southwindsoctober2004
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October 2004For Sailors — Free…It’s Priceless
Hurricanes Hit Florida
Along the ICW:Washington, NCCruise Key West
SOUTHWINDSNews & Views for Southern Sailors
6 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
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ADVERTISER INDEX BY CATEGORY (SEE PAGE 68 FOR ALPHABETICAL LIST)
SAILBOATS – NEW AND BROKERAGEBeneteau Sailboats Back CoverBoaters Exchange/Catalina Sailboats 38Carson Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back CoverEastern Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back CoverFlying Scot Sailboats 65Gulf Coast Yacht Sales 63,64Hanse Sailboats 65JS9000 PHRF Racer 64Massey Yacht Sales/Catalina/Jeanneau/Hunter/Mainship
3,9,17,22,29,30,IBCMasthead Yacht Sales/Catalina 21,52,68Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back CoverNational Boat Owners Association/Hunter 53Raider Sailboats 65Sailboats Florida, Inc. 65Sailor’s Wharf Boatyard and Brokerage 56,60Sarasota Youth Sailing Program donated boats 62Seafarers International Yacht Brokerage 10St. Barts/Beneteau Back CoverSuncoast Inflatables/ West Florida 61Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 54Tampa Sailing Squadron Youth Program 52Windcraft, Trimarans and Catamarans, Sail or Power 46
GEAR, HARDWARE, ACCESSORIESBoatUS 4E-Marine 67SSMR/Hood 57Air Duck Hatch Windscoop 24Bluewater Sailing Supply 16,60Boaters Exchange, boats, gear, etc. Rockledge FL 38,42,64Bo’sun Supplies/Hrdwre/Rigging www.bosunsupplies.com 47Coral Reef Apparel Company 35Defender Industries, www.defender.com 66Garhauer Hardware 11Glacier Bay Refrigeration 28Hotwire/Fans & other products 18,66Island Marine Products/Davits,motorlocks,etc. 32JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 29Martek Dinghy Davits 66Masthead Enterprises 21,52,68Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign 57Rparts Refrigeration, www.rparts.com 27Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 54West Marine IFCWinch Buddy 33
SAILS (NEW & USED), RIGGING, SPARS, RIGGING SERVICEHood/SSMR 57Porpoise Used Sails 68SSMR/Hood 57Altlantic Sails 38Banks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida 43BoatUS 4Cruising Direct/sails online by North 8Dwyer Mast/spars, hardware, rigging 67Masthead/Used Sails and Service 21,52,68National Sail Supply, new&used online 44North Sails 18Nuclear Sails 16Sail Exchange/www.sailexchange.com 25Schurr Sails, Pensacola FL 36UK Sails 26Ullman Sails/West Florida 14West Marine IFC
CANVASBanks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida 43
USED SAILING/BOATING SUPPLIESDon’s Salvage, Clearwater FL 59Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign, West Florida 57Scurvy Dog Marine/Used, Consign, Pensacola FL 47
SAILING SCHOOLSSea School/Captain’s License www.seaschool.com 39St. Augustine Sailing School 67
MARINE ENGINESBeta Marine 24Fleetside Marine Service 66RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke 27Yanmar 66
RESORTS, MARINAS, RESTAURANTS, BOAT YARDSBob and Annie’s Boatyard 20Crow’s Nest Restaurant & Marina 25El Cid Caribe Marina, Mexico 11Sailor’s Wharf Boatyard and Brokerage
CHARTER COMPANIESSailtime, Shared ownership 15Yachting Vacations 8
MARINE SERVICES, SURVEYORS, INSURANCE, TOWING,BOAT LETTERING, ETC.Aqua Graphics/Boat Names/Tampa Bay or buy online 43Beachmaster Photography 65Coast Weather Services 68Dockside Marine Services 43
MARINE ELECTRONICSDockside Radio 28JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 29Sea Tech/Navigation/Communication 32,67
BOOKSBubba Stories Book 16Great Outdoors Publishing 59Gunkholer’s Cruising Guide/West Florida 59Memory Map Pocket Navigator 67West Marine Books and Charts 14
REGATTA ADVERTISEMENTS, BOAT SHOWSBradenton YC Kickoff Regatta 55Charleston to Bermuda Race 12CYC/Regatta Pointe Marina Charity Regatta 56Melbourne YC Fall Regatta 37Regata Del Sol Al Sol 13SPYC Fall Regattas 58St. Pete Strictly Sail Boat Show 5
Sailing Services Directory West Florida 43Regional Sailing Services Directory 42Subscription Information This Page Alphabetical Advertisers’ List 68West Florida Race Calendar Information 10
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 7
SOUTHWINDSNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS
From the Carolinas to Cuba…from Atlanta to the Abacos…SOUTHWINDS Covers Southern Sailing
Hurricane Frances Hits East Florida. Page 37. Photo byRoy Laughlin.
Key West by Sail. Page 50. Photo by Rebecca Burg.
10 From the Helm
12 Letters
20 Bubba Says National Hurricane Center MistakenBy Morgan Stinemetz
23 Boatek: Dealing With HumidityBy Stephen Sommer
24 Short Tacks: Upcoming Events and News of Interest to Southern Sailors
31 New Concept in Boat Ownership Helps Make Sailing More Affordable
32 Southeast Coast Sailing: Carolinas and Georgia:October Sailing, Events & Race Calendar, Race Report, News
34 Washington, NC. Along the ICW in North CarolinaBy Gretchen Coyle
36 East Florida Sailing: October Sailing, Events & Race Calendar, Race Report, News
37 Hurricane Frances Hits East FloridaBy Roy Laughlin
40 Southeast Florida Sailing: October Sailing, Events & Race Calendar, Race Report, News
44 Northern Gulf Coast Sailing: October Sailing, Events & Race Calendar, Race Report, News
48 Florida Keys Sailing: October Sailing, Events & Race Calendar, Race Report, News
50 America’s Little Caribbean: Key West by SailBy Rebecca Burg
52 West Florida Sailing: October Sailing, Events & Race Calendar, Race Report, News
63 Classifieds
70 The Rocket Scientist, the Sailboat & Well-Heeled Dogs By Bruce Sanspree
42 Regional Sailing Services Directory 43 West Florida Sailing Services Directory68 Alphabetical Index of Advertisers6 Advertisers’ List by Category6 Subscription Form
Cover: Priority, a Cabo Rico 38, sails in Tampa Bay. Photo by Beach Edwards
8 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
SOUTHWINDSNews & 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 Faxwww.southwindssailing.com
e-mail: [email protected] 12 Number 10 October 2004Copyright 2004, Southwinds Media, Inc.
Publisher/EditorSteve Morrell
FounderDoran Cushing
Advertising & Editors
Production ProofreadingHeather Nicoll Kathy Elliott
Contributing Writers Rebecca Burg Gretchen Coyle Dave EllisRona Garm Kim Kaminski Roy LaughlinArturo Perez Bruce Sanspree Stephen SommerMorgan Stinemetz
Contributing PhotographersRebecca Burg Vince Cooke Gretchen CoyleDan Dickison Beach Edwards Kim KaminskiRoy Laughlin Morgan Stinemetz
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: ARTICLES & PHOTOGRAPHY:SOUTHWINDS encourages readers, writers, photographers, cartoonists,
jokers, magicians, philosophers and whoever else is out there, includingsailors, to send in their material. Just make it about the water world andgenerally about sailing and about sailing in the South, the Bahamas or theCaribbean, or general sailing interest, or sailboats, or sailing in some far-off and far-out place.
SOUTHWINDS welcomes contributions in writing and photography, sto-ries about sailing, racing, cruising, maintenance and other technical arti-cles and other sailing-related topics. Please submit all articles electronical-ly by e-mail (mailed-in discs also accepted), and with photographs, if pos-sible. We also accept photographs alone, for cover shots, racing, cruisingand just funny entertaining shots. Please take them at a high resolution ifdigital, 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 $37/2years for third class, and $24/year for first class. Checks and credit card num-bers 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 onour Web site, www.southwindssailing.com. SOUTHWINDS is distributed toover 500 locations throughout 10 Southern states. If you would like to dis-tribute SOUTHWINDS at your location, please contact the editor.
Read SOUTHWINDS on our Web site, www.southwindssailing.com.
Steve MorrellNational/West Florida AdvertisingWest Florida Regional [email protected](941) 795-8704
Florida KeysRebecca BurgRegional Editor/[email protected](305) 304-5118
Southeast FloridaArt PerezRegional Editor/[email protected] (305) 380-0106
East FloridaRoy LaughlinRegional Editor/[email protected](321) 690-0137
Gary HuffordNational/West Florida [email protected](727) 585-2814
The Southeast Coast: Carolinas and GeorgiaSteve MorrellRegional Editor/[email protected](941) 795-8704
The Northern Gulf Coast: Florida Panhandle, Alabama,Mississippi, Louisiana, TexasKim KaminskiRegional Editor/[email protected](850) 384-8941
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10 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
FROM THE HELM
We Want To Hear Your Hurricane Story
Florida was unfortunate enough to have three major hur-ricanes hit the state within a 33-day period. The damage
to property, and some lives, was extensive, to say the least.We empathize with all those who lost their homes and busi-nesses and whose lives were severely disrupted.
Many sailboats suffered serious damage from thesestorms, and we would like to learn from our readers how bestto protect boats in the future. We have already heard manystories of success and seen photos of many stories of failure.With such powerful storms, sometimes there is not much onecan do, and boats will be lost regardless. As for the successstories, we have heard a few.
One success story was about New Moon, a Pearson 39 anda charter sailboat in Captiva, whose owner put out fiveanchors and survived the storm intact with no real damage.Captiva took a direct hit from Hurricane Charley. (The previ-ous New Moon, a Pearson 35, by the way, sunk duringHurricane Gordon in 2002 when it got struck by lightning.)
Another success was Yachting Vacations at Burnt StoreMarina in Punta Gorda, which also took a direct hit fromCharley shortly after passing over Captiva and New Moon.Owner Capt. Chris Rogers and employees spent days and lotsof effort in removing every item they could from their 15cruising sailboats, mainly Island Packets and a few cruising
catamarans, and securing the boats with extra line and protec-tion. Residents who stayed in nearby condos during thestorm reported seeing the water drop several feet below thedocks and then rise several feet above them within a 10-15minute period—this during gusts upwards of 160 mph. Allthe boats survived with minimal damage and some with noneto speak of. Yachting Vacations was right back in business.Other boats in the same basin that did not prepare were lost.
Although we know there are a lot of other stories outthere of boats lost, we would like to hear about the success,and failures, and what owners did or didn’t do to protect theirboats. In the coming months we will publish these to helpfuture boat owners learn how to prepare for the next storm.Whether you secured your boat well and it survived, or if itperished, or if you did nothing and it survived, or perished,or if you anchored out and it survived, or perished, or if youanchored out and stayed on board and—well, hopefully yousurvived, we want to hear your story—what you did or did-n’t do or wish you had or wish you hadn’t done.
Let us know. We’ll pass the word on in future editionsand all do better next time.
Perhaps a few of you will get the boat of your dreams bypurchasing a salvaged one and fixing her up. You can thenname her Phoenix.
Steve MorrellEditor
12 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
MOORING FIELDS, TOWN MEETINGS, AND SAILING CLUBS: HOW THEY ALL CONNECTI think mooring fields are coming whether you want themor not. The question is: Who will have the authority to gov-ern their management? US or THEM? I don’t want to tellyou sea stories or relate my experiences at sea, either withor without hurricanes. You can hear all that from the water-borne campers, barstool buccaneers, sea lawyers, and otherassorted boat owners who never sail.
I have sailed almost every day from December throughApril of this year. It is what I like to do; SAIL.
In reading about the mooring situation and hearing thelocal scuttlebutt around the shorelines, I continuously hear thesame old things about how the boaters are not paying taxes,polluting the water and not contributing to the community.
I believe they are paying taxes if they are buying foodand living any kind of life at all. I don’t think they are con-tributing to the pollution problem as much as the shore peo-ple accuse them. But I don’t feel there is a lot of communityinvolvement on their part, other than a few attending vari-ous town meetings concerning the management and futureusage of the waterways. When decisions are made at thesemeetings, their ideas and concepts are often tabled or put offuntil they are forgotten—or totally ignored. “I attended allthe meetings and nothing changed!” is usually the result ofattending meetings. Frustrating, isn’t it? They have not doneanything concrete to gain credibility within the community,other than attend the meetings and voice their opinions.
How do you gain credibility and have a voice? Youhave to do something other than attend meetings.
My interest and contribution is sailing—and instigatingpeople to sail particularly small boats in visible places. Wouldyou be ashamed to be seen in a small sailboat? (Kid stuff?) Thisis a step in gaining credibility, and maybe maturing a little.
HOW DOES SAILING GET YOU CREDIBILITY?! Fiveyears ago I joined a sleepy little sailing club that has 100 feetof waterfront that no one wanted and some broken boats. Abig boat to us is 20 feet. A lot of us owned bigger ones butgot over it. No one was really excited about doing much,and it was becoming a cheap place to store boats. We beganfixing boats and making them easy to use. People started tocome around. A lot of activity has taken place since then,and the club is doing better than ever. The more we sail, themore people come join the club and go sailing. Yes, we haverules. They are enforced only as a last resort. We have devel-oped a youth sailing program with 180 kids sailing Optisduring the summer. We have a blossoming women’s sailingprogram. The boats are getting used. Boats that haven’tbeen used in five years are being sailed now. We are a SAIL-ING club. I sail every chance I get and encourage others to
See LETTERS continued on page 14
LETTERS
“Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.”H.L. Mencken
In its continuing endeavor to share its press, SOUTHWINDSinvites readers to write in with experiences & opinions.
14 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
[email protected] Web site: southwindssailing.comPO Box 1175,Holmes Beach FL 34218 Fax: (941) 795-8705
LETTERS Continued from page 12
sail as much as possible. We built four Opti prams over thewinter, saving the club $10,000. All the materials were glad-ly donated by local business people. And we are gainingcredibility with the city. When people of the community lookout on the water and see 30 boats being sailed by men andwomen from age 7 to 81 years old. it makes a much greaterstatement about the positive side of sailing than some guystanding in front of the city council demanding his rights.
