Sunfish International Masters Championship 11 Pass-A-Grille YC. Anchor Cup, PHRF. (SBOTY) 11 Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society. Shrimp Race, PHRF. 11 Diane Parker Memorial Lady Helmsman Race and Terra Ceia Raft-up, Cortez YC, www.cortezyachtclub.com 9-12 Acura SORC. Miami area. www.premiere-racing.com. 8-9 Lake Eustis Sailing Club. C-Scow Clinic. 10-12 Lake Eustis Sailing Club. C-Scow Midwinters. 10-12 Lake Eustis Sailing Club. Melges 17 Midwinters. 13-14 Clearwater Yacht Club. Snipe Midwinter Championship. 14-15 Lake Eustis Sailing Club. MC Scow Clinic. 16-18 Lake Eustis Sailing Club. MC Scow Midwinters. 17- 19 St. Petersburg YC. Lightning Midwinter Championship. 18-19 Marco Island YC. Spring Regatta, PHRF. (SWFBOTY) 18 Treasure Island Tennis and YC. Michelob Cup, PHRF. (SBOTY) 18-19 Tampa Bay Catamaran Society. St. Patty’s Day Regatta. 23-26 St. Petersburg YC. Disabled/Open Midwinters, Sonar, 2.4 Meter, Martin 16. 24-26 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. One Design Regatta, dinghies and small keelboats. 31 Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Sarasota YC Feeder Race to Venice, PHRF. 30-Apr 2 St. Petersburg YC. Rolex Women’s Match Racing Invitational.

West Florida Race Calendar continued on page 68 62

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NORTHERN GULF COAST RACING: FLORIDA PANHANDLE, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, LOUISIANA, TEXAS March Water Temperature 63º Average Temperatures Pensacola, FL 52º lo – 70º hi Gulfport, MS 52º lo – 70º hi For Northern Gulf Weather go to: www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/

See page 76 for windrose legend

MAJOR UPCOMING EVENTS The Leukemia Cup Regatta Set To Sail For Cures at the Buccaneer Yacht Club, Mobile, AL, March 10-11 The Leukemia Cup Regatta, organized by the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, will be held at the Buccaneer Yacht Club in Mobile, AL. The club lost its clubhouse and most of its fleet due to Hurricane Katrina. Despite their loss, the members have decided to hold their third annual regatta as planned. For additional information or to register for the regatta, contact the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at (251) 472-8123, or register online at www.leukemia-lymphoma.org, or go to the yacht club Web site at www.bucyc.com.

U.S. Alter Cup to Be Held in Pensacola Beach, FL, March 19-23 By Kim Kaminski The Pensacola Beach Yacht Club and the Key Sailing Team have been chosen to be the host of this year’s Multihull national event, the U.S. Alter Cup Catamaran Championship, sponsored by Rolex International and Schurr Sails. The Alter Cup is an invitational competition of top teams from several one-design class championships that were held across the country. The racing is a round robin format bringing a total of 20 teams together in a challenge race aboard 10 brand-new manufacturer-provided boats, all racing on identical boats. This year’s design boat will be the Nacra F18 made by Performance Catamaran. The boat is a new design and none of the competitors will have had an opportunity to race the catamaran prior to the championship. This spinnaker beach cat features a reverse rake bow with an increased hull volume allowing greater freeboard, making it a challenge for the various one-design multihull champions. For more information on this event, check the US Sailing Web site at www.ussailing.org. www.southwindsmagazine.com

Trimaran Nationals, Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club, FL, April 17-22 This event is primarily for Corsair trimarans, but is open to any Farrier-designed trimaran and any other comparable trimaran at the discretion of the organizers. Event information available at http://www.fwyc.org/. Contact Randy Smyth at (850) 243-9463 or Phyllis Seaton, FWYC fleet captain, at (850) 651-0105, or e-mail phyllis4@cox.net.

LOCAL RACE REPORT Super Bowl Regatta, Pensacola Yacht Club, Jan. 21 By Kim Kaminski The first sailboat race of the New Year was held by the Pensacola Yacht Club on Saturday, Jan. 21. This annual race allows the active sports enthusiasts the chance to display their favorite football team’s paraphernalia, like shirts and flags, out on the waters of the bay in support of the Super Bowl. As the sailors took to the waterways to begin the race, a heavy fog moved in. The winds were extremely light and along with the super moist air created an eerily quiet day. The race committee sent the sailors on a double windward/ leeward course of 1.25 mile legs into the light winds and heavy fog. Fleet Captain John Matthews stated, “You would watch the sailboats start the race and then they disappeared. The boats would eventually reappear as they rounded the mark only to disappear once again on their journey around the bay. It was like…now you see them, now you don’t!” Competitor Andy Werner said, “It was kind of neat sailing in and out of open air pockets. You really couldn’t see how well you were doing against the rest of the fleet, but every once in a while someone would sail into view. It was really a super day!” At the end of the race, the Spinnaker B class ended up with very close first-place finish times. Mike Beard and crew on Kanaloa arrived at the finish line one second ahead of fellow competitor Hunter Riddle and crew on Blind Faith (what an appropriate name for a boat in a foggy sailboat race!) Sailboat crews on Roka Dobi and Soulshine II also had a close finish with only 43 seconds between their finish times, thus proving that no matter what conditions you play in—be it in a football coliseum or on the foggy waters of the bay—team competition and tough playoff situations abound. Results Spinnaker Class A; 1 – Wicked Woman – George Gamble, 2:05:34; 2 – Rum Aground – Dave Dunbar , 2:15:31; 3 – Phaedra – Bob Patroni, 2:17:13; 4 – Atlantic Union – Lee Crona, 2:26:58; Spinnaker Class B; 1 – Kanaloa – Mike Beard, 2:48:51; 2 – Blind Faith – Hunter Riddle, 2:48:52; 3 – Roka Dobi – Ron Bray, 2:54:11; 4 – Soulshine II – Paul Robbins, 2:54:54; 5 – Polish Navy – Dan Owczarczak, 3:00:01.

