Southwindsnovember2006

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SOUTHWINDS News & Views for Southern Sailors

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November 2006 For Sailors — Free…It’s Priceless




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See us at Strictly Sail St. Pete, Nov. 2-5

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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SOUTHWINDS NEWS & VIEWS

FOR

SOUTHERN SAILORS

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From the Helm: New Anchoring Law Protects Cruisers in Florida By Steve Morrell

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Letters

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Strictly Sail St. Pete Boat Show Preview

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Bubba Has the Right Ticket By Morgan Stinemetz

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Books to Read: Managing the Waterway

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Southern Regional Monthly Weather and Water Temperatures

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Short Tacks: Sailing News and Events Around the South

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Our Waterways: Misc. News and issues about our waterways around the South.

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Hurricane Season 2006. Misc. News and hurricane tips and information.

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DSC Radio. Not All are Created Equal By Gary Jensen

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Travels With Angel: Colorful Cruisers By Rebecca Burg

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30 Years of Changes in the Caribbean By Bruce Van Sant

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Historic Spanish Point: Traditional Craft, Traditionally Built By Allan Horton

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What It Costs Us to Cruise By Capt. Ron Butler

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Racing Tips: Asymmetricals, Part II: Gybing and the Takedown By Mike Kirk

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Cruisers Racing: The Cruising Racing Fleet on Lake Lanier, GA By Ron Mitchellette

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Southern Racing: Southern Regional Racing Reports and Race Calendars

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Photos From Our World on the Water

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Marine Market Place Regional Sailing Services Directory Alphabetical Index of Advertisers Advertisers’ List by Category Subscription Form

The Cost of Cruising. Photo courtesy Ron Butler. Page 54

Spanish Point. Photo by Allan Horton. Page 52.

COVER: An airplane flies over a traditional sailing craft in the Farmers Race in the Bahamas. Photo by Jim Austin.

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

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FROM THE HELM

New Law Protects Cruisers’ Anchoring Rights in Florida A new law went into effect on July 1 that protects anchoring rights in Florida. We reported on some aspects of the law in the August issue about rules changing on derelict vessels marinas, but wording changes in the same law were also made that protect anchoring rights. Here are the significant changes (underline and strikethroughs are the changes) of the 2006-309 amendments to chapter 327.60: “Nothing contained in the provisions of this section shall be construed to prohibit local governmental authorities from the enactment or enforcement of regulations which prohibit or restrict the mooring or anchoring of floating structures or live-aboard vessels within their jurisdictions or of any vessels within the marked boundaries of mooring fields permitted as provided in s. 327.40. However, local governmental authorities are prohibited from regulating the anchoring outside of such mooring fields anchorage of non-live-aboard vessels engaged in the exercise of rights of navigation.” In simple wording, this means that communities cannot restrict anchoring rights of non-liveaboard boaters outside mooring fields. This means people cruising, whether on their way somewhere or just gunkholing around. The essence of this revolves around who is a non-liveaboard, and who isn’t. Statute 327.02 paragraph (17) of the Florida Statutes defines “liveaboard vessel” (fishing vessels are excluded): (a) Any vessel used solely as a residence; OR (b) Any vessel represented as a place of business, a professional or other commercial enterprise, or a legal residence. One maritime attorney suggested liveaboards call themselves “full-time cruisers”—to place the burden on the local commu-

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nity to prove who is and isn’t a liveaboard. This is not just semantics, as fine line often exists between who is a cruiser and who is a liveaboard. If there is anyone who has brought about this change it is the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA). We can also thank the city of Miami Beach. After they enacted anchoring restrictions last spring, the NMMA, prompted greatly by the actions of the SSCA and the boating community, acted to get this into law. Some say Miami Beach took away anchoring rights that were already protected, and this new law only helped define that protection. The impact this has on places like Miami Beach and Marco Island is significant, and the NMMA is asking boaters to contact them to let them know about infractions by these cities and other communities that restrict their anchoring rights. They have published a letter written by attorneys for the NMMA which will be sent to any offending communities if boaters so inform them. Go to “Our Waterways Section,” page 36, to read this letter (and for the NMMA contact information). (This will also be on our Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.com on the “Our Waterways” pages.) The boating community can thank the NMMA and the SSCA and all those boaters who wrote letters and expressed their opposition to recent communities’ restrictions on anchoring rights. This is a major step in the protection of these rights in Florida—rights that have dwindled in recent years. Someone even spoke of this being a turnaround and predicted that in a few years boaters would once again be welcome in Florida’s waterfront communities. Let’s continue to work towards making that happen. Steve Morrell Editor

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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 11 November 2006

Copyright 2006, Southwinds Media, Inc. Founded in 1993

Doran Cushing, Publisher 1993-2002

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

Steve Morrell

Advertising Go to www.southwindsmagazine.com for information about the magazine, distribution and advertising rates. Steve Morrell editor@southwindsmagazine.com (941) 795-8704 Regional Editors EAST FLORIDA mhw1@earthlink.net

(321) 690-0137\

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA RACING miamiyachtracing@bellsouth.net

(305) 380-0106

Roy Laughlin Art Perez

Production Heather Nicoll

Proofreading Kathy Elliott

Letters from our readers Capt. Ron Butler Dave Ellis Gary Jensen Roy Laughlin Art Perez Mike Shea

Contributing Writers Nat Bellon Juana Connor Troy Gilbert Kim Kaminsk Walt McFarlane Bruce Van Sant Morgan Stinemetz

Jim Austin Julie Connerley Pam Eastman Gary Hufford Mike Kirk Bob Tintera

Artwork Rebecca Burg angel@artoffshore.com Rebecca Burg Julie Connerley Allan Horton Mike Kirk Ron Mitchellette Hone Scunook

Contributing Photographers/Art Rebecca Burg (and Artwork) Capt. Ron Butler Crow’s Nest Restaurant and Marina Chrissy Harrod Allan Horton Gary Jensen Kim Kaminski Roy Laughlin Ron Mitchellette Bruce Van Sant

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.

Read SOUTHWINDS on our Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.com. News & Views for Southern Sailors

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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. MARINE SERVICE COMPANY COMES THROUGH WITH OUTSTANDING SERVICE With all the horror stories we hear about marinas and repair facilities in southwest Florida, there are some great exceptions to the rule. On July 3, I was motoring my CSY 37 down the ICW between Venice and Englewood. Unfortunately, my tired transmission quit. After a short wait, Capt. Jim of Tow Boat US arrived and took me in tow. I explained my problem and he then called his wife, who made a reservation for me at Gasparilla Marina in Placida, FL. Upon arriving, I was introduced to Bill Tobaygo of Gasparilla Marine Services. He was on his way home but promised that he would have a mechanic onboard at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5. He then asked if I needed any provisions, which I was definitely in need of. The supermarket was a few miles away, and he insisted that I take his truck to do my shopping. On Wednesday, at 7:30 a.m. sharp, Randy, the mechanic, was onboard as promised, determining what the problem was and removing the transmission. Over the next two days, I was given rides to a local restaurant, given cleaner and degreaser to clean up my engine compartment and treated like a valued customer and friend (a rare occurrence at many marinas). By Friday, I needed to get back to Fort Myers Beach to get to work. I asked Bill if I could get a rental car in the area. He said that I could but insisted on having Karen from his office drive me back to FMB. In spite of the pouring rain and two hours of driving, I was back home by early afternoon. By early the next week, my transmission was expertly repaired and installed. While it cost a fair amount of money, the cost was actually less than a rebuild quote I received six years ago. The result of all this is that what could have been a miserable and stressful situation turned out to be actually pleasant, and I have now found a terrific repair facility in southwest Florida that I will use for all my boat maintenance needs. A hearty thanks to Bill Tobaygo, as well as Randy, Pete, Karen and Jane at Gasparilla Marine Services for their courtesy, outstanding service, and friendship. I have never written a letter to the editor before but felt that these great folks deserved some well-earned recognition. Capt. David Denise SV Anejo Fort Myers Beach, FL David, They definitely deserve some recognition. These are the type of people that make life worth living—and we always enjoy passing the word around. Editor TAYLOR MADE PRODUCTS I enjoy your magazine and need your help. In your October 2006 issue, Steve Morrell wrote a letter about a See LETTERS continued on page 14 12

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LETTERS boat cover company—Taylor Made products—that backed up their products. I need a mooring cover for my sailboat and would like to know how to contact them—maybe phone number, Web site or address. Dick Jackson Dick, Taylor Made Products Web site is www.taylormadeproducts.com. Editor

DOCKSIDE MARINA IN MARATHON STILL ALIVE WITH LIVEABOARDS Dockside Lounge and Marina in 2005 In response to the article in the July and present would like to inform your issue covering Boot Key Harbor readers that this is still an active liveMarina and the mooring field expanaboard marina with affordable rates. sion: It stated, “One additional major Both Roy, the general manager, and factor (city marina achieving a profit) Ron, the dockmaster, are dedicated to was the loss of competition when the our comfort. While many of the develDockside Lounge and Marina closed opers who are purchasing the marinas to liveaboards in 2005, as most of the around us are raising rates and displacliveaboards moved over to Boot Key ing the common working-class people Harbor.” here, Dockside has refused to jump on All of the liveaboards here at the “get rich quick” bandwagon. Thank you for letting us set the record straight. Kevin Wilkinson Founder, Findaslip.com Fellow Dockside Liveaboarder Kevin, Thank you for setting the record straight. It’s good to hear about a marina that still allows liveaboards, as they seem to be disappearing. Sorry about the mistake. Editor WATERWAYS RIGHTS AND ACCESS LOBBYING GROUPS I have read your magazine for many years, and it seems that within the last few years there are more and more articles about anchoring rights. Although I am not a cruiser (yet), the trend does concern me. Since you are “wired in” to the sailing/cruising community, I was hoping you could provide me a contact for a statewide lobbying group that is trying to reverse the trend. I would like to help. Any information would be appreciated. Keep up the good work with the magazine. I read it all the time and shop at your advertisers’ stores frequently (the wife says too frequently). Dave Knaak Dave There is no statewide lobbying group, and that is the problem. The best lobbying group that I know of that does anything related is BoatUS. They concern themselves with boaters rights in general, water access, the disappearing marinas and boatyards, local communities’ attitudes towards boaters, etc. They are at www.boatus.org. Another organization that is working on protecting access and waterfront businesses is the Marine Industries Association of Florida (www.boatflorida.org). They have a lot of clout and money for lobbying and work with Florida marine regional industry groups also. Editor See LETTERS continued on page 16

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LETTERS WHERE CAN LIVEABOARDS VOTE? I am prompted to write yet another letter on the liveaboard situation. Your reply to the letter, “Coastal Communities Do Little to Invite Cruisers and Liveaboards,” (July 2006) is welcome, and I appreciate your lengthy responses to many of the letters on this subject. However, there is an error, which I would like to correct. You state that a couple living on a “$20,000 old wood sloop” also have two votes. This may not be true. In fact it is required in Florida to have a permanent land address in order to register to vote. This can be a marina if you happen to live there, but I had to use the address of my girlfriend in order to register. Unfortunately, this means that I have to vote in an area I have less interest in than where I usually live. Politically I am more interested in St. Pete and Gulfport, but I vote in Treasure Island. At least I have a vote. Many liveaboard cruisers don’t even have a P.O. box, but that would not get them a vote in any case. The liveaboard debate is big enough for right now, but the voting rights should be next in line for action. Any takers to lead the fight? I work away from home most of the time and am unable to commit to such a fight, but I would happily throw my weight behind it. Capt. Andrew Jagger St Pete or Gulfport or wherever Andrew, You bring up a good point that seriously affects cruisers and liveaboards. In my opinion, in a free and democratic republic, any citizen has the right to vote, even if he or she is homeless. I don’t believe there is any requirement (beyond laws barring certain criminals and mentally incompetent individuals) for voting except one must be a citizen—citizen of the United States. This, I presume, means every American citizen can vote in federal elections. That means for president and vice president. In the United States, in the years after the American Revolution and the establishment of the Constitution, states—little by little—allowed the right to vote to evolve to the point where no longer does an individual have to be a property owner, taxpayer or a male to vote. Getting the right to vote in a particular state or community is probably a little more difficult if you can’t prove you are a citizen of a community. I assume, though, that if you are a homeless American citizen, but spend all your days within the city limits of a city, you can legally vote in that city, that county and in the United States. Residency requirements by state cannot be any longer than 30 days. In Florida, to vote, you only need give a street address at the time of registration to vote and be a resident for 30 days minimum. There is no time limit on that address either. But you must be a resident of the city or county. I am not sure of these requirements, but I would like to know more about this as every citizen has a right to vote, and anyone who tries to stop one from voting should be prosecuted for violating civil rights. Since an address cannot be on the water (although it can easily be at a marina), you almost fall within the same category a homeless person would fall. I am not sure what that means, and I am not sure of the exact requirements for a street address, but I believe the street address requirement is only that you give one on the day of registration. It must have some meaning, I assume. I do know that in Key West, in recent years, a lot of liveaboards were denied the right to vote because they were living anchored out, although within the city limits. I am not sure of the status of that situation. Perhaps a reader can help enlighten us on this subject. Editor 16

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THE NEW AMERICAN SECURITY AND BORDER PROTECTION I entered U.S waters aboard my Canadian-registered sailboat in September 2005. I obtained the required cruising license from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The officers who cleared us explained that the cruising license required us to report to CBP at each “port or place” while we remained in U.S. waters. The officers were less clear about what this reporting requirement meant in practi-

cal terms. Indeed, they contradicted each other about the need to report at all. I was unable to get from the officers a satisfactory definition of what constituted a “port or place.” Did this include anchorages in secluded spots without CBP offices or cell phone coverage? Don’t know. The officers told me that once I had reported to CBP within a given jurisdiction, I would not have to report again until I entered a different jurisdiction. However, the officers were

unable to provide a map or other means of knowing the boundaries to these jurisdictions. I asked the officers for a list of phone numbers of CBP offices and was told—to my amazement—that such a list did not exist, not even on the Internet! Left with so many questions and so few answers, I turned to other cruisers. All told me not to worry. Most said that they reported a few times during their travels along the U.S. coast. Many said they never reported at all. It appeared that the only practical method of reporting is by cell phone, so we procured a cell phone plan for the purpose and proceeded on our way. We obtained some toll-free numbers for CBP, but discovered none were usable from our Canadian cell phone. We found CBP phone numbers listed on our C-Map cartridges, but discovered that many of them were “no longer in service.” We continued sailing in U.S. waters until June of 2006. During this period we reported to CBP numerous times. Basically, we called when we had cell phone coverage or could get access to a landline. We frequently failed to report because we had no cell phone coverage, or had coverage but could not find a working CBP phone number, or because it was after hours and no one answered. Sometimes we simply forgot to report to CBP. In the excitement of our sailing adventure, dealing with weather and fixing gear we often simply forgot to call. When we later reported at our next port of call, no one seemed to care that we had missed reporting the past week or so. Sometimes, when we called CBP, we had trouble explaining why we were calling. We even contacted one officer who said, “That regulation is not being enforced.” We were generally left with the impression that we were following a pointless procedure that was as much a nuisance for the CBP officers whom we called as it was for us. After all, what threat is posed to US national security by a sailboat whose maximum speed is six mph? Why impose such requirements upon boats when no similar requirements are imposed upon automobiles, with much higher speed and mobility? I met a Dutch couple who in two months of sailing in the US had never reported to CBP. See LETTERS continued on page 18

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LETTERS They were not obliged to, as their recently purchased vessel was still U.S.-registered. Then one day in May 2006, we were visited by a pair of CBP officers in Norfolk, VA. I admitted that we had last reported in Beaufort, NC—six days and 200 miles ago. I had been dealing with simultaneous failure of the propeller, propeller shaft, autopilot and radar and was frantically trying to make the boat seaworthy again in a foreign port with a rapidly diminishing bank account. I was distracted by these various stresses and had simply forgotten to call CBP. I resolved to call more frequently in the future and they departed. The next day, the officers returned. I anticipated that I might get a written warning, or maybe even a fine of $100 or so. Instead they delivered a document demanding that I pay $5,000—the maximum penalty allowed under law for my violation. I immediately appealed to a higher authority and was told that probably the fine would be reduced to $500, but it would be six months before I would know for sure. Presumably I am supposed to be relieved and grateful that my fine will, probably, be reduced to a mere $500. But I am offended. My sense of fair play, my sense of justice and my sense of common sense are all outraged. During my months of sailing in US waters I spent over $50,000 on provisions, marinas, boat repairs, fuel, etc. Given this experience with CBP it seems unlikely that I will ever sail again in U.S. waters. It will be a long time before I spend my tourist dollars in the United States. I no longer feel comfortable in the United States. I now feel the same apprehension of arbitrary treatment by uniformed authorities that I used to feel when I traveled in countries like China, South Korea, Mexico and Cuba. I should add that at no time were we treated discourteously by CBP personnel, but I feel that I have been raped —by polite rapists—but raped nevertheless. Fred Guptill S/V Secoudon II Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Fred, Yes, I have been there. This is not the first I have heard of our new security system. This reminds me of earlier travels in my younger life in Third World countries. But seriously, you should understand this: In the last six years, we have cut taxes and increased expenses in the United States. Things are being done on the cheap to save money. How do you expect us to be able to afford to do things in an organized fashion? We are becoming a banana republic—catching up with much of the Western Hemisphere in that regard. Who was it that said?, “If you want total security, go to prison.” (Dwight Eisenhower) Editor

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STRICTLY SAIL ST. PETERSBURG

ST. PETERSBURG

ALL SAILBOAT BOAT SHOW NOV. 2-5 Thurs.-Sat. – 10am-6 pm Sun. – 10 am-5 pm Spa Beach Park in the Vinoy Basin at the St. Pete Pier Downtown St. Petersburg, FL on the water TICKETS: (ages 15 & under are free) 1-day adult – Thurs/Fri – $10; Sat/Sun – $12 2-day adult – $20 DIRECTIONS: Spa Beach at the base of The St Pete Pier. The Pier is located at the end of Second Avenue N.E. From I-275, take Exit 23-A (Old 10) going east to Beach Drive. Turn south to Second Avenue N.E. for one block, at Bayshore Drive, directly in front of The Pier, turn right and follow south to discounted parking area, just opposite the Bayfront Center or follow the “BOAT SHOW PARKING” signs, take the FREE show shuttle to The Pier. Limited, paid parking is also available at the base of The Pier in two separate public parking lots. BOATS AND GEAR. Hundreds of exhibitors of gear and boats. Dozens of in-water and on-land boats to tour.

Jack Klang’s Chart Tent. Stop by the 9-by-12 foot navigation chart and learn new techniques about sailing, boat handling, safety, and cruising under sail. This chart blanket is littered with small boats, buoys, lighthouses and interesting nautical markings to help demonstrate real boating situations. $1000 Shopping Spree. Enter to win as you enter the show. West Marine will give away a $1,000 shopping spree to one lucky show-goer. Sign up at the main entrance for your chance at the prize. Latitudes & Attitudes Cruiser’s Bash. Sat. night 7 p.m. Everyone at the show Sat. evening is invited. MORE FREE SAILING OPPORTUNITIES: Watersports West will be offering the following free sailing opportunities at Spa Beach at the show. Lessons are free with paid admission to the show and available weather permitting.

NEW BOATS THIS YEAR: TRAWLERS. New this year will be an in-water trawler section with a variety of trawlers available for viewing.

Learn to Kiteboard in a Day. Nov. 4-5. Free introduction to kiteboarding classes during the show: How to launch, land and maneuver a kiteboard. Using trainer kites, participants will learn to fly kites.

STRICTLY SAIL ST. PETERSBURG SEMINAR SCHEDULE Seminars on a variety of sailing topics are held continuously during the show. For more information and updated schedules and titles of these seminars go to www.strictlysail.com.

Learn to Windsurf. Nov. 4-5. Windsurfing instructor and windsurfing simulator. Sign up for your lesson at Spa Beach during show hours.

OTHER EVENTS Discover Sailing. Free Sailboat Rides. Discover Sailing, a national introduction-to-sailing program will be going on each day at the show to help non-sailors take their first sail. Show-goers can go on free, 30-minute sailing trips and collect free, learn-to-sail materials and names of sailing schools where they can further their education.

Learn to Sail the New O’pen Bic Sailboat for Youth. Instructions and sailing.

Author’s Corner Tent. Come meet some of your favorite sailing authors. Pick up all of the most current sailing books! Kids Aboard. Free boatbuilding workshop for children ages 4 and older, teaches them to design and build their vessels. Parents can relax and visit the show while their kids are safe and having a good time, enjoying a fun, educational activity at the Kids Aboard Academic Boat Building Workshop. Visit www.kidsaboard.com for more information News & Views for Southern Sailors

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BOOKS TO READ Book Review By David Allester

W

hen I received a draft version of Managing The Waterway: Hampton Roads, VA, to Biscayne Bay, FL, by Mark and Diana Doyle in spring 2005, my immediate thoughts were, “Not another cruising guide for the Intracoastal Waterway! What more is there to say?” Indeed, the navigation desk of Little Gidding, our Bayfield 36 sailboat, was crammed full of guides and descriptive narratives for this well-traveled stretch of water. As I delved into the Doyles’ guide, however, I soon discovered it was aptly titled. Their primary objective wasn’t replicating the reams of available information about the ICW. Their key aim was to present the essential information in an accessible format so that a boater can “manage” his or her transit in a safe and stress-free manner. Having had my share of stressful incidents in the dozen or so trips I’ve made down the ditch, I can appreciate the value of being able to find what you need to know when you need it. The Doyles have succeeded admirably in this respect. The Doyles call theirs “an enriched cruising guide” because it incorporates information from many sources. In addition to key boating information—weather and safety sources, bridge restrictions, route descriptions, marina and anchorage locations—the guide includes interesting vignettes, featured attractions, and background histories of the areas through which the ICW traverses. But what’s special is how the authors have organized this information. The outside column of each page is a mileby-mile listing of navigation and marine pointers. The inside columns are descriptive commentary. Across the top of each page is a “rolling header” that highlights bridge openings, security zones, and navigational hazards, which impact your safety and schedule—and lists the appropriate weather stations and contact numbers for the Coast Guard and commercial towing services in the

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Managing The Waterway: Hampton Roads, VA to Biscayne Bay, FL, and Managing the Waterway: Biscayne Bay, FL, to Dry Tortugas, FL. By Mark and Diana Doyle. Published August 2005 by semi-local publications LLC, Minneapolis, Minn. 172 pages. 9 x 11 x 0.6 inches. Doublewire spiral binding. $24.95

area. The reader never needs to desperately flip pages to address pending crises. The route is broken up according to state: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Each section begins with a boatercentric visual overview of that state’s geography, including the ICW route, weather tower locations and summaries of the state’s waterway attributes. I especially like the locations of land features commonly referred to in local radio weather forecasts. Nothing is as frustrating as hearing a radio forecast of an imminent squall and not knowing whether you’re right in its path or safely out of the way. This past summer, the Doyles came out with a sequel to their first guide, Managing the Waterway: Biscayne Bay, FL to Dry Tortugas, FL, starting off where this ended at Biscayne Bay, and continuing through

the Florida Keys to the Dry Tortugas. Wisely, they’ve chosen not to mess around with a proven product: Their new offering follows the same basic format. The guide actually provides piloting information for two routes; the Atlantic Ocean route (comprising the Hawk Channel and continuing beyond Key West on the south side of the keys to the Dry Tortugas); and the Florida Bay route (commonly called the Intracoastal Waterway, keeping to the north side of the keys to its terminus at the Dry Tortugas). Crossovers between the two routes are clearly identified and welldescribed. The new Keys guide contains a “land and sea navigation” section not featured in its predecessor. This is a significant addition, taking up over one-third of the guide, and providing a series of two-page spreads mirroring an annotated NOAA chart with an annotated county land map. But don’t throw away your chart book. The marine charts are intended to illustrate the approximate location of important sea features mentioned in the text and are not sufficient for navigation. In future editions of the guide, I’d like to see dinghy landing locations marked. Anyone anchoring in, say, Key West, soon discovers that secure facilities where one can land a dinghy are few and far between (and pricey!). The land maps are intended to indicate the rough geographic location of land-based attractions and services such as stores, banks, and the local post office. Like the marine charts, they are not detailed enough for personal navigation. Especially in populated centers such as downtown Miami and South Beach, you’ll still need a local street map for your shore excursions. With the addition of the two Doyles guides, the Southern boater can clear out a lot—but not all—of the accumulated paper under the navigation table. And that’s no mean accomplishment. www.southwindsmagazine.com


Southeastern U.S. Air & Water Temperatures and Gulf Stream Currents – November Weather Web Sites: Carolinas & Georgia www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southeast.shtml Florida East Coast www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtml Florida West Coast & Keys http://comps.marine.usf.edu Northern Gulf Coast www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/

NORTHERN GULF COAST Pensacola, FL 51º lo – 70º hi Gulfport, MS 51º lo – 70º hi Water Temperature –65º

WEST FLORIDA St. Petersburg 63º lo – 77º hi Naples 62º lo – 82º hi Water Temperature St. Petersburg – 70º Naples – 73º

CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA Cape Hatteras, NC 52º lo – 64º hi Savannah, GA 47º lo – 71º hi Water Temperature Cape Hatteras, NC – 58º Savannah Beach, GA – 64º

EAST FLORIDA Daytona Beach - 57º lo – 77º hi Jacksonville Beach - 56º lo – 72º hi Water Temperature Daytona Beach – 71º Jacksonville Beach – 67º Gulfstream Current – 1.8 knots

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA Miami Beach – 70º lo – 78º hi Stuart – 64º lo – 80º hi Water Temperature Miami Beach – 76º Stuart – 75º Gulfstream Current – 1.9 knots

FLORIDA KEYS Key West 72º lo – 81º hi Water Temperature Key West –76º

WIND ROSES: Each wind rose shows the strength and direction of the prevailing winds in the area and month. These have been recorded over a long period of time. In general, the lengths of the arrows indicate how often the winds came from that direction. The longer the arrow, the more often the winds came from that direction. When the arrow is too long to be printed in a practical manner, a number is indicated.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

The number in the center of the circle shows the percentage of the time that the winds were calm. The lengths of the arrows plus the calms number in the center add up to 100 percent. The number of feathers on the arrow indicates the strength of the wind on the Beaufort scale (one feather is Force 1, etc.). Wind Roses are taken from Pilot Charts.