If you are having difficult times about mooring fieldsand regulations, perhaps you might try getting your friendsto start a community sailing program and contribute some-thing that benefits that community—in the name of sailors.
Rudder club of Jacksonville, Rat Island YC, Palatka, St.Augustine YC, Lower Keys Sailing, Marathon, Key WestSailing Club, Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Clearwater, FortMyers, Mount Dora. These are a few good examples ofwhat we as sailors do to promote and make our voicesheard in our comunity. It is a WIN/WIN cause.
Walt MatthewsPuddle Pirate
Walt,Great comments and a great story! You and your friends are defi-nitely doing something for the sailing community—and for sure,for society’s general mental and physical well-being.
I would like to comment on those who go to these meetingsand get frustrated. They’re partaking in our form of government.What we have here is a democracy. Well, actually, we have arepublic, with representatives, but the big thing is we have rule bythe majority, and we have rights of the minority protected by law.Where the majority’s rights end and the minority’s rights begin isnot always easy to determine and gets a little fuzzy. If the minor-ity doesn’t speak up and protect those rights, then most likelynobody will, and I support all those who go and voice their opin-ion and let it be known what they would like to see done. Ofcourse, they could just shut up and follow the leader blindly—themost frightening and dangerous thing there is.
As it is, most sailors who are out living anchored on theirboats offshore, or cruising around, many on shoestring budgets,are not in the ruling majority, but their lives have just as manyrights as any others. These people might not be contributing to thecommunity in ways some think best, but that’s what makes this afree country. They don’t have to. Long live all sailing vagabonds.
What’s great is that all these different types of people are whatmakes the world go around, and what you and your fellow sailorsare doing is being some of those people. Others are different. Morepower to all of you.
Editor
DID THE COAST GUARD KNOW THE BOTTLE OF RUM WAS ON THE COUNTER?I recently sent this letter to the commanding officer of theCoast Guard Group in Key West:
On the morning of May 3, when my crew and I wereexiting Key West Bight on my 27-foot sailboat, Reefer, we
See LETTERS continued on page 16
16 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
[email protected] Web site: southwindssailing.comPO Box 1175,Holmes Beach FL 34218 Fax: (941) 795-8705
LETTERS Continued from page 14
See LETTERS continued on page 18
were passed by the Coast Guard cutter Monhegan. The cut-ter was under way on what was, apparently, a trainingmission, as it stopped to practice launching a RIB near thesouthern end of what used to be called Tank Island.
When the Monhegan passed us about 0915 (estimated),it threw off enough wake to roll my sailboat to such anextent that a bottle of Havana Club Anejo rum I hadbrought back from Cuba was pitched from the countertopin the galley. It smashed on the cabin sole.
I am a journalist and had imported the rum legally.My boat had been cleared by U.S. Customs upon its returnto Key West from Cuba (clearance #03007901).
I would be most appreciative if Coast Guard GroupKey West would either replace the bottle of rum or payme what it was worth, $10 USD. As any vessel isresponsible for the damage its wake causes, it seems tome that the U.S. Coast Guard and its vessels and per-sonnel would be foremost in observing this rule asopposed to disregarding it.
Compensation or any correspondence appurtenantthereto may be addressed to me at the above returnaddress.
Very truly yours,Morgan Stinemetz
Morgan,I hope you get your money, and I really hope that someone in theCoast Guard goes down to Cuba and buys that bottle of CubanRum and replaces it. We’ll get ‘em when they return—at leastquestion them that the trip was legal (heh, heh, heh).
Good luck, but I wouldn’t count on getting reimbursed—not officially anyway. Better go out and buy some rum fromsome country Americans are allowed to buy from legally. Unless,of course, you want to make that trip again.
Editor
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION, CHARCOAL AND COALEditorYou and BoatUS are correct, certainly, about the nighimpossibility of spontaneous combustion of charcoal. Butyou only glanced ar coal, which is interesting though veryfew sailboats and almost as few trawlers today carry coal.
Sterling Hayden’s A Novel: Voyage of 1896 hinges on afire first noticed by the smoke coming out of the hollowmast. They had stowed coal in the bilge of a steel hull ves-sel. Like all vessels, the bilge leaked. There you had the per-fect combination of coal, iron and water. The iron oxidizes,generates heat and starts the process heating the coal. In aclosed hole, the heat generated builds to the point it willindeed start a fire, but it is with coal and not charcoal.
TomTom,Thanks for that interesting story. Although I read that book 20years ago, I do not remember that particular story, and I now
18 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
[email protected] Web site: southwindssailing.comPO Box 1175,Holmes Beach FL 34218 Fax: (941) 795-870
LETTERS Continued from page 16
wish I had kept it to re-read. There are a few out there on boatswith coal as you mentioned, but not many. I lived in Colorado fora while and quite a few people still use coal and I wonder if thisspontaneous combustion happens on land ever.
I have had a few people mention they were glad we publishedthat article as some have wondered if charcoal was a danger tohave on board.
Editor
CUBA:SOUTHWINDS — THE PROPER FORMAT FOR CUBA?Like many others who have cruised to Cuba I have myopinions on the US embargo on our neighbor, and yes, Idon’t think that a sailing magazine is the place to air them.
However, on a recent cruise to the Bahamas we had anincident that puts a human face on the situation that Iwould like to share with your readers.
In a store on an island in the Abacos my crew and Iwere introduced to a pretty eight-year old girl in school uni-form waiting for the school boat to Marsh Harbour. Sheexplained that her mother and she had come from Cuba tothe Bahamas on a raft and that her mother had remarried aBahamian allowing them to remain in the Islands. Weexplained to her that we had been to Cuba several times andthat we had spent some time in Havana. “Oh,” she cried,“Did you meet my daddy there?”
We were a subdued couple as we rowed back to ourboat, thinking of the stupidity of politics, and its effect onhuman life.
Ken ClarkS/V Viva Yo
Ken,Point well made.
Editor
THE ICW: STILL UNDERFUNDEDIn the last couple of months we found out here on the Texascoast that there would be no more dredging done by theArmy Corps, indefinitely. The reason cited was that thefunds had to be used to finance the Iraq thing. The markedand lit harbor entrance near my house in Matagorda, TX, israpidly silting closed and poses a hazard to navigation.Anyone have any idea how long this funding cut to theArmy Corps is going on? Also, isn’t there a serious liabilityissue here with an ocean entrance charted and marked asnavigable when in fact it is not?
Hugh FreebairnAlberg 30 Aliage
Hugh,Unfortunately this funding cut on maintenance of the ICW hasbeen going on for at least ten years, and the current war in Iraqwill not help release of more funds for such maintenance.
Think of all the taxes you’re saving, as that is the reasonfunds were cut.
Editor
20 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 21
“How could you tell that?” Bruno asked. I looked overat him and saw him sipping his beer through a straw. Brunoalways takes an unusual tack on the most mundane ofactions.
“Hurricanes and tornadoes are always attracted to themagnetic fields surrounding trailer parks, and there were alot of trailer parks in Charlotte County. Look at the track ofthe storm. It was heading up the coast for Tampa, which wasa ‘sure thing’ target, according to the National HurricaneCenter. People were getting out of Tampa and heading eastlike there was going to be no tomorrow,” Bubba explained.
“Yu-yu-yu-you ca-ca-ca-can say that uh-uh-again,”Shorty added.
“And then the storm took a big right-hand turn, crossedthe barrier islands along Florida’s west coast and headedright for Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. According to mycalculations, this was not an anomaly. It was entirely pre-dictable, and the National Hurricane Center should havefactored it in. My research has shown that a 45-degree turntoward mobile home parks happens in 62.5 percent of thehurricanes and tornadoes that strike this country. When yousee post-storm TV coverage, what you see is trailer parksthat have been ripped apart by the high winds, don’t you?
“That’s not coincidence, guys. That is a matter of sci-ence, and the National Hurricane Center needs to factor it in,along with the stuff about the Jim Stafford and HomerSimpson scales they talk about,” Whartz announced.
“I was just devastated that so many nice homes and inte-rior decorations were destroyed,” Bruno volunteered.
“Means more work for you, sweetie,” Tripwire shot back.“You’re just a cad, Tripwire,” Bruno countered, a slight
smile playing on his lips. “I’d like to get you alone sometime.”Tripwire, drew his right hand across his throat and
glared at Bruno.“Bubba, huh-huh-huh-how do you ah-ah-account for
the fuh-fuh-fact that Charley went so far inland?” Shortyasked.
“There were even more mobile homes that attracted it toDeSoto County, and then there were all those cars which hadfled Tampa Bay and were heading inland, toward Orlando.They had a huge magnetic field, too. Once Charley was offtrack, so to speak, it took the path of least resistance andheaded for Arcadia and then up toward Orlando. Lots oftrailers in those places, too. I don’t know when the people inMiami or on the Weather Channel will ever figure out what I know
to be a weather fact: Trailer parks attract destructive storms, no
matter where they are located. I think that Dorothy in the Wizardof Oz lived in a trailer park, too, Bubba said.
At that very moment, just as Bubba was finishing up, I got up
from the table I was sitting at. The chair I was sitting in made a
screeching sound as I pushed it back. Bubba looked my way, and
his face broke into a grin.
Look who s here, he said, smiling. It s the writer guy with
the big expense account who is buying everyone a beer. Step up to
the bar, boys!
Caught, I was. I nodded to Doobie and told her that I would
buy a round as Bruno Velvetier (ASID) sidled up to the bar behind
Tripwire. I had to go to the bathroom first, though. As I got to the
gents room door the last thing I heard was Tripwire growling at
Bruno, If you touch me again like that, I ll kill you.
You never are at a loss for an education or drama at the Blue
Moon Bar. And that s a fact.
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 23
BOATEK By Stephen Sommer
SOLUTIONS TO ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, AIR-CONDITIONING, REFRIGERATION AND OTHER YACHT SYSTEMS
Dealing With HumiditySteve: I’m trying to do something about the humidity that makes my boat smell bad and even leaves moldon soft goods and rust on metal surfaces. Do you think that the chemical dehumidifiers are any good?
Chemical desiccants have their place. They work well, buttheir capacity is extremely limited, so they only work in
a very well-sealed environment. Boats are inherently sealed,but they still aren’t sealed well enough unless you take extrasteps, like shrink-wrapping the whole boat. If you do usethem, make sure that there is some provision for containingthe collected condensate, beyond the container providedwith the original product.
Controlling the humidity in a boat sitting at dockside takesmore aggressive measures. If the boat has air-conditioning,the most obvious alternative is to leave the air conditioneron. This works well, but I don’t recommend it for the longterm, for several reasons:
The power consumed is expensive and wastefulRaw water-cooling is very susceptible to fouling,
especially at dockside.You are putting a great deal of wear and tear on an
extremely expensive system.
Less conventional alternatives to marine air-conditioningare:• Use a household dehumidifier. These are the best dealsgoing at yard sales. The only thing wrong with the old onesis the condensate collection container is usually lost or bro-ken. Just position it over an open bilge with an operationalautomatic bilge pump. You might want to put it on an appli-ance timer and only run it at night, for two reasons: There isno humidity problem during the day because the sun heatsthings up enough to drive moisture out, and the dehumidi-fier is not designed to work in the ambient temperature of asealed-up boat in the hot sun.• Use a small window air conditioner. This is my personalfavorite. A 5000 BTU air conditioner costs less than $100brand-new! It draws less power than a dehumidifier, andcools the boat rather than adding heat to it. You’d be sur-prised at how much apparent cooling you get from such asmall air conditioner. Except when the sun is really heatingup the boat, there is almost no need to cool the boat. You canget “apparent” cooling just by removing the humidity. Youmight even be able to enjoy your boat at dockside, in theevenings or overnight, without a marine air conditioner.Household window air conditioners have a reputation ofrunning and running for years until the cabinet looks so badthat it gets thrown out. It will surely outlive your marine airconditioner that is prone to overheating every time someflotsam is ingested by the pump. Heck, replacing the pumpcosts more than a little window A/C.
Installing a domestic window air conditioner in a boat is eas-ier said than done. Very few boats have a nearly vertical win-dow that is big enough and opens. If you have such a win-dow, use it. Some people modify a door or any other vertical
surface to provide a mounting hole, but most often you haveto figure out how to use a deck hatch. It’s challengingbecause you have to keep the rain out and arrange for sepa-rate incoming and outgoing air paths and make it fairly eas-ily removable.
I’ve seen people mount A/C’s using just plastic andduct tape, but they usually leak rainwater and must be pret-ty much destroyed and rebuilt to remove and replace theA/C. I’ve seen more successful installations using a verylarge plastic storage container turned upside down and putover a hatch, with a cutout for the air conditioner. I presumethat they use some sort of a divider to keep the supply andreturn air from mixing and short cycling. Constructing asmall halyard-supported awning over the air conditionercan provide redundancy for weather tightness.
My favorite approach to mating a window A/C to ahatch utilizes construction foam board that has a layer of alu-minum foil on both sides. It’s extremely easy to cut with a car-pet knife and glue with Liquid Nails or a similar product.
Set the air conditioner on the edge of the open hatch andput as many pieces of foam panel underneath as needed toalmost level the air conditioner. Close the hatch onto theA/C and adjust the position for a good fit.
Cut some triangular foam panels as exactly as possibleto fill the big holes left by the partially open hatch.
Open the hatch. Cut a section of foam panel to act as aseparator between the warm and cool air paths. Make it justwide enough to contact the triangular panels. Use duct tapeto get things in position and to seal things up. Caulk in someadhesive to make it permanent.
Use foam panels to make a box that covers the wholeassembly (except for the hot air vents of the air conditioner)to make things weatherproof and to control the heat gainedfrom the sun. You have to keep the sun off the duct tape or itwill fail shortly.
Use adhesive caulk to replace as much tape as possible,once you have all the pieces fitted together. Don’t caulk tothe deck or the air conditioner, so that you can remove andreplace the whole thing easily. As long as your boat has araised combing around the hatch, gravity should keep thewater out while at the dock.
