MOCKRIDGE WINS SUNFISH SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP

Winning five of nine races, Kenny Mockridge of Moriches Yacht Club, on the Great South Bay, dominated a fleet of 31 Sunfish sailors to capture the 2002 New York Downstate Regional Championship hosted by Southold Yacht Club on Saturday and Sunday, July 13 and 14.  By doing so, Mockridge defended the title he won at Westhampton Yacht Squadron a year ago.  Deborah Capozzi of Sayville Yacht Club, a member of the Women's collegiate national championship team at Old Dominion University, captured two of the races while Ted Cremer of the Wet Pants Sailing Association and Mike Spicer of Southold Yacht Club each won one race.  Six races were sailed on Saturday in a steady 12-15 knot southwesterly under overcast skies.  Sunday was again cloudy but with a diminished breeze in the 5-6 knot range.  Race Committee Chairman, Joe Sullivan, and his on-the-water team scheduled one triangle, three windward-leeward and five modified olympic courses to challenge the sailing skills of the competitors.  But regardless of the conditions including what some sailors described "starting in rapids" during the first three races as the incoming tide and the southwesterly wind did battle with each other, Mockridge sailed a most consistent 4-1-4-1-1-1-2-1-13 series to keep his crown by 16 points over Cremer, who finished second.  All the sailors agreed that Regatta Chairman, George Haase, and the scores of volunteers at Southold Yacht Cub did an outstanding job coordinating five meals, awards, T-shirt sales, scoring and the many other details that go into planning, organizing and managing a major regatta.

Beautiful Sunfish plaques were presented to the top 10 finishers and the First Woman and First Junior finisher, who were Deborah Capozzi and Dan Hesse respectively.

The results: 1. Ken Mockridge, Moriches YC - 28 points; 2. Ted Cremer, Wet Pants Sailing Association - 44; 3. John Condon, Mattituck YC - 53; 4. Deborah Capozzi, Sayville YC - 63; 5. Peter Fraker, Wet Pants SA - 66; 6. Dan Hesse, Wet Pants SA - 70; 7. Todd Klinger, Wet Pants SA - 72; 8. Mike Spicer, Southold YC - 85; 9. Bart Hale, Southold YC - 86; 10. Bill Betts III, Kinnelon, NJ - 90; 11. Ethan Brown, Southold YC - 96; 12. Michael Collins, Wet Pants SA - 121; 13. Oren Friedman, Southold YC - 126; 14. Megan Keating,  Packanack YC, NJ - 144; 15. Adam Friedman, Southold YC - 144; 16. Gerry Hesse, Wet Pants SA - 144; 17. Sean Pilai, Mattituck YC - 146; 18. Jack Hale, Southold YC - 151; 19. Ron Kutkiewicz, Moriches YC - 162; 20. Chris Moretti, Wet Pants SA - 169; 21. Jessica Anderson, Southold YC - 173; 22. Trisha Kutkiewicz, Moriches YC - 176; 23. Andre Lekich, Southold YC - 184; 24. Karla Schnase, Wet Pants SA - 213; 25. Marguerite Koehler, Amityville, L.I. - 224; 26. Ivo Lekich, Southold YC - 236; 27. Kelly Mockridge, Moriches YC - 238; 28. Ed DeReeder, Southold, L.I. - 253; 29. Chelsea Rothman, Southold YC - 273; 30. Greg Rothman, Southold YC - 273; 31. Aaron DeFazzio, Mountain Lakes, NJ - 287.