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EVENTS & 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 preceding publication. Contact us if later.

■ RACING EVENTS For racing schedules, news and events see the racing section.

■ UPCOMING SOUTHERN EVENTS EDUCATIONAL/TRAINING/SUMMER CAMPS Ongoing – Boating Skills and Seamanship Programs St. Petersburg, FL Tuesday nights, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Satisfies the Florida boater safety education requirements. Eleven lessons, every Tuesday. Boating Skills and Seamanship Programs, are presented by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 72 each Tuesday night, 7:30-9:30pm, 1300 Beach Dr. SE, St. Petersburg. 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. Don’t wait until next summer to have your children qualify for a State of Florida boater safety ID, possibly lower your Boaters Insurance premium or just hone your safe boating skills.

Clearwater Coast Guard Auxiliary (Flotilla 11-1) Public Boating Programs Boating Skills and Seamanship. Nov. 6-30, evenings. Clearwater Sailing Center, 1001 Gulf Blvd., Sand Key

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(Clearwater). Open to adults and youths. Seven Lessons. Evenings For more information on upcoming education programs or to request a free vessel safety check call (727) 469-8895 or visit http://a0701101.uscgaux.info/.

Boating Safety Courses, St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg Sail and Power Squadron. Sixweek Public Boating Course begins every Monday. Includes safety information plus basic piloting; charts, course plotting, latitude/longitude and dead reckoning. Satisfies Florida’s under age 21 boater requirements. (727) 867-3088. Other courses continuosly offered. (727) 565-4453. www.boating-stpete.org.

Ruskin, FL, Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 75 Offers Home Study Safe Boating Course The Ruskin flotilla each month offers a Boating Safety course in Ruskin, but has found that many boaters do not have the time to attend the courses, so they are now also offering a home study course at $30. Additional family members will be charged $10 each for testing and certificates. Tests will be held bi-monthly. Entry into the course will also allow participants to attend the classes. To apply, call (813) 677-2354.

North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort, NC On-going adults sailing programs. Family Sailing. 2-6 people; 2-6 hours. Traditional skiffs or 30’ keelboat. $50-$240. www.ncmm-friends.org, maritime@ncmail.net, (252) 728-7317. Reservations/information: The Friends’ office (252) 728-1638

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

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Intermediate Marina Management Course, West Palm Beach, FL Nov. 5-9 International Marina Institute. Association of Marina Industries/ International Marina Institute. (401) 247-0314. www.marinaassociation.com.

Boy Scouts Looking for Charter Boats & Captains Florida Sea Base, a high adventure camp serving the Boy Scouts of America, is looking for sailboats to run our next summer season beginning the end of May 2007 through the end of August 2007. The ideal boats will either be a Morgan 41 Out Island or the CSY 44 or something similar (5.5-foot draft or less). Weekly trips include training, fuel (diesel and propane), dockage at Sea Base (located in Islamorada) and Key West. All provisions are included, food, ice and necessary dry goods. With the Code of Federal Regulations for the Boy Scouts of America, we are permitted to carry eight passengers with a six-pack license. All vessels must pass the Coast Guard’s un-inspected/inspected vessel check, be documented for “coast-wise trade” and carry $1,000,000 in liability insurance with Boy Scouts of America listed on the policy. You will be guaranteed 9 to 11 trips for the season (excluding acts of nature) at $2200 per trip. Charters usually consist of six youths (Boy Scouts) ranging in age from 1420 and two adult leaders. You are in charge of your vessel but must run our charter program and schedule as described. Boats run in groups of four from Islamorada to Key West and back (80 miles each way). The captain will take the scouts fishing, sailing and snorkeling with four nights at anchor and one day and night in Key West. All gear/tackle and bait are provided at no additional charge. This is a fast-paced program so all boats and captains must be up for the demands. Being mechanically inclined is a major plus. If you have a boat and would like a contract captain to run her, we have several very qualified captains to put you in contact with. Contact Capt. Rich Beliveau at (305) 394-0365.

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Basic Engines Course, Jacksonville, FL, Nov. 6-9 American Boat & Yacht Council. (410) 956-1050. www.abycinc.org.

Diesel Engines Course, Jacksonville, FL Nov. 10-11 American Boat & Yacht Council. (410) 9561050. www.abycinc.org.

Two-Day Basic Meteorology Course for the Recreational Boater SSCA Nov. 18-19. A two-day Marine Weather Forecasting Workshop sponsored by the Seven Seas Cruising Association together with the support of West Marine. The goal of the Workshop is to enable self-reliant mariners to determine the safest routes for offshore voyages. The curriculum includes: cause and effect of marine weather; surface weather patterns; ocean wave formation propagation and decay; OPC wind and weather charts; tropical cyclone basics and avoidance; OPC surface charts and 500-mb charts. The course instructor will be Lee Chesneau, of “Lee Chesneau’s Marine Weather,” who is a USCG-certified STCW Basic and Advanced Meteorology Instructor. Lee is also a former senior meteorologist for NOAA’s Ocean

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Prediction Center. He has taught many marine weather seminars for Safety-at-Sea and for SSCA. He is currently teaching professional mariners around the country, including MITAGS in Annapolis, MD, and the STAR Center in Dania, FL. Nov. 18-19. Saturday and Sunday. 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. RTM STAR Center, 2 West Dixie Highway, Dania Beach, FL 33004. $250 per person for SSCA members, $300 for nonmembers (it’s cheaper to join!). The fee includes a workbook, lunch and snacks both days. For individualized attention, class size is limited, so register today! Registration online at www.ssca.org/eventind.htm, or e-mail office@ssca.org or call (954) 771-5660.

Standards Accreditation, Fort Lauderdale, FL Nov. 29-Dec 1 American Boat & Yacht Council. (410) 956-1050. www.abycinc.org.

Advanced Marina Management Course West Palm Beach, FL, Dec. 4-9 International Marina Institute. Association of Marina Industries/International Marina Institute. (401) 247-0314. www.marinaassociation.com.

■ BOAT SHOWS

Nov. 2-5. Strictly Sail St. Petersburg Boat Show and Trawler Show The largest all sailboat show on the Gulf Coast with many boats presented on land (smaller boats) and in the water. Trawlers will be at the show for the first time this year. Hundreds of exhibitors. The best and most beautiful venue of all the sailboat shows, being on Tampa Bay. Free sailboat rides. On the Vinoy basin on the causeway to the St. Petersburg Pier. www.strictlysail.com. Thursday-Saturday, 10-6, Sunday 10-5. $10, Thur.-Fri. $12, Sat.-Sun. 15 and under free with paid adult. Read more about the show on page 19.

Nov. 9-12. Fort Myers Boat Show Harborside Convention Complex and City Yacht Basin, Fort Myers, FL. Offering display space for every type of boat and marine product, the show continues to grow in exhibit space, attendance and sales effectiveness. New and brokerage boats are displayed in-water at the Ft. Myers City Yacht Basin. Both boats and accessory exhibits fill the Harborside Event Center and hundreds of smaller boats are backed into the surrounding streets and parking lots. The show sells out every year. Brokerage boats up to 30 feet will be at the City Yacht Basin. 10 am to 6 pm. Thursday thru Sat. Sun. 10-5 p.m. $9. Kids under 12 free. (954) 570-7785. www.swfmia.com.

Nov. 16-19 Annual St. Petersburg Powerboat Show Bayfront Center Yacht Basin, St. Petersburg, FL. (954) 7647642. www.showmanagement.com.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Conference, Nov. 15-16 Wrightsville Beach NC The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Conference will he held at the Blockade Runner Resort and Conference Center in Wrightsville Beach, NC, to discuss the problems, financing and future of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Go to www.atlintracoastal.org for more information and to register online.

■ SEAFOOD FESTIVALS

Nov. 3-4. Florida Seafood Festival Apalachicola, FL The state’s oldest maritime exhibit. The three-day event annually draws thousands of visitors to this scenic historic town at the mouth of the Apalachicola River. The festival features delicious seafood, arts and crafts exhibits, seafood related events and displays under the shady oaks of Apalachicola’s Battery Park. Some of the notable events include oyster eating, oyster shucking, a parade, a 5k Redfish Run and a Blessing of the Fleet. (888) 653-8011. www.floridaseafoodfestival.com

Marine Flea Market, Stuart, FL Nov. 5 West Marine flea market, Sunday Nov. 5, 7 am to 2 pm. Sellers $10. Buyers free. West Marine, formerly BoatUS., 2595 SE Federal Hwy., Stuart, FL. (772) 283-2335

Lecture by Circumnavigating Author Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Nov. 6 Beth Leonard, who, along with her partner, Evans Starzinger, circumnavigated the globe, will be giving a lecture at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron on Nov. 6. Beth and Evans went to sea on their 37-foot Shannon ketch in 1992, knowing little about cruising. They had only owned the boat for six months, having sailed it only six times when they set off for Bermuda, running into a Force 10 storm crossing the Gulf Stream. But, they persevered and eventually, after three years, made a 35,000-mile, “westabout” trip, which took them around the globe. They are currently on an “eastabout” circumnavigation in the higher latitudes. The topic is “Following Seas: Sailing the Globe, Sounding a Life.” Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. Cost: $10.

Yacht Brokers Association of America Regional Conference Charleston, SC. Nov. 7 Courtyard by Marriott, Charleston, SC. YBAA. (410) 263-1014. www.ybaa.com.

■ OTHER EVENTS

International Boatbuilders Exhibition and Conference Miami Beach, FL, Nov. 1-3

Seven Seas Cruising Association Annual Meeting in Melbourne, FL Nov 10-12 By Roy Laughlin

IBEX. National Marine Manufacturers Association and Professional BoatBuilder. Miami Beach Convention Center. (312) 946-6262. www.ibexshow.com.

The flea market at the annual SSCA convention. Photo by Gary Jensen.

The Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) will again host its annual convention and general meeting (formerly called a “gam”) in the Eau Gallie section of Melbourne, FL, November 10-12. The association has held its meeting in 28

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Eau Gallie for several years and has a winning formula for it. These include an extensive seminar schedule on Friday morning, a mariner’s flea market on Saturday morning and an annual meeting on Sunday morning. There will also be a vendor’s show and sale in the main hall of the convention center where businesses offer everything from books to electronics. A social/cocktail party is held at the meeting site on Friday, and a barbecue on Saturday evening will be a few miles away at Wickham Park. Best of all, the meeting site, the Eau Gallie Civic Center, is just across the road from the Indian River. A flotilla of cruisers moors off the meeting site for this long weekend just for cruisers. It’s such a great vista to see so many cruisers in one spot. Nancy Birmbaum of SSCA’s home office also notes, “I’m still putting together a fabulous list of raffle items. This year will include some ‘Big Ticket’ items like a Sailrite Sewing Machine and a $500 certificate towards a course from Blue Water Sailing School.” Last year, SSCA initiated a series of seminars on weather forecasting for mariners just after its annual meeting. This year, the weather course will be held in Fort Lauderdale the weekend after the annual meeting. This course is not part of the annual meeting and requires separate registration (see more information in this section above). Cruisers will find it a short cruise from Melbourne to Fort Lauderdale for the weather seminar. The SSCA Web site includes a registration form for the annual meeting, a list of seminar topics and list of hotels and accommodations. The registration form can be found on the SSCA Web site at www.ssca.org on the home page under “SCCA Events & Calendar.” You can download a PDF file to register. Please note that there are cut-off dates listed on the registration form for signing up for some functions The seminar list is extensive. About the only topic they do not cover is cruising with furry pets. Here’s some good news for cruisers already planning to attend: The Pineapple Pier, which Hurricane Wilma notably trashed last year just a couple of weeks before the 2005 annual convention, is being replaced. If the weather gods cooperate this fall before the 2006 meeting, it is possible a new pier will be available to cruisers anchored in the Indian River.

Reef Relief Holiday Online Auction, Nov 10–Dec. 15 — Benefit to Coral Reefs Reef Relief, the nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to protecting coral reefs, is holding its second annual Reef Relief Holiday Online Auction from Nov. 10 through Dec. 15, at www.reefrelief.org. “We’ve already received many great items such as artwork, hotel stays, celebrity events, memorabilia, and tropical merchandise and are adding new items continuously. The Reef Relief Holiday Online Auction will provide all our members and supporters, no matter where you live, with an opportunity to do holiday shopping while helping save coral reefs at the same time,” notes Reef Relief’s Jeffrey Snipes, this year’s auction manager. Reef Relief is celebrating its 20th year of nonprofit efforts from its headquarters in Key West to protect coral reefs and works year-round on environmental education programs, policy guidance and marine projects that make a difference for coral reefs. “The auction sales help generate funds and are a great way to showcase our business supporters to a broad audi-

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ence of ocean lovers who are looking for holiday gifts. Auction items include special events, merchandise, travel, lodging, dining, artwork, water sports, and more, “ Snipes added. So make a point of checking out www.reefrelief.org to view all the great auction items and place your bids on your favorites. And let your friends know, too! For more info contact Reef Relief at www.reefrelief.org, or e-mail reef@bellsouth.net or call (305) 294-3100.

Lecture on Cruising West Florida and the Keys, Nov. 17, Bradenton, FL The Manatee Sailing Association is sponsoring a lecture by Claiborne Young, author of several well-known cruising guides. He will discuss “Cruising the West Coast of Florida and What’s New in the Keys” at a free lecture— open to all boaters—at noon on Friday, Nov. 17, at the Doghouse restaurant, 4601 14th St. W in Bradenton, FL (just south of Cortez Rd. and West Marine.). Cruise in for the talk and buy lunch during the lecture. For more information, call (941) 721-4452.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

Nov. 30-Dec. 3. Pirates in Paradise, Key West Various locations throughout Key West, (305) 296-9694. More than 100 improvisational actors and combative stuntmen in pirate garb conduct the annual “invasion” of the southernmost city by a flotilla of pirate ships. Entertainment includes swashbuckling and sea chanteys, pirate costume competition, parties, exhibitions, daily sailing trips, nautical excursions and seafaring adventures, films, a tall ships sea battle, arts and crafts, music, reenactments and more. Admission: Most are free, various charges for excursions, theatrical and party events. www.piratesinparadise.com.

2006 Wharram Catamaran Rendezvous, Dec. 1-3 Hobe Sound, FL The 2006 Florida Wharram Catamaran Rendezvous is scheduled the first weekend in December (Dec.1, 2, 3) in Hobe Sound, FL. Hobe Sound is near Stuart on the Atlantic coast

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We run a dinghy shuttle to the boats from the launch ramp of Jimmie Graham Park. For shuttle information and local information on the anchorage contact Gene Perry below. For more information, call Gene Perry (Tiki 26) at home at (772) 545-9312 or on his cell at (772) 214-4330, Dan Kunz (Tangaroa 36) at home at (305) 664-0190, or Ann and Neville Clements’ (Tiki 46) on their cell at (401) 261-7816. You can also send a note to this e-mail: floridawharramrendezvous@hotmail.com. We will monitor e-mails every few days. E-mails will not be monitored from approximately seven days just before the event…so please use the phones at that point. A Wharram 26 Catamaran

of Florida. We use a wonderful protected anchorage at Peck Lake on the ICW that is only a few football fields away from a sandy Atlantic beach. We expect to have five to eight Wharrams there; a Tiki 46, a few Tangaroas, Tiki 26s and possibly others. The rendezvous is always a fun event…nothing formally planned. Just good people, nice chats, looking over boats, plans and pictures, telling good stories, horror stories and just tall tales. We usually start early and go late…as long as the conversation is interesting. All Wharram catamaran owners are welcome as well as lovers of Wharram catamarans and others who would just like to show up and see them and talk about them. Bring your pictures if you can’t bring your boat. If you can’t bring a boat or pictures, then just bring yourself! We have even been known to welcome “half boats” (monohulls). Sailing in? We will be anchored in Peck Lake; Day Mark 19, south of the St. Lucie Inlet on the ICW, latitude N27.06.924, longitude W80.08.672. We meet east of the day mark with good depth and good holding. Coming by car?

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■ NEWS

Two Popular Sailing Symposiums To Be Held In New Orleans In January 2007 US SAILING has announced that its two popular symposiums, the National Sailing Programs Symposium (NSPS) and the One-Design Sailing Symposium (ODSS), will be held together over a five-day period in New Orleans, LA, Jan.17-21. The National Sailing Programs Symposium, presented by Vanguard Sailboats and geared toward sailing program organizers, will kick off the events on Wednesday, Jan. 17, and run through Sunday, Jan. 21. The One-Design Symposium, created for one-design class organizers, will take place Jan. 20-21 at the same hotel, the New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center.

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The joint location for the two symposiums enables participants to attend seminars from both symposiums at a discounted rate. Registration for the NSPS includes entry into the ODSS. Registration for the NSPS is $150 through Dec. 15 and $175 after Dec. 15. (US SAILING members receive $25 off). Participants of the ODSS who arrive in New Orleans on Jan. 19 or 20 can attend any Saturday seminars of the NSPS at the ODSS rate. Registration for the ODSS is $105 through December, $130 after that date. (US SAILING members receive $25 off). First created in 1983 and held annually since, US SAILING’s National Sailing Programs Symposium has, over the years, brought together thousands of sailing program organizers. Presented by Vanguard Sailboats, this symposium is an outstanding event for any sailing program organizer, with numerous educational seminars and workshops on the agenda. The purpose of this annual symposium is for participants to network with other organizers and to share ideas on what it takes to run a successful sailing program.Visit www.ussailing.org/training/nsps/2007/index.htm for more information. Created for sailors and one-design classes who would like to learn more about one-design sailing, US SAILING first organized the One-Design Symposium in 2004. The

event has been a success from the beginning. With over 200 active sailboat classes in the United States, topics at the symposium cover the full spectrum from the nuts and bolts of building a fleet to the intricacies of keeping a successful class running smoothly. For information, visit www.ussailing.org/odcc/2007ODSShomepage.htm.

U. S. Coast Guard Licensing Fingerprinting Available in Jacksonville In the letters section in the September 2006 edition Eric West addresses fingerprints for a USCG license renewal. Marine Safety Office Jacksonville—now called Sector Jacksonville Prevention Department—has a person who does fingerprinting and gives the oath required for a USCG license. This was set up with the Miami office. Charleston has not yet accepted it, so it would not have done West any good. But anyone who uses the Miami license department can, instead of going to Miami for a renewal, come to Jacksonville for fingerprints. People have driven 3-4 hours (better than 6-7 to Miami) to get it done at Jax. It is done on most Tuesdays, and you must make an appointment because of how popular it is getting. Call (904) 232-3287 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, for an appointment with Steve Craven. The secretary will schedule you for the next available opening. Steve also travels to Sea School classes and does the fingerprinting and oath-taking there as well. Again, this is only if you are dealing with the Miami license department.

State Panel Decides Against Registration of Non-Motorized Craft In August, Southwinds reported that the state was considering registration of all non-motorized craft, which would affect those under 16 feet including kayaks, rowboats, canoes, sailboats, and dinghies. A subcommittee of the Boating Advisory Council (which answers to the Florida

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) was formed to look into the matter, and it recently recommended against registration of these craft. Although the decision is only a recommendation, the council will probably go along with it. The council, in the recent press release on the matter, indicated it might encourage education of younger paddlers. Currently, boater education is required for all boaters under 22 years old who operate a vessel with a motor of 10 hp or more. The group that was promoting the registration was the Marine Industries Association, which is made up mainly of businesses involved with larger motorized craft, because they were hoping to generate money from additional fees, taking a bit of the burden away from their customer base. The FWC expressed views that opposed the registration since they did not want to discourage these non-motorized small craft, especially kayaks, because of their low impact on the water environment.

FWC Approves No-Anchor Zone for Sailboats off Big Pine Key in Florida Keys

Florida Maritime Museum Seeks Marine Artifacts and Volunteers

The 1912 Cortez schoolhouse, site of the Florida Maritime Museum.

Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez, FL, is looking for artifacts to put in the maritime museum. Among some of the

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently approved of not allowing masted boats to anchor in Pine Channel, just off Big Pine Key, between it and Little Torch Key. The reason for the decision is a result of efforts by Keys Energy Services, the company that supplies power to the Lower Keys. Since 1998, seven masted boats—sailboats, that is—have broken loose during storms and crashed into power lines, causing power outages in the Lower Keys. The last time this happened was in 2005 when boats anchored in the channel broke loose—or dragged anchor—during Hurricane Katrina and damaged power lines. It did not happen following that storm when Rita and Wilma hit that same year because the Coast Guard stopped people from anchoring in the channel during those storms.

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items sought are antique navigational charts, ships’ logs, journals, fish house financial records, boat papers, vintage crab traps, net-mending needles, poling oars, net floats and miscellaneous boating and fishing-related memorabilia. The museum is also looking for old school-related items like notebooks, map books, desks, etc, that will go in the museum’s location, which is the 1912 Cortez schoolhouse. Volunteers are also needed, ages 13 and older, to help scan old photographs into the museum’s computer files, and also to help put together newspaper clipping files. To donate and/or volunteer, contact the museum curator, Karen Geis, at (941) 708-6121.