The aluminized panels look more industrial than yacht-like,but it works, for cheap!
Stephen Sommer is a degreed electrical engineer with extensiveexperience in electrical, mechanical, refrigeration and air-condi-tioning systems and holds a USCG Masters license. He consultsin all areas of yacht systems, which include all the equipment onboard yachts beyond a basic hull and motor or sails.
Have a systems problem or question? Ask Stephen Sommer. Email:[email protected].
24 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
Offshore Sailing School and South SeasResort in Captiva Gear Back Up AfterHurricane CharleyWith headquarters in Fort Myers and its biggest base atSouth Seas Resort on nearby Captiva Island, Offshore SailingSchool narrowly escaped grave danger when HurricaneCharley cut a devastating path of destruction through itsneighborhood. The eye of the storm went directly over SouthSeas Resort Yacht Harbor on the tip of Captiva, where elevenboats were spidered between pilings.
Despite widespread damage that occurred on the island,the seven Colgate 26s, Hunter 35- and 46-footers, theMainship 30 trawler and 17-foot Cobia escaped the storm’sfury. “Our staff really did a great job securing the boats,” saysfounder Steve Colgate. “We lost a couple of masts and havesome cosmetic damage to fix, but are thankful it was off-sea-son and many of our boats were in northern branches.”Though dock lines were stretched to the max, and some boatsmade contact with the harbor seawall and pilings, Steveapplauded Hunter, Luhrs and Precision (builder of theColgate 26s) for superb construction.
With no electricity to power Offshore’s phones and com-puters, The Moorings in Clearwater, FL, immediatelystepped in and set up a dedicated line to call-forwardOffshore’s toll-free line. By Monday afternoon, messageswere intercepted, and later that evening Offshore’s market-ing manager, Annie Dolan, was at Moorings’ offices settingup shop.
South Seas Resort’s Vacation Planning Center also ral-lied to Offshore’s aid, despite its own widespread prob-lems, setting up phone lines at their inland offices.Offshore had its damage. “We dodged the hurricane bulletfor 40 years,” mused one employee, “but we will be backin business at South Seas Resort in December, according tothe South Seas recovery team.” The Offshore headquartersin Fort Myers is again operational; however, the 40thAnniversary Alumni Reunion scheduled for October 28-31 has been postponed. Those who signed up to take acourse on Captiva between now and December have theoption of going to any of the school’s other locationsincluding Hawk’s Cay Resort in the Keys, Tortola in the
British Virgin Islands, the Abacos, St. Martin, or St.Petersburg, FL.
For more information, contact Offshore Sailing School at(800) 221-4326 or visit the school’s Web site at www.offshore-sailing.com.
Boat Owners Association Urges BoatersTo Be Wary Of Inexperienced SalvorsContact Your Insurance CompanyBefore Any Salvage Effort is Made
Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatU.S.) isurging boat owners affected by Hurricane Charley to be waryof inexperienced salvors who may be attempting to assistunsuspecting boaters. The Association, which also insuresover $8-billion in recreational boats nationwide, says that it’salready identified cases of improper salvage efforts.
“We strongly urge all boat owners to contact theirinsurer as soon as they can, and advise that boaters shouldnever sign or agree to any salvage effort without notifyingtheir insurance company first,” said BoatU.S. CatastropheTeam Leader Carroll Robertson. “There are dozens oftrucking, barge, and crane firms rushing to affected areas,and most of them are providing valuable services, butproblems can arise due to lack of specific experience inboat salvage operations. Further damage can result andboaters need to eliminate that possibility by contactingtheir insurer, who has already identified knowledgeableand professional salvors. Just because someone has abarge and crane does not mean they have the skills to suc-cessfully salvage a vessel,” she continued.
Oftentimes boats are tangled in a “pick-up sticks” fash-ion after a hurricane and salvage efforts need to be coordinat-ed among several insurers. “If someone decides - withoutnotifying their insurer first - that their boat at the bottom of apile needs to come out now, they could be personally liablefor the damage caused to the other vessels,” addedRobertson.
BoatU.S. insureds can call 24 hours a day, toll free at (800)937-1937 to file a claim or log ontohttp://www.BoatUS.com/insurance/claims.htm
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 25
Web Site Set Up for Information aboutGrenada after Hurricane IvanMany boaters keep their boats during the summer months inGrenada—besides the many sailors who are there regular-ly—and a site was recently set up to help those who wonderabout the condition of their boats or other problems andquestions concerning Grenada after Ivan devastated much ofthe island. Much of the information about boats is being doneby someone in a dinghy going around and looking and tak-ing notes on some of the damaged boats and people injured.The site is http://reservationsbvi.com/Grenada/
Florida Beneteau Owners Club to FormTo all Florida Beneteau owners interested in being involvedwith the Florida Beneteau Club, the first meeting will be heldOctober 7 at 7:00 p.m. This meeting will be held at theCoconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC), second floor meetingroom. The CGSC is located at 2990 South Bayshore Drive,Miami, Florida 33133.
The success of Club Beneteau of Florida, like the greatsuccesses of other Beneteau Clubs throughout the country, istotally dependent upon membership participation. Please doinvite any other Beneteau owners you might know of inFlorida (the more the better). If there are other Beneteau own-ers at your marina, please invite them, too. Leave a note on
their boat, do whatever you can to let them know this isbeginning October 7.
We have already lined up some exciting guests for thecoming year with lots more to plan for; such as, but not lim-ited to: raft-ups, a Beneteau rendezvous (maybe with a fewnew boats to see) and factory reps, cruises to the Bahamas,Florida Keys, etc., fun races, post sailing parties…these arejust a few fun things we can share and do as a group. This isyour club…have any ideas or suggestions?…Bring them tothe meeting! We should have some real nice Beneteau free-bee / give-a-ways for all attending, too!
The Coconut Grove Sailing Club has a restaurant and barso if you want to have dinner and/or drinks before or afterthe meeting, the food is good and the prices are more thanfair. Although it is not open to the public, I will place thosethat are interested in food and drink on our guest list so youcan pay cash when served. If anyone would like to see themenu, just let me know, and we can forward it to you beforethe meeting. Attire is very informal!
Anyone who would like to contact me directly or hassuggestions or recommendations please, do not hesitate tocontact me at: [email protected]. We do welcome all input.
Jeffrey & Deborah Mystiko
Song Helps Disabled SailingSome of the proceeds from the sale of a CD featuring a songabout sailing are to help raise awareness of disabled sailing.
Sailing is one of the sports featured in the ParalympicGames, which took place in Athens this September, and tomark the occasion, UK singer/songwriter Peter Brodie hasreleased a CD with 10 tracks including Summer Breeze, a bal-lad about going sailing. For every copy of the CD sold during2004, Brodie is donating one US dollar to the InternationalFoundation for Disabled Sailing (IFDS).
IFDS is the body responsible for disabled sailing aroundthe world, including sailing for people with physical disabil-ities, blindness, deafness and learning difficulties, and coversall aspects of sailing including recreation, training and racing.The money will go toward ongoing international projects,such as developing and updating resources to provide acces-sible venues for disabled sailors worldwide.
26 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
The album entiitled The Music of Peter Brodie consists ofballads, some love songs, other songs about getting awayfrom it all—by road, on a freight train, to the beach, or in thecase of Summer Breeze, on a boat. It is this track which drewthe praise of IFDS. A spokesperson said: “Peter Brodie’s per-formance on Summer Breeze epitomizes the spirit and tri-umph of sailing. It seems to speak to sailors of all nationali-ties and abilities. Sailors from around the world should enjoyhis compositions, both on the water and off. IFDS would liketo thank Mr. Brodie for his contribution to the sport of sailingthrough his musical talents.”
Brodie said: “I am delighted that my music is able tohelp such a worthwhile cause, and I would be thrilled ifSummer Breeze were to become a favorite song with sailingenthusiasts around the world, both disabled and able-bod-ied.” The song can be heard at www.peterbrodie.com.
BoatU.S. Offers Free Mast and Rigging Self-Survey GuideA free guide for sailors, Inspecting Your Boat’s Mast andRigging, is now available from BoatU.S. Marine insurance,the nation’s leader in helping recreational boaters avoiddamage or injury.
Based on the review of hundreds of BoatU.S. insureds’claims files, the eight-panel guide takes sailors through asafety inspection of their boats’ mast and rigging, and advis-
es when to take corrective action.“This guide will help sailboaters stay safe and protect
their investment,” said Bob Adriance, BoatU.S. marine insur-ance technical services director. “It advises what to look forduring periodic inspections so that potential trouble spotscan be identified and problems corrected before an accidentoccurs.”
With text, illustrations and photos, the guide discussesfittings, chain plates, turnbuckles, terminal fittings, as well asmast-related issues such as welds, rivets, galvanic corrosionand mast steps. Also covered are stays and shrouds, how toperform an examination aloft and professional inspections.
To get the free guide, call (888) 830-2628 or go tohttp://www.BoatUS.com/Seaworthy
Tide Begins To Turn FollowingMandatory Life Jacket DebateFrom BoatU.S.A major national debate on whether recreational boatersshould be required to wear life jackets while under way in aboat ended recently with little support for the proposal.During a public forum conducted by the NationalTransportation Safety Board (NTSB), nearly every sector ofthe recreational boating community—from the boating con-sumer to the boatbuilder to the boat dealer to life jacket man-ufacturers—expressed strong opposition to a governmental
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 27
mandate or failed to embrace the idea.Speaking before a crowded auditorium filled with boat-
ing safety experts, federal and state officials and interestgroup representatives, BoatU.S. President Jim Ellis urgedboaters to wear their life jackets when necessary, but arguedthat a new generation of inexpensive personal flotationdevices that boaters would actually wear rather than stow ina locker on board a boat, as is now the case, is what is need-ed to reduce the number of drownings.
Of the approximately 700 boating fatalities each year,about 400 of these are drownings in which the victim was notwearing a life jacket. It is estimated that as many as 75-mil-lion Americans go boating at least once each year and thatthe cost to the boating public of having to purchase a lifejacket that they would actually wear could exceed $1-billion.
“Forcing all boaters to wear an uncomfortable life jacketon a hot day when there is no perceived risk has little sup-port among the boating public,” said Ellis, in releasing theresults of a survey conducted recently by the RecreationalMarine Research Center of Michigan State University at therequest of BoatU.S. According to the survey of nearly 10,000boaters, 86 percent of those responding opposed a mandato-ry life jacket requirement.
“A broad-brush, one-size -fits-all approach will not solvethis problem,” said Ellis who urged the NTSB and the Coast
Guard to conduct more thorough research on the causes ofboating fatalities before issuing more regulations. Seehttp://www.BoatUS.com for full survey results.
The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and CleanWater will give grants of up to $4,000 to local communityorganizations for projects that focus on increasing the volun-tary use of life jackets by recreational boaters. “While allapplications to our 2005 Boating Safety Grant program willbe reviewed for a variety of boating safety programs, prefer-ential treatment will be given to those that focus on increas-ing life jacket usage,” said Chris Edmonston, director of theFoundation’s Boating Safety Programs. The program hasnearly $40,000 in grant funding available, and the deadline toapply is November 1, 2004.
Boat and yacht clubs, flotillas and squadrons that wouldlike to apply for a grant may download an application andlearn more about Boating Safety Grants. Please visithttp://www.BoatUS.com/foundation or call (410) 897-0943.The grants will be awarded in late January 2005.
Polynesian Catamaran Association Holds Winter Meet in Florida Dec. 3-5.For lovers of Polynesian-style catamarans, such as Wharramcatamarans, this meeting will allow old and new fans to viewand visit these boats. The meeting, to be held Dec. 3-5, will beat St. Lucie State Park in Florida, ICW mile 992 south of theSt. Lucie Inlet, just south and east of green day mark 19.Contact Gene Perry, co-host, at [email protected] or contactAnn and Neve Clemen at (401) 261-7816, [email protected]. For more information on the PolynesianCatamaran Association go to www.pca-seapeople.org or e-mail [email protected].
More 2004 SummerSailstice Winners AnnouncedThe Grand Prize for 2004, a one week Moorings charter in theBVI for Summer Sailstice 2005, was won by Laser sailor NoahFrench of Branched Oak Yacht Club in Nebraska! BranchedOak had the largest participation from any single yacht clubin 2003 and has repeated again this year. You don’t need anocean to sail, celebrate or to have a shot at winning with
28 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
Summer Sailstice.Other grand prize winners include Chris, of the Peterson
49 Guild at Coronado YC in Southern California who won theHunter Xcite sailing dinghy. Jean Hurle of the Hunter 30Callisto in Sandwich, MA, won the Fast Track to Cruisingcourse from Offshore Sailing, and the $500 gift certificatefrom West Marine was won by another Laser sailor, L.Arrington, in Pinecrest, FL. Lasers have always been fun, butmaybe they’re lucky, too! The complete list of 2004 winnersand more information about Summer Sailstice is posted athttp://www.summersailstice.com.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
U.S. Coast Guard Purchases Fleet of Florida-built Colgate 26 SailboatsA brand-new Colgate 26 just completed a tour throughoutthe eastern United States and Great Lakes Region whereinterested clubs, schools and individuals saw and test-sailedthis versatile and exciting sailboat. One of the stops en routewas the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, which recently pur-chased sixteen Colgate 26 sailboats to replace a fleet of J-22sat its New London, CT, headquarters. Created by SteveColgate, founder of Offshore Sailing School, the Colgate 26fills the demand for keelboat instruction and recreationalboating by combining excellent sailing performance withsafety, comfort, durability and minimum maintenance.
“The Colgate 26 is an ideal boat for introducing studentsto sailing and basic seamanship,” explained Allen Kruger,waterfront director of the U.S. Coast Guard. “We wantedboats that were a good balance between performance, safetyand durability,” he said. “We have intercollegiate sailors whoare very skilled so the boats need to be fun and fast to satisfyexperienced sailors. And, we have 300 new students with lit-tle to no sailing experience, so it is necessary to have a vesselthat will stand up to the rigors of beginners. The Colgate 26does both. It is unique in that its cockpit is big enough for sixstudents plus an instructor’s platform; he can stand safely aftand teach while having a birds-eye view of everythingaround him,” said Kruger.