See NORTHERN GULF COAST SAILING continued on page 75 News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

SOUTHWINDS

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

SOUTHWINDS

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

REGIONAL SAILING

Sailing Services Directory starts as low as $10 a month.

BOAT LETTERING

YOGA SAILING CHARTERS (305) 989-7181 Enjoy a Magical week of Yoga & Adventure Sailing in the Bahamas or Belize Oct. 05 or Jan & May 06 www.dutchlove.com

CAPTAIN SERVICES CAPT. KEVIN MURPHY . . .(340) 277-1026 USCG Licensed Master, Deliveries, Instruction murfdesurf@hotmail.com TOPSAIL SERVICES Delvieries • Consulting Power • Sail USCG Licensed Master • Unlimited Tonnage Don Charland (910) 279-6315 doncharland@aol.com

CANVAS & CUSHION SERVICES COMMUNICATIONS DOCKSIDE RADIO www.docksideradio.com Pactor II/III Modem Sales & Support; FCC Marine Radio License filing; SailMail WinLink Installation & Training . . . . .(941) 661-4498

CUSTOM BOAT SERVICES & REPAIRS

SCUBA CLEAN See ad in Underwater Services

CHARTERS MAHINA LA SAILING . . . . .(941) 713-8000 MacGregor 65 * Two hours to two weeks South Tampa Bay Area in Cortez Daily Sunset Cruises or Sail to the Keys www.floridasailingtrips.com

ELLIE’S SAILING SHOP . . . . . . . . .Clearwater Lifelines, rigging, hardware, repairs Serving small boat sailors Since 1958 Sunfish Boats and Parts . . . . .(727) 442-3281 ________________________________________ GLASTECH YACHTS . . . . . .(727) 544-5512 Full Service Marine Yard & Mobile Service Power & Sail • Serving West Florida www.glastech34trawler.com ________________________________________ Industrial Marine Supply . . . . . .Tampa Bay Gas/Diesel Repair & Maintenance Certified Electrical & Plumbing Underwater work . . . . . .(772) 771-8515 cell

WEST FLORIDA RACE CALENDAR continued from page 42 APRIL 1 Venice Sailing Squadron. Venice Yacht Club. Shark’s Tooth Cup, PHRF. (SBBOTY) 1 Tampa Sailing Squadron. Sea Scout Regatta. 1 Davis Island YC. Spring Regatta, PHRF. 1-2 Tampa Bay Catamaran Society. Macho Man Catamaran Distance Regatta 1-2 Gulfport YC. F-16 and A-Cat Invitational Regatta. 1-2 Gulf Coast SC Charity Regatta. (SWFBOTY) 1-2 Mount Dora YC. 53rd Annual Mt. Dora Regatta, all-class on the lake. 68

March 2006

SOUTHWINDS

FISHING GUIDES FL KEYS BACKCOUNTRY TRIPS With Pro Guide Capt. “BR” Exploring, Sportfishing, Birding (305) 304-2258 www.keywestsportfish.com

MARINE DIESEL SERVICE INLAND MARINE DIESEL . . . . . . . . .Atlanta Service/Parts for all makes of diesel auxiliary New Engine Sales–Universal, Beta, Yanmar, and Westerbeke . . . . . . . . ..(404) 513-4414

MARINE SURVEYING TAYLOR MARINE SURVEYING & CONSULTING, LLC Specializing in Sailing Vessels (813) 625-0448 www.taylormarinesurveying.com

Advertise your services here

1" boxed-in ads for $240 a year RIGGING SERVICES

2 Davis Island YC. Women, PHRF. 4-11 St. Petersburg YC. Flying Dutchman World Championship. 7-9 Suncoast Raceweek, West Florida (WFPHRF). PHRF. (SBOTY) Friday, April 7: St. Petersburg to Bradenton YC Saturday, April 8: Bradenton YC to Davis Island YC Sunday, April 9: Davis Island YC to middle of Bay. Party on April 14, Friday, following week, at Treasure Island TYC 7-9 Ocala Sailing Club 2nd Annual National Harpoon and Open Porsmouth Regatta, Lake Weir, Ocala, FL. www.tmcentral.net/bwharpoon. 8-9 Sailing Association of Marco Island “Bud Light”, PHRF. (SWFBOTY) 8-9 Clearwater Yacht Club. Clark Mills Opti Regatta. www.southwindsmagazine.com

SERVICES DIRECTORY Call (941) 795-8704 or e-mail editor@southwindsmagazine.com YACHTING VACATIONS Punta Gorda, FL Sailboat Charters 22’-48’ ASA instruction Live-aboard/non-live-aboard www.yachtingvacations.com (800) 447-0080

MASTHEAD USED SAIL . . .(800) 783-6953 www.mastheadsailinggear.com Largest Inventory in the South (727) 327-5361

PORPOISE SAILING SERVICES – Sarasota

*New/Used Sails * New Custom Sails Roller Furling Systems & Packages

(800) 507-0119 www.porpoisesailing.com

SEA TIME SAILING SCHOOL . . . .Miami, FL Offshore trips/Sailing courses www.seatimesailing.com . . . .(954) 636-9726

RIGGING SERVICES

Bay Rigging TAMPA’S MOBILE RIGGING SERVICE Yacht Rigging • Furlers • Lifelines

Cell (727) 215-0704 www.bayrigging.com

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

SSMR. INC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .727-823-4800 Complete Rigging Services On-Site Crane, Splicing & Swaging Commissioning Services On Salt Creek at Salt Creek Boat Works Fax 727-823-3270 . . . . . . . . . .St. Petersburg

Scuba Clean Yacht Service See ad in Underwater Services

UNDERWATER SERVICES

Scuba Clean Yacht Service • Underwater Services • Canvas Shop • Sail Cleaning & Repair • Detailing Serving Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota, Pasco & Manatee Counties.