Catalina Launches New 320

The new Catalina 320 MK II

Catalina Yachts recently launched the all-new Catalina 320 Mark II. The 320 MkII is a prime example of Catalina’s tradition of constantly upgrading and perfecting existing models. Created from the successful original 320 introduced in 1993 with over 1,000 hulls built, the MkII incorporates more modern styling and ergonomics while retaining the performance and handling characteristics of the original 320. The original sail plan and hull were maintained, so one-design 320 racing sailors can compete with this new model. Changes reflect over a decade of comments and input from experienced 320 owners. The new deck design features a modern sculptured cabin structure and cockpit. Sail-handling is easier with a single side control, ball bearing traveler and improved cabin top control layout. Cabin comfort has a longer v-berth and a forward hanging locker. The galley has custom solid-surface countertops and a front-loading stainless steel refrigerator. A top-loading, well-insulated icebox can also be used as a refrigerator. Storage is optimized with additional cabinetry and bins. In addition, all lighting, ventilation, steering, electrical and plumbing systems were upgraded. For more information, go to www.catalinayachts.com.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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OUR WATERWAYS

New Florida Law Lifting Anchoring Restrictions (See the Editorial “From the Helm” on Page 8 for information on this law) David Dickerson, NMMA’s director of state government relations, stated that (taken from the Seven Seas Cruising Association Web site (www.ssca.org), “NMMA will be glad to begin the process of alerting officials of the new law, but needs to know which cities are actively enforcing anchorage restrictions.” The SSCA and NMMA are requesting that cruisers notify Dickerson if they find that local communities are “asking” them to “move along” while navigating in Florida waters. He can be contacted at ddickerson@nmma.org, or at (202) 737-9761. Below is the letter the NMMA attorneys will send out to any offending municipalities. (Those items in brackets are to be inserted by the sender of the letter to describe or address the individual city or county’s situation.) Dear [City / County Attorney], Our firm represents the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). NMMA is the nation’s largest recreational marine industry association, representing over 1,600 boat builders, engine manufacturers, and marine accessory manufacturers. NMMA members collectively produce more than 80 percent of all recreational marine products made in the United States. Recreational boating is a popular American pastime, with almost 71 million boaters nationwide and over 13 million registered boats. In 2004, Florida ranked as the top state for boat registrations with over 946,000 boats registered. The recreational boating industry is a substantial contributor to the nation’s economy with expenditures on recreational marine products and services of over $37 billion in 2005 alone. In addition, the Florida Legislature recently determined that the annual economic impact of boating on the state of Florida was $14 billion. Several boating advocates have called to our attention your ordinance related to [insert ordinance description and citation]. Because of a 2006 amendment to the Florida Statutes by the adoption of chapter 2006-309, Laws of Florida, we believe your ordinance is likely inconsistent with Florida law effective July 1, 2006. Chapter 2006-309 amends chapter 327.60, Florida Statutes, as follows:

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(2) Nothing contained in the provisions of this section shall be construed to prohibit local governmental authorities from the enactment or enforcement of regulations which prohibit or restrict the mooring or anchoring of floating structures or live-aboard vessels within their jurisdictions or of any vessels within the marked boundaries of mooring fields permitted as provided in s. 327.40. However, local governmental authorities are prohibited from regulating the anchoring outside of such mooring fields anchorage of non-live-aboard vessels engaged in the exercise of rights of navigation.1 Pursuant to this statutory amendment, a local government’s anchoring ordinance may apply to any vessels anchored in a mooring field; however, outside of mooring fields, an anchoring ordinance may only apply to floating structures2 or liveaboard vessels.3 Prior to the new legislative change, the law required non-live-aboard vessels to be “engaged in the exercise of rights of navigation” to fall outside of a local government’s right to regulate its anchoring. This new law, however, prohibits a local government from enacting or enforcing an anchoring ordinance against any vessel which is not being used as a live-aboard residence outside of a mooring field. The issue of whether a vessel is a live-aboard or non-

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SOUTHWINDS “Our Waterways” Section

live-aboard vessel is a question of fact relating to the boater’s intent; the size or type of vessel is irrelevant. Even a yacht with a full kitchen and sleeping quarters fails to qualify as a live-aboard vessel if the boater does not intend to reside in the vessel for an “unlimited time” or use the vessel “solely as a residence.” See footnote 2, infra. The law requires “positive or presumptive proof” of the vessel owner’s intention to remain in the vessel “for unlimited time” in order for it to qualify as a legal residence. Miller v. Gross, 788 So.2d 256, 259 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). Any ordinance that seeks to regulate the anchoring of a vessel outside of a mooring field cannot extend to such vessels. In sum, the recent legislative amendment prohibits local governments from regulating the anchoring of a vessel outside of a mooring field, unless it is a live-aboard vessel or a floating structure. The [City of / County] ordinance apparently does not comply with this statute because [briefly describe why it does not comply using the ordinance language]. Therefore, we request that you review your local anchoring ordinance and determine if you agree with NMMA that it does not comply with chapter 327.60, Florida Statutes, amended by chapter 2006-309, Laws of Florida. We believe that your anchoring ordinance regulates non-live-aboard vessels in a manner that is not allowed by the newly amended statute, and the ordinance thus needs to be amended. Sincerely, Wade Hopping, Esq. David Childs, Esq. Hopping Green & Sams On behalf of the National Marine Manufacturers Association

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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. This section will also concern itself with the environmental health of the waters we boat and swim in. Our coastal waters and our waterways belong to all of us, and all of us have a right to use them. These waters 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. Independent writers wanted on these subjects. Contact Steve Morrell, editor@southwindsmagazine.com, or call (877) 372-7245. We regularly receive many letters to the editor on these issues. See the “Letters” section for more opinions and information. Some letters will be published in this section if appropriate. In the coming months, we will be developing our Waterways pages on our Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.com. Visit those pages for links, information, articles and more.

1 Underlined and strike-through language represents the chapter 2006-309 amendments to chapter 327.60. 2 Chapter 327.02(9), Florida Statutes, defines a “floating structure” as a “floating entity, with or without accommodations built thereon, which is not primarily used as a means of transportation on water but which serves purposes or provides services typically associated with a structure or other improvement to real property.” 3 Chapter 327.02(16), Florida Statutes, narrowly defines “liveaboard vessel” as “any vessel used solely as a residence;” or “any vessel represented as a place of business, a professional or other commercial enterprise, or a legal residence.” In Florida, “[a] legal residence is the place where a person has a fixed abode with the present intention of making it their permanent home.” Perez v. Marti, 770 So.2d 284, 289 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).

SOUTHWINDS November 2006

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OUR WATERWAYS

Brevard County’s Marine Management Plan By Roy Laughlin The slow gestation of a comprehensive marine management master plan for Brevard County, FL, called “CM3P,” took a step forward on Aug 24. Approximately 250 people attended a public roundtable meeting to bring the emerging plan to the general public. About half the attendees were general members of the public, and the rest were representing local, state, regulatory and law enforcement agencies. The first speakers gave a brief synopsis of efforts to build a foundation for the Plan. One speaker said a survey was being done to see how boaters are utilizing different areas of the Indian River Lagoon and nearshore waters. State Rep. Mitch Needleman was the star speaker for this meeting. Over the past several years, the Florida Legislature has slowly given both authority and funding to local governments to establish local marine management programs.

share of this trust fund that local governments can tap into was also increased last year.

Following are state laws and programs to aid local governments in developing local management plans:

• Facilitated reactivation of Brevard County’s artificial reef development effort.

• Exempting local government projects for mooring fields, marinas and boat ramps from state permitting and review requirements if the total area is less than 50,000 square feet.

MORE CHANGES COMING AT THE STATE LEVEL

• Modifying the definition of a derelict boat and allowing local government law officers to designate boats as derelict so that they can be removed by local governments. • Allowing use of the motor fuels transportation tax levied on boat fuel to be used for removal of derelict vessels. The

Writer’s Personal Opinion of the Plan: With 90 miles of Indian River Lagoon running its entire length, Brevard County is one of a few in Florida with such extensive marine habitats. The lagoon runs right down the center of the population density. Up till now, there has been no comprehensive plan to manage this resource. It is long overdue. Opinions for the plan came from boaters groups, wildlife advocates and business owners, but no liveaboards or cruisers gave any input, which means their interests will probably suffer. The plan will not go before the county commissioners until at least 2007. Two new commissioners will be on the board by that time. One of the plan’s strongest supporters on the present Board, incumbent Ron Pritchard, was defeated in the recent primary. Whether his successor will be a strong supporter is impossible to predict. But the message of several commission primary races is that the public is demanding effective growth management and fiscal policies to control tax increases. The plan’s development has so far been sailing in deep water. The rest of the cruise will likely be in shallower water with much bigger waves. 40

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Brevard County’s Marine Management Master Plan.

For example, Florida’s vehicle registration agency will not provide the identification or contact information of a boat owner to a member of the public who provides the boat registration number. Rep. Needleman, following a question from a member of the audience, suggested that perhaps that policy needs to be reviewed so that if someone finds a boat in trouble, he can quickly get contact information corresponding to the boat’s registration. Notifying the owner in a timely manner might prevent the boat from becoming a wreck.

MAIN COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN During the final half hour of the roundtable, Ernest Brown, director, Brevard County Natural Resources Management, identified the three primary components of the plan’s development as: 1. Economic use 2. Recreational use 3. Environmental quality preservation. He noted that preserving environmental quality was the essential foundation for the other two components. Without a clean, healthy environment, recreational users would face health risks due to waterborne pathogens or perhaps simply avoid the river based on esthetic considerations. A degraded or polluted marine ecosystem couldn’t support diverse and productive fisheries. Both recreation and fisheries provide a significant economic benefit to Brevard County. There is consequently significant reason to develop a comprehensive marine management master plan to protect the local economic assets in the lagoon and nearshore waters. The remainder of his presentation included the procedures by which stakeholders would be identified and included in developing a plan. He also noted that the input path would never be closed. Any person or group that has an interest is welcome to discuss it for inclusion in the comwww.southwindsmagazine.com


St. Petersburg Waterfront & Boating Access Summit By Dave Ellis Through the efforts of Jopie Helsen of Sailor’s Wharf and Page Obenshain of St. Petersburg Yacht Charters and Sales, the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership organized an open panel discussion at the University of South Florida campus Saturday, October 14. The topic was development and changes of the St. Petersburg waterfront It was apparent that an effort was being made for the event to be a positive experience. Upon arriving in the area, huge electronic signs pointed the way to free parking. A friendly patrol officer made sure we knew the area to park and where to go for the meeting. Coffee, orange juice and pastries were displayed, along with power squadron information. Our name tags had already been printed and round tables were set for upwards of 130 attendees. Dave Metz, downtown enterprise facilities director, who had managed the 610-slip Municipal Marina for 20 years, opened the meeting, introducing Mayor Rick Baker. The first hour was spent discussing derelict vessels. Police Officer Les Miller is the hands-on enforcer in the area, along with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Lt. Roger Young. They tried to explain to some of the exasperated waterfront homeowners, including Helsen and Al Davis, that it is not easy to get a boat removed. To be “derelict” a vessel must be sunk, dismantled, unserviceable. Even if a boat has not moved for years, has a spar with rotten sails hanging over the side, is in cosmetically terrible shape, but is floating and anchored, it is not legally derelict. Even if it does not have an anchor light at night, if it is not in a navigation channel and not a liveaboard, it cannot be arbitrarily removed (State law 65 CJS Paragraph 42). Davis sleuthed out the owners of two boats in his home’s view. The owners don’t want the boats. Over a period of two years no action has been taken. They are not legally derelict vessels according to the officers. “Hurricane Hole” near Bay Pines Veteran’s Hospital has become a dumping ground for unwanted boats. Many boats have been removed. Often, the owner is never found because of multiple unrecorded sales over the years and removed identification numbers. Taxpayers foot the bill for removing and disposal. As soon as boats are removed, a couple more come in overnight. The question was asked, “If it is so hard to remove these prehensive marine management master plan. During the Q&A session, a query that appeared in several forms regarded how this plan would have any effect when the general public’s perception is that the Manatee plan trumps all other management activities in the Indian River Lagoon. Ernie Brown responded that at the present time, the Manatee plan is the closest one to a comprehensive plan, magnifying its influence. It will be incorporated into the comprehensive marine management master plan. Thus, News & Views for Southern Sailors

A boat anchored in the Vinoy Basin in St. Petersburg.

boats, how can Sarasota and some east coast Florida cities require boaters not to anchor even for one night.” The state official said, “They can’t do that. State law prohibits it.” Any lawsuit won, for example, by Sarasota, is probably the result of the boat owner representing himself and not knowing that state and federal law of navigation trumps local ordinances. The officers were careful to indicate that they did not advocate more power to local authorities for boat access control. “It would result in confusion with state law and an enforcement nightmare.” It was apparent that the enforcing officers were not sure that they had made their point of the difficulty of removing vessels, for just before the forum ended in mid-afternoon, the west Florida chief of the Florida FWCC arrived and reiterated that the officers had to obey the law with regard to boat removal. It is a slow, difficult process. Mooring fields were discussed at length. The Big Bayou location had been opposed by local homeowners, but none of them spoke up at this meeting. Other locations suggested were in the Vinoy basin, outside of the Vinoy basin north of The Pier for large vessels, near the airport tower inside the breakwater of the Municipal Marina, and Riviera Bay, which is too shallow for practical use. Tim Grabenbauer of the Vero Beach mooring field gave a Power Point presentation on that successful operation. Boat ramp improvement has been studied. They know what is needed. Money is required to do the work, a recurring theme. Walt Miller outlined the major improvements in the Municipal Marina and the new small boat transient slips recently added. The audience then broke into groups and through spokesmen presented their concerns before the city employees and council members present. The written record of these concerns is on the city’s Web site at www.stpete.org/marina.htm. in developing this new plan, there is the expectation of a much more balanced representation for all interests. The significance of this effort will eventually be statewide. Brevard’s will likely be the first and most extensive marine master plan developed by any local government in Florida. As such, if successful, it will be a precedent for any other area that develops one. Although its origin is strictly local in Brevard County, its influence will become statewide during the next few years. SOUTHWINDS November 2006

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HURRICANE SEASON 2006 The 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season: Boats Better Prepared than Last Year With no major storms hitting the U.S. this year, the 2006 season has been a safe one (as of our mid-October press date). What I noticed this year: More owners are preparing their boats for a storm. There are less roller furling headsails and mainsails left in place, more canvas removed, more doubledup lines and more fenders. Progress is being made, but it is still not enough. I still see boats left with the sails and canvas on—many by out-of-town owners. It really doesn’t take that much work to remove the headsails, mainsails and canvas, nor does it require much to add extra lines and bumpers. Most boats sit idle most of the hurricane season (and during the off-season), so I still wonder how

Hurricane Ivan Anniversary: An Update on Recovery

many people just don’t want to take the time to remove a headsail, for example. A boat could be prepared in half a day’s work if an owner knows what to do, and knowing what to do doesn’t take much. It would take a big load off one’s mind and schedule. Go to our Web site. All the information for protecting your boat is there. I wonder if another season of no storms will again make boat owners complacent, thinking they need not worry. But I’ll still take another year of no storms over another year of lesson-learning from a big one. Steve Morrell, Editor The “before” picture—after Ivan, but before the rebuilding. The docks at this condo were completely destroyed. Photo by Kim Kaminski

By Kim Kaminski Two years ago on September 16, 2004, Hurricane Ivan (aka, “Ivan the Terrible”) hit Florida’s northern Gulf coast. Homes, businesses, marinas and boats of all sizes, makes and models were tossed, torn and demolished. Here it is two years later, and the destruction and rubble are finally cleared away. New growth is slowly emerging. Old locations are made to look new again with repairs, remodeling and updates to the structures damaged by the storm, along with many new buildings that arose from others totally destroyed. Many of the marinas were either repaired or replaced with state-of-the art technology and equipment. Other locations gave way to community centers, parks and condominiums. So, if you haven’t had an opportunity to cruise along the shorelines of the Northern Gulf Coast and see all the

changes that Hurricane Ivan initiated—make it a point to do so. You may be surprised to see how much has changed and how much has remained the same.

Visit the S O U T H W I N D S Web Site Hurricane Pages Stories and articles on how to save your boat during a storm, tips, links to other Web sites, great weather links for hurricanes and more. www.southwindsmagazine.com.

Send Us Your Hurricane Stories We are always looking for storm stories, tips and experiences. They will be published in next year’s hurricane section. editor@southwindsmagazine.com.

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The “after” picture—after the rebuilding: The rebuilt docks at the Bayou Grande Marina, Pensacola Naval Air Station. Photo by Kim Kaminski.

www.southwindsmagazine.com


Acts of God

Who is liable when the boat breaks loose in a storm? Capt. J. Michael Shea, J.D.

breaks loose. One thing is for certain. If the other boaters in your area are taking steps to secure their boats and you do not, you are asking for trouble and would be liable for any damage your vessel causes if it breaks loose. Even if you take action but it is not what most other boaters are doing, you may still be liable for damages. The kind of case that comes to mind is a boater who chose to keep his vessel at the dock in an exposed area when all the other boat owners moved their vessels up a nearby river. Even if the vessel that chose to stay behind has a crewman onboard who tried to keep the vessel in her slip, if the crew is unsuccessful and the vessel breaks loose and damages docks in the area, the vessel is liable because the “prudent mariners” of the area moved their boats. In this kind of scenario the boat owner who stayed behind is not taking reasonable action as compared to the other boat owners in the area who take their boats up river to a safe area.

A

ll the recent hurricanes and the aftermath have generated a number of lawsuits regarding boats that break loose and damage other vessels or docks. In this article we will take a look at the liability and responsibility of the boat owner in those cases. Often the insurance companies of the “wayward boat” use the defense of “Act of God.” This is a long-standing legal defense, which stands for the principle that any damage resulting from the violence of nature or force of the elements where human ability could not have foreseen or prevented it, is a defense, and the boat owner or his insurer is not liable. In short the wayward vessel that caused all the damage gets off the hook. Another principle of law that often is raised as a defense is force majeure, which means any loss which human agency—or by any act of negligence— has had no part, and which cannot be foreseen, is a defense. And therein lies the problem for the boater. For in most of these storms, the danger can be anticipated and thus prevented, and there is liability.

THE REASONABLE PRUDENT MARINER So what is the duty of a boat owner who is faced with a hurricane or a bad storm as to his moored boat? Well, storm or no storm, he is responsible for securing his vessel as the “reasonable prudent mariner” would do in his locality. And it is safe to say that the boat owner who does nothing is liable because he should have taken some steps to insure that his vessel would not break away under the pressure of the storm and damage other vessels or docks. And then the question is, “What does the reasonable prudent mariner do?” This term means, whatever a “reasonable mariner” would do if he found himself in your shoes. Would he double your lines, move your boat to a safe harbor, tie your boat to some trees or something else? A good test is what are the other boaters in the neighborhood doing? Chances are if you do the same thing, you will avoid liability even if your boat News & Views for Southern Sailors

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HURRICANE SEASON 2006 The test is, “What are the other people doing who are in the same situation?”

AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE There is one exception set by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (this court sits in Atlanta and covers most of the Southeastern states). They have found that in those cases where the storm is so severe that no matter what a person does in preparation, the storm is going to cause damage, in that situation, inaction, or even negligent action will not cause any liability because the storm is so bad it is going to cause damage anyway. The case they were dealing with was one out of Alabama and dealt with a storm that dumped a large amount of rain on the Birmingham area. One of the lockmen at a U.S. Corps of Army Engineers’ nearby dam failed to follow written procedure to keep the lake behind the dam at a safe level. By the time he realized his mistake, the dam was in danger. He opened all the spillways at once, causing a flood downstream, resulting in a lot of vessel damage. The trial court ruled the Army Corps was negligent in not following its own procedure, but the Appellate Court reversed, saying that the plaintiffs would have sustained losses from the high water (which was a record) whether or not the Corps of Engineers exercised reasonable care. The obvious problem with this case as a test is that to get you off the liability hook where you took no action or insufficient action, the storm has to be so severe that no action you could have taken would have helped. Here, if some boat owners take precautions and others do not, and some of the boats cause damage and others do not, it would seem that you are not off the liability hook. Only where all the boats caused damage—both those that took precaution and those that did not take precaution—can you use this defense. This makes it more of a wild guess than a helpful test, for who is going to know the kind of damage a storm is going to cause in advance of the storm’s arrival? You would have to bet that the storm is going to be so devastating as to destroy all the boats in an area no matter what precautions their owners

take. These kinds of court rulings are more helpful to insurance companies after the storm than to the boat owner before the storm. The “Act of God” defense is one found mostly in our coastal states. States away from the coast tend to look more at the true question, which is: Was there any negligence? Those states tend to treat the issue as an “unavoidable accident” and include not only storms as causes but mechanical problems, as well. The general rule is that if a vessel collides with a stationary object, it is at fault. The presumption then shifts to the vessel to justify the collision. In those states, the vessel owners then raise the “inevitable accident” defense, and we back into the Act of God defense without the need to call it that. It will take a few more years for the Hurricane Katrina cases to get into the casebooks, but I would not expect them to change the present law much from what it is today. Still another interesting defense often raised by vessel owners is “Limitation of liability, which I shall leave to another day.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES? What can we make of all these court cases in this area of the law? What should I do as a boat owner where the storm is heading our way? 1. Have a heavy weather/hurricane plan written out in advance, which says what you are to do and under what conditions. The plan should escalate in activities regarding your boat as the weather predictions get worse. The plan can call for doubling lines and keeping your boat at your dock for the smaller storms, but it may be necessary to plan for the moving of larger vessels to safer harbors in the bigger storms. 2. The test is “the reasonable prudent mariner.” What are most people in like circumstances in your area doing? Take action similar to your neighboring boat owners. Remember, the key is “reasonable action.” No action on your part is going to open you up to liability should your vessel break loose. If you have any boating legal question, please drop me a note care of SOUTHWINDS (editor@southwindsmagazine.com) or e-mail me at mike@jmichaelshea.com Capt. J. Michael Shea is a maritime attorney in Tampa, FL, and holds a master’s and harbor pilot’s license. He has co-authored law books in the maritime field, and teaches law and writes articles on maritime law. He has served as a marine investigator for the U.S. Coast Guard. The opinions in this article are those of the author and not those of the U.S. Coast Guard or any other entity.

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1

Shea is a member of the Florida Bar and admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the South District of Alabama. He is not a member of the Alabama Bar.

2

Warrior & Gulf Navigation Company v. U.S., 864 F. 2d 1550 (11th Cir. 1989) and a similar doctrine is followed in the 6th Circuit. See In re Ohio River Disaster Litigation, 862 F. 2nr 1237 (6th Cir 1988).

3

The term “allision” is the maritime term for a moving vessel colliding with a stationary object. The general rule, which is rebuttable, is that the moving vessel and not the stationary object is at fault. www.southwindsmagazine.com


News & Views for Southern Sailors

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RADIO COMMUNICATIONS

Digital Selective Calling (DSC): Your Maritime Mobile Service Identity Number — Not All are Created Equal By Gary Jensen, DockSide Radio Is your VHF enabled for DSC?

the calling station will be listening on, and the position, time, and nature of the emergency if it’s an emergency.