The safest boat on the market, the Colgate 26 is virtual-ly unsinkable, even if holed, and the cockpit is completelyself-bailing. It is consistently winning PHRF competitionsnationwide and has its own one-design class association.“Although widely used for training purposes, most of the230 boats out there were bought by individuals who sailon lakes and bays for recreational fun, racing or both,”said Colgate. The Coast Guard purchased Colgate 26 hulls#231-246.
Steve Colgate worked with naval architect Jim Taylor tocreate the Colgate 26, built by Precision Boat Works inPalmetto, FL. In addition to the U.S. Coast Guard, the C-26 isused for training by the U.S. Naval Academy, MaineMaritime Academy, Offshore Sailing School, the UnitedKingdom Sailing Academy and Club Nautique. Fleet dis-counts are available.
Forespar ComesOut With NewSpinnaker PoleFittingA new fitting recentlyintroduced by Forespar(www.forespar.com) intheir Ultra spinnakerpole end fittings forthree-inch and three-and-one-half-inch poleends, allows the bowman to activate thepole end at the end ofthe fitting should a tripline fail or if used onpoles without fulllength trips (whisker poles). The stainless steel “ball”shown in the photo shows the anti-rotational pin that nowprotrudes to allow activation of the trigger at the ends.This is done with a slot which allows the piston pin totravel. In addition, the piston spring is longer so it now hasmore closing force.
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 29
Sonic System for Boat BottomEliminates Barnacles and MaintenanceKeeping the boat free of barnacles and growth is typicallya high-maintenance job requiring yearly haul-outs andheadaches. However, the Barnaclean Sonic AntifoulingSystem from the Clean Seas Company automatically pre-vents foulants from attaching to the boat.
Barnaclean utilizes electronic resonators that emit low-frequency sonic waves to create a micro-thin layer of rap-idly moving water over the hull, drive system or runninggear. This movement makes it difficult for fouling organ-isms to attach themselves. To further protect the hull, thelow frequency mimics a predatory sound, creating a hos-tile environment for foulants.
The system increases the boat’s performance and fuelefficiency by eliminating the additional weight anddrag caused by barnacle buildup. Barnaclean is mainte-nance-free and saves the expense, time and frustrationof scraping and repainting, allowing boaters to spendmore time on the water. Because it keeps barnacles, zebramussels, oysters, clams and tubeworms off the hull, bot-tom paint lasts much longer.
Installation is easy and requires no drilling, through-hullfittings or hauling. The system operates off the boat’s battery
and can run continually for six months off a 12-volt batterywithout recharging. It will not cause electrolysis or affectonboard electronic equipment.
For hull and drive system protection, the company offersSystem 45 for boats with a beam less than 14 feet and anoverall length up to 50 feet. System 85 is available for boatswith a beam greater than 15 feet and an overall length up to75 feet. Drive System 61 protects stern drives and inboard-powered vessels.
The retail prices of the Barnaclean Sonic AntifoulingSystems for hull and outdrive protection start at $1,489. Thesystem is covered by a one-year money-back guarantee.Drive system and running gear protection retails for $189.The price for an extra resonator is $50.
Contact Clean Seas Company, 1301 Riverplace Blvd., Ste.1904, Jacksonville, FL 32207 (904) 396-0985. www.barnaclean.com; [email protected].
(SOUTHWINDS is interested in hearing from anyone with experi-ence with this product. [email protected])
Barnaclean Sonic Antifouling System
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 31
SailTime brings fractional sailing toFlorida with the opening of bases
in Tampa Bay, Miami Beach andJacksonville.
SailTime fractional sailing pro-vides a unique opportunity for sailorsto sail brand-new Hunter sailboatsproviding intelligent, no commitment,low-cost simple sailing and none of thefinancial obligations that are normallyassociated with yacht ownership.
Up until now, the choices forsailors wanting to sail in Florida todayhave been limited to owning a yachtthemselves, owning a yacht in partner-ship, or alternatively chartering.“These days, buying and owning asailboat in Florida can be too high acost and can be out of the reach ofmany people. Buying a new sailboatcan be the inexpensive part; it is theassociated costs like insurance, slipfees and the day-to-day maintenancethat really does eat a sailor alive!”explains Martin Town, SailTime TampaBay base manager. “Chartering a yachtlocally can also be very expensive,with a 30-foot yacht costing anythingupwards of $500 per day, not to men-tion the concerns that come with get-ting on a boat you don’t know.”
SailTime provides a viable alterna-tive to the traditional ways of sailing.Fractional sailing enables sailors to saila brand-new yacht, a minimum ofseven times per month for an all inclu-sive fee, which is considerably less thanthe cost of the marina slip. SailTimeachieves this by having up to sevenmembers and one owner-member onany yacht in the fleet at any time.
A member is someone who pays amonthly fee to SailTime and uses theboat as it was his own. An ownermember is someone who buys a newboat and SailTime pays a monthly feeto lease the boat from him or her.SailTime professionally manages theboat. The owner member does nothave to worry about anything on theboat as SailTime management takes
care of everything. The owner memberis able to use the boat the same as aregular member.
Upon joining, members are warm-ly led by the hand, introduced to theirnew yacht and remain with her for theduration of their membership. Theonly reason members might change toa different yacht would be if they wereto upgrade to a bigger size sailboat.Even if someone has never sailedbefore, SailTime will happily introducethem to sailing, making them feel 100percent comfortable with their newyacht.
Members schedule their SailTimethrough SailTime’s unique onlineScheduler. They can reserve theirSailTime instantly and can book theirallocation up to 12 months in advance.This gives the members total flexibilityand management over their sailingtime. They can even swap time withother members on-line, wait-list oreven invite their friends to join themwhen making a booking via an inte-grated e-mail system. Members neverhave to call in on a phone and ask“what’s available?” Each member hastheir own access so they get to see theon-line calendar in live real time.
Each day is divided into twoSailTimes, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and6:3O p.m. to 10:3O a.m., providing aday sail or an evening/night sail.Allocated times can be combined to a
maximum of seven full days, or 14SailTimes. Typically the average sailoruses his boat 2.3 times per month, leav-ing plenty of slots available. Even if amember were to use all his allocatedSailTimes, he can have unlimited useof the boat if it is available under the 24hour-rule.
In addition to the calendar,SailTime also equips each yacht with ahand-held wireless PDA (E-ttendant),which helps to manage and maintainthe yacht the same way you would doa pre-fight check list. Upon boarding aSailTime yacht, the member is takenthrough a series of questions and safe-ty checks on the e-ttendant, which pro-vides an automatic update on the boatstatus. Questions such as: “Is thereenough fuel on board? Are there suffi-cient lifejackets? Is the transom clean?”These are all questions that an experi-enced skipper should ask. After com-pleting the “check-on,” the e-ttendante-mails the various responses directlyback to the SailTime base informingthe manager the boat is in good condi-tion. Upon returning to the marina, themember then “checks-off” on the e-ttendant, effectively reversing theprocess, which again advises the baseowner of the boat status.
When the yacht returns to themarina, the members’ only responsi-bility is to clean it as if it is their ownand leave it as they found it, ready andsaddled for the next member. SailTimehas the same members allocated toeach yacht. Experience in otherSailTime bases has shown that eachmember gets a real pride of ownershipthat they would never experience ifthey were to own an older boat.
All SailTime yachts are extremelywell equipped and always come fullyloaded such as in-mast furling, rollerfurling headsail, overhead bimini,extensive navigation pack with GPSchart plotter and also on-board air-
SailTime Launches Fractional Sailing in Florida:
New Concept in Boat Ownership Helps Make Sailing More Affordable
Delos, a Hunter 326, is one of the boatsin the Tampa Bay Sailtime fleet. JerryTwomey photo.
See SAILTIME continued on page 69
32 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
SOUTHEAST COAST SAILINGCarolinas & Georgia
Racing News & CalendarNews for Sailors
SE Coast October Weather
WATER TEMPERATURECape Hatteras, NC - 70°Savannah, GA - 73°AVERAGE TEMPERATURESCape Hatteras, NC 60° lo - 73° hiSavannah, GA 56° lo - 78° hiFor Real Time Southeast Coast Weather go to:www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southeast.shtml
October Prevailing WindsSee page 69 for Windrose legend
1
SOUTHEASTCOAST
GEORGIA
SOUTHCAROLINA
NORTH CAROLINA
Beaufort
Charleston
Savannah
Wilmington
Lake Lanier
Upcoming EventsOCTOBER1, 15, 29 Adult Learn to Sail programs. Instruction on a 30-
foot sailboat. North Carolina Maritime Museum. Beaufort, NC. (252) 728-7317 www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/maritime/main/events.htm
1-3 18th Annual North Carolina Seafood Festival and Boat Show. Morehead City, NC. http://www.ncseafoodfestival.org/
2 Kiwanis Club of St. Mary’s, GA, Rock Shrimp Festival.http://www.eagnet.com/edipage/areaserv/smkc/shrimp.htm
9-10 Beaufort Shrimp Festival. Shrimp cooked every way. Local restaurants offer their specialties. Beaufort, SC. www.sneadsferry.org/festival/scf_beaufort_shrimpfest.htm
15-17 Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival. Richmond Hill, SC. www.richmondhillga.com/rhnew.htm
NOVEMBER12, 26 Adult Learn to Sail programs. Instruction on a
30-foot sailboat. North Carolina Maritime Musuem. Beaufort, NC. (252) 728-7317. www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/maritime/main/events.htm
Racing CalendarOCTOBER1-3 Pamlico Cup Hospice Regatta. Bath, NC.
Pamlico Sailing Club, Washington, NC. www.sailingsource.com/psc/
1-3 SC Laser State Championships. Western CarolinaSailing Club (WCSC). Hartwell Lake, SC. www.wcsc-sailing.org.
1-3 Pursuit of the Cure for Huntington’s Disease Regatta. PHRF, Pursuit Race. Outrigger Yacht Club. Lake Norman, NC. www.outriggeryachtclub.org
2-3 Lightning Atlanta Cup. J/24, All Juniors, C22, MC. Lake Lanier Sailing Club (LLSC), SC. www.llsc.com
2-3 Thistle Old Salty. MC Scow. Lake Norman Yacht Club (LNYC). Lake Norman, NC. www.lakenormanyachtclub.com
2-3 Outback Cup. PHRF. Columbia Sailing Club, SC, www.columbiasailingclub.org.
9-10 Alice Cup. PHRF. Charleston Ocean Racing Association (CORA). www.charlestonoceanracing.org
9-10 Opti Southeasterns. LLSC. www.llsc.com. C22, MC, Lightning, PS
9-10 Indian Summer Regatta. San Juan 21, Tanger 16, Lightning, Hobie 16, 17, Tiger, Sunfish. Waccamaw Sailing Club. Lake Waccamaw, NC. http://ussailing.net/waccamaw/
16-17 Georgia State Laser Championships. LLSC. www.llsc.com
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 33
SOUTHEAST COAST SAILING
REGIONAL EDITOR WANTEDto report on sailing in the Carolinas & Georgia
covering racing and other sailing news. Contact [email protected]
16-17 Calibogue Cup. PHRF. The Yacht Club of Hilton Head Island, SC. www.yachtclubhh.org
22-24 Hospice Regatta. WCSC. PHRF, One Design, J/22, J/24. Hartwell Lake, SC. www.wcsc-sailing.org.
23-24 Sailboard Regatta/Fleet Races. J/24, C22, MC.LLSC. www.llsc.com
23-24 Carolina Ocean Challenge. PHRF, J/105. South Carolina Yacht Club, Hilton Head Island, SC. www.scyachtclub.com
23-24 Cracker Barrel Team Race. Snipes. Atlanta Yacht Club, Lake Allatoona, SC. www.atlantayachtclub.org
30 Stede Bonnet Regatta. Cape Fear Yacht Club, NC. www.cfycnc.com
30-31 Halloween Regatta. Open all fleets. LLSC, SC.www.llsc.com
NOVEMBER 6-7 J/22 and J/24 Miss Piggy. LLSC, SC.
www.llsc.com6-7 45th Annual Midlands Regatta. Columbia Sailing
Club, SC, www.columbiasailingclub.org. 6-7 Blood Mary Thistle Regatta. WCSC. Hartwell
Lake, SC. www.wcsc-sailing.org. 6-7 Flying Scott Fall 48. LNYC. Lake Norman, NC.
www.lakenormanyachtclub.com11-14 2004 Ultimate 20 Nationals. LNYC.
www.lakenormanyachtclub.com15 Big Boat Regatta. Charleston Yacht Club, SC..
www.chyc.org18 Double-handed Race. Charleston Ocean Racing
Association (CORA).www.charlestonoceanracing.org
20 Lanier Cup. LLSC, Lake Lanier, SC www.llsc.com.
Sailing News
2005 Charleston to BermudaRace Gears Up
The fourth 772 nautical-mile race from Charleston toBermuda, known as C2B, is scheduled to depart
Charleston harbor on Saturday, May 14, 2005. The race, whichruns every other year, (alternating with the Daytona Beach toCharleston race) was first run in 1997.
The race was the result of the efforts and dreams of twolocal sailing enthusiasts, David Browder and Rick Hennigar.The first race, with five boats, lasted six days and met windsranging from zero to 49 knots. With rain and squalls most ofthe way, it was won by David Scully on board Hot Glue Gun,a Quest 30, the smallest boat in the race.
Two years later the event teamed up with the LeukemiaSociety of America as a benefit and became the LeukemiaOcean Challenge for a Cure. That year they raised $77,000.
In 1999, the second race was run, and nine boats entered
the race. First to cross the line in 23 hours, 57 minutes and 39seconds was Norm Dawley and crew on Pursuit. TeddyTurner’s 40-foot trimaran Aiki was at the front of the fleet mostof the way, but light winds hurt the boat as it had struck awhale en route and lost most of its centerboard, makingmaneuvering in light airs difficult.
