The action at the legendary Cheeseburger beach party. Is this a regatta or a party?
boats were accumulating at Green Turtle Cay after dodging bouts of rain while still seeing some excellent sailing across the vast northern bank. The festivities began on July 3 at the Cheeseburger Party, which removed our worldly cares and swept us into the laid-back island groove. JULY 4—THE RACING BEGINS On July 4, the Green Turtle race began after a rain postponement. Tactical skills were tried by gusty patches of summer showers upwind of this around-the-buoy course. At the far downwind mark, numerous boats slipped into an expanding wind hole. Most of the spinnaker entries managed to ride the wind’s edge and escape the trap. Ranging upwind in the fading breeze, David Rodarte’s Charlestonbased Buena Vida found a boost by changing his angle and using the chute. Seeing Vida’s instant success, rivals Balamena II, Susimi and Tanglefoot all popped their chutes and followed suit. Class rivals Rock Star, Tim Tucker’s C&C 38, and No Limit had caught an earlier lift and were already powering down the next leg. Meanwhile, the downwind mark’s strange vacuum had grown, capturing more victims, including No Limit. Sails slackening, Mike Gable’s Tampabased Farr 39.5 was engulfed by the floating mob. The water was a mirror. “Uh-oh,” a voice was heard. Sponge Cake started to point the wrong way, Windspiel II cast a fishing line and actually caught something, and Abaco Glow’s crew physically held their sails out wing-on-wing to regain some momentum. Sails lost their drooping postures as the breeze gradually filled, seeing the organized chaos through the largest mark rounding of the regatta. No Limit escaped the crowd and, despite lost time, posted a first in PHRF class. The largest fleet, cruiser “mothertub” classes C and D, were fine-tuning their strategies by assessing the habits of rival boats. “For one, we couldn’t get rid of Sea Swan,” said Richard Voswinckel of the metallic Allures 44, Windspiel II. The German team was thrilled by the competition’s quality and enjoyed meeting the Sea Swan crew at the post-race party. “We were really mixing it up with Windspiel,” affirmed Swan crewman Bill Harris, who races his own boat off Florida’s west coast. Also crewing were Defiant’s Bill Robinson and Floridian Krista Corrado, who’s rumored to have incited a distraction tactic involving (or not involving) her string bikini. The awards party at Green Turtle’s Settlement Point included a racer’s free happy hour bar, home cooking by Bahamian vendors and Junkanoo.
around Whale Cay to Treasure Cay. An afternoon regatta party entertained boaters at the Treasure Cay Resort and Marina’s beach bar. Thus, racers were conveniently positioned for the July 6 destination race from Treasure to Great Guana Cay farther south along Abaco’s out island chain. Racer’s dinghies were towed to the new spot courtesy of Dive Guana’s Troy Albury and Abaco Adventure’s Ossie Hall. This fast-paced day saw firm winds and a brief spot of rain near the finish. “The cruisers were all over the place,” observed John Novak. Novak’s Corsair F28R, Overdo, spent the race working to catch main rival, Splash, John Sexton’s home-built F9A Corsair that’s enthusiastically raced and cruised by his family. Finding a favorable grip in the rain squall, Overdo passed Splash at the last moment in a wild, hull-flying finish. After earning first place at Green Turtle, Overdo’s adjusted rating set him behind Splash on corrected
JULY 5—REST DAY 1 July 5 was a rest day, and many boats took the scenic sail News & Views for Southern Sailors
SOUTHWINDS September 2009
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