MMSI AND VHF (RESCUE 21) Digital technology is key to the new VHF radio-based Rescue21 system that is replacing the old VHF National Distress and Response System (NDRS) implemented during the 1970s. The Rescue-21 system replaces the familiar Channel 16 voice-hailing frequency with Channel 71, the Digital Selective Calling (DSC) emergency and hailing frequency. This means that even boats that sail or fish the harbors and estuaries, and don’t go offshore, will need to have an MMSI number in order to summon help or contact a friend by VHF.

GETTING YOUR MMSI NUMBER

P

reparing for a trip into Bahamian, Caribbean, Mexican, or other international waters this cruising season? Got your MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) number packed? Huh….what’s an MMSI number you ask, and why do I need it? Known by several acronyms—MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity), DSC (Digital Selective Calling), or SSI (Ship Station Identity)—this is the nine-digit number that you program into your DSC-enabled VHF and/or into your GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System)enabled marine SSB, e.g., Icom M-802. It is the future of marine safety….and the future is now. An MMSI number is the radio equivalent of a telephone number. Like a telephone number it must be applied for, and is unique; no one else in the world has the same number. Unlike a telephone number, however, there’s no monthly charge for having it, and it remains with the vessel to which it is assigned when the vessel changes ownership. So who needs this MMSI number? The short answer is: You do, and here’s why.

MMSI AND SSB In the “good old days” (read as a year or two ago), ships at sea, and the USCG, monitored SSB emergency voice frequencies (2182, 4125, 6215, 8291, 12,290, and 16,420 kHz1). That was then. In today’s world, ships at sea, and the USCG, monitor only one SSB voice frequency, 2182 kHz, and that will end one day soon. With its propensity for static from lightning and man-made electrical equipment (drills, welders, etc.), and a maximum daytime useful range of around 100 miles, an emergency voice call broadcast on 2182 kHz might be useful for near-shore coastal cruising, but for the offshore sailor, 2182 kHz—with its short range and susceptibility to noise—is of limited value. The offshore sailor needs the longer range communications provided by the 6, 8, and 12 MHZ emergency frequencies. Enter GMDSS and DSC. New SSB radios, like the Icom M-802, contain a separate receiver inside them that scans GMDSS emergency frequencies (4207.5, 6312.0, 8414.5, 12,577.0, and 16,804.5 kHz), and sound an alarm if they detect an emergency digital transmission, or hear their DSC number. In addition to the alarm, the radio’s LCD display will show the MMSI number of the vessel sending the message/call, the working channel News & Views for Southern Sailors

In the United States, three entities are authorized to issue MMSI numbers; the FCC, BoatUS, and Sea Tow. While these organizations can issue an MMSI number, numbers issued by BoatUS and Sea Tow differ significantly from numbers issued by the FCC, and your life may depend upon understanding this difference.

SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? When applying for an MMSI number, you provide important information describing your boat (name, type of boat, size, documentation/registration number, etc.), personal information (your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.), and the name, address, telephone number, and emergency contact information (with whom you filed a float plan…didn’t you?). This personal information is stored in a database, and accessed by the appropriate Search and Rescue (SAR) organization if and when an emergency digital broadcast is received. Here’s the nasty little detail you need to be aware of: There are two separate databases of MMSI numbers, and foreign governments/SAR organizations only access one of them. MMSI numbers issued by Boat US and Sea Tow are stored in the domestic U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) SAR database. MMSI numbers issued by the FCC are stored in an International SAR database. When a DSC emergency alert broadcast is received by the USCG, the watch keeper, among other duties, searches both the domestic and international SAR databases for information associated with that number. When a match is found, the associated personal data is accessed, appropriate actions based upon these data taken, and help quickly arrives. This is how the system is supposed to work. But what happens if you’re offshore in foreign waters? Foreign agencies receiving emergency alert messages, e.g., the Mexican navy or Bahamian government, are obligated to search the International SAR Database for an MMSI number match, but not the U.S. domestic USCG SAR database. Depending on where in the world you may be, the entity receiving an emergency alert message may not even know that the United States has its own domestic database of MMSI numbers. If your MMSI number doesn’t show up in the International SAR database, your emergency DSC call is See DIGITAL SELECTIVE CALLING continued on page 74 SOUTHWINDS November 2006

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TRAVELS WITH ANGEL

Colorful Characters By Rebecca Burg

M

any boaters will tell you that some of the most enjoyable things about cruising are the social opportunities. We human beings are naturally gregarious, and cruisers are no exception. Often, strangers will quickly become familiar friends in various anchorages, slips and waterfront bars. On the sea, you never know whom you’ll meet or what unusual new things you’ll learn.

ANCIENT CROCODILES “There are all kinds of white and pinkish creatures swimming in ocean caves,” tropical cruiser Fred Davis said. A serious underwater cave explorer (there are fewer than 100 of these specialized speleologists on the planet), Fred describes what it’s like to dive into the inky blackness of a deep, undersea labyrinth. “There are pale, blind fish, with bumps where their eyes normally would be and things wriggling around that look like white centipedes.” The

Angel beachside bar had hushed, and everyone nearby was listening with curious fascination. Fred talked about the time he’d found fossilized bones of creatures like saltwater crocodiles and snakes in Bahamian underwater caves. Dated less than 10,000 years ago, the fossils are a species that no one knew had existed in the Bahamas. The first one in, Fred explores a new cave site by laying down lines to trace his route and using a compass and computer to map the area. Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas are just some of the places with good caves, known as ocean blue holes and inshore sinkholes. Fred’s currently involved in a film documentary about cave diving and the exploration of new sites. Not as fearless as Fred, I look forward to experiencing this extraordinary diver’s adventures in the safety of a dry, padded settee.

TOOTHPASTE Sailing onward, Angel literally bumped into an unusual vessel, a soon-to-be sailboat named Arame. At least Angel was wearing her fenders when she nudged alongside Arame’s shiny hull for a sociable raft-up. A work in progress, the custom 59 was patiently awaiting her mast, sails and rig. Cruising couple Jim and Constance, not wanting to let life pass them by and miss out on an adventure, simply motored from place to place in the meantime. The couple explained how they’d built Arame, named in memory of a beloved family poodle, from an ordinary hull and into the well-engineered cruiser that she is today. It took about seven years of hard work. Of course, they look forward to installing her rig. Jim’s face was curiously familiar, and I soon learned that it was his friendly visage on the brochure 48 November 2006

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that was included in my box of toothpaste. Jim, or Dr. Jim Harrison, was a holistic dentist for much of his life, had published a book and helped create a line of natural dental products. A health-nut hopeful, I have his toothpaste (PerioBrite) and mouthwash in Angel’s medicine cabinet. Humbled, I felt like I was rafted to a celebrity. You wouldn’t know it since Jim and Constance, quite realistic and unpretentious, warmly treated visitors like treasured friends. After spending the night rafted and watching movies with dinner and cocktails, Angel and Arame reluctantly parted ways and continued their watery journeys.

GETTING PISSED

learn from another’s one-of-a-kind tale. A storm brews and Angel seeks shelter in a small harbor with a variety of vessels, which are just as colorful as the people onboard. Several dinghies converge on a rustic waterfront eatery to pass the time. Randy, an adventurous captain who’d taken schooner America around the world before she was kept in Key West for a while, sat with me at the bar. He pointed to a group of people sitting around a table in the corner. “You really have to talk with that white-haired gent over there,” Randy said. “He used to fly fighter planes in World War II and has seen, and has done, some of the craziest things I ever heard of.” Nodding, I grinned, eager to hear yet another new story.

Stopping to rest in a remote anchorage, I An adventurous cruising couple from found a tiny island bar and grill. It was Florida during a Bahamian beach party. Rebecca Burg lived on her boat in Key West so tiny that patrons sat outside under Photo by Chrissy Harrod. for several years and has written many articles umbrellas and cool shade trees. I shared for SOUTHWINDS. She left for the Bahamas last summer on her a table with Dave and Chrissy, an affable cruising couple Bayfield 30, Angel, and is still cruising those waters. Her friend Bill from New Zealand. Dave was talking about the night that Robinson is sailing with her on his own sailboat, Defiant. Rebecca he’d bought his cruiser, a Hunter 44 Passage. “The sun set will be sending in regular articles on her travels in this monthly and I was on the boat thinking,” he says with his Kiwi section, “Travels with Angel.” Rebecca is also an artist, and her art accent. “Millions of stars came out and I could see the Milky can be seen on her Web site at www.artoffshore.com. Way. It was so beautiful that I lay there on the deck and just got pissed!” “You got mad?” I asked, confused. Dave laughed. Waving his hand he said, “Oh no, doll. I got drunk. Pissed is Kiwi for drunk.” I grinned. Dividing their time between working and cruising, the couple is currently involved in a successful fiberglassing business and before that, they had a hog farm, which was the subject of a number of amusing stories. The sun began to set, and Dave livened up the party by being the first daring soul to try kareoke. Then, he ended up playing an instrument with the live band. The fit and trim Chrissy gently pulled the more bashful boaters onto the floor to dance. Soon, we had a full-blown party. Later, most of us were a bit “pissed” as we wobbled back to our waiting vessels.

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here’s no end to the colorful characters who will cross your bow. Not one to believe everything I’m told, I do become a believer when all of these seemingly wild tales are backed by photos and mementos kept onboard and thoughtfully shared with others. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, there’s yet another fascinating face with a story to tell. Anchored nearby is a newly arrived white ketch with a burly Austrian gentleman onboard, who used to raise tigers, leopards, wolves and other exotic critters for a living. I’m glad to learn that there are no predatory cats slinking in his cabin, but onboard there is a museum’s worth of unusual artifacts collected after over two decades of sailing. One’s curiosity is further provoked upon learning that the sailor’s father was a Nazi soldier. Though that can be an uncomfortable subject in human history, it’s yet another source of stories to capture one’s attention. From the entertaining to the somber, there is always something to

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Bruce Van Sant Muses on Changes over the Last 30-Plus Years in the Caribbean From Potsherds to Megaports: An Out-of-This-World Retrospective on Changes Along the “Thorny Path”

Rosa and Bruce Van Sant aboard Tidak Apa.

By Bruce Van Sant Ever play Martian? You know, where you hover over our planet and try to figure us out like a Martian might, sort of the way 15-year-olds will cogitate over a science project’s ant farm. For example, humans tromped all over the Americas for 30,000 years, leaving only a potsherd or two behind and a slight tilt to my cheekbones due to one of only four women who marched across the Bering Strait’s land bridge. Then— for just the last 1.6 percent of this time—Europeans and Africans milled about, strewing colonies and trails all throughout our two continents. In 1972—in the last tenth of a percent of human time in

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the Americas—I came to a city in Brazil which staggered me with its size and complexity. Skyscrapers poked out of the mountainous jungle from a slew of freeway spaghetti bowls. Some potsherds, huh? At that time, my girlfriend told me Sao Paulo housed 18-million people, three million of whom spoke Japanese. Asians had clearly arrived post-WWII Now that you have a Martian handle on our migratory hemisphere, hover a bit closer, over the arc of Caribbean islands. You will find a new spoor deposited during the last one hundredth of a percent of western wanderings. It primarily features resort complexes and roads and docks and airports and landfills. At first, you notice what looks like a water-borne bacterial infection building up along these complexes, but it quickly blossoms into an advanced community of cells living in full symbiosis with them. Why, damn! It’s you and me! And our marinas and boatyards and hangouts and potlucks and flea markets. We converged on the knots of tourist amenities, and the resorts fed off the attraction of yachts at anchor. In no time, myriad yachts blazed out their cruising meccas while threading the island lees down to the Spanish Main. Take Trinidad, for example. In 1986 I sailed Jalan Jalan up to the rickety docks at downtown Port of Spain. The British yacht Keelson had arrived nine months before me. The customs ledger showed more than a year with no yacht arrivals before then. The T&T Yacht Club lay in ruin, its stone jetties tossed asunder by the once-every-age gigantic swells from the Gulf of Paria. Only TTYA marina existed for a few local boats. Customs arranged for a car from the motor pool with a spectacularly beautiful policewoman to drive me to the many bureaucratic instances that wished to get in on the actual clearing of a yacht. It became a two-day pursuit, as we found most of the offices closed most of the time. The pleasantest interrogatories I’ve ever received from a uniformed official. My driver would turn to me, smile, and say, “Well, what shall we do now?” A truly great experience. Trinidad has changed a bit, at least with respect to numbers of yachts, which some put over 3,000, mostly ashore. Now even a Martian can’t directly see all the infrastructure which has developed in support of the train of yachts. For instance, skippers have to correctly call local winds and seas. Should they ply the sea breeze or the nocturnal wind, or follow the wind’s day by playing in the coastal fronts? They’ve got to know the gradient conditions and the location and movement of weather features. www.southwindsmagazine.com


Luperon’s West Bay

The U.S. National Weather Service’s Miami function, the Tropical Prediction Center, has made up products useful to craft smaller than super tankers, and the U.S. Coast Guard as well as private interests broadcast them for easy pickup by yacht computers. Chris Parker of the Caribbean Weather Center in Tortola works all night long tailoring reports for individual yachts on marine band shortwave and e-mail. Herb Hilgenberg does the same from Canada. HAM radio buffs George and Arthur from the U.S. Virgins and Barbados add to the Wx information, and Melody of the Caribbean Safety and Security Net daily focuses the community on those concerns. The Swedish Net, the German Net, the CruiseHeimers Net and e-mail and the Internet and Satphones and Cellphones—they make up a neural network that has given the creature a brain. Only telepathy goes missing for communications on the 1500 sea miles of track from Georgetown to Puerto la Cruz. A Martian could easily mistake us for a fully developed organism. After all, if Hugo Chávez sneezes, the whole head of the snake whips over to Trinidad. If Chris Parker smiles sunnily, the tail, broken off by weather at Turks and Caicos, gathers itself up and rejoins the main body at Luperón, one of the cruising meccas. To see Luperón, fly your Martian craft over the island of Hispaniola and hover down the north coast of the Dominican Republic where you’ll find the deep protected bays of Luperón (LuperonCruising.com) lying between hillsides of spectacular sea views. Just over the hills to the east Al Meister has added to his two parks in the Bahamas by creating the world’s largest dolphin encounter at Ocean World (www.ocean-world.info). His 109-slip marina will open this year, just beyond the sea lions and the tigers. In Luperón’s yacht harbor Puerto Blanco Marina and the Marina Luperón Yacht Club direct cruiser antics, while construction proceeds on another marina and a haul-out. But how did Luperón look just 25 years ago? That’s when I sailed Jalan Jalan into a village with dirt streets and a few hundred poor fishing folk living in palm wood and canethatched houses. Today, the streets have pavement and sidewalks. Much of the housing has morphed into concrete, and thousands more people have thronged here. Back then camposinos had walked miles to the town’s single multi-purpose school building. Today’s students don’t walk. They have separate complexes for upper and lower schools, which have run out of parking space for scooters, motorbikes and cars. These changes came principally due to the recycling of the rain of money from the yacht anchorage, which, in a survey taken some years back, amounted to $72,000 per month. Some rain on the muddy streets of an impoverished village. Though Luperón still gives off the flavor of the campo, particularly in the real muddy rain, it now has hordes of hookers and gaggles of guides gleefully running after Euro trash fly-ins and Margaritaville wannabe sail-ins. Outlanders start and fold restaurants, cantinas and nightclubs, sometimes within the same week. The town has become festively News & Views for Southern Sailors

jammed with entrepreneurs and opportunists. Anyone sailing in on an even keel will find it exciting and fun to live on its edge. Even the uneven seem content to get swallowed up by the cheerful wickedness of it all. We’ve had 165 boats at anchor here last winter, and this hurricane season we have about 100. More than a dozen cruisers have built retirement homes ashore including myself. The Dominican Republic has the largest economy in the Caribbean Basin when you subtract petroleum from Venezuela’s. No surprise, then, that Luperón has become a major ganglion on the living train of yachts along the Thorny Path. To join this season’s gala, plan to set sail now. Van Sant is author of Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South, sailing directions for passages from Florida to South America. The book is used by many cruisers as “their ‘bible’ for traveling through the islands of the trade winds to South America.” He also wrote A Cruising and Watersports Guide to the Spanish Virgins and Tricks of the Trades. He has retired to Luperón (see www. LuperonCruising.com) where he will sell his trawler Tidak Apa.

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SPANISH POINT

Sailing Sailing at at Historic Historic Spanish Spanish Point: Point: Traditional Craft, Traditionally Built By Allan Horton

Tucked away in a quiet cove of Little Sarasota Bay in Osprey, FL, is an all-volunteer, smallboat building and sailing program that practices and teaches traditional skills using small wooden sharpies. Meanwhile, modern, plastic vessels ply the nearby Intracoastal Waterway. Separated as much by geography as vintage, the old and the new mix uneasily as they meet in the busy, narrow channel.

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he five, sprit-rigged sharpies sail from Historic Spanish Point, a 30-acre pioneer homestead run by the Gulf Coast Heritage Association, Inc. They typify vessels that sailed the southwest Florida coast long before the ICW. Navigating where their larger cousins cannot, these flat-bottomed and shoal draft craft tack across the shallow grass flats and nose gently against small docks jutting from muddy, mangrove shorelines. The boats range in size from 14 to 23 feet. They replicate the types of shallow-draft boats built on the beach by the pioneering Webb and Guptill families to haul tourists, vegetables and citrus fruit in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A replicated citrus packing house and other pioneer structures are also on the site, along with a “Windows to the Past” exhibit, which displays a visible cross-section of an archaic Indian midden. 52 November 2006

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The flagship of the fleet is the Lizzie G, a 23-foot-long, two-masted sailing sharpie reduced from lines drawn by Howard Chapelle of a Cedar Key vessel built in 1884. She was named for Lizzie Webb, daughter of pioneer John Webb, who moved his family from New York to homestead Spanish Point in 1867. Built by volunteers on site of pine and cypress— under the direction of late master boatbuilder Stan Lowe of Sarasota—the Lizzie G was launched in 2000 to the skirling strains of a bagpiper. Those reedy sounds evoked the Scottish settlers who wrenched Sarasota from the heat, humidity and insect and reptile pests that dominated pioneer living. In those days, shallow-draft sailboats served as pickup trucks, offering quicker, more comfortable passage than ox or horse teams plying sandy trails to coastal settlements. Lizzie G was built over a period of 18 months using only hand tools to reduce rough-sawn, 5/4 Southern slash pine boards to precisely fitted planks. Cypress beams, carlins and chines framed her lines and oakum sealed her seams. Her blocks and cleats were carved from buttonwood. Her main and mizzen masts were shaped from sand pine trees harvested from the MJ Ranch near Myakka City in eastern Manatee County. Her vertical-seamed sails are cotton and are laced to the masts with manila line. Her Coast Guardcompliant sounding device is a conch shell horn, and her most effective mechanical propulsion is a cypress pole. The Lizzie G’s most prominent departure from the Cedar Key sharpie that inspired her is her rounded, staved stern counter, painstakingly fashioned by Lowe as his signature contribution. Her essential dimensions are 23 feet LOA, 5foot beam and 9-inch draft (3 feet, board down). She sails like www.southwindsmagazine.com


Left: With Jack Branson at the helm and Nick Pocock and John Calhoun serving as crew, Lizzie G sails at the Great Florida Gulf Coast Small Craft Festival held April 1-3 in Cortez. Raising the mainsail on Lizzie G at the Guptill House dock at Historic Spanish Point.

a train on rails; smoothly, predictably and powerfully. Like all the small boats that sail from the Historic Spanish Point beach, Lizzie G is sprit-rigged, hoisting light spars that tension the leech and act as self-vanging booms more likely to slap canvas than timber against an unsuspecting passenger’s noggin. Lizzie G hoists a quadrilateral, bluff-headed mainsail on a 16-foot-long foremast stepped in the eyes of the bow using a sprit—that some of her crew call “the widowmaker”—to tension its peak. Fashioned of pine and octagonal in section, the peak sprit is 19 feet long, weighs 18 pounds and is supported by a line called a snotter led through the nock of the sprit to the unstayed mast and tensioned by a single-part tackle. A second snotter-rigged sprit belayed horizontally as a boom tensions the clew. One can only imagine the care needed to hoist or lower so unwieldy a rig from deck at sea. Her mizzen mast is 22 feet long and hoists a laced leg o’ mutton sail that relies on a single snotter-rigged sprit to tension its clew. Her crew calls her a cat schooner. Reefing is best accomplished before leaving the beach or dock by using a third mast step and partners, situated aft of the mainmast step, to house the mizzen and its mast, stowing the main mast and its spars inboard. Under that reduced sail area of 79 square feet, Lizzie G becomes a docile vessel that nevertheless points well, steers predictably and makes good whatever course she’s given. All up, her total sail area measures about 215 square feet. During the fall and winter months—generally, November to April—Historic Spanish Point-certified sailing captains and volunteer crew members conduct scheduled sails by reservation, weather permitting, taking guests for 30-minute tours of Little Sarasota Bay. During July and August, the boats are used in summer day camps that introduce local school children to pioneer arts and crafts, rowing, sailing, fishing and the marine environment. Each weeklong session ends with a sailing excursion to the nearby Midnight Pass area for a picnic and swim in the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the year, boats are available for use by volunteers and staff members sailing under the supervision of a Historic Spanish Point-certified captain. The latest addition to the Historic Spanish Point fleet, the Magic, was launched in May and has already proven her worth as a rescue vessel. Measuring 24 feet LOA, 8 feet 6 inches beam and drawing 22 inches, the Magic is propelled by a 29-hp Yanmar diesel engine. She was built by volunteers as a replica of the first powerboat operated by the Webb family from their homestead in 1901 for picnics, sport fishing and general excursions. In August 2006, she served as a “mother duck,” towing a string of small boats with campers back to the mainland from the Midnight Pass beach across a glassy bay. As plastic power boats churn up and down the bay, whipping the Intracoastal Waterway into froth and fouling the air with exhaust fumes, the passing parade seldom warrants a glance, as quietly, volunteer practitioners of traditional maritime skills take comfort in the knowledge they News & Views for Southern Sailors

The Magic floats free of her cradle as Jack Branson (on boat) and master boatbuilder Bob Wenzel adjust her dock lines.

can fix what they break, and when the wind dies, row or pole quietly home. Allan Horton is a retired newspaper reporter and editor, lifelong sailor and third-generation native of Manatee County, FL, who serves as chairman of the Maritime Heritage Committee of the Gulf Coast Heritage Foundation. SOUTHWINDS November 2006

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What it Costs Us to Cruise By Capt. Ron Butler

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number of folks have asked us what it costs to cruise, and I suppose the stock answer is, “It costs what you’ve got.” So here we go. We’ll “open the kimono”—as they used to say in the boardroom. Consider our cruising plans. We leave Florida at the end of November (hopefully, after hurricane season), sail south to the islands and return Ron Butler with his Ericson 38, Kismet. about the end of April or early May. There’s just two of us ITEM (plus Molly our dog) on the boat. Guests are a break-even deal. The boat is basically stored over the summer. The following is a breakdown of what we’re currently Provisions spending. I’ve listed things into annual amounts and divided by 12 for the average—or vice versa for the items Boat Maintenance we have in monthly figures. Some items are estimated. Medical & Health Most are rounded off. Keep in mind that spending tends Insurance to happen in clumps and is not evenly spread throughout Pet the year. You may be able to arrange things such that they don’t all come due at once, but we’ve found that most Boat Insurance things hit just before we leave on a cruise. For example, Boat Storage Fees our boat insurance, cruise provisioning, yard bill, mail Phone Service forwarding, sat phone, e-mail, weather service, etc., all Clothing happen between September and our November deparFuel ture, for the most part. I have left out the costs associated with maintaining Licenses and Fees our home in Auburndale, FL, and our car expenses. The car alone can add up to quite a bit for fuel, insurance, mainteMarinas nance, storage, etc. Of course, our home has continuing costs for insurance, taxes, utilities and maintenance. Also,

some expenses are about a year’s worth and so apply whether we’re cruising or not. If we cruised full time, you could eliminate the slip rent, but that’s about it. We also plan to cut back considerably this year: Less boat maintenance, less fuel, more fishing, no lost glasses, less tools, fewer days in a marina, and more rum. ANNUAL COST