SAILING INSTRUCTION ADVENTURE CRUISING & SAILING SCHOOL A sailing school for Women and Couples • ASA • West Florida and Chesapeake www.acss.bz . . . . . . . . . . . . .(727) 204-8850

(727) 327-2628 C’S CANVAS AND SAIL REPAIR See ad in Canvas & Cushion Services

8-9 Tampa Bay Catamaran Society. Spring Fever Catamaran Regatta. 9 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Hula Cup, Sunfish women. 14 Suncoast Raceweek awards at Treasure Island Tennis and YC. 15 Gulf Hunter SA, Clearwater Yacht Club. Regatta. PHRF. 15 FOMA. Frolic, large multihulls, off Clearwater. 15 Jabbo Gordon Invitational Regatta, Sunfish. Indian Mound Park, Lemon Bay, Englewood. mj343@webtv.net. 16 Annual Easter Egg Race, Cortez YC, www.cortezyachtclub.com 18 St. Petersburg YC. Rainbow Regatta, Florida Women’s Sailing Association champs. 22 Bradenton YC./MSA/St. Petersburg YC. Round Egmont Reverse Handicap PHRF. (SBBOTY) News & Views for Southern Sailors

22-23 Morgan Invasion. Davis Island YC. www.diyc.org. 22-23 Punta Gorda SC. Leukemia-Lymphoma Cup PHRF. (CHBOTY) 28 St. Petersburg YC. Regata Del Sol al Sol, Race to Mexico, Offshore boats 30’ and over. 29-30 Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society. Santweenie Race, PHRF. 29-30 Naples Sailing and YC. Messemer Cup, PHRF. (SWFBOTY) 29-30 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Youth Sailing Program Sailfest Regatta, Opti, Radial, Club 420 29-30 Davis Island YC. Lightning Districts 29 Tampa Sailing Squadron. Brownell Commodore’s Cup, PHRF 30 Tampa Sailing Squadron. Women’s PHRF SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

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A D S

CLASSIFIED ADS — 3 Months for $25 Place your ad early on the Internet for $10 • Classified ads with text only for boats are $25 for a three-month ad for up to 30 words. $50 for ad with horizontal photo ($65 if vertical photo). Check or Credit cards accepted. Must be for sale by owner – no business ads. Boats wanted ads included. • Free ads for boats under $500 (sail and dinghies only), all gear under $500, and windsurfing equipment. For sale by owner ads only. • All other ads (including business 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. • All ads go on the SOUTHWINDS Web site. For a one-time $10 fee, we will place your ad on the Internet before going to press on the next issue. • No Refunds • The last month your ad runs will be in parentheses, e.g., (10/06) is October, 2006.

BOATS & DINGHIES ___________________________

• Ad must be received by the 10th of the month. TO PLACE AN AD: 1. On the Internet www.southwindsmagazine.com This applies only to the $25 and $50 ads above with and without photo. Pay with Paypal and put your ad in the subject line. If a photo, then e-mail to editor@southwindsmagazine.com as a separate jpeg attachment. 2. Via E-mail and Credit Card. E-mail your ad to editor@southwindsmagazine.com. Text can be put in the e-mail. Send photos as a separate jpeg attachment to the e-mail. Pay by mail (see below) or credit card. You can call us with a credit card number. Give us the credit card number, expiration, billing address and name on card. Call (941) 795-8704. 3. Mail your ad in. Mail to SOUTHWINDS, PO Box 1175, Holmes Beach, FL 34218-1175. Send a check or credit card number with information as listed in #2

above. Mail the photo in (35mm best). If you want the photo back, enclose a SASE. Add $5 for a typing charge. 4. Telephone or fax your ad in. Call (941) 7958704 and give us your ad over the phone. There is an additional $5 typing charge. If you have a photo, you can mail it in. We can take your credit card number, or you can mail a check. Fax: (941) 795-8705. 5. Do a combination of the above. E-mail, call in or send the ad text in via Paypal on our Web site. Email the photo directly to the editor. If you don’t have a scanner, mail the photo to us separately. Call the editor at (941) 795-8704 with any questions. 6. We will pick up your ad. Send the editor a check for air flight, car rental, hotel, travel, eating and entertainment expenses, and he will come to your location and pick up the ad. Any ads to be picked up on tropical islands or other resort destinations will be free.

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

12 6 3 1

$19 $22 $25 $29

MINIMUM INCHES

TOTAL COST

2" 2" 2" 2"

$38 $44 $50 $58

Catalina Capri 23.5 Sport Boat 1998. Carbon sprit, asymmetrical spinnaker. Lift bulb keel. Roller furling jib. New sheets. 6 sails. Dry sailed. Custom trailer. Outboard. Atlanta. $18,900. (404) 723-0686. (4/06)

Cape Dory 25, 1982. Excellent condition, sleeps 4, standing headroom, Yanmar deisel, bimini, many upgrades including sail covers, sails, roller furling genoa, VHF, compass, toilet. 6 opening ports, Bimini and Dodger. $14,500. mayras1957@aol.com. (305) 6100988. (4/06) Hirondelle 24 MkII cruising/racing catamaran. 10ft beam, 15” to 3ft draft. Restored to new sail away condition. 9.9 Honda O/B, GPS, VHF, trailer, dinghy. Loaded, beautiful. (407)592-1207 email: fireboat52@hotmail.com (5/06)

$50 for 3 months for Ad & Photo 941-795-8704 70

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1964 Pearson 26’ Offshore, the pride of Bristol. Rigging 2005, Staloks, Atomic four restored 2006. Raced in the Keys. A true classic. Dinghy & mooring. Sailmykeys@pocketmail.com. $4500. (5/06)

1977 Columbia 8.7 (28’ 7” LOD) Sloop, 23’ LWL’ 10’ Beam 4’6”draft, tiller, diesel, ice box, pressure water, main, jib, bimini, danforth anchor, solar vent, folding table, Must sell. $7900. Call Major Carter. (941) 7929100.

