52nd Annual Labor Day Regatta
This two-day regatta is always a lot of fun and this year was no different. We headed out to the racecourse for a 12:30 start on Saturday. All races were winward-leewards (twice around). Medium winds (8-10) and small chop prevailed for the first two races. Paul Strauley, Joe Bouin, and Gail Heausler sailed very consistently with a 1,2,3 respectively for both races. The third race was abandoned when a squall line hit at the bottom mark (1st time around) and wiped out 1/3 of the competitors (Sunfish, Lasers, and Bytes).
Some highlights for the first day include:
' Paul and Joe port tack the whole fleet at the first start. As Paul, Joe, and Gail reached the first mark at the same time, Joe hits the mark, 360 time.
' Stan Woodruff had a problem keeping his boat upright even in this light air. I believe he hit the record of 6 capsizes. The most memorable was his lead in the third race (eventually abandoned) to the leeward mark. Upon rounding he managed to flip continuously on top of the mark. Needless to say he lost the front spot as others had to strategically meander around him in between his ups and downs.
On Sunday, winds were approximately 5mph, dark clouds were to the west of us and many were wondering if we would get a safe start on this day. We headed out for an 11:30 start and again, P, J, and G were 1,2,3, respectively in the first race.
The last race of the regatta turned the tables. Many mistakes were made (except by Joe) and this race decided it all.
' On the first downwind leg Gail and her boat decided to take a swim. It was light air and quite hot out there.
' Mindy took a couple of spins. Running downwind she first sails into Diggs Vann while she is on port and he is on starboard, racking up her first set of 720's. When completing her spins very (too) close to the leeward mark she runs into Cindy Clifton, here goes a 2nd set of turns. Dizzy yet?
' Paul, Tony, and Mindy all sail off to the wrong side of the course on the last beat to the finish (the course was shortened at the next winward mark) putting them deep, deep, deep in the fleet.
In addition to the top three finishers, Dave Kaighin, Tony Elliott, and Rita Steele sailed a very competitive regatta battling it out to round out the top six finishers.
Cindy Clifton who has taken a long break from the Sunfish is back sailing fast. Welcome back Cindy.
Being the first regatta to start off the 98-99 season, other than the most common comment, "This was a great, well run regatta", most sunfish sailors were saying; "I need to get back in shape", and equally as popular, "My butt hurts."
Name R1 R2 R3 R4 Total 1 Joe Blouin 2 2 2 1 7
Tampa, Fl 2 Paul Strauley 1 1 1 15 18
Dunedin, Fl 3 Gail Heausler 3 3 3 9 18
Tampa, Fl 4 Dave Kaighin 6 5 6 2 19
Sarasota, Fl 5 Tony Elliott 5 4 5 11 25
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 6 Rita Steele 7 9 8 5 29
Sarasota, Fl 7 Mindy Katz 4 8 7 12 31
Dunedin, Fl 8 Erik Erickson 11 6 13 7 37
Sarasota, Fl 9 Stan Woodruff 16 11 10 4 41
Ruskin, Fl 10 Erik Hamilton 9 10 16 6 41
Punta Gorda, Fl 11 Cindy Clifton 10 15 9 8 42
Sarasota, Fl 12 Lois Blodget 14 7 14 13 48
Boynton Beach, Fl 13 Jeff Kensinger 8 12 12 16 48
Crystal Beach, Fl 14 Diggs Vann 25 25 4 3 57
Tampa, Fl 15 John Montanari 12 17 15 17 61
St. Petersburg, Fl 16 Gail Rosenke 21 14 18 10 63
Land O Lakes, Fl 17 Sharon Woodruff 20 18 11 14 63
Ruskin, Fl 18 Loretta Garber 13 23 19 19 74
Sarasota, Fl 19 Sherrie McMillen 17 20 17 20 74
Crystal Beach, Fl 20 Josh Rosen 19 21 21 18 79
Sarasota, Fl 21 Ed Nist 18 13 25 25 81
Port Charlotte, Fl 22 Lori Kaighin 15 16 25 25 81
Sarasota, Fl 23 Ashley Dwyer 25 19 20 25 89
Sewall's Point, Fl 24 Dottie Schell 22 22 25 21 90
Sarasota, Fl