In 2001, there were six entries, and Turner was back withhis trimaran. That year the crew was more diverse than everwith a great variety of boats.
In 2003, the South Carolina Maritime HeritageFoundation, which is also building the Spirit of SouthCarolina—a traditional 140-foot wooden pilot schooner—tookover the sponsorship of the race. Since its sponsorship, allbenefits go to the foundation.
This year the race committee is offering individual fleetsfor classes entering five boats or more, with fleet trophies
Bob Turner’s Kauffman 46 Kiva prepares for a blustery start.Photo by Dan Dickison
See SOUTHEAST COAST continued on page 69
34 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
SOUTHEAST COAST SAILING
Imagine our delightwhen, after two rainy
and windy days on theIntracoastal, a friendly res-ident of Washington, NC,eating his lunch on thewharf, greeted us. "Youcan dock two nights forfree here," he said. "Anyquestions? Y’all will loveour town walking tour."Just what we wanted tohear after motoring 25nautical miles up thePamlico River.
From that friendlyvoice things only got bet-ter, but to regress a bit.. We had been cooped up on the boatfor a few days—quick runs to go out for dinner or eatingaboard, but no walks or exploration. Stretching our legswas becoming a priority. On advice from friends we decid-ed to "detour" up the Pamlico River a bit.
On the southwest side of Pamlico Sound lies thePamlico River. We had approached it from the Pungo Riveralong the Intracoastal Waterway. Stories abound of roughwater in shallow Pamlico Sound, but luck has been with uson each trip as we have found the going calm. We just likeexploring and getting away from the constant flow ofOctober boat traffic heading south.
Once a bustling waterfront area with ships headedworldwide during colonial times, the Pamlico is a wide andrather placid river with stretches of greenery and no houses,something becoming less frequent along the Waterway.Duck blinds were positioned along the river, hunting seasonobviously around the corner. Sailboats were everywheredocked and moored. However, not many were sailing on acloudy and cool weekday morning. From what we could seeand read, cruising boats are welcome with not only publicdockage and gas, but there are also a number of local anchor-ages and gunkholes just waiting for sailors to explore.
Tying up at the concrete city docks was easy,though we could not find any electricity or water available.
No dockmaster wasaround. In fact we werethe only boat except for anold catamaran that lookedas if its owner had left itfor good. "We’re the origi-nal Washington, y’know,"our good will ambassadorsaid. "Not like your bigone up North." Lookingup I saw a little red trainand a number of restoredbuildings. Brick sidewalksand landscaped pathswelcomed us. Captivated,we took off on foot.
"Forks of the Tar" wasa small village nestled between the Tar and Pamlico riversfounded by Colonel James Bonner in 1771. In 1776 the namewas changed to Washington, becoming the first townnamed after Gen. George Washington (before he becameour president). Washington’s Historic Downtown is listedin the National Register of Historic Places with almost threedozen historical homes.
Washington was a big shipping area because of its prox-imity to inland areas and coastal rivers. "During the colonialera the Pamlico River was the ‘great highway in the wilder-ness’ upon which the resources of the region’s settlementswere carried to the markets of the world," according toClairborne S. Young in Cruising Guide to North Carolina. "ThePamlico was truly the lifeline of North Carolina’s earliestsettlers."
Stopping at a little store, we picked up a self-guidedwalking tour guide and set off to see the homes and histor-ical buildings, all within walking distance of the boat. Morefriendly residents of this town of 10,000 offered greetingsand information on the buildings, which showed varioustypes of architecture. This was also true of a waterfrontrestaurant where we ate lackluster/so-so crabcakes, but gotmore than our money’s worth of local knowledge from ourwaiter, a local college student.
For instance, we found that what we had heard wastrue: You really cannot get west under the bridge atWashington where the Pamlico River turns into the Tar. Thebridge openings are unreliable, and marks along the Tar arenot accurate. In addition it can be very shallow.
The little red train we could see from the boat is anoth-er renovated symbol of Washington’s days of prosperouslumber business. This occurred after the Civil War when therailroad came to the town in 1878.
By far the most impressive environmental museum Ihave ever seen is right on Washington’s waterfront. Aptlynamed the North Carolina Estuarium, it illustrates with avideo and vivid exhibits the "dynamic and vital ecosystem"of the Pamlico/Tar River System. As every child in themuseum knew, and adults were being educated, an estuaryis the area where salt and freshwater meet and mix together.
A revitalization waterfront project has taken place in Washingtonwith landscaping, brickwork, and restoration of old buildings.
The Other Washington: Historic Washington, NC, on the Pamlico River off the ICW By Gretchen Coyle
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 35
SOUTHEAST COAST SAILING
Best of all was a ceiling exhibit showing how a drop of water (think it was a ten-nis ball) traveled from the mountains to stream to river and out to Pamlico Sound andthe Atlantic Ocean. Over 200 exhibits are in this museum, many of them hands-onexhibits where visitors see, hear, feel and watch. In the summer an Estuarium pon-toon boat takes tours along the Pamlico River.
After a quiet night aboard, we once again headed east back to the ICW. Muchtime could be spent exploring the Pamlico River creeks and gunkholes. Next time wehope to visit South Creek, Bond Creek, East Fork, Bath and Bath Creek to name a few,allowing a week to satisfy our curiosity about this beautiful river and scenic/historicWashington.
For navigation of the Pamlico River, NOAAcharts 11548, 11553 and 11554 are a necessity.
City of WashingtonDepartment of Parks,Recreation, and Civic Center310 West Main StreetWashington, NC 27889(252) 975-9367www.ci.washington.nc.us [email protected]
Washington — BeaufortCounty Visitor InformationP.O. Box 1765Washington, NC 27889(252) 946-9168 (800) 999-3857www.washingtonnctourism.com
North Carolina Estuarium223 East Water StreetWashington, NC 27889252-948-0000www.pamlico.com www.partnershipforthe-sounds.orgE-mail: [email protected]
A variety of homes have been restored in Washington, all within easy walking distance fromthe town docks.
36 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
EASTERN FLORIDA COASTRacing News & CalendarNews for Sailors
October Prevailing WindsSee page 69
for Windrose legend
1
Melbourne
Daytona
Jacksonville
Eastern Florida October Weather
WATER TEMPERATUREDaytona Beach - 78°Jacksonville Beach - 75°GULFSTREAM CURRENT 2.5 knotsAVERAGE TEMPERATURESDaytona Beach 65° lo - 83° hiJacksonville Beach 65° lo - 79° hiFor Real Time Southeast For Real Time East Florida Coast Weather go to:www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtml
Upcoming EventsMelbourne Yacht Club Survived HurricaneFrances in Great Shape and the Fall Regatta ison time and everyone is looking forward to agreat race week.
OCTOBER2-3 J-24 District Championships. Florida Yacht Club,
Jacksonville. www.floridayachtclub.org.2 Fall Series # 3. Rudder Club.
www.rudderclub.com2 First Saturday at Sebastian Inlet. Indian River
Catamaran Association.3 Race #10. Ft. Pierce Yacht Club.
http://ftpierceyachtclub.homestead.com 15-17 Snipe North American Championship. Florida
Yacht Club, Jacksonville. www.floridayachtclub.org.
16 - 24 Melbourne Race Week & Fall Regatta. MelbourneYacht Club. (Includes Race 6 of the SoutheastCircuit Races).
16 Fall Series #4. Rudder Club. www.rudderclub.com 17 Summer/Fall #5. Indian River Yacht Club.
www.Sail-race.com/iryc/sundayseries.htm. 24 WOW Regatta. Rudder Club. www.rudderclub.com 30. Halloween PHRF Regatta & Halloween J-24
Regatta30 - 31 Hiram’s Haul. Performance Sail and Sport.
(Catamaran distance race) www.perfsail.com
NOVEMBER
Smyrna Yacht Club RenewsLipton Cup, November 12-15
On November 12-15, the Smyrna Yacht Club (SYC) isrenewing its historic Lipton Cup Regatta. A series of
offshore races will be held in the Atlantic Ocean just outsidethe Ponce De Leon Inlet. In addition to racing enthusiasts,SYC is hoping to attract many of the southward boundcruising boats that pass through New Smyrna Beach, hencethe name, Southward Bound Lipton Cup Regatta.
The regatta will accommodate three offshore racingclasses: Sailboats with unlimited sails, sailboats withoutspinnakers, and cruising sailboats. The races will be around
an approximately ten-mile triangular course plus a wind-ward/leeward finish. The PHRF handicapping system willbe used.
Racers will be welcomed with a cocktail party at theclub’s Tiki Hut on Friday evening. A Caribbean NightDinner Dance will be held at the Tiki on Saturday eveningwith a $25.00 per person charge. The awards presentationwill be on Sunday at Happy Hour after the race.
For more information and registration instructions,visit www.smyrnayachtclub.com.
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 37
EASTERN FLORIDA COAST
By Roy Laughlin
Photos by Roy Laughlin
The outcome of a hur-ricane’s passage is, in
my opinion, fated. It isdetermined in advanceand cannot be modifiedby any usual meansavailable to humans. TheGreeks, who inventedFate, also believed thatbetween the determina-tion of fate and its out-come there was wiggleroom that made a circu-lar route to the outcomepossible by cheating fate,depending on humaningenuity and courage.Cheating fate was mygoal during my hurri-cane preparations forFrances’ visit to eastFlorida.
Hurricane Frances’ Effect on East Florida: Not Since Hurricane Donna . . .
The first task is to prepare myboats for the storm. Working on thewater with a boat becomes difficultor impossible well before prepara-tion tasks on land become that way.I try to get my sailboats, all catama-rans, on trailers and away from thewaterfront along the Indian Riverwhere I typically sail. My largest, aStiletto 27, is the greatest challenge.This year, with the help of twofriends and a morning of exhaustingeffort, I put it on the trailer andpulled it into my protected backyard before Charley blasted throughcentral Florida. Frances seemed tobe the fateful wind. It could destroyboats even off the water.
The forecasts of Frances’ proba-ble path made cheating fate just ahunch. A boat’s survival on landoften depends on effectively minimizing its profile to thestrongest winds. That was an agonizing determination forboth of the recent hurricanes because the true path wasaccurately predicted less than 12 hours before hurricaneforce winds arrived. In my case, I attribute the lack of dam-age to my catamarans to two factors: dumb luck and palmtrees that blocked the wind effectively without blowingover onto the boats.
Zora Neal Hurston wrote in her novel, Their Eyes WereSeeing God, that hurricane winds anger a monster chainedbeneath the water’s surface. The monster breaks its chainsand comes over the land destroying everything in its path.The monster in the Indian River got loose Saturday night.Boats at docks in the Indian River were beaten to pieces bySunday morning, along with the dock they were attachedto. Once free of the disintegrating docks, a drifting boatusually breached a few more docks apart before sinking.All but three or four boats moored on the west side of theriver broke loose. Perhaps only one out of six docks alongthe east side of the Indian River, the one facing the wind fortwo days, survived. In my neighborhood, only boats anddocks were trashed. Further south in Indian River, St. Lucie
38 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
EASTERN FLORIDA COAST
and Martin counties, buildings and homes were damaged bywind and flooding. These folks will need a few monthsbefore sailing becomes important again.
Mooring out has been effective during past storms alongthe Indian River in central Brevard County. But not sinceHurricane Donna in 1960 have hurricane force winds per-
beyond repair now, as are most of theboats breached and beached alongthe shore here.
This hurricane has affected theboating community here as much asDonna did in 1960. It was severalyears before sailors had docks rebuiltand returned to the level of sailingand boating they enjoyed beforeDonna’s victory march betweenFlamingo and Jacksonville. It may bea longer wait this time. One neighborgot an estimate of $28,000 for dockrebuilding, and his dock was relative-ly modest. He has yet to sign a con-tract and will probably not be sailingfor the rest of this year and perhapsnot until next summer.
Sailboat owners who were luckyenough to get their craft into protect-ed marinas or canals for the most
part fared much better than those who did not. It will haveto be these sailors who keep the sport alive for the nextyear or two.
A friend with contacts among members of the paranoidfringe promotes the hypothesis that these storms are thework of Islamic extremists. The first names of the stormsmenacing Florida, all of which originated in the Sahel, beginwith the third (Charley), sixth (Frances) and ninth (Ivan) let-ters of the alphabet. Ivan was originally scheduled to visitus on or around September 11, a reprise of the 9-11 disaster.The atmosphere’s response to global warming is a morerational explanation. It is so politically incorrect that it isappropriate conversation only in the most isolated andunderfunded backwaters of academic research. So the bestway to explain why Florida has borne the brunt of fourtropical cyclones in just over a month can only be, "It wasfated." And the peak of the hurricane season is just nowarriving as I write this. There’s still the second half. Most ofmy sailing friends would just like to get back to normal asIvan wanders unchaperoned and unpredictably in thesouthern Gulf of Mexico. We’re left to figure out if "normal"is picking up after the last hurricane or preparing for thenext one, leaving precious little time for sailing.
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 39
EASTERN FLORIDA COAST
sisted for 18 hours. Four to six hours is the usual duration.There is hardly any mooring material or practice that willreliably last so long. One boat owner moored his 40-footsailboat with two pieces of chain, each 140 feet long. Thechains lasted nearly 12 hours. They sawed through bothchocks, then through about a foot of fiberglass down eachside of the hull just behind the bow. At this point, the cap-stan holding the chains broke from the deck and the chainsgave way, too. (Note to boatbuilders: Use of four 3/4-inchwashers to secure the capstan to the deck is much less effec-tive than using a backing plate.
There is a "hurricane hole" on the east side of the riverfrom my neighborhood. During Hurricane Erin 10 yearsago, at least a dozen sailors moored their boats in this deepwater protected by a shoal with two spoil islands on threesides and a high bank on Merritt Island to the east. DuringErin, all boats moored there made it through the storm.During Frances, only one sailboat, a survivor, was mooredthere. One reason this spot was not used extensively duringFrances appears to be that it is not known to so many of theneighborhood’s newbies who have moved in during thepast decade. The oldtimers who have used that spot fordecades have either died, moved away, or become too old tosail large boats and so are not active and recognized mem-bers of the sailing community. There’s a communication gapbetween the two generations of sailors–the ones who didthen and the ones who do now. Several people salvagingtheir sailboats said they would have moored over there hadthey known about the spot. Ignorance is one of ate’s mosteffective allies.