Modified Herreshoff H-28, 1985, fiberglass, new masts, sails, rigging, diesel. Auto, SSB, Chartplotter, Dinghy. Also 35’ deeded boat slip in Key West. Sold separately or great combo price. (305) 393-6889. (5/06) www.southwindsmagazine.com

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1983 Hunter 30. Tall Rig, 4’ draft, Yanmar 850hrs, roller furling, sails and rigging 2002, Mech Vang, Inverter w/Microwave, Autopilot, GPS. Race, Daysail or Cruise. Xlnt condition. $17,400. (727) 856-6999. (3/06)

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CATALINA 30. 1989. Wing Keel. New Canvas, Full enclosure. AC, custom teak doors. Garmin 182 Chart plotter, Loran, VHF, Auto-pilot, AMFM Stereo CD, refrigerator, extra freshwater tank. New bottom paint September 2004. A very clean boat, carefully maintained. $37,500. Call (727) 421-3014. (5/06)

34-5 Hunter 1986. Auto pilot, shoal draft, 30 hp Yanmar, solid stainless steel rail, custom teak swim platform, new portals, etc. Moving must sell $29,500. (239) 910-3595. (4/06)

1987 Catalina 36 TM Extensive Equipment List. Cosmetic “Katrina” Damage. This is a “Must See.” $37,500. (228) 326-2694 for info. (4/06) IRWIN 37, Key West slip. New mainsail and cockpit cover, 14 ports, dinghy, outboard, refrigeration, freshwater pump, A/C, hot water heater, 6 batteries with cabling, bottom paint, solar panel, etc. Call Capt. Dave (305) 240-0303, e-mail eastwood@pocketmail.com. No hurricane damage. $105K. (3/06)

33’ Glander Tavana 1985 center board mast head sloop. Newly painted bottom, hull, topsides and non-skid. New rub rail, teak hatches. New jib sail. 30 HP Vetus diesel. Great Florida and Bahamas boat, draws 3’ board up. A no- nonsense boat offered below market at $14,900/best offer. Needs TLC. Call Major Carter (941) 792-9100.

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1977 Trident Warrior 35. Well maintained and equipped for offshore cruising. $46,500. (850) 866-4490. (5/06)

1990 Hunter 33.5 with Yanmar diesel. This boat is in excellent shape overall. Crisp sails, Hood roller furling. Auto pilot. Garmin GPS. Wind instruments and depth at the helm. All new standing rigging. All new running rigging. Marine air. Stainless Steel stove with oven. Refrigeration. New bottom job.New canvas. New davits. New dinghy. New OB. Walk thru transom with swim platform. Lines led aft to cockpit for short handed sailing. Only 4.5’ draft. Responsive and swift. $44,900 News & Views for Southern Sailors

36’ Islander Freeport B-Plan raised saloon cruiser, Cruise-ready with all the extras. A take you anywhere boat. Newly rebuilt diesel, full electronics and all the extras. $69,900 See www.islanderfreeport.com, e-mail islanderfreeport@pobox.com, (727) 864-9048 (3/06) SOUTHWINDS

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BOOKS & CHARTS ___________________________ Ocean Routing – Jenifer Clark’s Gulf Stream Boat Routing/Ocean Charts by the “best in the business.” (301) 952-0930, fax (301) 5740289 or www.erols.com/gulfstrm

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South Pacific Charts and Guides. Full-sized. From Panama to New Zealand. $600 value. Make offers. (305) 395-2114. Could be used to wallpaper your Tiki Bar. (5/06)

BUSINESS/INVESTMENT ___________________________

Beneteau First 405, French-built 1987. Perkins 4-108, rig & keelbolts rebuilt & upgraded 1998. Rudder bearings & interior refit 2001, Awlgrip renewed 2005. Prop shaft, coupling and bearing new 2004. Phazor 6 kw gen, hro 9, watermaker, Autohelm nav. System, Inmarsat, 5000 btu AC. etc., etc. Santana is a proven vessel for offshore and living aboard, a joy to sail and takes good care of her crew. $115,000 (904) 460-0501 or yachtsantana@aol.com. (3/06)

Licensed contractor with experience in highend residential work, both new and remodeling, seeks to qualify a builder as an active, advising, part-time, non-working partner. I am a very responsible, honest experienced builder with excellent qualifications seeking the same to work on projects in residential work. Only very quality-oriented and responsible builders/carpenters need contact me who are in the Manatee/Sarasota counties area. I also am only interested in enjoyable, interesting work — not the rat race. Craig100@tampabay.rr.com.

CREW AVAILABLE/WANTED ___________________________ 1984 LANCER 45 CC Sloop with 85 HP Perkins, 3 staterooms, 2 heads, walkthru to aft cabin w/ centerline bed. Marine air. Roller furling main and jib. Depth and wind instruments at the helm. CPT autopilot, Furuno CRT radar, GPS, VHF, stereo CD, TV, full galley, electric windlass, dodger, 11’ Alliance RIB w/OB. www.cortezyachts.com. A great liveaboard or cruiser. $79,900 (941) 792-9100

Visit SOUTHWINDS “NEW” boat and crew listing service at southwindssailing.com

DELIVERY SERVICES ___________________________ DELIVERIES. ICW, Coastal, Caribbean & Gulf, Sail or Power, by USCG Licensed Captain with 30 Years professional experience Including two transAtlantic deliveries. (443) 243-4925 or www.marylandsailing.com (3/06)

DOCKS/SLIPS ___________________________ 45’ 6” LOA Bayfield 40, Hull # 34 Full keel 5’ draft, cutter ketch designed by H.T.Gozzard built in 1984 Exceptional condition with lots of new gear. Harken Roller furling on all sails. Marine Air, WS, WD, Depth,VHF w/remote, SSB, CD/Radio, Autopilot, Chartplotter, Radar, Dinghy, Life Raft $114,000 Call Major Carter or visit www.Cortezyachts.com (3/06)

SEE CLASSIFIED INFO ON PAGE 70 72

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LEGAL LIVEABOARD IN MARATHON. Buy a boat slip in the Keys — use it or lease it! From $345,000 - Call The Wallace Team. Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate. (800) 366-5181. (305) 766-1745 Cell (3/06)

HELP WANTED ___________________________ Articles & race reports in the Carolinas and Georgia. editor@southwindsmagazine.com.