AVERAGE COMMENTS MONTH

$8,400

$700

$6,000 $5,400

$500 $450

$600

$50

$1,849 $1,200 $850 $960 $720

$154 $100 $71 $80 $60

$480

$40

$600

$50

Tools Mail E-mail Weather Forecast Service Water

$360 $26 $220 $150

$30 $2 $18 $13

$72

$6

Miscellaneous

$900

$75

Total

$28,787 $2,399

No different than home (6 months’ worth) There’s always something Insurance, chiropractor, glasses, etc Meds, shots, food, licenses and vet visits Annual premium Slip rent for 6 months Sat Phone, Internet café Same as home…no Gucci here Estimated at $3/gallon including dinghy Boat tags, customs fees, entry fees Estimated based on 12 days in marinas Last year’s spending P.O. box (1 yr) Ocens (1 yr) Caribbean Weather Center (6 mo.) Estimated, assuming we buy water Estimated inclucing dining out, side trips

PROVISIONS. Our actual spending for food, which includes rum, toothpaste, paper towels, dog food and the usual cleaning supplies. When we’re home, groceries have been running $841 a month so I guess we’re more frugal on the boat... no way I’m cutting back on the grog ration. BOAT MAINTENANCE. Doesn’t include adding equipment such as we did last year; the HF radio, solar panels, inverter, spare VHF, or improvements such as the new cabinet doors, cockpit seat, lazy jack system, etc. It just includes 54

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replacement or repair items, bottom more often than Macy’s. I guess job, oil changes, replacement toilet, we’re minimalists although I still new water tank, etc. This year will have a farmer’s tan. be less, but still we’re planning for a FUEL. Given the current prices for new inverter, replacement anchor, fuel, we’ll be sailing more. The solar bilge pump replacement, new panel cut our engine charging time Bimini, redoing the shore power in half. This includes boat diesel, wiring and a few other miscelladinghy fuel and additives. neous projects that fall into the maintenance category. This year’s Ron with family and friends aboard his previous boat, LICENSES AND FEES. We’ll spend planned added equipment, such as Esprita, a Gemini 34. a little less this year since last year’s expenses included some a powered windlass, are not included. one-time charges, but boat tags, U.S. Customs and Bahamian Customs are unavoidable. MEDICAL AND HEALTH INSURANCE. Includes about $340 per month for major medical insurance. This policy MARINAS. We’ll avoid Nassau this year and clear in elsedoes not cover office visits or drugs. We pay as we go for where, maybe Morgan’s Bluff. I don’t think we’ll stay in medicines, doctor visits, dentists, glasses, contact lenses, marinas more than maybe five or six days this trip, but etc. Excepting the odd chiropractor visit, we tend to be we’ve allowed for 12 days. healthy…knock on teak. PET. Includes just what we spend on vet visits, licenses, pee-pads and medications for our now 6-month-old Chihuahua/dachshund mix, Molly. If your dog is older, expect to pay much more. We spent maybe $5000 over the last two years on our 13-year-old Shih Tzu’s life in vet bills. Dog food is in the provisions numbers. She doesn’t eat much anyway.

TOOLS. That will be less this year. I can’t think of anything

BOAT INSURANCE. Covers us just as far as the Turks & Caicos Islands. Additional premiums would be required for further adventures that we’d like to have in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Belize, Virgin Islands, etc. BOAT STORAGE. Slip rent. Cost is about double what storage on the hard at Indiantown cost us last year. But the boat is closer to home, and I can work on projects over the summer instead of cramming everything into the last two weeks before we leave. PHONE SERVICE. We changed over to Globalstar last year, and we are happy with the service generally. I’ve included estimated amounts for Internet café fees. Last year we spent in excess of $175 per month for cell service, Pocketmail and prepaid phone cards. We’ve eliminated the cell phone @ $75 a month on the $39.95 plan, cancelled Pocketmail @ $20 per month and eliminated international phone cards @ 50 cents per minute from Batelco versus the 3 cents per minute on AT&T Cards from Sam’s Club that can no longer be used in the Bahamas. CLOTHING. Includes the odd souvenir T-shirts, hats, flipflops, whatever. While cruising we tend not to buy much— maybe a regatta T-shirt or two, but it doesn’t take much to rack up a big bill. Also, we tend to patronize outlet stores News & Views for Southern Sailors

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CRUISING COSTS listening in to the weather nets. Chris’s e-mail forecasts are always dead-on, and we can refer to previMAIL FORWARDING. Cost ous forecasts to see how he us (in 2005) $15 per month changes it over time. It’s plus set-up and postage from amazing how cruisers lisSt. Brendan’s Isle. We have tening to Chris each morntried relying on a relative in ing can get such varied the past…bad idea. Last year, information — and comit cost us $60 to get one small plain about the accuracy. batch of mail forwarded to We find that what he says Exuma Markets, Georgetown, on the radio is pretty and it took a month to get much what the e-mail there. This year, we’ve rented says, and it seems to be a regular old P.O. box. St accurate to us. So what if Brendan’s Isle or similar he missed the frontal pasmakes sense if you live Ron, an avid cruising fisherman, saving money on board. sage in Georgetown by aboard and need a stateside three hours? He told us it was coming. mailing address. If not, a P.O. box is cheaper. We have also set up all our regular bills on e-mail or WATER. This is estimated based on filling our tanks four electronic billing. Some bills are auto-debits on our checking times at $.15 per gallon. Last year we mostly jerry-jugged account, mainly utilities and insurance. We’ll pick up the water from free sources. It’s hard to justify a $5000 investremaining mail when we get home. By the way, DO NOT ment in a watermaker plus $150 in annual maintenance set-up credit cards for automatic payment. Also keep your (chemicals, filters, etc) when water is this cheap. If we were checking account separate from automated sources of fundgoing someplace where water availability, cost or quality ing. If you have credit cards and funds sources connected to was a real issue, we’d reconsider. Free R/O water at the your checking account and you lose your wallet, it might be dinghy dock in Georgetown helps a lot. possible for a thief to wipe you out before you discover the loss, especially when out cruising. MISCELLANEOUS. This is everything else. We like to dine out once in a while, and we did take a car rental side trip E-MAIL. Hopefully this is saving more than it costs in sat last year, plus the bus rides around Nassau, a cab ride to the phone airtime. We’ll see. We mainly did this for the ease of chiropractor, a few Kaliks here and there, the odd shrunken installation and daily e-mail weather support from Chris head, plane tickets for our son to visit us…etc. Parker. The Globalstar phone costs about 43 cents per minute in airtime plus the annual Ocens service fees no matter where we are. E-mails take less than 30 seconds ell, folks, it’s been a little enlightening for me to go round trip on an average daily basis. We used up about half through this exercise. Our target was $2000 per month of an annual 1800-minute plan on this year’s cruise and for everything including our home and car, but I see that’s that’s all calls, voice and data. That works out to under 200 not happening. Our challenge is now to figure out how to minutes a month. cut back. Let’s see … WEATHER FORECASTS. We’re paying Chris Parker and We could opt for liability-only boat insurance and the Caribbean Weather Center to get daily e-mail weather assume the risk of hull damage ourselves. Carole’s not forecasts for the Bahamas. We elected not to go for an SSB eready to accept that risk yet, but the move would save us mail or voice weather service since we seem to get by just $1300 a year, roughly. Also we need to check with our auto insurance company and see if we can put our car insurance on hold or something since it will be parked for five or six months. Our SSB works well enough for us to chat with friends beyond the 15 miles or so VHF normally goes, but I will not be using it for e-mail. It is just too much trouble, plus it interferes with nearby boats trying to use their ham or SSB radios. Besides, “free” e-mail by ham requires a license and an $800 TNC. Our sat phone costs less and doesn’t require memorizing Morse code. We could and probably should eat less. Maybe we can do better on boat storage next year. I’ve got it! Eureka! We can just go nekid (sic) and forget the clothing bill. we’ll need except maybe drill bits and a few spares.

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RACE TIPS

Asymmetrical Gymnastics, Part II: Gybing and the Takedown By Mike Kirk

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t the end of Part 1 you were left surfing downwind, having successfully raised your spinnaker on a starboard tack and rather efficiently shaken out a little hourglass wrap: valuable learning experience for the crew who had not read Part 1 and had failed to “run the tapes.” With the cockpit crew and spinnaker trimmer working in unison, you have time to sneak a look at the mark and your gybe angle. Yes. It’s time for the next gut-wrenching maneuver—the gybe.

GYBING THE CHUTE The helmsman can make or break this maneuver. Start slow and finish fast. 1. Head downwind—mainsheet man sheets in ready for the gybe. 2. The spinnaker trimmer hands off the old working sheet to the starboard cockpit man, ensuring the chute is always under control, crosses the boat (before the main gybes) and picks up the lazy starboard sheet, ready to take up after the gybe to port. 3. On command the cockpit sheet caretaker lets go of the old loaded sheet and… 4. The foredeck man (facing aft, if possible) grabs the lazy sheet at the forestay and, with help from the mast man, walks the sheet aft. Foredeck and mast man need to

News & Views for Southern Sailors

develop a double act here to get the clew of the sail around the forestay and start the gybe of the chute. It helps if the pull is kept high up by having the sheet at shoulder height, as this assists the flow of the sail around the forestay. 5. The helmsman continues the gybe, watching the sail come around the forestay, rotating the boat in synch with the progress of the sail. A slow-up or hesitation here can result in an hourglass. 6. Mainsail gybes under control of the mainsheet trimmer. All heads are kept low! 7. The old working sheet needs to run free, and the port cockpit man nearest this sheet can assist it to run, as the trimmer hauls in the new loaded sheet and trims for the new course.

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RACING TIPS

Shamrock, A J/120, under full reaching asymmetric spinnaker, launched from cockpit. Photo by Mike Kirk.

8. The starboard cockpit man secures the loaded winch with a handle and assists the trimmer in bringing the sail under control. (A good suggestion is to develop the cockpit roles as mirror images so that both men do the same duties on their respective sides—which enables good coverage and understanding when things go wrong.). And so the leeward mark is in sight and you realize you still haven’t figured out “how to get this thing down…’’

THREE WAYS TO DOUSE THE CHUTE: Used tactically these three methods can help you gain several places. The definition of the type of douse starts early in the downwind leg and will be driven by which side of the course you have sailed, how you wish to approach the mark—on starboard or port—and what “the crowd” might be like at the mark. Digressing, it is a great help to attach a sixth lazy control line to the clew of the spinnaker, which is led to the foredeck hatch, ready to assist in hauling in the clew in the early part of the douse.

THE LEEWARD TAKEDOWN The leeward takedown (sail will come down behind the jib), assuming a port approach, is easily understood. Look for boats to windward doing a sloppy rounding, and cut inside on the mark from your more timely wider approach. Overtake two or more boats! 1. Depending on your confidence in crew work: Cockpit man pulls out the jib on the starboard side at the last possible moment. Spinnaker starts to stall due to blanketing effect.

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2. Pole cleat is released. Pole slides inboard due to tension on the foot of the spinnaker. 3. As helm continues to round up, trimmer hands off the loaded sheet to the nearest cockpit man and goes forward to help with douse. 4. Cockpit sheet caretaker releases the sheet. 5. Starboard cockpit man then releases the spinnaker halyard (under firm control around a winch if necessary), and deck man and mast man draw spinnaker foot in and under jib toward the open foredeck hatch. Sewer man is assisting from inside V-berth with the lazy clew line mentioned above. 6. Cockpit continues controlled release of halyard and releases tack line as the bulk of the spinnaker is thrust into the hatch. 7. The last of the spinnaker is in the hatch, halyard is unclipped, stowed by foredeck man and hatch dogged down by mast man. 8. As the boat rounds very close to the mark, the cockpit crew winch in jib for the upwind leg, hopefully overtaking one or two boats who also haven’t read this article.

THE WINDWARD TAKEDOWN In the leeward takedown, since you launched from the port side and have now doused on the starboard, the sheets will need to be led back to the port side for the next approach to the windward mark. This could be avoided if you risked a windward takedown. Timing will depend on how well you have chosen your approach—preferably wide on port tack You will need to watch for starboard boats to windward and leeward boats starting to luff. In a crowd, you are meat in a sandwich. But if you are out on your own, you can take your time to get this right. 1. Cockpit man pulls out the jib on starboard well ahead of the mark. Spinnaker starts to stall due to blanketing effect. 2. Pole cleat is released—pole slides inboard due to tension on the foot of the spinnaker. 3. As the helm continues to round up, trimmer hands off the loaded sheet to the nearest cockpit man and goes forward to help with douse. 4. Cockpit sheet caretaker releases the sheet. 5. Foredeck man assisted by mast man grabs clew at forestay and starts to pull the (now) unloaded spinnaker around and down to the open hatch. 6. Starboard cockpit man then releases the spinnaker halyard (under firm control, around a winch if necessary) and deck man plus mast man draw spinnaker foot into the open foredeck hatch from the windward side of the jib. Sewer man is assisting from inside V-berth with the lazy clew line mentioned above. 7. Cockpit continues controlled release of halyard and releases tack line as the bulk of the spinnaker is thrust into the hatch. 8. The last of the spinnaker is in hatch, halyard is unclipped, stowed by foredeck man and hatch dogged down by mast man. 9. As boat rounds very close to mark, the cockpit crew winch in the jib for upwind leg. and the spinnaker lines are ready for another port raise. In high winds, both of these techniques run the risk of www.southwindsmagazine.com


defaulting to the “shrimping” douse if the halyard gets out of control. The sail falls in the water, and the boat sails happily over your son’s next year’s college fees. (The old square riggers called this “fothering,” as it was used to stop leaks in a foundering ship. But for a modern day racer, it is merely a way to destroy a good day on the water.)

THE MEXICAN TAKEDOWN But wait. This is where the Mexican takedown can be used with advantage. Developed in a crisis situation off Mexico’s Baja, this method, if practiced and understood by the crew, can be a real winner in more ways than one. Let’s say you are one of those guys who slid down the left-hand side of the course, and you are approaching the leeward mark on starboard gybe! Wow, you have rights over all those port boats doing the boring, conventional leeward or windward douses! But now the question you asked earlier has new meaning: “How to get the darn thing down…and round the mark at the same time?” So, approaching on starboard... 1. Cockpit man pulls out the jib well ahead of the mark on port side. Spinnaker starts to stall due to blanketing effect. 2. Trimmer hands spinnaker sheet to starboard cockpit man to maintain control and goes forward to help with douse. 3. Helm heads downwind and gybes the mainsail and jib— but not the spinnaker—taking care not to knock the spinnaker trimmer overboard with the boom.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

4. The port cockpit man starts to winch in the jib on the starboard side; he’s the only man free at this time. 5. Pole cleat is released. Pole slides inboard due to tension on the foot of the spinnaker. 6. Cockpit sheet caretaker releases the sheet. 7. Foredeck man grabs clew and starts to pull the (now) unloaded spinnaker down to the open hatch on the port side. 8. As the boat continues to round the mark, the now collapsing spinnaker blows into the jib and onto the foredeck into the open arms of the mast man, who was too confused to really know what was happening. 9. Cockpit releases the spinnaker halyard under loose control, and deck man and mast man stuff spinnaker into the open foredeck hatch from the windward side of the jib. Sewer man is assisting from inside V-berth with the lazy clew line. 10. Cockpit releases all halyard and tack line as the bulk of the spinnaker is thrust into the hatch. 11. Last of spinnaker is in the hatch, halyard is unclipped, stowed by foredeck man and hatch dogged down by mast man. The boat is already on the windward port tack. Even with a bad release the risk of “shrimping” is minimal, and all that is lost is the composure of the foredeck crew, who will be too surprised to keep up with the release. Happy dousing…

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RACING

Racing for Cruisers: “Get Out There” By R.J. Mitchellette

I

t wasn’t long after I became commodore of the Barefoot Sailing Club in Lake Lanier, GA, that I made it my personal goal to encourage all our skippers, including the non-member marina dwellers, to sail their boats more, which had been a concern of mine throughout my 40 years of boating. My approach began by creating educational sailing programs, expanding cruising events and recruiting members who didn’t own boats. But my real jewel was creating a special cruiser racing fleet for all the big-boat skippers who wanted to race but did not have a venue in which they could race comfortably. First, I surveyed skippers to find out why they didn’t

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race their big sloops in the conventional PHRF races—races that were held almost every weekend by the five sailing clubs on the lake. The results of the survey were fairly simple and easily solved: 1. Performance Cruising Racing Fleet. Many skippers, like myself, purchased their boats to accommodate their spouse and families in encouraging their participation in sailing—at the sacrifice of speed. These skippers gave up on racing yet still wanted the challenge. To solve this problem, I organized a special fleet and called it the “Performance Cruising Racing Fleet (PCRF)”

2. The Reverse Handicap Start. Many of the skippers were reluctant to race because of the cost of their boats. They did not want to risk a collision at the starting gate. Therefore, I decided on using the staggered start protocol where boats have an assigned time to cross the start line based on their PHRF rating. This is also called the Reverse Handicap Start and the Pursuit Start (called a Pursuit Race). What it means is that, unless two boats have the exact same rating, which is very rare, only one boat will be crossing the start line at a time, and usually minutes apart, sometimes as much as a half

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3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

hour (or longer), was one of the largest depending on the fleets on the water. A length of the race third regatta, the Holiday and the rating. After Invitational, was organthe start, the first ized by the PCRF skipboat to cross the finpers themselves, and it ish line wins first was held on December place (thus the 14, 2005. This will now name, Pursuit Race), become an annual event. since time adjust- Two cruisers racing in the PCRF class in the Dogwood Regatta on Lake Lanier in The first regatta of May. On the left is Pete Winham’s Southern Cross, and on the right is Ron ment for the ratings Mitchellette’s Moxie. 2006 was hosted by the is made with the difAtlanta Inland Sailing ferent start times. There is no CREATING THE NEW RULES Club (AISC), and our group was invitcrowd of boats trying to cross the The big item on the agenda was to devel- ed to attend. We had 10 boats sign up, start line together, fighting for op a set of rules that would be fair for all and again the PCRF was one of the the cruising skippers. The rules are still largest fleets in the regatta. This new position. Education on Racing Rules and evolving as this article is being written fleet now has invites from many of the Strategy. Fear and lack of knowl- and will, I am sure, continue to evolve. Lake Lanier sailing clubs, especially edge of racing strategy and rules Here is what we have so far set up: since it has grown from the original 12 were also major contributors to • Vessels must be 30 feet and over to to 28—and still growing—and from keeping these skippers from rac- qualify. most of the marinas on the lake. ing. This problem was solved • Vessels must be rated as cruisers and I do believe that the creation of this through educating the skippers observed as such. new fleet of big-sloop skippers has through classes, skipper meetings • Vessels are to be kept in cruiser con- increased interest for owners to get out dition and not prepared for racing by there and race their boats, which means and the “NOR.” Getting Crew. The bigger the boat, removing equipment that establishes many of them are using their boats more. the greater is the need for crew, and the vessel as a cruiser. Another bi-product of this new fleet was there was a lack of crew. This was • Vessels are allowed to improve sail an increase in spectator interest. corrected by tapping into the mem- quality and employ racing bottom In closing, I would like to mention bership pools of the various sailing paint and add equipment that will my joy in not only watching this new clubs, many of whom have mem- improve the boat’s competitiveness. fleet grow from 12 to 28 boats, but also bers without boats, so I formed a • Vessels must have a PHRF rating to in seeing the transformation of these “Crew Pool” to resolve the problem. be assigned a start time for “Pursuit” skippers from a totally cruising mentalNew Rules Created. Skippers who protocol. ity to that of a competitive cruiser-racer. had PHRF ratings still felt intimidat- • Vessel skippers must be a member of ed by the real racers with various- one of the area’s sailing clubs. (This has True Cruising Racers sized boats that fell into a specific been a windfall recruiting tool for the in Southwest Florida rating category and fleet. We had to clubs.) My club (Barefoot Sailing Club) The West Florida PHRF organizacreate new rules to solve this prob- increased its membership by eight new tion (www.westlforidaphrf.org) lem. I discuss these rules in more members from this new cruising fleet. also created a racing class a few • Vessels are to be raced in non-spindepth below. years ago for cruisers. It was created A Regular, Consistent Racecourse. naker format (still being debated). with the same goals as the PCRF There was no single organized • Vessels that consistently win will class on Lake Lanier—to get more venue to accommodate these big- receive a time penalty yet to be detercruisers sailing in the regattas. It has sloop skippers, so we created a con- mined (still in discussion stage). been a tremendous success and now We launched our new group, now sistent racecourse that would be has a True Cruising 1 class for smallreserved for this new fleet (PCRF) called the Performance Cruising Racing er cruisers and a True Cruising 2 Fleet (PCRF), in our first official race, the for every event with no interference class for the larger boats. The coursSpecial Olympics hosted by the Southern from the other fleets. es are generally longer than the Skipper Camaraderie. The final Sailing Club (SSC) in September 2005. other traditional classes. This year, problem we had to deal with was This was a great beginning for our new the group created a new class, the skipper isolation: There was no real fleet of big-sloop skippers from Dock A Racer Cruiser class (which races the camaraderie. We therefore created at the Holiday Marina. Twelve boats parsame course as True Cruisers), an environment that evoked cama- ticipated in the event and represented designed for the larger ocean raderie and chose Dock A at the one of the largest fleets in the regatta. racer/cruiser boats that might want This event was followed by another race Holiday Marina on the lake as our to fly spinnakers (although nonofficial home port and encouraged in October 2005, hosted by the Barefoot spinnaker boats are in this class) but all the skippers participating in the Sailing Club (BFSC), for which I was not race in the spinnaker class, new fleet to move their boats from then commodore. The event was titled which usually has shorter-leg races. their current marinas to this dock, the “Barefoot Open,” and this time, 14 Editor boats participated and again the PCRF which many are now doing.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

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RACING SOUTHERN RACING, NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

Two Popular Sailing Symposiums To Be Held In New Orleans, Jan. 2007 US SAILING has announced that its two popular symposiums, the National Sailing Programs Symposium (NSPS) and the One-Design Sailing Symposium (ODSS), will be held together over a five-day period in New Orleans, LA, Jan.17-21. Go to page 32 for a complete description and information.

RACE REPORTS

Tampa Sailing Squadron’s Appleton Estate Rumgatta Has Fine Turnout, Sept. 30-Oct.1 By Morgan Stinemetz In light airs but otherwise perfect sailing conditions on Tampa Bay, the Tampa Sailing Squadron’s fall extravaganza,

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Sailors had light winds at Tampa Sailing Squadron’s Rumgatta, but after race partying was great. Photo by Bob Tintera. the TSS Appleton Estate Rum Regatta, saw 34 entries in eight classes Saturday, September 30. The sailboats raced on what at the TSS is called the “star course,” a five-legged race layout that uses government marks and a TSS-positioned cylinder at the start/finish line. The course amounted to about 16 sailing miles. The wind speed for most of the racing was about a third of that. And in the late stages of the racing an outgoing tide made the race strategic. Light air and strong currents do not mix. Wade Pickard, crew on Triumph, said: “We knew what

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the current was going to be doing, and we took that into consideration when we were plotting our course so that the current set us right into the mark. And then we went to the wrong mark next.” It was a best-laid-plans-of-mice-andmen situation. Following the racing there was ceremonial partying and a buffet dinner served up at the Tampa Sailing Squadron’s clubhouse in Apollo Beach. The awards ceremony followed dinner, with trophies for the top three in each class and, for first place in class, a bottle of Appleton rum, too.