By Sunday noon, we had endured tropical storm forcewinds for over 24 hours and hurricane force winds for per-haps 18 hours. It was then that the winds began to shift asFrances’ eye crossed land and headed toward the Gulf ofMexico. As the wind shifted, the final few boats, one ofthem my neighbor’s 24-foot sailboat, finally broke loosefrom the remains of a dock and crashed into the rocks alongthe shore. What a shame! Carl spent a couple of years refur-bishing this sailboat and has used it frequently since. It is
40 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA SAILINGRacing News & CalendarNews for Sailors
OctoberPrevailing Winds
See page 69for Windrose legend
3
3
Miami
Fort Lauderdale
West Palm Beach
Southeastern Florida October Weather
WATER TEMPERATUREMiami - 81°GULFSTREAM CURRENT 2.2 knotsAVERAGE TEMPERATURESMiami Beach 75° lo - 83° hiFor Real Time East Florida Coast Weather goto: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/ Florida.shtml
Upcoming Events & NewsTo have your event, sailing news or business brief pub-lished in this section [email protected]
OCTOBER7 Florida Beneteau Club Holds First Meeting. To
all Beneteau owners interested in being involvedwith the Florida Beneteau Club the first meetingwill be held October 7 at 7:00 p.m. at the CoconutGrove Sailing Club in Miami. See Short Tacks inthis issue for more information on this new cluband the meeting.
28 – Nov. 1 Fort Lauderdale International BoatShow. Bahia Mar Yachting Center. Ft. Lauderdale.Largest boat show in the world, covering six sites.Over 1,600 vessels with 160 Super yachts, marinesupplies, accessories, electronics. Cost: Adults $14,children 6-12 $4, under 6 free. Thurs-Sun 10 a.m. -7 p.m., Mon. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (954)954-7642.www.showmanagement.com
Racing CalendarTo have your sailing event, race, regatta, or club races list-ed, please contact [email protected] by the10th of the month. Races listed should be open to anyone.
OCTOBER2 Miami. BBYRA #8 (One Design). Host CRYC.
The “Second Series” of the BBYRA AnnualRegatta starts off for the one-design class. Starttime 1230 hours.
2 Miami. Conch Cup Charity Regatta. Host MYC(Rescheduled from August) Annual Multihullrace starting off Hobie beach in Biscayne Bay, pro-ceeding around Key Biscayne and finishing at MYC.
9 – 10 Miami. Columbus Day Regatta. Host CDRC.The Columbus Day Regatta celebrates its 50thanniversary of cruising boat bay racing. The race,over a two-day span, and its famous raft of par-ties promises once again to live up to Miami’s“Fun in the Sun” theme.
16 – 17 Miami. CGSC Annual Regatta. BBYRA#9(PHRF). This year’s regatta will be held over aperiod of two days. The regatta is open to all boatowners and is part of the BBYRA Series races.Award presentations will take place after the con-clusion of the races, Sunday afternoon. Start time1230 hours.
23 – 24 Miami. Fall Harvest Regatta. Host MYC. Annualregatta open to all one design and multihull classes.
30 Miami. CGSC Annual Regatta. BBYRA #9 (One-Design). One-design fleet racing. Start time 1230hours.
NOVEMBER6 Miami. BBYRA #10 (One Design). Host CRYC.
Coral Reef Yacht Club’s annual regatta open to allone-design boats. Start time 1130 hrs. Winterschedule. Part of the BBYRA Annual RegattaSeries.
7 Miami. BBYRA #10 (PHRF). Host CRYC. Coralreef Yacht Club’s annual regatta open to all cruis-ing and PHRF boats. Start time 1130 hrs. Winterschedule. Part of the BBYRA Annual RegattaSeries.
13 Miami. Nielsen Virgin & Hughes Cup Women’sRegatta. Host CRYC PHRF and one-design fleetracing open to all boats. Start time yet to be deter-mined. For further details contact CRYC.
16 – 17 Miami. PHRF SE Florida Championship. HostCGSC. Third annual two-day event taking placein Biscayne Bay. Start time to be announced. Formore information contact Southeast PHRF.
Legend. – Yacht Clubs & OrganizationsBBYC Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.
www.expage.com/BiscayneBayBBYRA Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association.
www.bbyra.netCDRC Columbus Day Race Committee.
www.columbusdayregatta.netCGSC Coconut Grove Sailing Club. www.cgsc.orgCRYC Coral Reef Yacht Club.
www.coralreefyachtclub.orgMYC Miami Yacht Club. www.miamiyachtclub.net
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 41
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA COAST
What do PHRF Racers Want?By Art Perez
You’ve spent the week preparing for the upcoming race,crew ready and trained, only to show up at the starting
line to find that the race committee has laid out a cruisingstyle course, and has no plans to run more than one race. Allyour preparations and expectations down the drain becauseof poor race management. Sound familiar?
In a sport like ours where volunteers are the norminstead of the exception, mistakes like this are sometimescommon. Lack of preparation or knowledge on the part ofthe race committee can ruin a fun day of racing. Sometimes,though, it is due to a lack of communication between therace organizers and the racers. What may seem like a desir-able course and management style to some may be quite theopposite to others. How then can this gap be bridged?
The Miami PHRF fleet found a simple solution to theproblem. A survey was mailed out to the PHRF fleets’ mem-bers, which consisted of an array of questions that coveredtopics from race management performance to fleet participa-tion. The result of this survey indicated that the majority ofthe fleet had almost identical opinions to the questions pre-sented. With the results in hand, a final report was presentedto the organizers of the regattas so that they could see first-hand what the racing fleet really wanted to see out in the racecourse and what were perceived as deficiencies in the system.
Most interesting was the willingness of the racers tosupport an increase in entry fees if it brought more valueand quality to the event. Also on the top of the list was thedesire to participate in race seminars covering rules and sailtrim. On the other hand, almost all agreed upon the need toimprove the quality of the race committees.
Hopefully the organizers can correct some of the prob-lems at hand and bring enjoyment back into the PHRF fleet.
Business Briefs
R. B. Grove Moves to New Location
For fifty years, downtown Miami has been home to R.B.Grove, Inc., wholesale distributor of generators and
engines to both the marine and industrial markets. Now, inorder to continue a tradition of excellent customer service,the company will move to Doral, FL, just west of the MiamiInternational Airport.
Grove has served the Florida and Caribbean marketsince 1954, building and maintaining long-term relation-ships with its customers. The staff of 24 is well-known fortheir knowledge of the generator and engine market, as wellas critical input to the design of systems and applications.
“Our company has grown a lot in 50 years, but we’restill in our original facility,” said Tom Piper, Grove’s CEO.“The original building is not well-suited for employee inter-action, which is a critical component for sustaining the high-est level of customer service. Our new facility will allow formore direct internal communication, which translates intogreater efficiency for our customers,” Piper said.
“We’ve done a lot of preparation prior to the move, sowe don’t anticipate any interruptions in customer service,”Piper said. The move date is scheduled for the end ofSeptember. Their new address is 1881 NW 93rd Ave. Doral,FL 33172. (305) 447-0277.
October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
Regional SailingServices DirectorySailing Services Directory starts as low as $96 a year.Call (941) 795-8704 or e-mail [email protected]
APPLIANCE REPAIR
Boat Appliance RepairServing the Gulf Coast
Specializing in Marine Appliances90-day Warranty
Ken Dunlap, Owner Cell: (228) 697-0991
CAPTAIN SERVICES
CAPT. JIMMY HENDON (727) 459-0801ASA Cert./BBC Instruction * USCG Lic. Master
Deliveries • Gulf • Atlantic • Caribbean(866) 221-2841 [email protected]
CHARTERS
ARRIVE JAX ALLTEL STADIUM IN STYLEIn a 40-ft cruising Catamaran w/licensed Capt.Pick-up/return at your/my dock. Also availablefor concerts..............................(352) 475-1033
COMMUNICATIONS
DockSide Radio www.docksideradio.comPactor II/III Modem Sales & Support; FCC Marine Radio License filing; SailMail & WinLink In-stallation & Training..................(941) 661-4498
CUSTOM BOAT SERVICES
FISHING GUIDES
FL KEYS BACKCOUNTRY TRIPSWith Pro Guide Capt. “BR”
Exploring, Sportfishing, Birding(305) 304-2258 www.keywest-sportfish.com
MARINE DIESEL SERVICE
INLAND MARINE DIESEL...................AtlantaService/Parts for all makes of diesel auxiliaryNew Engine Sales–Universal, Vetus, Yanmar,and Westerbeke......................(404) 513-4414
MARINE SURVEYORS
John Kellyy ................... Serving the CarolinasNAMS Certified Marine Surveyor. 100-ton oceanmaster & offshore catamaran ownerwww.yachtsurveyor.com ........ (910) 392-5054
OUTBOARD MOTOR REPAIR
Boaters Exchange ....................... East FloridaAll brands, specializing in Honda,
Suzuki, Tohatsu, and Nissan.“The friendlist outboard repair
on the East Coast!”Rockledge ............................ (321) 638-0090
RIGGING SERVICES
Beach St.Canvas/Rigging East FloridaRigging, Canvas, Sails, Sail Repair
Daytona Beach, Florida. (386) 253-6322
SAILING INSTRUCTION/SCHOOLS
Floridaze Sailing School PensacolaASA * Basic Instructon through chartering
www.floridazesailing.com ......(850) 934-7924
Windward Sailling School NE FloridaASA Instructor of the year 2002-2003
Certifications from basic sailing throughBareboat Chartering, Keelboat, etc.
www.windwardsailing.comFernandina Beach, FL ........... (904) 261-9125
DOYLE PLOCH SAILS (800)717-1406New Sails, Service & Repairs - since 19783000 Gandy Blvd. - St. Petersburg
GESLIN SAILMAKERS KEY WEST201 William St.
(305) 294-5854 ......... southwindssailing.com
SUNRISE SAILS PLUS WEST FLORIDAComplete Yacht Outfitting Service
Sails – New, Repair, CleaningComplete rigging service, masts, cushions,
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SUPER SAILMAKERS FT. LAUDERDALEQuality custom sails, repairs since 1973(800) 541-7601 ............ supersailmakers.com
Wind Dancer Sailmakers NE FloridaSailmaking and repairsJacksonville, FL ..................... (904) 384-3102
ADVERTISE FOR $8-10 A MONTHRent a three-line ad for $8 a month –
a four-line ad for $10 a monthCall (941) 795-8704
SAILING INSTRUCTION/SCHOOLS cont.
Advertise your sailing services in our new Directory. Contact:Steve Morrell [email protected] (941) 795-8704
See the sample ads in the directory above for prices. See page 55 for cost of 2" boxed-in ads and larger (display classifieds)
1" TALL AD - $20 A MONTH2" TALL AD - $34 A MONTH
CALL (941) 795-8704
SAILMAKING, REPAIRING ANDCLEANING
42
NEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS SOUTHWINDS October 2004
West Florida SailingServices DirectoryFrom Cedar Key to Cape SableSailing Services Directory starts as low as $96 a year.Call (941) 795-8704 or e-mail [email protected]
ADVERTISE IN THIS DIRECTORY3- line ads for $8 a month4-line ads for $10 a month
1" boxed in ads for $20 a month
Ads paid in advance for 1 year
Taller boxed in ads start at 2" tallfor $34 a month
See page 29 or call (941) 795-8704
SAILBOAT SERVICES AND REPAIRS
ELLIE’S SAILING SHOP ClearwaterLifelines, rigging, hardware, repairs
Serving small boat sailors Since 1958Sunfish Boats and Parts...........(727) 442-3281
SAILMAKING, REPAIRING & CLEANING
ADVANCED SAILS (727) 896-7245Quality Cruising Sails & Service
Closest Sailmaker to St. Petersburg MarinasKeith Donaldson.................... (727) 896-7245
Scuba Clean Yacht ServiceSee ad in Underwater Services
SARASOTAPORPOISE SAILING SERVICES
• New and Used Sails• Buy • Sell • Trade
• Furling Packages • DiscountSunbrella
(941) 758-2822 ww.porpoisesailing.com
SUNRISE SAILS PLUS WEST FLORIDAComplete Yacht Outfitting Service
Sails – New, Repair, CleaningComplete rigging service, masts, cushions,
canvas & more(941) [email protected]
SAILING INSTRUCTION/SCHOOLS
Adventure Cruising & Sailing SchoolA sailing school for Women and Couples• ASA • West Florida and Chesapeakewww.acss.bz .......................... (727) 204-8850
CAPT. JIMMY HENDON (727) 459-0801ASA Cert./BBC Instruction * USCG Lic. Master
Deliveries • Gulf • Atlantic • Caribbean(866) 221-2841 .. [email protected]
FLAGSHIP SAILING/TAMPA BAY AREAASA Sailing Instruction –
Basic thru AdvancedInstructor Certification • Sailing Club
Bareboat & Captained Charterswww.flagshipsailing.com ...... (727) 942-8958
YACHTING VACATIONS SW FLORIDALive-aboard/non-live-aboard
ASA instructionwww.yachtingvacations.com .. (800) 447-0080
UNDERWATER SERVICES
Scuba Clean Yacht Service• Underwater Services • Canvas Shop• Sail Cleaning & Repair • Detailing
• Mechanical • Electrical • ElectronicsServing Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota,
Pasco & Manatee Counties.(727) 327-2628
Advertise in this 1" tall adfor $20 a month.
See page 25 for detailsor call (941) 795-8704.