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Edwards Yacht Sales is expanding! Yacht brokers needed to sell sailboats on either coast. Will train! Excellent commissions, group health insurance, bonus plan. Contact Roy Edwards at (727) 725-1600, www.EdwardsYachtSales.com www.southwindsmagazine.com

C L A S S I F I E D Service Dept. Rigger. Massey Yacht Sales is accepting applications and resumes for sail and/or powerboat riggers/outfitters. Many employee benefits including paid holidays, paid vacations, health insurance, workmen’s comp insurance, performance bonuses, and good hourly salary. Must be hardworking, honest, have own tools and be a team player. Excellent service department support and organization. Call Alice Winter, ext. 10, service dept. mgr. at (941) 723-1949, or fax resume to (941) 729-7520.

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Writers, Reporters, Articles Photos Wanted. SOUTHWINDS is looking for articles on boating, racing, sailing in the Southern waters in all regions, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. We are also looking for other articles on the following subjects: marinas, anchorages, mooring fields disappearing marinas and boatyards, marinas and boatyards sold for condos, anchoring rights, sailing human interest stories, boat reviews, charter stories, waste disposal—and more. Photos are wanted on all these subjects, plus we want cover photos (pay $65 for cover photos) of both race and non-race subjects, but about sailing. Cover photos must be very high resolution and vertical format.

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Accountant Wanted. CPA (or someone who has good, successful experience in the following) wanted to help (with donated time) a non-profit, Florida Corporation—that is a sailing organization promoting sailing and youth sailing—become a 501C3 tax-exempt corporation with the IRS. Help needed and advice in putting together the application to the IRS. Any hard expenses paid, possibly some labor paid. Contact Steve Morrell, editor@southwindsmagazine.com, or call (941) 795-8704. Southeastern Sailing Association, Inc. www.sailingvoice.org. info@sailingvoice.org.

Marine canvas sewing machine operator. Help Wanted. Flexible work schedule. Friendly, easygoing work environment. Some experience necessary. Lippincott Marine Canvas. Saint Petersburg, FL. (727) 821-5949 (3/06)

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MISCELLANEOUS BOAT GEAR NEW & USED ___________________________

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Writers and Ideas Wanted on Waterways Issues. SOUTHWINDS is looking for writers, acting as independent subcontractors to research and write articles on different subjects discussed in the “Our Waterways” section. Must be familiar with boating, good at research, have computer skills, high-speed Internet access and work for little pay. Most important, you must have an interest and passion for the subject and want to bring about change and improvement of boaters rights, waterways access, and disappearing marinas and boatyards—and have lots of ideas and energy to help bring about improvements through various means (that are, of course, legal and principled). You may choose your subject within these parameters. We would also like to get an organization going to promote these interests if you can help. Writers, photographers, cartoonists, jokers, magicians, philosophers and others of questionable professions may apply. Send info to: editor@southwindsmagazine.com.

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. Bimini top, canvas and frame complete. From BOSTON WHALER. Originally $700. Usable on any craft with 87” beam. Navy. Like new. $400. Pick up only. Lake Lanier, Gainesville, GA. Chris @ 770 536 4628, or cwnlanier1@aol.com.

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AC/DC Reefer, 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.

INSURANCE ___________________________

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MARINA COORDINATOR. Associate’s Degree and considerable experience in marina operations with some lead worker and retail sales experience. Must be able to swim and pilot boats. Marina Manager or Dock Master Certification desirable or obtainable within two years of employment. Salary Range: $41,080 - $58,448. For additional information and to apply online, go to www.tampagov.net. Apply by 3-31-06. (3/06) City of Tampa Employment Services, 315 E. Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33602, EEOf/m/h/v.

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Massey Yacht Sales Positions-Sail and/or power yacht sales positions available in the Massey St. Petersburg and Palmetto dealership offices. Best marina dealership locations, excellent sales, marketing and service dept. support. We are new yacht dealers for Catalina, Hunter, Albin, True North, Nordic Tugs, plus offer a large inventory of brokerage sail and power boats. Applicants must be computer literate, have successful yacht sales history, good knowledge of yachts and builders, be a team player, motivated and hard working. Best yacht sales income potential on Florida west coast. Call Massey General Sales manager Frank Hamilton at (941) 723-1610 or fax resume to (941) 7297520. News & Views for Southern Sailors

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) 896-2287 www.poncedeleon hotel.com

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March 2006

C L A S S I F I E D

A D S

Anchors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 40 lb 3-piece storm - $250. 20 lb CQR - $150. 15 lb CQR - $100. (941) 9536240.