Tampa Sailing Squadron Women’s Appleton Estate Regatta, Oct. 1 By Morgan Stinemetz The ladies at the Tampa Sailing Squadron got a better break from the weatherman on Sunday, October 1. They got more wind than the guys had received on Saturday, making for better and faster racing, at least in the third race of three in the day. The ladies raced in three classes, spinnaker, nonspinnaker and a class called “Coach On Board,” meaning that they could have a coach on board to give them advice. The coach, however, was not allowed to actively participate in operating the boat. A total of 10 boats entered the regatta, which was sponsored by Appleton Estate Rum. Rum and sailing have been linked since sailing ships were the only means of transportation between the continents. Racing on a windward/leeward course in Tampa Bay off Apollo Beach, the competitors had only five knots for their first two races, but the wind doubled for the third and final race, and the crews were able to get some adequate boat speeds as respite from the doldrums. One crew member on Fire & Ice called the last race, “Well worth waiting for.”

Tampa Bay’s Bradenton Yacht Club Kick-Off Regatta, Sept. 22-24 A Wind-No Wind Situation By Steve Morrell The Bradenton Yacht Club Kick-Off Regatta is the annual kick-off event for the racing season in central west Florida. The Bradenton Yacht Club, located on the scenic Manatee River in Palmetto is a great location for racing central. Every year at the Kick-Off Regatta, the club’s grounds, with clubhouse, a large waterfront pool deck, boat ramp and lift and great docking facilities for 40-50 boats to raft up to, serves as party and race headquarters. Free ice helps, too. For many, this regatta is the first race of the year, as many anxiously show up on Friday afternoon to raft up at the club’s waterfront. They trickle in all afternoon from as far away as Clearwater, Davis Island and Sarasota. The boat to come the farthest, though, is always Frank Hanna on his Beneteau 440, Prime Plus. Frank has been sailing down—for every regatta—from Shell Point, FL, to race in Tampa Bay for many years. He always does well, winning the Suncoast Boat of the Year series in Non-Spin class last year. By the way, Shell Point is about 30 miles south of Tallahassee and about 140 miles north of Tampa Bay. No News & Views for Southern Sailors

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RACING steady for the rest of the small puddle jump. day, giving competitors a This year was a good seasongood day of racing. opener with 67 boats entered to The old America’s Cup race in the two-day event. Nine winner, the 60-foot cataclasses raced on two different maran Stars and Stripes, courses out in the middle of south was the eye-catcher of the Tampa Bay. There were two for weekend, looking like a Non-Spinnaker, two Spinnaker, giant Hobie Cat. With a two True Cruising, a Multihull rating of -242, and the class, a J/24 class and a new—this capability of going 12 year—Racer Cruiser class. The knots in 5 knots of wind, Racer Cruiser class was designed it seems hard to believe for those big ocean racer-cruisers that were more designed for the The Bradenton Yacht Club Kick-Off Regatta. On the right, Hot that anyone could beat longer courses and who might Stuff, a Hobie 33, rounds the mark, closely followed by them, but on race one on Saturday, someone did— want to fly a spinnaker, but don’t Odyssey, a Morgan 25, on the left. Photo by Gary Hufford. in corrected time, that is. want to race in the Spinnaker Perhaps it takes a long time for a 60-foot cat to round marks, class, (although Non-Spin Racer Cruisers made up half the making a short course a challenge, but they still crossed the entrants). Consequently, they sailed the same course—with finish line in 28 minutes and 48 seconds in the Multihull different start times—as the True Cruising classes. While the class—20 minutes before Strider, a Stilleto 30 that took first, other classes sailed two short races on Saturday and one beating Dennis Connor’s old boat by 63 seconds in correctSunday, the Cruising classes sailed on one long course each ed time. In race two, though, Stars and Stripes held its own, day. At least, that was the plan. taking a first to finish and in corrected time—beating out Race day one, Saturday, starts with a parade of boats Strider who placed second. down the Manatee River channel out into south Tampa Bay. In other races, boats that stood out were Little Mac in This year racers encountered good winds, starting in the 10Spin 2 class, which took first in both races and Black Star, to 12-knot range. Winds picked up, jumping towards 15 which did the same in the J/24 races. In Spin 1, Mariah took knots but tapered off a couple of knots, although holding a first in race one and a second in race 2, while Grand Illusion did the same in Non-Spin 1. In Non-Spin 2, Odyssey took the first-place prize in the first race, while Special K took first in the second race. In True Cruising 1, it was Millertime which took the race of the day, and in True Cruising 2, it was Kitten, both boats from the Bradenton Yacht Club. In Racer Cruiser, it was Relentless who was the winner, although Intrepid crossed the line first. Saturday afternoon partying began by mid-afternoon around the yacht club pool with a barbecue and raffle and lots of jumping in the pool. On the second day, winds began about the same as Saturday, but starting dying as the morning progressed. By 11:00, everyone was inching long at a slow pace, many wondering if the wind would shift to the afternoon onshore breeze. As time went on, the winds did not shift and held to a steady 3 to 4 knots, gusting to 5. By early afternoon, race officials called all the races except the True Cruiser 1 and 2 classes—which were just about to the second mark where the finish was moved to. Canceling the others disappointed many as some saw the afternoon on-shore breeze start, and by the time many of the boats made it back to the yacht club, the breeze was definitely there, coming in from the west. Many soaked their disappointment in the pool and beer. Winners of the first-day races became the weekend winners for all except True Cruising 1 and 2. Millertime took the Regatta’s True Cruising 1 trophy, although it took second behind Polyphonic on the second-day race. In True Cruising 2, it was Zig Zag who took the weekend trophy, taking a first on Sunday’s race, just beating out Kitten who took second for the weekend. For complete results, go to www.bradenton-yachtclub.org. 64

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sine that had everyone lining up for seconds. After dinner the party got into full swing with live music complete with a DJ. This year’s 11-fleet racing venue was loaded with the traditional PHRF classes consisting of high, mid and low Spinnaker and NonBy Morgan Stinemetz Spinnaker high and low fleets, Multihull and OneThe flags at the Crow’s Nest Designs consisting of J/22s, flagpole drooped, moving intermittently as fickle, fitful Doug Dearden, Christian Miller, Kat McConnell, and Thomas J/24s and a regional collecbreezes blew in from the Gulf Fugina, crew of In Tune, accept the Crow’s Nest First in Fleet tion of Santana 20s. The club also held its second annual of Mexico, rippling the water Award. Photo courtesy Crow’s Nest. race for its cruising fleet, the inside the Venice jetties and Performance Cruising Racing Fleet (PCRF). Unlike last year, doing not much more out on the Gulf. October is always a however, this year the racer/cruisers got to enjoy two days toss-up as far as weather is concerned, and this October 7th of racing and got into some seriously fun competition. event was very quiet. For the 23 sailboats taking part in the Saturday saw some very light, but unruly winds that Crow’s Nest Regatta—the 30th edition—it was a day of genchallenged both the patience and expertise of the crews. erally rather slow going, particularly in the first race. Sunday was cloudy, but the winds steadied into a nice fall The PHRF–rated boats sailed three races off the Venice breeze that gave skippers a chance to push their boats and jetties. In years past, the Crow’s Nest Regatta has consisted crew to peak performance. The courses were tight, the trafof just one race. This year the format was changed to three fic thick, and the amazing skills of the sailors were on disraces for the PHRF classes on a course that measured 2.6 play at every mark. A total of 60 boats raced in the various miles. The “fun” class sailed a 2.8-mile race. venues. Results and scores are posted on the club’s Web site Because of a paucity of breeze, the first race was shortened, and there were skippers who questioned—as skippers often do—whether the first race should have been started at all. The Venice Women’s Sailing Squadron, the Bitter Ends, held racing before Saturday. Karen Willliams won the Pram racing. Wendy Murray was second and Jane Forbush bagged third. Beth Anderson was first in Sunfish. Second came Charlotte Sims and third went to Marguerite O’Conner. The First in Fleet trophy went to In Tune. Both the boat and skipper’s names will be engraved on a plate attached to the trophy’s wooden base.

Slow Going At Crow’s Nest Regatta, Crow’s Nest Restaurant and Marina, Venice, FL, Oct. 7

The Barefoot Sea Dog Open Regatta, Barefoot Sailing Club, Lake Lanier, GA, Oct. 6-8 By Ron Mitchellette Even with the lake’s water level going down, spirits were decidedly up at this year’s Barefoot Sailing Club’s Sea Dog Open (BFSC) regatta. The club and this year’s co-host and key sponsor, Sea Dog Sailing, Inc., an American Sailing Association (ASA)-certified sailing school located in the British Virgin Islands, began its 32nd annual Barefoot Open on Friday, Oct. 6, with a Friday evening skipper’s meeting. On Saturday morning, there was a skipper’s breakfast hosted by the club’s cruising fleet, and on Saturday evening was a party that included rum donated by Pusser’s, wine donated by Barefoot/Gallo Cellars and beer donated by Village Spirits, a locally owned package store. The food was once again provided by one of the club’s regular sponsors, Jock & Jill’s Sports Bar. As usual, it was a beautifully served and perfectly prepared variety of Cajun and international cuiNews & Views for Southern Sailors

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RACING Juana Good Time Regatta 2006, Juana’s Pagodas, Navarre Beach, FL, Sept 9-10 By Juana Connor

Sailing in the Barefoot Sea Dog Open Regatta on Lake Lanier, Pam Eastman. at www.barefootsailing.org. The Barefoot Sea Dog Open Regatta once again demonstrated why it is considered one of the major regattas on Lake Lanier. It draws sailors from all the major clubs on the lake and has sponsors that return year after year. In addition to the generous sponsorship of Seadog Sailing and Windsong Sailing Academy, Snug Harbor Boats and Brokerage, who provided a 3.5HP/OB motor, other generous vendors donated both their time, products and/or services to this outstanding event. The Barefoot/Sea Dog team would also like to extend its sincere appreciation to Aqualand Marina, which provided its extensive Flowery Branch (town) facilities for this year’s festivities.

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Ominous black clouds darkened the skies as threatening weather rumbled over the Gulf of Mexico. But the 16th Annual Juana Good Time Regatta racers kept positive attitudes, and as the Sailors’ Grill’s famous sticky buns and cinnamon rolls gradually disappeared from the continental GA. Photo by breakfast spread, the number of colorful sails gradually increased along Juana’s Soundside beach. The easterly wind was light, which made for a brutally slow downwind start, but that’s not to downplay the intensity of the racers’ excitement as the flag was hoisted and the starting horn blew. Over 60 vessels, including eight cruisers and 15 windsurfers, competed in this year’s regatta in Navarre Beach, FL, sandwiched between 15 miles of National Seashore, leading east to Pensacola and west to Fort Walton. Saturday was a distance race, with the fastest beach cats going almost to Pensacola Beach, and the smaller Hobie 16s sailing about two-thirds of that distance and back. The Y fleet included all those in-between, with their course set appropriately. The cruisers, made up of five Geminis, a Cherokee 35, a Maincat 30 and an Iroquois 30, had developed a handicapping system based on previous years’ races. This year, the course was similar to the beach cats, in that the slower boats had shorter courses to race—so the first boat in was first place. It made for an exciting finish for the spectators sitting at Juana’s Pagoda. I was aboard Perigee, the “Chick Boat” Gemini 3200, sailed completely by an all-female crew. My job was sail trim and jib grinder, and with my husband’s all-male crew aboard Island Time always just in front of or just behind us, nothing around us really mattered, (if ya know what I mean!). Saturday we all sailed the painfully slow downwind leg, wing-on-wing, jibs poled out, (except a 105 who had his wife holding a boat stick as the human spinnaker pole!). But once around the mark, a black wall of clouds to the north brought brisk winds and an exciting upwind race. Although we chicks were first around the mark, the tacking battle was fierce. After much ado, the guys on Island Time took the final lead and beat us—and all the other cruisers— over the finish line. With all the smaller cats and windsurfers snugly pulled up onto the beach, and the cruisers tied up to the docks, rafted to each other, everyone headed under the new Pagoda roof, (last year’s regatta was celebrated under a tarp – thanks to Hurricane Dennis) for some ice cold Coronas and the Sailors’ Grill’s delicious BBQ chicken and ribs dinner. Diane and I lost our voices calling out every wristband number who registered (190ish), handing out what seemed like an endless supply of door prizes, generously donated by supporting businesses. No one walked away emptyhanded. The band played late into the wee hours, and the next morning, day two of racing, came too soon for some good-time partiers. Sunday brought more clouds but was much less omiwww.southwindsmagazine.com


nous weather-wise than Saturday. The winds started strong and only built as the day progressed. Windsurfers headed out early to their course, as far away from the “dangerous” cats as they could get, and got in some excellent racing. We “chicks” had a picture-perfect start and took the lead around the first mark. But the guys inched ahead, and we agonized as they rounded the second mark. We were right on their tail and did a tighter rounding. As we cranked in the jib, we could hear the delightful sounds of flapping sails and cursing men. They screwed up the tack! We took the lead and were already preparing our victory speech when, into our final tack, my jib sheet jammed and there was no releasing it. Panic-stricken, I looked at where the sheet met the sail, and it only appeared to be a few inches of line to cut. Captain Deb argued weakly that the line was brandnew, but I countered that it was our only option, and besides, it was only a few inches of cut line. I raced to the galley, handed our centerboard girl Laura the filet knife, and ran to port to receive the tacked jib. But it was all in vain, as the guys nosed us out in the final seconds of our race. We were shocked and disappointed, but I was even more so when I realized I’d cut the jib sheet in half! C-Life, a Gemini 105M, was the first boat across the finish line with Lay Low, the Iroquois, in second. The rest of the racers had their own stories, and many were shared during the awards ceremony as the handcrafted pottery vases were distributed to the winners. As it turned out, the race committee gave Island Time a 30-second penalty for forcing the committee boat to fall back on their anchor. They were afraid Island Time would hit them during the nerve-wracking finish. (Steve would swear that was unnecessary, but we can’t argue with T.L. Lewis, our illustrious committee of many years.) The final outcome was a three-way tie for first place with Perigee, Island Time and CLife. Each year we chicks try to get favors from the race committee by forming a circle around T.L. and begging, pleading, promising favors if he’ll put us in a good position. We never really mean it, but guess it worked, as during awards, we were surprised with first place. Truly, how that happened, we’re not sure, but…that’s the joy of racing! Finally, with the subs gone, the Corona supply dwindling, the video and slide shows over, and the boats being towed or sailed away, only a handful of partiers lingered under the thatch roof, reminiscing on past years and dreaming about the next. It was another fabulous, good-time weekend, and next year, the weekend after Labor Day 2007, we’ll do it all over again.

Sailed over a 20-mile steeplechase course, and with a staggered start (higher rated PHRF boats starting first), the race had to be delayed an hour because of a passing thunderstorm from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. The first boat across the start line at 10:17 a.m. was Joel Derby’s Rhodes 19 with a 249 rating, while Scott Sonnier’s ID35 was last to start with its rating of 39, crossing the start line at 11:27 a.m. The race is sponsored by the Corinthian Sailing Association of Lake Pontchartrain, South Shore Yacht Club, and—for the first time—the New Orleans Yacht Club that hosted pre-race and post-race festivities. The course had seven legs, but with the wind out of the northwest at 10-12, there was but one weather leg. Otherwise it was reaches and downwind work, which made for a fast, yet competitive race. Johnny Winter’s S-29.2, Dixie Chick, led most of the race but was caught with less than four miles remaining, and finished eighth in fleet, second in Spinnaker B. Wild Thing, reveling in the nice breeze and flat water, started at 11:08 a.m. and caught Bill Provensal’s Cal 48, Tiara, near the finish, and zoomed so far ahead that it had time to go to the finish line while missing the second-to-last round mark, then upon realizing there was no gun or sound when crossing, surfed back a half mile, rounded, and still beat Tiara over the line. Wild Thing won fleet honors, as well as Spinnaker A. Tiara was second in fleet and second in Spinnaker A, while ID35 was third in that class. Gerald Kuehler’s Tartan 33R,

E-Scow Wins Great Lake Race On Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans, Sept. 9 By Nat Belloni Guy Echols skippered the E-Scow Wild Thing to first place in the 15th Annual Great Lake Race on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans on September 9. The race was cancelled last year by Hurricane Katrina, which also decimated the fleet. Only 37 boats registered for the event, and 31 answered the starting gun. In the past, this race has attracted as many as 150 contestants. News & Views for Southern Sailors

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RACING Esprit de Vie, was sixth in fleet and first in Spinnaker B ahead of Dixie Chick. Stray Bullet, Bill Jesse’s Santana 30/30, was third in class and ninth in fleet. Veteran Charlie Erickson co-skippered with Morris Molaison aboard the Catalina 30, C’Est La Vie, to first in the non-spinnaker fleet, taking 13th overall. Second in NonSpinnaker B was Tabatha Waters aboard the Catalina 309, Belief, while Henry Barousse was third at the helm of the Hunter 30, Summer Wind. In Non-Spinnaker A, Stanton Murray single-handed his J/100 to a first place, with Mike Floberg second in his Catalina 36, The Right Stuff, and Don Fratiger third in his Hunter 340, Marie Lynn. Bob Maher served as race boat aboard his Swift 42 Trawler, Second Cup. The race committee consisted of Bill Fields, Mike Jones and Nat Belloni.

Zephyr! Racing With Brown Sails, J/30 Nationals, From New Orleans to Cedar Point Yacht Club, Connecticut, Sept. 14 By Troy Gilbert “We always have a monkey on our backs.” Scott Tonguis stated while describing the trials he and his crew went through to achieve a record fifth consecutive J/30 onedesign national championship at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Connecticut the weekend of Sept. 14. With a history of overcoming challenges, intense competition, false dockside rumors of being a “cheater boat” and weight advantages, Team Zephyr out of New Orleans had chalked up championship wins in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 on its J/30. It was primed for its record fifth consecutive national title on its home waters of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans in October 2005, until a little something poured in from the Gulf named Katrina. Fearing the worst and finally able to enter the city a few weeks after Katrina made landfall, the owner/skipper of Zephyr, Scott Tonguis, made his way out to the harbor to examine his J/30 that he’d owned since 1987. It wasn’t good. Though properly and heavily secured, the boat had risen up in her slip in the 24-foot storm surge, and eventually came down suffering a hole as she was impaled on a piling. To make matters worse, a few weeks later, Zephyr’s bow was put under water by Hurricane Rita, resulting in further damage to the boat’s interior and sail stock. Because of the extensive devastation, the New Orleans Yacht Club was forced to cancel the championship, which led to 2005 being the only year since 1980 that there was not a North American championship for the class. It appeared as if there would be no record for Team Zephyr. However, as the date approached for the 2006 North Americans, Cedar Point Yacht Club in Connecticut made the incredibly gracious move of asking NOYC to stand in as co-hosts for the event, and, undaunted by the loss of their boat, Team Zephyr committed to attending the 2006 J/30 North Americans in Connecticut. They chartered a local J/30 and with everyone from the previous year’s team sailing the regatta, minus their best “rock star,” Benz Faget— 68

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who could not attend due to a scheduling conflict—they came to win. The team raced a 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 4, (6) against 16 competitors in winds ranging from 4-25 knots to win the championship by a full seven points over their nearest competitor, Big Kahuna, skippered by Larry Christy out of Annapolis, MD. Adding to this unprecedented win and as a symbol of those who suffered and lost lives when the levees failed, the New Orleans sailors raced with Zephyr’s surviving mainsail, stained brown from sitting in the murky Katrina floodwaters for weeks after she foundered. Throughout the regatta, people were constantly asking the crew about the brown mainsail, but it wasn’t until during the acceptance speech given by Scott Tonguis and Tyler Garrett, that the sailors truly explained the meaning of the brown mainsail and how that over a year later, things are still far from normal in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. After Tonguis’ acceptance speech, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Team Zephyr members are: Scott Tonguis (Louisville, KY), Benz Faget (New Orleans, LA), Donnie Brennan (Mobile, AL), David Erwin (New Orleans, LA), Dale Steinkamp (New Orleans, LA), David Zahn (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Tyler Garrett (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Matt Garrett (New Haven, CT), and Rob Rodgers (New Orleans, LA). This crew has sailed with and against each other for some 20 years.

19th Annual Lost Bay Regatta, Point Yacht Club, Josephine, AL, Sept. 16 By Kim Kaminski

Skipper Tom Stokes from the Long Beach Yacht Club and his crew who sailed aboard his Pearson 36 Free Spirit not only won the first-place trophy in the 2006 Lost Bay Regatta NonSpinnaker class J but also won the Overall Non-Spinnaker Fleet Award known as the Paul Mueller Memorial Trophy. Photo by Kim Kaminski. Sixty sailboats headed toward the quiet community of Josephine, AL, to sail in the 19th Annual Lost Bay Regatta, sponsored by the Point Yacht Club, on September 16. Two years earlier, Point Yacht Club members prepared for this annual race—their biggest racing event of the year—but a little storm known as Ivan the Terrible came ashore two days before the race, destroying their clubhouse and the www.southwindsmagazine.com


adjacent marina complex. The yacht club persevered and prepared once again to host one of the area’s best weekend events filled with beach parties, raft-ups and racing fun. Last year, 43 boats entered the race, despite Hurricane Katrina’s best effort to stop the occasion all together. This year, the race grew to over 250 sailors on a total of 60 boats (and best of all – no hurricanes interfered with the weekend!). Thankfully, Mother Nature was kind this year, allowing plenty of sunshine, moderate breezes (southeast winds 8 to 10 knots) and fair seas. There were four Spinnaker classes and 10 Non-Spinnaker classes racing on the waters of Perdido Bay on a triangle course set-up by Principal Race Officer Tooty Barnett from the Southern Yacht Club. Fleet Captain Brett Holk from the Point Yacht Club organized the support crew and chase boats, set up the class divisions and presented the unique handcrafted studio pottery and clay sculpture trophies to each of the winners of the day’s competition. There was plenty of food, live music and dancing on the beach for all. The evening was filled with a shared excitement that the annual Lost Bay event was being held in its normal traditional style. Everyone was a winner at this year’s event. In addition to the first-, second- and third-place awards, two perpetual trophies were also given to the fleet winners in the regatta. This year, the honors went to Bill Yoder and crew on Wild Cherry from the Fairhope Yacht Club, who earned first place, winning the Paul Schreck Spinnaker Fleet Trophy for a second year in a row. Tom Stokes and crew on Free Spirit from the Long Beach Yacht Club earned the Paul Mueller Memorial Trophy for first place in the Non-Spinnaker (Genoa) fleet. This year’s Lost Bay Regatta was made possible by the generous support of its members, sponsors, advertisers, Pirates Cove Marina and the sailors who rallied together after the storms – we are having fun on the water again…because you can’t keep a good club or a fun race down! For results, go to www.pointyachtclub.org.

Point Yacht Club Fleet Captain Brett Holk presents the first-place spinnaker class C trophy to crew Stanley of Wild Cherry. Julie B. Connerley photo.