BOAT LETTERING – GRAPHICS
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44 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
NORTHERN GULFCOAST SAILINGFlorida Panhandle,Alabama, Mississippi,Louisiana, Texas
Racing News & CalendarNews for Sailors
OctoberPrevailing Winds
See page 69for Windrose legend
22
ALABAMA
FLORIDA
TEXAS
NORTHERN GULF
Pensacola
MobileGulfport
LOUSIANA
New Orleans
MISSISSIPPI
Northern Gulf October Weather
WATER TEMPERATURE - 74°AVERAGE TEMPERATURESPensacola, FL 60° lo - 79° hiGulfport, MS 60° lo - 79° hiFor Northern Gulf Weather go to:www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/
October SailingBy Kim Kaminski
October is typically the best month of the year for theactive sailor along the Gulf Coast. Not only are the
temperatures moderate starting in the mid 70s during theday and becoming cooler, dropping to mid 60s at night,but the average water temperature is still warm enough(around 74 degrees) for all kinds of water sports plus thewinds are consistent and reasonable in strength (between10 to 14 knots).
October is also knowm for numerous outdoor festivals;Greek festivals, seafood festivals, the Gulf Coast InterstateFair along with a multitude of music festivals. And ofcourse, there is still plenty of sailing activity going on suchas the West Florida Ocean Racing Circuit, the Preemie CupRegatta, and the LPRC (Lake Pontchartrain Racing Circuit)just to name a few.
The West Florida Ocean Racing Circuit or WFORC isone of four sanctioned Gulf Yachting Association racingcompetitions that are held throughout the year. TheWFORC is hosted by the Pensacola Yacht Club and will beheld over three days in October (15-17). Various yacht clubmembers who belong to the GYA (the governing body forsailing along the Gulf Coast) will sail to the waters ofPensacola Bay to participate in the 30th annual racing event
filled with great racing opportunities, good food and musi-cal entertainment.
Another well-attended race event will be hosted by thePensacola Beach Yacht Club. This charity event will helpraise funds for the neo-natal unit for premature babies atSacred Heart Hospital of Pensacola.
Participants will be able to enjoy an evening filled witha silent auction, good food and entertainment. On the fol-lowing day sailors can participate in a double-handed char-ity sailboat race.
The LPRC (Lake Pontchartrain Racing Circuit) racesinvite the active sailor to enjoy back-to-back weekends filledwith sailing fun racing from yacht club to yacht club all alongthe shores of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, LA.
As you can see, there are wonderful opportunities forsailors and their crews along the Northern Gulf Coastregion in the month of October. Here is a list of otherupcoming events of interest.
Upcoming EventsOCTOBER2 Cardboard Boat Challenge. Every age gets
involved in this wild day of racing in boats thatare made of cardboard. I. G. Levy Park,Pascagoula. (228) 938- 6612.
3 – 5 25th Annual Destin Seafood Festival. MorganSports Center. Destin, FL.www.gulfcoasttraveler.com/Features/DestinSeafoodFest03.htm
7 – 10 33rd Annual National Shrimp Festival.Gulfshores, Alabama, public beach. www.nationalshrimpfestival.com/
8 – 9 Fourth Annual Preemie Cup Regatta invites thecommunity to participate in regatta events onPensacola Beach. Sponsored by Flounder’sChowder House, Pensacola Beach Yacht Club,and other community sponsors, the regatta willbenefit the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 45
NORTHERN GULFCOAST SAILING
Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital. On Friday, Oct.8, Flounder’ s Chowder House will host a fish din-ner beginning at 7 p.m. and will include a silentauction and live music, followed by double-hand-ed sailing on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Pensacola BeachYacht Club. For more information about the event,call Shaner Garner at (850) 416-4661 or go tohttp://www.pensacolabeach-yc.org/preemie04.aspx.
15 – 17 Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival. Fairgrounds.Niceville, FL.www.cityofniceville.org/mullet.html
19 – 17 Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival.Boatbuilding demonstrations, contest, music,food, crafts and more. Along the Tchefuncte inMadisonville, LA. (985) 892- 0520.
22 – 24 34th Annual Louisiana Gumbo Festival.Chackbay Fairgrounds. Chackbay, LA.www.lagumbofest.com
NOVEMBER5 – 7 Florida Seafood Festival. Apalachicola, FL. The
state’s oldest maritime exhibit. The three-dayevent annually draws thousands of visitors to thisscenic historic town at the mouth of theApalachicola River. The festival features deliciousseafood, arts and crafts exhibits, seafood-relatedevents and displays under the shady oaks ofApalachicola’s Battery Park. Some of the notableevents include oyster eating, oyster shucking, aparade, a 5k Redfish Run and a Blessing of theFleet. (888) 653-8011. www.floridaseafoodfesti-val.com
Racing CalendarOCTOBER2 Commodore’s Cup Race #6. Navy Yacht Club,
Pensacola, FL2 Fall 3 and 4. Southern Yacht Club,
New Orleans, LA2 – 3 Wadewitz Regatta. Fairhope Yacht Club,
Fairhope, AL9 Shearwater GYA Multihull. Ocean Springs Yacht
Club, Ocean Springs, MS9 Preemie Cup. Pensacola Beach Yacht Club,
Pensacola Beach, FL9 – 11 Vanguard National Championships. Southern
Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA15 – 17 WFORC (West Florida 0cean Racing Circuit),
Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL16 Fall #5 and #6, Southern Yacht Club,
New Orleans, LA17 Pink Ribbon Regatta. Lake Pontchartrain
Women’s Sailing Association, New Orleans, LA18 – 23 International Catamaran Challenge.
Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA23 – 24 Paul Schreck Regatta. Pensacola Yacht Club,
Pensacola, FL23 – 24 Fish Class Worlds. Buccaneer Yacht Club,
Mobile, AL24 Fall # 7. Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA
30 – 31 LPRC (Lake Pontchartrain Racing Circuit). NewOrleans, Lousiana
30 – 31 Fish Class Regatta. Buccaneer Yacht Club, Mobile, AL
NOVEMBER6 – 7 LPRC (Lake Pontchartrain Racing Circuit). New
Orleans, LA6 – 7 PYC Championship 1 & 2. Pensacola Yacht Club,
Pensacola, FL6 – 7 Flying Scot Gulf Districts. Bay Waveland, Bay St.
Louis, MS13 – 14 Individual Flying Scot. Pensacola Yacht Club,
Pensacola, FL13 Double-handed Race. Fairhope Yacht Club,
Fairhope, AL20 – 21 PYC Championship 3 & 4. Pensacola Yacht Club,
Pensacola, FL20 Fall 1. Corinthian Sailing Association New
Orleans, LA20 Jfest. New Orleans Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA26 – 27 Opti Midwinters. Southern Yacht Club, New
Orleans, LA
Open Entry Fun Sailboat Races on the second and fourthWednesday evenings of every month, from April toOctober. Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL.
For additional race schedules check the Gulf YachtingAssociation Web site at: www.gya.org
46 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
NORTHERN GULFCOAST SAILING
67th annual Knost Regatta, Pass Christian Yacht Club, MS, August 7-8By Kim Kaminski
The 67th Annual Knost Regatta, an all female Flying Scotchampionship, was held on August 7 - 8, in Pass
Christian, MS. This female sailing competition was namedafter Bernard L. Knost, a past commodore of the PCYC whocame up with the idea of having a ladies championship inthe club’s one-design racing class boat over 67 years ago,and this fun competition is still going strong today.
Sailing teams from 15 of the 33 GYA (Gulf YachtingAssociation) member yacht clubs accepted the invitation torace and represent their home yacht club in the two-daysailing championship. These teams traveled from locationsin Lousisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to thegrounds of the PCYC (noted as the Birthplace of Sailing inthe South) to take part in this historic competition.
The weather conditions during the weekend providedthe sailors with some healthy challenges. Moderate windsfrom the southeast filled the coastal area prior to the firstrace start on Saturday, but as the racers left the docks andsailed out to the course, the winds began to increase (up to18 knots), creating choppy 2 to 3-foot waves on theMississippi sound. The temperatures were in the mid 80s(about 10 degrees lower than normal) thanks to a cold frontthat made its way into the region along with bright andsunny skies overhead. These stronger winds made the com-
Shelly Killeen (pictured on the left) and her ladies team repre-senting Pass Christian Yacht Club proudly display the covetedKnost Trophy. This year’s event celebrated its 67th year, andShelly’s team sailed hard to bring home the first-place trophy.Photo by Kim Kaminski
petitors’ day on the water more taxing than usual especial-ly in a small 19-foot sailboat. Two races were scheduled forthe first day of the event with the competition ending tenta-tively around 6:30 p.m. However, when the afternoon seabreeze filled in along the coast, the wind strengthened to 20-plus knots, and the race committee decided to postpone thesecond race, especially since two boats had overturned inthe first race. By the time the competitors had made it backto the dock area, the winds had built up to 22 knots. Therace committee planned to schedule the second race forSunday.
The PCYC provided a party for the competitors follow-ing the day’s windy competition. An all-you-can-eatseafood buffet (complete with “mermaid” decorations) andlive music provided by the Broadmoors gave the ladysailors an opportunity to relax after the long, taxing day onthe water. On Sunday morning, the racers gathered, oncemore ready to wrap up the sailing event with two races (there-scheduled second race from Saturday plus the third andfinal race of the event) out on the sound.
The moderate breeze began to build as the racers pre-pared their boats that morning. The stiff winds made thefirst race of the day difficult to handle. The third race of theday was canceled since the winds were increasing through-out the morning and by early afternoon were up to 25 knots.The ladies’ team from PCYC under the guidance of teamcaptain Shelly Killeen captured the overall honors for 2004.
Results1; Pass Christian Yacht Club, Pass Christian, MS; 2; Southern Yacht Club, NewOrleans, LA; 3; Bay-Waveland Yacht Club, Bay St. Louis, MS; 4; Buccaneer YachtClub, Mobile, AL; 5; Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL; 6; Gulfport YachtClub, Gulfport, MS; 7; Fairhope Yacht Club, Fairhope, AL; 8; New Orleans YachtClub, New Orleans, LA; 9; Birmingham Yacht Club, Birmingham, AL; 10; BiloxiYacht Club, Biloxi, MS; 11; Pontchartrain Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA; 12; St.Andrews Bay Yacht Club , Panama City, FL; 13; Navy Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL;14; Long Beach Yacht Club, Long Beach, MS.
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 47
NORTHERN GULFCOAST SAILING
Scooter and the Girls: The Johnson 18 SailboatBy Kim Kaminski
The Johnson 18 is one of the new generation sportboatswhose slogan is, “The baby of the family has all the
fun!” Believe me, this is a fun sailboat. I had the opportuni-ty to sail (or should I say - scoot) on a Johnson 18 out on thewaters of Perdido Bay (which is located along the border ofAlabama and Florida) on a beautiful Sunday afternoon inAugust. Colleen Cooke (a one-design champion from SanDiego, CA) and myself enjoyed this simple and high per-forming boat. It filled the gap between a conventionaldinghy and a double-trapeze catamaran. The Johnson 18 isthe first computer-optimized racing style dinghy that can besailed from a dock or beach and has the stability to be stur-dy enough for family sailing. It has an asymmetrical spin-naker, which provides exciting downwind sailing, and anopen transom, which makes it easy to climb back into theboat after a swim, plus it provides a self-bailing feature. Aswe “scooted” along the bay with the waves rooster-tailingbehind us, I worked the retractable carbon fiber bowsprit,set the spinnaker, used the roller-furler to secure the jib andgrabbed the hiking strap to sit back and enjoy the ride.Colleen handled the tiller, the main sheet, the boom vangand with a light hand guided us on our adventure acrossthe bay.
Texas Youth Race Week,Galveston Bay, July 17-24By Kim Kaminski
The 2004 US Sailing Texas Youth Race Week was held July17-24, at three different yacht clubs on Galveston Bay;
July 17-18 at the Texas Corinthian Sailing Club, Kemah;July 19-20 at the Lakewood Yacht Club, Seabrook; July 21-22at the Houston Yacht Club, La Porte. Each club hosted atwo-day regatta complete with trophy presentations foreach event. The overall results from the three area clubs arecombined to give the overall race results for the Texas RaceWeek Junior Olympic Sailing Event.
For a listing of the full race results from each class, OptiRed, Opti Blue, Opti White, Opti Green, Laser Full Rig,Laser Radial Rig, Sunfish and 420s, go to tcyc.org.
Pensacola Yacht Club Honors Coast Guard ServiceBy Kim Kaminski
If you find yourself offshore on a sailing adventure andyou run into trouble...who do you turn to? Why, the U.S.
Coast Guard, of course! The U.S. Coast Guard, “AlwaysPrepared,” rescues numerous vessels along with their occu-pants throughout the year, and this year proves no different.
The Pensacola Yacht Club held a special recognitionreception for members of the U.S. Coast Guard PensacolaStation and the Coast Guard Auxillary Flotilla 17 on August25 as a way to show its appreciation for the valiant effortsand hard work shown by this group of dedicated individu-als who save many struggling adventurers out on the water.Not only did the officers and the members of the PensacolaYacht Club want to say thank you to these military men andwomen who risk their lives daily in helping to keep our
Scooter, a Johnson 18 computer-optimized sailboat and thegirls, Colleen Cooke and Kim Kaminski, enjoy a beautifulSunday afternoon sail on the waters of Perdido Bay located onthe border of Alabama and Florida. Photo by Vince Cooke.
See NORTHERN GULF SAILING continued on page 69
October SailingBy Rebecca Burg
Six-year-old Jenny: “Are there any boy sailboats?” Eight-year-old Sarah: “Hmmm, I think they’re all girls.” Jenny:
“Dad’s fishing boat isn’t a girl!” Sarah: “How do youknow?”
This rather serious conversation between two weegirls was overheard at the docks. The kids had justreturned from their first sailboat ride and were puzzlingover the grown-up’s habit of calling a boat a “she.” Ayoungster’s imagination is delightfully unspoiled. Herein the Keys, the imaginations of us grown-ups are freelyinvited to come out and play. In October, the Keys arerenowned for glittering festivals and imaginative socialevents. Particularly dramatic is Key West’s Fantasy Fest,over a week of adult-orientated merriment. Many wear
costumes, or nothing but a thin veneer of body paint, andparty on Duval Street well into the night. There areshows, costume contests, a dramatic parade and plenty ofthose traditional Fantasy Fest beads to pass around.Along with the parties, there are also street fairs andactivities devoted to appreciating the colorful array of thisfall’s migrating birds. There is always something forevery interest in the Keys along with things many of ushave never even thought of.