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March 2006

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NORTHERN GULF COAST SAILING continued from page 63

SAILS & CANVAS ___________________________

Frostbite Regatta, Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, Jan. 28 By Kim Kaminski

4-5 8-12 10-11 10-12

The weather in January along the northern Gulf Coast can be quite unpredictable, with everything from warm sunny days to cold ones with north winds and a hint of snow flakes. This unpredictable weather can be part of the excitement of sailing in the area and is one of the reasons why the Frostbite Regatta has been a longstanding and invigorating race. This year’s competition was filled with plenty of adventure. Strong, southeasterly winds at 18-20 knots and choppy conditions greeted the seven boats that ventured out to race on a sunny, winter day. The strong conditions made it difficult for some to make it to the starting area before the flag sequence began, but the crews held firm and everyone started the race. Because of the strong winds, Fleet Captain Ken Branch knew it would be a quick race and set up a long course up into Pensacola Bay and back of 11.5 miles. As the race progressed, wind gusts intensified, but that did not deter the competitors. The big battle came at the end of the race when Neil McMillan and his crew on Joe Cool made every effort to take first place, even though they had a late start due to the weather. When the results were compiled and the times corrected, the team missed first place by only 47 seconds. His opponent, Mike Beard and his crew on Kanaloa, captured the first place position with Joe Cool finishing in second. Another close finish was between third and fourth place. Only 14 seconds separated the winners, Blind Faith in third and Roka Dobi in fourth. It was a great finish to another invigorating race day in the northern Gulf Coast region.

WINDSURFING GEAR __________________________ Wanted: Used Prodigy (standard or race), other boards, miscellaneous windsurfing equipment. Steve (941) 795-8704, editor@southwindsmagazine.co

Results Spinnaker Class – 11.5 miles; 1 – Kanaloa – Mike Beard, 1:23:08; 2 – Joe Cool – Neil McMillan, 1:23:55; 3 – Blind Faith – Bone/Hunter/KB, 1:25:05; 4 – Roka Dobi – Ron Bray, 1:25:19; 5 – Polish Navy – Dan Owczarczak, 1:28:04; 6 – Tenacious – Eric Prochaska, 1:31:46; Non-Spinnaker – 11.5 miles; 1 – Unstable – Dianne Godwin, 1:41:06.

MARCH 4,11,25 Maxine Sansom Race #1,#2,#3. Navy Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL News & Views for Southern Sailors

11 17-19 18-19

18-23 25-26 25-26 25-26

Mardi Gras Regatta (Capdevielle). New Orleans Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA New Orleans Boat Show. New Orleans, LA Leukemia Cup. Buccaneer Yacht Club, Mobile, AL Hobie Midwinters East (Multihull). St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club, Panama City, FL Mardi Gras Regatta. New Orleans Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA Leukemia Cup Regatta. Pensacola Yacht Club. Pensacola, FL. (In memory of Past Commodore Jim Rosenblatt) Race to Mandeville. New Orleans Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club, Pontchartrain Yacht Club, Corinthian Sailing Association, New Orleans, LA Alter Cup (Multihull). Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, Pensacola Beach, FL Spring Fling (Capdevielle). Jackson Yacht Club, Jackson, MS Dogwood Regatta. Fairhope Yacht Club, Fairhope, AL Leukemia Cup (one design). New Orleans Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA Mobile Boat Show. Mobile, AL

30-2 APRIL 1,29 Commodore Cup #1, #2. Navy Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 1-2 Leukemia Cup (one design). New Orleans Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club New Orleans, LA 1-2 Wet & Cool Youth Regatta. Fairhope Yacht Club, Fairhope, AL 7-9 GORC 8 Great Circle Regatta. Mobile Yacht Club, Mobile, AL 8 New Orleans Yacht Club Opening Regatta. New Orleans Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA 8 Board Boat Opening. Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA 8-9 Pat Gillard (Capdevielle). Jackson Yacht Club, Jackson, MS 9 Navy Yacht Club Opening Day. Ceremonies/Boat Parade Navy Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 9 Southern Yacht Club Opening. Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA 9,23 Spring #1,#2,#3. Southern Yacht Club New Orleans, LA 15 Pensacola Yacht Club Race #1. Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 15 Crawfish Regatta. Lake Arthur Yacht Club, 16 Relay Race. New Orleans Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club, Corinthian Sailing Association New Orleans, LA 21-23 Pensacola Boat Show. Pensacola, FL 17-22 Trimaran Nationals. Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club, Fort Walton Beach, FL 22 Blessing of the Fleet. Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 22 Lorillard Kent Regatta. St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club, Panama City, FL 22 Bayou Lacomb Regatta. Corinthian Sailing Association, New Orleans, LA 22 Steven B. Smith Regatta. Apalachee Bay Yacht Club, Tallahassee, FL 24-28 Corsair Nationals. Fort Walton Yacht Club, Fort Walton Beach, FL 29 Dauphin Island Regatta. Buccaneer Yacht Club, Mobile, AL 29 Catalina 22. Jane England 29 Alfonso Sutter Youth Regatta. Gulfport Yacht Club, Gulfport, MS SOUTHWINDS

March 2006

INDEX

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ICW continued from page 37 ational boaters and commerce. Vessels frequently run aground and experience substantial damage. Navigation charts are often out-of-date and can cause serious problems for even the most experienced boaters. Commercial companies are forced to lighten their loads, which creates an economic hardship on the companies. It’s a catch-22: Vessels avoid the shallow channels; the shallow channels are then classified as a low-use waterway. That makes it an easier target for more budget cuts. And, to make things worse, when estimating the financial impact of dredging versus losing traffic, the Corps doesn’t consider money brought in by recreational boaters. Rosemary Lynch, executive director of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA) says, “The average boater spends $300 a day—in trade in shops, restaurants and marinas.” “It’s been a Band-Aid approach for the past five years,” says Ryck Lydecker, assistant vice president for government affairs, BoatUS. “Only the worst spots get attention. Members of Congress look after their own constituents; no one looks at the waterway as a whole.” “Recreational boaters have done an excellent job of ‘delivering the mail’ to Congress,” continues Lydecker; letters of the many cruisers who use the ICW have been effective. Florida has realized the importance of recreational boating and created an Inland Navigation District, that col76