Young Skipper Helms Winning Boat at Lost Bay Regatta By Julie B. Connerley Sixty skippers competed in the 19th annual Lost Bay Regatta September 16 (the anniversary of Hurricane Ivan), including veteran fleet winner, Zane Yoder of Fairhope Yacht Club. Yoder skippered Wild Cherry, a Soveral 30, to victory in class C and beat out 17 other spinnakers to win the coveted Paul Schreck Perpetual Trophy. Aboard Yoder’s boat was a young force to be reckoned with — nine-year-old Crew Stanley, the youngest sailor to helm during this year’s race. Crew’s parents, Wes and Tracy, are avid sailors. His father works at the West Marine in Jackson, MS, and the Stanleys encourage both their sons in the love of the sport. “Miss Logan, my third grade teacher at Highland Elementary in Ridgeland, Mississippi, let me do all my work early so I could leave school to compete in this race,” beamed Crew. “I normally sail Sunfish, but since I’ve gotten to know Zane and some of the other racers, he let me sail with him and even let me helm the last leg of the race!” Crew sat on the first row during the awards ceremony and patiently waited while all the class winners were recognized before the Point Yacht Club’s fleet captain, Brett Holk, called out the overall winner of the spinnaker fleet.

Debby Grimm Defends Title at 2006 Coco Seemann Regatta, Lake Pontchartrain, Sept. 23-24 By Julie B. Connerley Hurricane Katrina and a fire destroyed Southern Yacht Club’s priceless collection of trophies representing both historical and ceremonial highlights of SYC’s past 157 years, including the finely detailed double-handed loving cup that commemorated the legacy of pioneer woman sailor, CoCo Seemann. Yet, the spirit of the South’s first representative to be invited to compete in the U.S. Sailing Women’s Championship for the Frances Adams Trophy lives on, just as SYC’s legacy to the sailing community will — with or without a wall full of trophies. Southern and the Lake Pontchartrain Women’s Sailing Association hosted the annual CoCo Seemann One-Design Keelboat Regatta September 23 and 24. The five-race series was held under stormy conditions that tested skippers, crews, and the J-22s used in this competition. After four races on Saturday, Debby Grimm had four bullets, assuring her of a repeat victory as overall winner, while News & Views for Southern Sailors

Skipper Debby Grimm, third from left, and her crew are the 2006 CoCo Seemann Regatta One-Design Keelboat Regatta first-place winners. Julie B. Connerley photo. Lisa Luongo earned a solid second place with 8 points. Tied for third place was SYC’s Elaine Boos, and Pensacola Beach Yacht Club’s team coordinated by Julie Connerley. SOUTHWINDS

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REGIONAL RACE CALENDARS With only one race scheduled for Sunday, the race committee hoped to get in one long race before a worsening storm front passed through the area. Unfortunately, such was not the case and the race was abandoned immediately after all the boats had rounded the weather mark. The tie was broken in favor of Boos, who repeated her third-place victory from 2005’s CoCo Seemann Regatta.

REGIONAL RACING News And Race Calendars

Regattas & 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 schedules and venues change, contact the sponsoring organization to confirm. Changes to be published, contact the editor. Changes can be put on our web site, if possible.

NOVEMBER Charleston Ocean Racing Asso., www.charlestonoceanracing.org 11 Big Boat Regatta, Charleston Yacht Club, Charleston SC. 18 Double Handed Race, Charleston SC. Lake Lanier, GA. www.lakeniersailing.com 18 University Yacht Club Lanier Cup - Invitational, Atlanta, GA Long Bay Sailing Association www.longbaysailing.org 4, & 18 Fall Series 3, 4, & 5 Little River Inlet, SC. Neuse Yacht Racing Association www.nyra.org 3 – 5 Etchells Fall Blast – Etchells – ODC, Oriental, NC. 11 Winter Series – PHRF, NYRA boty – NYRA, New Bern, NC. 18 Turkey Trot – SJ21 – New Bern, NC. South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association, www.sayra-sailing.com 4 – 5 SAYRA PHRF Championships – J22, J24 – Charleston, SC. 4 – 5 Flying Scot Fall 48 – Flying Scott – Lake Norman Yacht Club, Mooresville, NC 4 – 5 Midlands Regatta – Open – Columbia Sailing Club, Columbia, SC. 4 – 5 Bloody Mary Thistle Regatta – Thistles – Western Carolina Sailing Club, Anderson, SC. 11 – 12 Carolina Keel Boat & One Design Regatta – 20’ & up One Design – LNYC, Mooresville, NC. DECEMBER Lake Lanier, GA. www.lakeniersailing.com 3 Whitecapper Regatta – Lake Lanier Sailing Club, Lake Lanier, GA. Neuse Yacht Racing Association www.nyra.org 2,16 Winter Series – PHRF, NYRA boty – NYRA, New Bern, NC. 70

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NOVEMBER – Central and NE Florida 3 Howl at the Moon. Halifax Sailing Center. Daytona 3-5 Melbourne Cruise. Stuart Corinthian Yacht Club. 4 First Saturday Sailing at Sebastian Inlet. Indian River Catamaran Association. 4 Halloween Regatta. Florida Yacht Club, Jacksonville 9-12 ECSA GAM. Eau Gallie. 11 Turkey Trot Regatta. 11 Kings Day Regatta. Epping Forest Yacht Club, Jacksonville 11-12 13th Annual SER MC Scow Championship Regatta. Lake Eustis Sailing Club. 11-12 East Lake Toho Regatta. Lake Monroe Sailing Association. Sanford 11 Fall Women’s Race #5 ECSA-women’s 18 Club Race. Lake Monroe Sailing Association. Sanford. 18 New Moon Merriment (fun regatta). Halifax Sailing Center. Daytona 18-19 Pinedavilla Cruise. ECSA-Cruising 18-19 Club Race. Lake Eustis Sailing Club. 26 Winter Rum Race. Melbourne Yacht Club x DECEMBER – Central and NE Florida 2-3 Kettle Cup Regatta. Lake Monroe Sailing Association 2-3 Gator Bowl Regatta. Rudder Club 8 Howl at the Moon. Halifax Sailing Association. 9 Race of Champions. Indian River Yacht Club. 9 One Design Series. Florida Yacht Club 9-10 Junior Olympic Sailing Festival, US Sailing Center. 10 Winter Rum Race. Melbourne Yacht Club

NOVEMBER 4 CRYC Annual Regatta. BBYRA PHRF #11. CRYC – PHRF regatta for registered classes. 5 CRYC Annual Regatta. BBYRA One Design #11. CRYC – One Design regatta for registered classes. 11 KBYC “Round the Island” Race. KBYC – 41st Anniversary of this annual regatta around Key Biscayne. 11-12 Stars Schoomaker Cup. CRYC – Star class regatta. 12 J24 Fall #3. Flat Earth Racing. J/24 One Design regatta. 15-19 Stars North American Championship. CRYC – Star class One Design regatta 18-19 PHRF South East Florida Championship. CGSC - 5th Annual 2 day regatta for PHRF boats with valid certificates. LEGEND – YACHT CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS CRYC Coral Reef Yacht Club KBYC Key Biscayne Yacht Club 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 MYC Miami Yacht Club. www.miamiyachtclub.net. DECEMBER 1 Wirth Munroe Palm Beach Race. SFC/CCA. The 50th annual ocean race starting off Government Cut and ending at Palm Beach. 2-3 Stars Commodore’s Cup. CRYC. One Design regatta for www.southwindsmagazine.com


registered classes. BBYRA One Design #12. BBYC. One Design regatta for registered class. 3 BBYRA PHRF #12. KBYC. PHRF regatta for registered boats. 9-10 Piana Cup. Etchells. BBYC. First regatta part of the Jaguar Cup series. The 10th annual regatta hosted by Fleet 20 to celebrate the lifetime achievement of Louis Piana. 9J24 Fall #4. Flat Earth Racing. J/24 One Design regatta. 25-29 Orange Bowl Regatta. CRYC/CGSC. The 27th annual regatta for 420 & 470, Collegiate 420 & Eurodinghy (for women) Mid Winters. Youth Regatta (IODA) & International Youth Regatta (Laser, Laser Radial, Club 420 & 29ers). 2

(Since Rebecca Burg took off for the good life and is cruising around, SOUTHWINDS is looking for someone to send us articles on sailing in the Keys; Racing, cruising, waterways and anchoring articles, etc. editor@southwindsmagazine.com)

4-5 5 11-12 11-12 11-12 17-19 18 18-19

Venice Sailing & Yacht Club. Commodore’s Cup, PHRF St. Petersburg Sailing Assoc. Women’s Fall Race Lake Eustis Sailing Club. MC Scow Championship. NOR Davis Island YC. Egmont Key Race, PHRF. Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Flying Scot Regatta. St. Petersburg YC. Snipe Florida States. NOR Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Drumstick Regatta. Clearwater Community Sailing Center. Carlisle Classic in the gulf and on the bay. 18-19 Marco Island YC Fall Regatta Buoy Races PHRF, (SWFBOTY). 18-19 St. Petersburg YC. Fall Bay Race PHRF. (SBOTY) NOR 23 Thanksgiving. 24 Davis Island YC. Old Shoe Race. 25-26 Davis Island YC. Thanksgiving All Class Regatta. 30-Dec 3 St. Petersburg YC. America’s Disabled Open Regatta DECEMBER Nov. 30-3 St. Petersburg YC. America’s Disabled Open Regatta 2-3 Davis Island YC. One Design Regatta. 2-3 Edison Sailing Center. Sunfish Challenge Cup Regatta 9 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Commodore’s Cup 9 St. Petersburg Sailing Association. Races #4 and #5. PHRF. 10 Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society. Commodore’s Cup, PHRF. 9-10 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Clearwater Junior Championships Laser District 13 championship.

Key West Sailing Club. Every Saturday – Open House at the Key West Sailing Club. 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (305) 292-5993. www.keywestsailingclub.org. Sailboat Lane off Palm Avenue in Key West. Come by the club to sail. Non-members and members welcome. Wednesday night racing has begun for the summer season. Skippers meet at the clubhouse by 5:00 p.m. and boats start racing at 6:00 p.m. in the seaplane basin near the mooring field. Dinner and drinks afterward. Upper Keys Sailing Club. www.upperkeyssailingclub.com.

The 0nline West Florida Race Calendar which goes from Sept.1, 2006 thru August 31, 2007 is available on the SOUTHWINDS Web site with hyperlinks to sponsoring clubs. It covers racing in West Florida from Marco Island in southwest Florida north, up to and including Clearwater. www.southwindsmagazine.com. Accessed on the racing pages from the home page. Club Racing Bradenton YC. Winter Races starting in October till Daylight savings starts.. Races at 12:30 p.m. PHRF racing on Manatee River. For info call Larry Lecuyer, (941) 729-5401. 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 Venice Sailing Squadron. Saturdays. First Saturday of each month, PHRF racing. Start at mouth of Venice Inlet. www.venicesailing-squadron.org NOVEMBER 2-5 Strictly Sail Boat Show &Trawler Show, Vinoy Basin, St. Petersburg, 2006 4 Venice Sailing Squadron. Venice Yacht Club. Buoy Race, PHRF 4 St. Petersburg Sailing Assoc. Commodore’s Cup, PHRF. 4 Sarasota Yacht Club. Invitational Regatta. PHRF. (SBBOTY) 4-5 Gulfport Yacht Club. Alter Cup Area D South Qualifier, Catamarans News & Views for Southern Sailors

NOVEMBER 4 PYC Championship Race #4. Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 4 Monk Smith Regatta. Bay Waveland Yacht Club, Bay St. Louis, MS 4 Mississippi State Optimist Championship. Bay Waveland Yacht Club, Bay St. Louis, MS 4-5 LPRC (Lake Pontchartrain Racing Circuit). New Orleans Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club, Tammany Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA 11 Double-Handed Regatta. Fairhope Yacht Club, Fairhope, AL 11 Rondinella Regatta. Bay Waveland Yacht Club, Bay St. Louis, MS 11 Cruising Raft-Up. Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 11-12 Jubilee Regatta GYA Individual Flying Scot Championship. Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 12,19 Fall #1,#2. Corinthian Sailing Association. New Orleans, LA 18 Cruising Couples Regatta. Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL 18 J-Fest. New Orleans Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA 18 FSSA Cajun Country Championship. Lake Arthur Yacht Club, Lake Arthur, LA 19 Turkey Regatta. Jackson Yacht Club, Jackson, MS 25-26 USODA MidWinters. Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA DECEMBER 2 Double-Handed Regatta. Houston Yacht Club. Houston, TX 2,16 Frostbite #2,3. St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club. Panama City, FL 3 Fall #3. Corinthian Sailing Association. New Orleans, LA 3 GMAC Bowl Regatta. Fairhope Yacht Club. Fairhope, AL 9 Santa Claus Regatta. Pensacola Yacht Club. Pensacola, FL 9-10 Sugar Bowl Regatta. Southern Yacht Club and New Orleans Yacht Club. New Orleans, LA 16 Predicted Log Contest Race. Navy Yacht Club. Pensacola, FL 16-17 2006 Race of Champions. Southern Yacht Club - New Orleans, LA 16-17 Sugar Bowl Regatta (One Design). Southern Yacht Club and New Orleans Yacht Club. New Orleans, LA SOUTHWINDS

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MARINE SURVEYING

CUSTOM BOAT SERVICES & REPAIRS 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 ■ 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 & 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. www.southwindsmagazine.com


SERVICES DIRECTORY Call (941) 795-8704 or e-mail editor@southwindsmagazine.com TAYLOR MARINE SURVEYING & CONSULTING, LLC Specializing in Sailing Vessels (904) 466-0602 www.taylormarinesurveying.com

RIGGING SERVICES

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

Cell (727) 215-0704 www.bayrigging.com OCEAN RIGGING Full Service Mobile Rigging 30 yrs experience • Ft. Myers to Punta Gorda oceanrigging@earthlink.net .(239) 218-1127

SAILMAKING, REPAIRING & CLEANING ADVANCED SAILS . . . . . . . . .(727) 896-7245 Quality Cruising Sails & Service Closest Sailmaker to St. Petersburg Marinas Keith Donaldson . . . . . . . . . .(727) 896-7245 MASTHEAD USED SAIL . . . .(800) 783-6953 www.mastheadsailinggear.com Largest Inventory in the South (727) 327-5361

UNDERWATER SERVICES

PORPOISE SAILING SERVICES –

Scuba Clean Yacht Service

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

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

Sarasota

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

(800) 507-0119 www.porpoisesailing.com

(727) 327-2628

ADVERTISE

SAILING INSTRUCTION

IN THE SERVICE DIRECTORY

YACHTING VACATIONS Punta Gorda, FL Sailboat Charters 22’-48’ ASA instruction Live-aboard/non-live-aboard www.yachtingvacations.co . . .(800) 447-0080

Starting at $96 a year editor@southwindsmagazine.com

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

■ 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? ■ FUN AND UNUSUAL STORIES: Got an interesting story? Unusual, funny, tearjerkers, learning experiences and others wanted. Keep them short for our last page, 700-1000 words roughly. Photos too, but not necessary. ■ 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 News & Views for Southern Sailors

(941) 795-8704

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 as is on a 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. SOUTHWINDS

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“I Told You So” By Ed Miracle

This famous painting says it all. SOUTHWINDS is offering this painting for sale as a gicleé, a high quality recreation of the original art, produced on stretched canvas. Quality-framed in real wood (style may vary). In this format— on canvas (and not a poster), “I told you so” is available only through a limited number of sellers. Put this on your wall, in your boat or as a beautiful gift. Image size: 12” x 21” Framed size: 17” x 26” Comes with a small plaque with the words

“I Told You So” View on line at www.southwindsmagazine.com/resources/marineart.htm We reserve the right to substitute a frame of equal or greater value. Delivery may take up to two weeks. Rush orders possible at extra cost.

$175 plus shipping Priority mail USPS or UPS – add sales tax in Florida

CONTACT:

marineart@southwindsmagazine.com

941.795.8704 DIGITAL SELECTIVE CALLING Continued from page 47 virtually useless when it comes to retrieving descriptive information about you and your boat. If connected to a GPS, the SAR organization receiving the emergency call may know your location, course and speed, but they don’t know who or what you are. They don’t know if they should be looking for a large commercial ship or a small sailboat, and consequently don’t know what kind of SAR assets are required.

Remember: Your MMSI number is another item in your box of safety tools. Don’t leave home without it.

THE SOLUTION If you are planning an offshore passage or plan to be boating in foreign waters, get your MMSI number from the FCC. You do this online through the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS), the same system through which you apply for your marine radio licenses. There is no charge for requesting an MMSI number from the FCC—if you submit the request concurrently with a new marine station license application. If you already have a marine radio license call sign, you can still submit a request for an MMSI number to the FCC; however, the FCC considers this to be a modification of an existing license, and the $50 license modification fee applies. For cruisers with an MMSI number issued by Boat US or Sea Tow and planning a trip to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, or other international destination, be sure to take the following three steps before departing: 1. Apply for a MMSI number through the FCC. 74

November 2006

2. Program the MMSI number issued by the FCC into your DSC-capable radios. Be sure you’ve entered the number correctly before storing it, because most radios only let you store two DSC number sequences. 3. Call BoatUS or Sea Tow and have them cancel the MMSI number previously assigned to you.

SOUTHWINDS

1

According to information currently published by the USCG Navigation Center at http://www.navcen.uscg. gov/marcomms/high_frequency/rtchansi.htm “...The simplex DSC frequencies are guarded and are used for digital alerting and calling for distress, urgency and safety. Once the DSC call has been sent, the corresponding radiotelephone frequency is used for voice communications. These simplex voice frequencies are used for distress and safety communications, and (except for 2182 kHz) are not normally guarded…” (Author’s emphasis.)

Gary Jensen owns and operates DockSide Radio (www.dockside radio.com), and specializes in Sailmail and WinLink e-mail systems. Gary and his wife Peggy lived aboard their Hans Christian 38T for three years cruising the west coast of the United States, Mexico, and the Sea of Cortez, www.southwindsmagazine.com


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CLASSIFIED ADS 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 November 2006.

BOATS & DINGHIES

_________________________________________ 3-foot Racing Sailboat. Radio-controlled. Like new, never used. $195. (941) 493-2085. (1/07) _________________________________________

• 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.

DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDS Advertise your business in a display ad in the classifieds section. 1” 2” 2” 3” 3”

$25/month $38/month $44/month $57/month $66/month

. . . .12-month minimum . . . . . . . . . . . .12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 months . . . . . . . . . . . .12 months . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 months

1986 Seaward 22, shoal draft, new rigging, upholstery, paint, 2003 Suzuki 4-stroke 6HP motor, VHF, depth finder, AM-FM radio, solar panel, open ports, trailer. $6,500. rf2tilly1@earthlink.net. Call Ralph (352) 2830836. (11/06)

Hard Dink for sale. $375. 8.5’ overall, Oars. Wood trim, black rub rail. 2.2 Honda fourstroke available for xtra $. Bruce/SPB, FL. (404) 277-0358. (12/06) _________________________________________ 9’ Fiberglass Dinghy. Livingston double hulled dinghy with towing harness. Very stable. Fits foredeck of 32’ sailboat. $500. Ken (252) 514-2609. (1/07) _________________________________________ Dinghy Package Yankee Boatworks 9’3” fiberglass with cover $950, Kato heavy duty davits $850, Solarex 42W solar panels on pivot base $500, all for $2000 OBO. photo available (321) 431-4380. (12/06) _________________________________________

Tanzer 22CB. main, genoa, jib, spinnaker, 9.9HP electric Suzuki, compass, speed, depth, ice box, Porta Potti, boom awning, screens, VHF antenna/cable. Sleeps four. Great weekend Cruiser, Racer. More. $3,750. (239) 542 3753. (01/07)

Zodiac Dinghy, 10 ft., 2001, good condition. $800/OBO. (813) 831-8585. (1/07) _________________________________________ Bauer 10 Sailboat. Fiberglass with the centerboard. Fully equipped with trailer. Both New. Cost $4315. Sell both for $2850 or boat only for $2500. (941) 966-3507. (12/06)

PaceShip 23, roller furling, spinnaker & pole, DC refrigeration, marine head, depth meter, 9.9 Yamaha 4-stroke electric, battery charger, 2 batteries, grill, Bimini, dodger, alcohol stove, cockpit cushions, 5 winches, $3500 OBO (727) 534-3425.(11/06) 1971 O’Day Rhodes 19 Sailboat, 3’3” keel, battery, sails, new bottom paint, new cushions, cockpit Sunbrella cover, electrical, 2anchors, many accessories, Very good condition, restored. $1500 OBO. www.RedMcKenna.com. (813) 831-8585. (1/07)

2” DISPLAY ADS STARTING AT $38 A MONTH News & Views for Southern Sailors

Catalina 27, 1984, Tall rig, 4’ draft, 15 hp Universal diesel just serviced, Harken roller furling, Edson wheel steering, depth, speed, pressure water, stove, ice box, anchor, Lewmar ST winches, 110 shore power, air conditioner, battery charger. $11,900. OBO for quick sale. www.cortezyachts.com or call (941) 792-9100

ADVERTISE YOUR BOAT Starting at $25 for 3 months SOUTHWINDS

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CLASSIFIED ADS 28-foot Morgan Out Island 1974. Cruise ready, Autohelm, two GPSs, depth finder, radio, compass, Yanmar diesel, sleeps six, 3foot draft, docked at Shell Pt, FL. Selling for health reasons. $9000/best offer. (850) 5399044. (11/06) _________________________________________

1981 Cape Dory Cutter 30. Well-equipped cruising boat. Surveyed 2002 at $35K. Tough boat, no damages in Katrina. Volvo Diesel. New head and sailcovers in 2005. $32,000. John (228) 343-9546. (11/06)

Viper 830 28 ft Sprint sailboat with trailer, carbon mast, motor, instruments, new sails, plus extras $39,500. Located in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. call Mike at (850) 243-1804, e-mail Mike at pam.guthrie@cox.net. (11/06)

33’ Endeavour Sloop. 1984. draft 4’6”, Profurl headsail, auto pilot, refrig-AC/DC, H/C press water, VHF, GPS, solar, sailing dinghy, 4hp OB, 22hp Yanmar diesel, new bottom paint. (772) 335-0180. $36,000.’ jackstuff@bellsouth.net. (11/06) Columbia 31. 1966. 3-foot draft. Atomic 4 inboard. 150 jib. Harken Roller furling. Lewmar 2-speed winches. Much restoration of interior and exterior. Many Extras. 10-foot dinghy – Must See! (727) 938-5453. (1/07)

J29 Hull # 225 MHOB. For Sale. Fat Bottom Girl. All new rigging and running gear. Professionally fared bottom and keel, new interlux white epoxy bottom. One-year-old racing #1, .60 Quantum spinnaker, #3 and racing main. Also, heavy #1, 2 mains and .75 spinnaker. Boat has had a refit in the last couple years, great condition. Two spinnaker poles, (one carbon fiber), – much more. Trailer included. $26,500. Please contact mogress@aol.com. (941) 376-9929. Rick. (1/07) Nonsuch 30. 1984 Ultra. Excellent condition. Recent upgrades include rebuilt Westerbeke 33. North sail. Extensive refit in 2005. Currently in Florida Keys. Bahamas cruiseready. $69,900. (305) 849-1929. (1/07)

Catalina 30 1991 MK II Ultimate Cruiser, Std rig, wing keel, full bimini/dodger, new spinnaker, 3.5kw Genset, A/C, Electric fridge, watermaker, icemaker, microwave, inverter, 2 battery chargers, Link 2000, Raymarine SL 70 Radar, 425 Chartplotter, Tri-data, 4000ST Autopilot with remote, Garmin 128 GPS, Loran, JVC CD/Stereo, 8.6’ dink with Nissan 2.5OB, $49,900. Niceville, Florida (850) 6992717. (11/06)

31’ Sloop. New 20 hp Universal, New Sails, Autopilot, Depth/knotmeter/distance, windspeed, Loran, Bimini. Cold molded. Slip in St. Petersburg, FL, included. Well-maintained. www.angelfire.com/fl5/boatforsalefl. Must sell! (813) 230-5751. (11/06) 32’ Westsail (1977) Perkins 4-107 diesel, Aires vane, Harken roller furling, S-L windlass, 35CQR, 33 Bruce, cold plate refrigeration, air conditioning, Garmin chartplotter. Dodger & Bimini. Exceptional condition, little used. $55,000/OBO. Call (954) 560-3919. (11/06)

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 $10,000/best offer. Needs TLC. Call Major Carter (941) 792-9100.