March 2006

SOUTHWINDS

Abaco Regatta Week . . . . . . . .27 Air Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 Annapolis Sailing School . . . . .55 Aqua Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Atlantic Sail Traders . . . . . . . . .24 Banks Sails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Beachmaster Photography . . .72 Beneteau Sailboats . . . . . . . . .BC Beta Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Bluewater Bay Yachts . . . . . . .6,7 Bluewater Sailing Supply . . . . .72 Boaters Exchange . . . . . . . . . .41 Bob and Annie’s Boatyard . . . .26 Bo’sun Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Bubba Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Carson/Beneteau . . . . . . . . . .BC Coconut Grove Sailing Club . .28 Colligo Engineering . . . . . . . .33 Cortez Yacht Brokerage . . . . . .72 Crown Regatta . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Crow’s Nest Restaurant . . . . . .10 Cruising Direct Sails . . . . . . . .10 Cs Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Defender Industries . . . . . . . . .22 Dockside Radio . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Dogwood Regatta . . . . . . . . .56 Dwyer mast . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 Eastern Yachts/Beneteau . . . . .67 Edwards Yacht Sales . . . . . . . .65 El Cid Marina . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 E-marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73,74 First Patriot Health Insurance .74 Flying Scot Sailboats . . . . . . . .71 FX Sails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Garhauer Hardware . . . . . . . .44 Glacier Bay Refrigeration . . . . .38 Gold Bars Captain’s Book . . . .74 Gulf Coast Yacht Sales . . . . . .66 Gulf Island Sails . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Hanse Sailboats . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Higgins, Smythe & Hood . . . .63 Hobie Cats/Tackle Shack . . . . .47 Hotwire/Fans & other products .74 Hunter Marine . . . . . . . . . .12,13 Island Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 JR Overseas/Moisture Meter . .18 Kevane Sails . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Key West Rendezvous . . . . . . .45 Lake Fairview Marina . . . . . . . .7 Laurie Kimball Realtor . . . . . . .31 Leading Edge Yacht Brokers . .67 Leather Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Lex-Sea Charters . . . . . . . . . . .71 Manton Marine Surveyors . . . .69 Massey Yacht Sales 14,16,23,IBC Masthead Enterprises . . . . .21,74 Michelob Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Mt. Dora Annual Regatta . . . .57 Murray Yacht Sales/ Beneteau . . . . . . . . . . .64,BC National Sail Supply . . . . . . . .19 Nautical Trader . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Noble Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 North Sails . . . . . . . . . . . .54,75 Pinnacle Fractional Sailing . . . .15 Porpoise Used Sails . . . . . . . . .75 Precision Yachts . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Pumpout Boat . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Quantum Sarasota . . . . . . . . . .3 RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Regata del Sol al Sol . . . . . . . .47 Rparts Refrigeration . . . . . . . .24 Sailboats Florida, Inc. . . . . . . .71 Sailfest, Sarasota YSP . . . . . . . .61 Sailing Services . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Sailrite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Sarasota Sailing Midwinters . . .4 Sarasota Youth Sailing Program66 Schurr Sails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Scurvy Dog Marine . . . . . . . . .18 Sea School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Sea Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36,74 Snug Harbor Boats . . . . . . . . . .7 SSMR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 St. Augustine Sailing School . .74 St. Barts/Beneteau . . . . . . . . .BC Suncoast Inflatables . . . . . . . .29 Sunrise Sails . . . . . . . . . . .69,74 Tackle Shack . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Tampa Sailing Squadron Youth Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 TowboatUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Turner Marine/Island Packet . .11 Ullman sails . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 US Spars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Walker Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Watersports West . . . . . . . . . .74 West Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC Whitney’s Marine/Sail Center . .7 Windcraft Catamarans . . . . . .33 Zarcor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

lects fees to pay for maintaining the ICW. “We’d love to see that model replicated elsewhere,” concludes Lydecker. What Can We Do? When planning a trip on the ICW, it is important to get current local knowledge. Web sites for both waterways are good sources, as they are a format to share navigation problems (see sidebar). Numerous publications are available, which list stops, services, maps, conditions and information on the waterways. Local towing companies are also always willing to share local knowledge. Coming in a future issue: Managing the Challenges of the ICW: Tips that will help you enjoy your incredible voyage on the ICW. www.southwindsmagazine.com

ADVERTISER INDEX BY CATEGORY TELL THEM YOU SAW IT IN SOUTHWINDS! SOUTHWINDS provides this list as a courtesy and asks our readers to support our advertisers. This list includes all display advertising. SAILBOATS – NEW AND BROKERAGE Beneteau Sailboats BC Bluewater Bay Yachts 6,7 Boaters Exchange/Catalina Sailboats 41 Carson Yacht Sales/Beneteau BC Cortez Yacht Brokerage 72 Eastern Yachts BC,67 Edwards Yacht Sales 65 Flying Scot Sailboats 71 Gulf Coast Yacht Sales 66 Gulf Island Sails 7 Hanse Sailboats 71 Hobie Cats/Tackle Shack 47 Higgins, Smythe & Hood 63 Island Packet 11 Island Yachting Centre/Island Packet 11 Lake Fairview Marina 7 Leading Edge Yacht Brokers 67 Massey Yacht Sales/Catalina//Hunter/Shannon/Albin 14,16,23,IBC Masthead Yacht Sales/Catalina 21,74 Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau BC Pinnacle Fractional Sailing 15 Sailboats Florida, Inc. 71 Sarasota Youth Sailing Program donated boats 66 Snug Harbor Boats 7 St. Barts/Beneteau BC Suncoast Inflatables/ West Florida 29 Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 47 Tampa Sailing Squadron Youth Program 43 Turner Marine/Island Packet 11 Walker Bay Boats 32 Whitney’s Marine/Sail Center 7 Windcraft, Trimarans and Catamarans, Sail or Power 33 Watersports West/Windsurfing 74 GEAR, HARDWARE, ACCESSORIES, CLOTHING Air Duck Hatch Windscoop 74 Bluewater Bay Yachts 6,7 Bluewater Sailing Supply 72 Boaters Exchange, boats, gear, etc. Rockledge FL 41 Bo’sun Supplies/Hardware 19 Colligo Engineering 33 Defender Industries 22 E-Marine 73,74 Garhauer Hardware 44 Hotwire/Fans & other products 74 JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 18 Leather Wheel 69 Masthead Enterprises 21,74 Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign 40 Rparts Refrigeration 24 Sailrite Sewing Supplies 39 SSMR 9 Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 47 Walker Bay Boats 32 Watersports West/wet suits, etc 74 West Marine IFC Zarcor, boat shades 73 SAILS (NEW & USED), RIGGING, SPARS, RIGGING SERVICES Atlantic Sail Traders 24 Banks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida 69 Cruising Direct/sails online by North 10 Dwyer Mast/spars, hardware, rigging 74 Masthead/Used Sails and Service 21,74 National Sail Supply, new&used online 19 North Sails, new and used 54,75 Porpoise Used Sails 75 Quantum Sails and Services 3 Sailing Services 16 Schurr Sails, Pensacola FL 52 SSMR 9 Sunrise Sails 69,74 Ullman Sails 57 West Marine IFC US Spars 9 News & Views for Southern Sailors

CANVAS Banks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida Quantum Sails and Services USED SAILING/BOATING SUPPLIES Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign, West Florida Scurvy Dog Marine/Used, Consign, Pensacola FL SAILING SCHOOLS Sea School/Captain’s License St. Augustine Sailing School MARINE ENGINES AND ACCESSORIES Beta Marine RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke RESORTS, MARINAS, RESTAURANTS, BOAT YARDS Bob and Annie’s Boatyard Coconut Grove Sailing Club Crow’s Nest Restaurant & Marina FRACTIONAL SAILING/CHARTER COMPANIES Lex-Sea Charters Pinnacle Fractional Sailing MARINE SERVICES, SURVEYORS, INSURANCE, TOWING, BOAT LETTERING, ETC. Aqua Graphics/Boat Names/Tampa Bay or buy online Beachmaster Photography First Patriot Insurance Health Insurance Manton Marine Surveyors Pumpout Boat MARINE ELECTRONICS Dockside Radio JR Overseas/Moisture Meter Sea Tech/Navigation/Communication BOOKS/CHARTS/VIDEOS/AWARDS Bubba Book Gold Bars Captain’s Book Noble Awards REGATTA ADVERTISEMENTS, BOAT SHOWS Abaco Regatta Week Crown Regatta Dogwood Regatta Key West Rendezvous Michelob Cup Mt. Dora Annual Regatta Regata del Sol al Sol Sailfest, Sarasota YSP Sarasota Sailing Squad Midwinters Regional Sailing Services Directory Subscription Information Alphabetical Advertisers’ List

69 3 40 18 30 74 37 42 26 28 10 71 15 68 72 74 69 35 43 18 36,74 17 74 48 27 53 56 45 51 57 47 61 4 68-69 77 76

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March 2006

Surprise in The Lesser Antilles: At the Helm of the Star Clipper By Eric West

f you’ve ever read Jack Aubrey or Horatio Hornblower and fantasized about sailing a real tall ship, guiding her through rough seas or into tropical ports of call, about running aloft to look out from the crow’s nest or perhaps just doing all the manual rope handling that an able-bodied seaman would have done, my wife Carolyn and I have good news for you, as we discovered how it’s possible for some of your fantasies to come true. Just a week before Christmas 2005, my wife and I joined the 360-foot SPV Star Clipper, in St. Maartens in the Leeward Islands. We arrived early in the afternoon, and by 10 p.m., we were under way for Virgin Gorda, approximately 140 nautical miles away. We had never been on a commercial cruise ship before, much less an actual barquentine modeled on the fast packets of the 19th century—we had no idea what to expect. Prior to leaving port, the captain greeted us and said, “This is a sailing ship, and all dreams are possible. You only have to ask.” We then slowly left the quay, raising the sails as we turned toward the open sea to the majestic sounds of music by the same composer who wrote the theme to the movie “Chariots of Fire.” The forestay, backstay, triadics and the tops of all the yardarms were lit with white ornamental lights. One by one, as we cleared the headland and headed to sea, the square sails, jibs and staysails were set, and we heeled over and gathered speed. Throughout the night, the winds built until finally, they were up to around 30 knots. The Star Clipper was flying along with seas building and spray flying in the moonlight. In the morning, the wind was still

March 2006

SOUTHWINDS

The Star Clipper. Photos by Carolyn West. The author at the helm of the Star Clipper

blowing in the mid 20s. The captain once again proffered the chance to fulfill our dreams, and I asked to take the helm. Immediately, he waved me forward, and the bosun’s mate turned over the helm to me. While I steered, the captain had the crew prepare to come about, at the same time explaining to the passengers what the maneuver entailed. Following the captain’s instructions on rudder angle and new course, I was allowed to tack the ship and set off for the last leg to Virgin Gorda. The next day, anyone who wished was allowed to climb to the first crow’s nest. So, aloft I went. As we sailed from Virgin Gorda to Jost Van Dyke, I watched the island slide by from my perch just behind the upper topsail—just as thousands of sailors had done centuries ago. This time, more people asked than could be accommodated at the time, so another climb was scheduled for the next day. On the next to the last day, as we were approaching St. Bart’s, the captain allowed me once again to take the helm in preparation for a jibe. It took about 20 minutes to explain everything to all the passengers, who were finally getting into the swing of things, helping to jibe the staysails and brace the yards around, and complete the jibe. The captain really surprised me by telling me to stay at the wheel while we sailed right into the anchorage, dropped the sails, let the wind slow us to a stop and then let go the anchor. All this happened because I believed the captain’s words and asked to participate. Those who asked got the ride of their lives. Star Clipper will be racing in See STAR CLIPPER continued on page 76 www.southwindsmagazine.com