Rodgers 33, 1981, 2’8” draft, Great Florida/Bahamas boat, bimini, tiller w/auto-pilot, 2GM Yanmar, new interior, propane stove, pressure water, 16K A/C, microwave, stereo, VHF, $27,000, (941) 722-3126. (11/06) 1985 Hunter 34. Sacrifice. $26k. New sails, bottom paint September ‘05. Located at Lake Martin, Dadeville, Alabama Great condition. Photos and inventory list available. nddavis@charter.net. (1/07)

1993 Gemini 3400 catamaran. 14’ beam. 18” board up. 5’ board down. In Sarasota. Cruise ready, Air, solar, davits, contact Alan (970) 690-3758 or alanm@frii.com for inventory list. Asking $65,000. (12/06)

Irwin 33 (1974) Extremely well-maintained cruiser ready to go! Improvements include AC, autopilot, new rigging, new upholstery much more. $13,600. Call (321) 662-4085 details at: www.zedpm.com/~74irwin33 (12/06) 30’ Pearson, Racer/Cruiser Sloop, 1976, red, Excellent cond., 2 mains, 3 jibs, 3 spinnakers, spinnaker pole. Tiller, marine radio, stove, new pot, sleeps 6, $12,900. Madeira Beach, FL terrycshan@aol.com. (727) 581-4708 or (727) 244-4708. (11/06) 80

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SEE CLASSIFIED INFO ON PAGE 79 www.southwindsmagazine.com


CLASSIFIED ADS

1995 Hunter 35.5 Only 615 hrs on Yanmar 27. New canvas, Navico autopilot, ST 60 depth, ST 60 speed, Furuno GPS, SGC SSB radio, Apelco VHF, dinghy w/OB engine, roller furling, full batten main w/dutchman, solar panel, S&L windlass, holding plate refrigeration, SS propane stove, 12000 BTU marine air, TV, stereo. Ready to sail with performance and pleasure. $59,900. www.cortezyachts.com. (941) 792-9100.

TransWorld CT 41. 1979. Proven full-keel blue water cruiser. Perkins 4-108 diesel. 46’ LOA with bowsprit. Ketch-rigged Center Cockpit with walk thru to aft cabin. Complete Awlgrip paint 2002. Custom stainless steel rails and davits. 10’ 6” Caribe RIB with 15hp OB. Full galley. Beautiful teak interior with lots of storage. Maxwell electric windlass. Much more. Asking $99,000. (941) 792-9100 www.cortezyachts.com j Morgan Out-Island 41’ 1981 Ketch. NEW Perkins 65HP engine/transmission. Fully equipped for cruising – just back after five year cruise. Heavier cruising boat, 27,000 lb, large interior, 13’10” beam, shallow draft 4’5”. $84,900, John (772) 453-4069, johnausen@yahoo.com, Fort Pierce FL. (11/06)

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 $99,000 Call Major Carter or visit www.Cortezyachts.com

Manta 42 Catamaran, 2000. Immaculate, ocean outfitted. SSB/modem, watermaker, solar panels, wind generator, genset, AC, RIB dinghy and 9hpOB, sea anchor, liferaft, EPIRB, much more. Ask $318K. (941) 505-5053. amchateau@comcast.net. (12/06)

Beneteau 473. $350,000. Canadian registered located on Grand Bahama. Extensive customization, latest equipment, well-maintained vessel, equipped for long distance cruising. Generator, dinghy, outboard. Excellent condition. Showboat original. Seaswan@cogeco.ca. (1/07)

BOAT GEAR & SUPPLIES

_________________________________________ Two Montague folding, full-size bicycles; perfect for cruising. Like new, with many extras, including soft carrying cases. “A bicycle that folds, not a folding bicycle.” $350 each. (941)743-7156 or (941)504-3302. (12/06) _________________________________________

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CLASSIFIED ADS RADAR SCANNER WANTED. Raytheon 2D 18” Radome 2KW. Or one compatible with the HSB Series Pathfinder Radar. Must be operational. I have an intact plastic housing and mounting bracket for mast. Would also like new wiring, but not necessary. (941) 7958704. editor@southwindsmagazine.com. _________________________________________ Dinghy Package Yankee Boatworks 9’3” fiberglass with cover $950, Kato heavy duty davits $850, Solarex 42W solar panels on pivot base $500, all for $2000 OBO. photo available (321) 431-4380. (12/06)

Outboard Motors for Sale. Johnson Sailmaster 6 hp, overhauled recently, $750/OBO. Tohatsu-3.5hp 2001. $300. (813) 831-8585. Zodiac Dinghy, 10 ft., 2001, good condition. $800/OBO. (1/07) _________________________________________ Old Divers Helmet, copper and brass. No dents, excellent shape. Only $495. (941) 4932085. (Sails Wanted for Catalina 28. MK II, but MKI might work. Tall rig. (941) 7958704. editor@southwindsmagazine.com. _________________________________________ Sails Wanted for Catalina 28, MK II, but MKI might work. Tall rig. (941) 795-8704. editor@southwindsmagazine.com. _________________________________________ Whisker Pole Wanted. Telescoping, line control, 8-14 ft. or 10-18 ft. West Florida, Greater Tampa Bay area or South. (941) 795-8704. editor@southwindsmagazine.com. _________________________________________ Martec folding prop 18x14x1-1/4 shaft $125. 22 lb. danforth $35. Yaesu all band reciever $25. Sealab SSB 7 crystals $25. Plastic holding tank “V” 24 gal. $20. Plastic water tank 36 gal.$20. Located Melbourne, FL. Take it all for $175! (321) 431-4380. (12/06) _________________________________________ Used Boat Gear for Sale. Paratech 15 & 18— both with line and chain, stainless propane stoves, 10’ Dyer sailing dinghy, 8’ Walker Bay Sailing Dinghy with Inflatable Tube, Offshore life vests, 6-man coastal life raft, 36’, 26’, 30’ masts & booms, some with rigging. Nautical Trader, 110 E. Colonia Lane, Nokomis, FL, (941) 488-0766. Shop online at www.nauticaltrader.net. _________________________________________ Complete standing rig for a 20’ Irwin MiniTon, includes 28’ mast with boom, step, stays, preventer, traveller, main, jib, spinnaker, fiberglass centerboard, rudder, SS bow pulpit, stanchions, hatch cover, & 2 Lewmar winches. $900 for all, or call for prices. (727) 896-1939. (11/06) _________________________________________ 3-Bladed Feathering Prop,$1,000. Like new. Used on 36 Catalina, less than 200 hours. Sarasota, FL. (941) 766-0008. ask for Bob H. (11/06)

SEE CLASSIFIED INFO ON PG 79 82

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CLASSIFIED ADS BOAT REGISTRATION _________________________________________ EASIEST, FASTEST MONTANA BOAT REGISTRATION. Pay No Sales Tax - No Attorney Necessary. $$ Save Thousands on Boat registration $$. 12 yrs experience-REGISTRATION IN 5 DAYS! 877.913.5100 www.mtvehicles.com. (1/07)

BUSINESSES FOR SALE/ INVESTMENTS _________________________________________ FOR SALE: Florida East Coast Sail Loft. Established 10 years. Well-equipped, extensive inventory and client list. Walking distance to several marinas. New sail design, construction and repairs. Custom canvas work, exterior/interior, and cushions. Strong used sail inventory. Respond to LOFT220@hotmail.com. (11/06) _________________________________________ Commercial cleaning business For Sale, or working partnership desired. National accounts, Great income! Ft Myers/Naples or Pensacola areas ready! 40k to 95k Call (321) 246-8276. (12/06)

CHARTS & BOOKS

_________________________________________ Discount NOAA, NGA, Maptech nautical charts and software. NOAA chart sale $15.50 each! Visit authorized chart agent www.DiscountNautical.com. (11/06) _________________________________________ 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

CREW AVAILABLE/WANTED _________________________________________ Visit SOUTHWINDS “NEW” boat and crew listing service at southwindsmagazine.com

HELP WANTED

Sailing Deputy Director Wanted. The Downtown Sailing Center of Baltimore, MD, seeking Deputy Director: twelve month, salaried position responsible for adult/junior education, outreach programs, supervises waterfront operations. Reports to Executive Director while supervising the facility manager and staff of 20+ seasonal instructors. Sailing instruction experience required, college degree desirable, and experience at similar (40-boat) facility. Resumes to jerry@downtownsailing.org. No phone calls. (11/06) _________________________________________ SAILMAKER St. Petersburg. Industrial Sewing Machine and Hand sewing experience for new sails and repairs. Must be capable of lifting 40 lbs. Benefits available for full-time work. Must have valid FL Drivers license. EOE. Contact: Peter O. (727) 471-2040, Doyle Ploch Sailmakers. _________________________________________ Articles and race reports in the Carolinas and Georgia. editor@southwindsmagazine.com. _________________________________________ Writers, Reporters, Articles, Photos Wanted. SOUTHWINDS is looking for articles on boating, racing, sailing in the Southern waters, the Caribbean and the Bahamas, and other articles on the following subjects: marinas, anchorages, mooring fields, disappearing marinas/boatyards, marinas/boatyards sold for condos, anchoring rights, sailing human interest stories, boat reviews, charter stories, waste disposal— and more. Photos wanted, plus we want cover photos (pay $65) of both race and non-race subjects, but about sailing. Cover photos must be very high resolution and vertical format. _________________________________________ Writers and Ideas Wanted on Waterways Issues. SOUTHWINDS is looking for writers, acting as independent subcontractors to research and write articles on 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, must have a passion for the subject and want to bring about change and improvement of boaters rights, waterways access, and disappearing marinas and boatyards—with lots of ideas and energy to help bring about improvements through various means. 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. _________________________________________

Sailboat Captain wanted and Crew wanted for exciting boat charter company located in South Florida. 5 star luxury resort. Captain: 100 ton, sail aux. $70,000 - $100,000. Crew: $30,000 - $50,000. For interview, please call (561) 368-3566 or Fax or E-mail Resume to (561) 368-0267 or kkeller@airandsea.com. (1/07) News & Views for Southern Sailors

Waterfront Home for Rent with Deepwater Slip. 2 bedroom 1 bath, with office. Central AC, Gulf Harbors, New Port Richey. Remodeled, excellent condition, new carpet and paint. $1150/month. 1 year lease. (352) 795-9276. (1/07)

Waterfront Homes For Sale. Madeira Beach, FL. Easy Gulf access via John’s Pass. Protected DEEP water. 100-ft new seawall. Wide open views. 3/2 and 2/2 available. (727) 744-2957 kfryfla@verizon.net. (1/07) Office/Shop Space for rent. Marine related preferred. Phone/Internet included. Flexible size space. Short term or month to month ok. JSI 3000 Gandy Blvd, St. Pete (727) 577-3220. (1/07) _________________________________________ Waterfront Lot for Sale with deeded, deepwater dock on Little Gasparilla Island, Charlotte Harbor, FL. Power and water included. Walk on the beach and watch the sunset on a private island. By owner (305) 6138425. (12/06)

INSURANCE

_________________________________________

_________________________________________ Massey Yacht Sales Mobile Broker-Do you prefer to sell yachts from your home office? If you do and you are a proven, successful yacht sales professional, we have positions open for Florida west and east coast. Take advantage of the Massey sales and marketing support, sales management and administration while working from your home selling brokerage sail and power boats. Call Frank Hamilton at (941) 723-1610 for interview appointment and position details. _________________________________________

Deepwater Boat Slip Included! 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2-car garage townhome. Mariners Pass, St. Petersburg, FL. $299k. Loads of updates. Call Bob Sackett, Realtor (727) 5277373 ext. 112. (1/07)

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE OR RENT

_________________________________________

Sarasota, FL Waterfront Townhouse w/Deep water boat slip for rent. 3br/3ba, 3 floors, 2 fireplaces, gated, pool, tennis. Protected boat slip accommodates up to 70-foot boat. Direct access to Gulf. Walk to restaurants and shopping. For info call (561) 213-2390. (12/06) SOUTHWINDS

November 2006 83


CLASSIFIED ADS LODGING FOR SAILORS

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SAILS & CANVAS

_________________________________________ Racing Spinnaker. Neil Pryde Tri-radial Spinnaker. Nearly new. No patches or stains. Approximate dimensions: Foot 32’4”, Leech 55’8”, Luff 64’. White, medium blue and light blue. $1800 or best offer. (813) 695-8737. (1/07)

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

SAILING INSTRUCTION

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WINDSURFING GEAR

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

All Classifieds displayed on our web site

www.southwindsmagazine.com INDEX

OF

ADVERTISERS

AIR DUCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39,82 AMERICAN MARINE & SUPPLY . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,8 ANNAPOLIS PERFORMANCE SAILING . . . . . . . .57 ANESCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 AQUA GRAPHICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 ATLANTIC SAIL TRADERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 BANKS SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 BEACHMASTER PHOTOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 BENETEAU SAILBOATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BC BETA MARINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 BLUEWATER BAY YACHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24,25 BOATERS EXCHANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,18 BO’SUN SUPPLIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 BRADENTON YC KICK-OFF THANKYOU . . . . . . .63 CATALINA YACHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,8 CORTEZ YACHT BROKERAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 CROW’S NEST RESTAURANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 CRUISING DIRECT SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50,84 DAVIS ISLAND YC THANKSGIVING REGATTA . . .65 DEFENDER INDUSTRIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39,51 DOCKSIDE RADIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 DOYLE SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 DUNBAR SALES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 DWYER MAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 EASTERN YACHTS/BENETEAU . . . . . . . . . .5,77,BC EDWARDS YACHT SALES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 E-MARINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38,39,82 FIRST PATRIOT HEALTH INSURANCE . . . . . . . . .83 FLYING SCOT SAILBOATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 FUJINON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 GARHAUER HARDWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 GLACIER BAY REFRIGERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 GULF COAST YACHT SALES . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76,79 GULF ISLAND SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,8,25 HANSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 HIGGINS, SMYTHE & HOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

84

November 2006

SOUTHWINDS

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. HOBIE CATS/TACKLE SHACK . . . . . . . . . . . . .25,59 HOTWIRE/FANS & OTHER PRODUCTS . . . . .39,81 HURRICANE HOOPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 J/BOATS - MURRAY YACHT SALES . . . . . . . . .75,BC JR OVERSEAS/MOISTURE METER . . . . . . . . . . . .42 JSI - NEW JSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 LAKE FAIRVIEW MARINA, PRECISION . . . . . . . . .25 LATTS & ATTS TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 LAURIE KIMBALL REALTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 LEATHER WHEEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 LEX-SEA CHARTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 LIFE CAPTIONS VIDEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 LIPPINCOTT MARINE CANVAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 MASSEY YACHT SALES . . . . . . . . .5,12,26,IFC,IBC MASTHEAD ENTERPRISES . . . . . . . . . . . .6,8,35,84 MASTMATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 MIKE CHAN BOAT REPAIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,21 MT. DORA YC ANNUAL REGATTA . . . . . . . . . . .64 MURRAY YACHT SALES/BENETEAU . . . . . . . .75,BC NATIONAL SAIL SUPPLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 NAUTICAL TRADER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 NEW JSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 NOBLE AWARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 NORTH SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 OFFSHORE CHALLENGE REGATTA . . . . . . . . . . .62 PARADISE YACHT SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 PATRICIA KNOLL REALTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 PINNACLE FRACTIONAL SAILING . . . . . . . . . . . .15 PORPOISE USED SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38,45 PRECISION YACHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 PREMIERE RACING, KEY WEST RACE WEEK . . . . .4 QUANTUM SARASOTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 RB GROVE/UNIVERSAL AND WESTERBEKE . . . . .16 REGATTA DEL SOL AL SOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 REGATTA POINTE MARINA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 RPARTS REFRIGERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

SAILING SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 SAILORS WHARF BOATYARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 SAILRITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 SAILTIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 SARASOTA YC REGATTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 SARASOTA YOUTH SAILING PROGRAM DONATED BOATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 SCHURR SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 SCURVY DOG MARINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 SEA SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 SEA TECH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33,82 SHADE TREE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 SNUG HARBOR BOATS, PRECISION . . . . . . . . . .25 SSMR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 ST. AUGUSTINE SAILING SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . .84 ST. BARTS/BENETEAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC ST. PETERSBURG YC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 STRICTLY SAILING.COM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 SUNCOAST INFLATABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 SUNRISE SAILING SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . .39,73,82 SUNSET REALTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 SUNSTATE REALTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 TACKLE SHACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25,59 TAMPA SAILING SQUADRON YOUTH PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 TURNER MARINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 UK HALSEY SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 ULLMAN SAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 US SPARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 WATERSPORTS WEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31,38 WEATHERMARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 WINDCRAFT CAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 WINDPATH FRACTIONAL SAILING . . . . . . . . . . .32 YACHT SALES FLORIDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 YACHTING VACATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

www.southwindsmagazine.com


ADVERTISERS INDEX

BY

CATEGORY

■ SAILBOATS – NEW AND BROKERAGE American Marine & Supply 5,8 Beneteau Sailboats BC Bluewater Bay Yachts 24,25 Boaters Exchange/Catalina Sailboats 8,18 Catalina Yachts 5,8 Cortez Yacht Brokerage 81 Dunbar Sales 5 Eastern Yachts 5,77,BC Edwards Yacht Sales 78 Flying Scot Sailboats 81 Gulf Coast Yacht Sales 76,79 Gulf Island Sails 5,8,25 Hanse Sailboats 17 Higgins, Smythe & Hood 76 Hobie Cats/Tackle Shack 25,29 Lake Fairview Marina, Precision 25 Massey Yacht Sales/Catalina//Hunter/Albin 5,12,26,IFC,IBC Masthead Yacht Sales/Catalina 6,8,35,84 Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau 75,BC Sarasota Youth Sailing Program donated boats 77 Snug Harbor Boats, Precision 25 St. Barts/Beneteau IBC StrictlySailing.com 80 Suncoast Inflatables/ West Florida 20 Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 25,29 Tampa Sailing Squadron Youth Program 28 Turner Marine 5 Watersports West/Windsurfing 31,38 Weathermark 8 Windcraft Cat 16 Yacht Sales Florida 17 ■ GEAR, HARDWARE, ACCESSORIES, CLOTHING Air Duck Hatch Windscoop 39,82 Annapolis Performance Sailing 57 Bluewater Bay Yachts 24,25 Boaters Exchange, boats, gear, etc. Rockledge FL 8,18 Bo’sun Supplies/Hardware 37 Defender Industries 39,51 E-Marine 38,39,82 Fujinon 11 Garhauer Hardware 46 Hotwire/Fans & other products 39,81 Hurricane Hoops 44 JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 42 JSI - New JSI 23 Leather Wheel 72 Masthead Enterprises 6,8,35,84 Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign 26 NEW JSI 23 Rparts Refrigeration 30 SSMR 6 Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, Precision 25,59 Watersports West/wet suits, etc 31,38 ■ SAILS (NEW & USED), RIGGING, SPARS, RIGGING SERVICES Atlantic Sail Traders 58 Banks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida 73 Cruising Direct/sails online by North 50,84 Doyle Sails 10 Dwyer Mast/spars, hardware, rigging 82 JSI - New JSI 23 Masthead/Used Sails and Service 6,8,35,84 National Sail Supply, new&used online 35 NEW JSI 23 North Sails, new and used 33 Porpoise Used Sails 38,45 Quantum Sails and Services 3 Sailing Services 21 Schurr Sails, Pensacola FL 67 SSMR 6 Sunrise Sailing Services 39,73,82 UK Halsey Sails 14 Ullman Sails 66 US Spars 49 ■ CANVAS Banks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida 73 JSI - New JSI 23 Lippincott Canvas 48 News & Views for Southern Sailors

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. Quantum Sails and Services 3 Shadetree 43 ■ USED SAILING/BOATING SUPPLIES Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign, West Florida 26 Scurvy Dog Marine/Used, Consign, Pensacola FL 36 ■ SAILING SCHOOLS Sea School/Captain’s License 37 St. Augustine Sailing School 84 ■ MARINE ENGINES AND ACCESSORIES Beta Marine 56 RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke 16 ■ REAL ESTATE Laurie Kimball Realty 27 Pat Knoll, Sunstate Realty 36 Sunstate Realty 36 ■ RESORTS, MARINAS, RESTAURANTS, BOAT YARDS Crow’s Nest Restaurant & Marina 55 Regatta Pointe Marina 29 Sailors Wharf Boatyard 34 ■ FRACTIONAL SAILING/CHARTER COMPANIES Lex-Sea Charters 81 Pinnacle 15 Windpath 32 Yachting Vacations 31 ■ MARINE SERVICES, SURVEYORS, INSURANCE, TOWING, BOAT LETTERING, ETC. Aqua Graphics/Boat Names/Tampa Bay or buy online 72 Beachmaster Photography 38 First Patriot Insurance Health Insurance 83 Mike Chan Boat Repair 6,21 Paradise Yacht Services 34 ■ MARINE ELECTRONICS Dockside Radio 19 JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 44 Sea Tech/Navigation/Communication 33,82 ■ BOOKS/CHARTS/VIDEOS/AWARDS Noble Awards 38 Lats and Atts TV videos 38 Life Captions Video 54 ■ REGATTA ADVERTISEMENTS, BOAT SHOWS Bradenton YC Regatta Thank You 63 Davis Island YC Thanksgiving Regatta 65 Mt. Dora YC Annual Regatta 64 Offshore Challenge Regatta 62 Premiere Racing, Key West Race Week 4 Regata del Sol al Sol 9 Sarasota YC Regatta 60 Alphabetical Advertisers’ List Marine Marketplace Regional Sailing Services Directory Subscription Information

84 38,39 72,73 85

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November 2006

85


Photos from Our World on the Water BARN OWL Jim Austin took this picture on board his catamaran, Salty Paws, while sailing up the Shark River in the Florida Everglades. This white barn owl landed on their cabin roof. Due to strong winds, he had come in to rest. He moved several times to find a perch, and ended up at the top of their mainsail. He was opening his wings to balance, and get a better grip with his talons on our main—that was moving, up 60 feet, in a 15-knot wind.

PALMETTO HOUSE Some people believe that a welldesigned passive solar home can be adjusted and “trimmed” to the changing weather, just like trimming the sails on a boat, but we’re not sure that was the plan for this house. It did make its way down a channel, out into Tampa Bay and to a new home—on land. Photo by Steve Morrell.

IGUANAS Iguanas—obviously bigger than the boats anchored offshore— patrolling a beach in the Bahamas. Photo by Jim Austin.

See STRANGE TALE continued on page 76

PHOTOS WANTED SOUTHWINDS is looking for interesting, ususal and funny photos of the world we sail in. Contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com 86 November 2006

SOUTHWINDS

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