When the on-land action gets to be too much, a sailorcan always escape into the serenity of our endless waters.The lesser known white-sand wonderland of Boca Grandeand the Gulf side of the Keys are a gunkholer’s paradise.Like the unique activity on shore, cruising through the
48 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
F LORIDA KEYS SAILINGThe Keys Saiing SceneWeatherCalendar of EventsHot Happenings
OctoberPrevailing Winds
See page 69for Windrose legend
Key Largo
Marathon
Key West
Cape Sable
Dry Tortugas
33
Florida Keys October Weather
AVERAGE TEMPERATURESKey West 76° lo - 85° hiGULF WATER TEMPERATURES Key West 82°For Real Time eastern Gulf weather,winds and marine forecasts, go to:http://comps.marine.usf.edu
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Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 49
FLORIDA KEYS SAILING tropical backcountry is anything but mundane. Whenexploring distant, uninhabited mangrove islands a cruis-er first notices the absolute silence. Liberated from theincessant cacophony of life on land, one’s senses are freeto focus on more meaningful things. After nightfall, thedusty glow of the Milky Way can easily be seen in amoonless sky along with thousands of sparkling stars. Inthe dark seas around the boat, tiny bioluminescent crea-tures put on their own fanciful show. This subtle part ofthe Keys is profoundly enchanting. A sailor will alwaysbe scheming on how and when to return to such waters.Undoubtedly we’re not the type to sit idle and watchsomeone else’s so-called reality TV show when we canexperience our own true adventures. From the meaning-ful reality of weather and pristine beaches to the fantasyfun of island festivals, a sailboat is waiting to take usthere.
The weather will put on its best variety show withperiods of doldrums to gusty t-storms. Mild cold frontshave blown through the keys as early as late October, andhurricane season officially ends at the end of November.Average wind speed is 12 knots with an 8- to 20-knotrange from the east to southeast. Average air tempera-tures range from 76F to 85F with noticeable humidity, andsea temps are still a balmy average of 80.6F to 84.2F.
Upcoming EventsOCTOBEREvery Saturday – Open House at the Key West Sailing
Club. 10:00 am to 1:00 pm1-3 Marathon and Florida Keys. The peak of the fall
bird watching season with field trips and educa-tional presentations about our wild side. (305)872-0774
4-5 Indian Key Festival, Robbies, Islamorada.“Three Generations of Indian Key History” withboat tours, fascinating local historic presentationsand reenactments between Seminole warriors andisland settlers. (305) 797-3610
22-23 Key West Goombay Festival with street fair anda colorful taste of the Bahamas culture. (305) 747-4544
24 Holiday Isle’s Fright Night in Islamorada..Dramatic costume parties and contests for visitorsand locals by the seaside. (305) 664-2321
22-31 Key West Fantasy Fest. Parties, costume contests,costume contest for pets, entertaining shows,parade and all-out fun. This year’s theme isDelirious Dreams and Hilarious Screams.www.fantasyfest.net or (305) 294-9501
Club RacingKey West. Wednesday Night Racing at the Key WestSailing Club. Racing begins about 6:00 p.m. Bring yourown boat or crew on a club boat, and join us in a series ofsocial races around the buoys with beer, soda and foodafter racing.
Racing CalendarOCTOBEROct. 17 Key West Sailing Club Fantasy Regatta. Sailboats
get a chance to kick off a week of on-land wild Fantasy Fun. Contact: Fleet Capt. David (305) 296-7939
Racing Results
Becky Glover Race, Key West, August 29By Rebecca Burg
The Becky Glover Race was postponed due to HurricaneCharley and rescheduled on Sunday Aug. 29 just south
of Key West. This unique race requires that the boat ishelmed by a female. Crew can be any gender. Though thefaint breeze varied from 1 to 4 knots from the southeast tothe southwest with an ocean current that seemed evenstronger, two die-hard sailboats were eager for action. Theslinky Golden Omen and skipper Julie Gully meandered upthe three-mile course in just over an hour. Defiant, whichstarted the race backwards and was drifting more oftenthan sailing, didn’t finish. After the event however, intrep-id race committee David and Kellye McMullen noted that,“…when Defiant heard on the radio that Golden Omen hadan abundance of beer onboard and was willing to share,Defiant proved to be very fast under power.”
50 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
FLORIDA KEYS SAILING
Under the cover of darkness, the Gulf of Mexico is aneerie place for a small sailboat. Crab trap floats would
occasionally thunk along Angel’s hull in an otherwise silentrealm. Spooky green bioluminescence glittered in her wake.We were alone except for the diffuse otherworldly lights ofdistant shrimpers hovering over an unseen horizon.Looking up, I couldn’t believe how many stars hung abovethe swaying mast. Angel had been sailing for 18 hours now.
Though weary, I was piqued by the idea of exploring KeyWest, which hid only a few hours ahead.
The subtropical island of Key West was originallyreferred to as Cayo Hueso, or “Bone Key,” by a Spanishexplorer who’d found only the bones of the island’s previ-ous native occupants. Shallow reefs dotted with sunken-treasure-laden ships, a past pirate’s haven, a historic stopfor smugglers and questionable cargoes, Key West has quitethe colorful history. Today its vibrant individuality attractsmany visitors from land, air and sea.
From the Gulf, boats reach Key West via the NorthwestChannel. For the charts the first mark, “G”1, is 24-38.90, 81-54.00. Take great care when entering the channel.Hazardous submerged jetties are located on the east andwest sides near the entry point. Special mark “A” and itsyellow light denote the east jetty. At night, a spotlight isuseful for locating a few unlit green daymarkers. Shallowflats are all along the edges of the Northwest Channel.
Ideally, the channel is best navigated by daylight.If approaching Key West from the south side, follow
Hawk Channel all the way, then slip into the Main ShipChannel as it leads you into the harbor. While headingalong Hawk Channel, watch the chart and avoid venturingtoo close to shore. Coral heads and rocky areas frequent thesouth edges of the lower Keys. Note that large cruise shipsuse the main ship channel daily. Around sunset in the busy
harbor, scores of schoonersand large charter vessels headout for tours.
Anchoring OutNursing a torn staysail, Angeland I wearily limped throughthe anchorage. There were agood number of sailboatshere. I finally settled near acomely bluewater cruisernamed Defiant. Dependingupon the weather, boats dropthe hook all around WisteriaIsland and near the west sideof Fleming Key. Flats andshallows are abundant withinthese areas. The bottom isgrassy with soft, deep silt, andsignificant ground tackle is amust. Boaters use more thanone anchor, usually delta orplow style, and in deeperareas where the grass doesn’tgrow, they’ll also use dan-forth-type anchors. Tidal cur-rent, especially near the fulland new moon phases, will bestrong nearest the harbor andwill squeeze under FlemingKey Bridge like river rapids.I’ve seen smaller dinghieshover in place here, unable to
overcome the rushing current.Take care not to depth sound with your keel. If a boat
runs aground in the Keys, it will be fined for the amount ofsea grass damaged. Though sea grass grows quickly, thehapless boater will never see a refund after the grass growsback. With the famously clear water, it’s easy to spot theshallows ahead.
Once settled, take the dinghy into Key West Bight. Thedinghy dock is near the Waterfront Market building (its signcan be seen from the water). There is a daily and monthlyfee to use the dinghy dock. Unfortunately, you must lockyour dinghy physically to the dock, lock the engine andconceal your gear. A water taxi service is available, and itmonitors channel 16. Taxi drop-off and pick-up is in KeyWest Bight.
Finding a SlipWithin the bight, there are a number of marinas monitoring
America’s “Little Caribbean” — Key West by SailBy Rebecca Burg
Toto – uh, Angel, we ain’t in Kansas anymore…
Key West Bight as seen from the Galleon Resort. Photo by Rebecca Burg.
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 51
FLORIDA KEYS SAILING channel 16. A&B Marina (305-294-2535), Conch HarborMarina (305-294-2933), Galleon Marina (305-292-1292), andHilton Marina (305-294-4000). Here a boater may locatetransient and long-term dockage, facilities, pump-out,water and fuel. A dock in the bight offers shelter from theweather, but this area is not the qui-etest place to stay.
Known as a “party town,”downtown Key West bustles withactivity, live bands, revving scootersand energized tourists until the weehours. Marine supplies and hard-ware, groceries, restaurants andentertainment are all within walk-ing distance. Waterfront Marketoffers fresh foods, a bakery, a deliand a cozy Internet café upstairs.Salty Schooner Wharf Bar andGalley is a favorite sailor’s hangout.Here, you can find a cruiser’s bookexchange. A smaller book exchangeis located nearby in the West Marinestore. Also, conveniently located onthe waterfront is Geslin sailmakersfor your canvas needs. Hilltop self-serve laundry, 629 Eaton St., is just afew blocks into town. You’ll needquarters or small bills for makingchange. Farther downtown, there isa profusion of historic scenic charm,shops and bars. No visitor leaveswithout investigating the legendaryDuval Street, which transforms intoan “adult Disneyland” during cer-tain times of the year. For travel far-ther into the jungles of Key West, public buses run daily (75cents), and taxis are abundant ($5+). Bus schedules, streetmaps and travel guides are available in easy-to-spot touristinformation areas near the waterfront. Uptown Key West,the eastern half, offers large grocery stores such as Publixand Winn-Dixie, department stores, the airport, car rentalsand a pleasant movie theater.
Back on the water, on the eastern side of Fleming Key,there are mooring buoys that boats may occupy for amonthly fee. (At the time of this writing, the mooring areawas full.) Boats moored here use a separate dinghy docklocated just around Trumbo Point into Garrison Bight.Supplies and gas for the dinghy can be found just under thelow, fixed bridge at Garrison Bight Marina. The Key WestYacht Club, Sailing Club and Spencer’s Boatyard are also in Garrison Bight and accessible by small-to-medium-size sail-boats. At the eastern end of Key West is Stock Island.
Accessible by the south side, there are a number of marinehardware shops, boatyards and marinas. Oceanside Marina(305-294-4676), Robbie’s Marina (877-664-8498), andPeninsular Marine (boatyard) (305-296-8110).
The subtropical weather in the Keys can get rough
enough to ruffle anyone’s sails. In winter, starting inDecember, powerful cold fronts roar through the Keys.Winds may blow around 20 knots from the south to south-west, then slam in from the northwest to north with gusts inthe 30-knot range. T-storms may accompany the leadingedge of the cold front, and temps usually drop into the 60s.After the front, the wind clocks around and blows in fromthe east then south as temps warm back up around 70 to 80degrees again.
Late February to May offers great cruising and sailingwinds, though one must be vigilant of the occasional storm.Hurricane season is from June to about November. Also at
Schooner America in Key West Bight. Photo by Rebecca Burg.
Tall ships in front of the Schooner Wharf inthe historic seaport in Key West Bight.
Photo by Rebecca Burg.
See FLORIDA KEYS SAILING continued on page 69
52 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
WEST FLORIDA COASTCedar Key to Cape SableRacing News & CalendarCruisingUpcoming Events CalendarWest Florida News for SailorsSailing Services Directory
OctoberPrevailing Winds
See page 69for Windrose
legend
Cedar Key
St. PetersburgTampa
Fort Myers
Key West
Naples
Cape Sable
2
3
West Florida October Weather
AVERAGE TEMPERATURESSt. Petersburg 70° lo - 83° hiNaples 68° lo - 87° hiGULF WATER TEMPERATURES St. Petersburg 78°Naples 81°For Real Time eastern Gulf weather,winds and marine forecasts, go to:http://comps.marine.usf.edu
Sailing in OctoberBy Dave Ellis
October has a split personality. The first part of themonth is much like September with afternoon thunder-
storms and midday calms. Our active hurricane seasonactually reaches its peak at this time, statistically. Scarythought.
Sometime during the middle of the month, however,that first cool, dry front comes through, leaving us with themost delightful days of the year.
The water is still warm. The temperature may still be inthe 80s, but the humidity is down, and we all know it’s thehumidity that makes for discomfort.
Most important, breezes are more prevalent and pre-dictable, a nice combination for sailors.
The Summerset Regatta was rescheduled for the begin-ning of October (2-3), after it was blown away in September.The month has racing for sailors ranging from kids to sea-soned salts. Youngsters race at the Bruce Watters andAllison Jolly regattas at St. Pete, the Junior Sailing Festivalat Lake Eustis, River Romp in Fort Myers and high schoolevents at the St. Pete waterfront.
Several PHRF races are scheduled this month, somearound buoys and some quite a distance, such as the St. Peteto Venice race.
The Osprey Cup in Sonars is match racing for womensailors. It is by invitation, but it can be entertaining and edu-
cational to watch the fast sailing action. The catamarans start their season after the summer dol-
drums, and the windsurfers have a big event at the northend of the Skyway Bridge in south St. Petersburg.
Cruising sailors love the second half of October. Eventhe mosquitoes take a break, somewhat.
The sailing season has begun!
54 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
WEST FLORIDA SAILING
Events CalendarOCTOBER16 –17 32nd Annual Cedar Key Seafood Festival.
Parade, arts and crafts, lots of seafood.www.cedarkey.org/specialevents.htm
16 – 17 7th Annual Nautical Flea Market andRocktoberfest Festival, Placida in SW CharlotteCounty. On the water on Gasparilla Sound at theFishery Restaurant on CR 771. Flea market brings85 vendors and boats on display. Hot food, cooldrinks, German beer. Live Reggae music. 9 a.m.Sat. and Sun. $2, children under 12 free.www.rocktoberfest.info. (941) 475-7937 for vendorspace and info.
23 18th Annual Coastal Cleanup. Sponsored byClearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) and OceanConservancy. Meet at the CMA east parking lotbetween 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. to clean up nearbybeaches. Bring water, shoes, sun protection,gloves. www.cmaquarium.org.
25 – 26 2nd annual Grouper Fest & arts & craft show inJohn’s Pass Village Celebrating the GrouperCapital of the World. Children’s area, live enter-tainment and fishing expo. The arts and craft showis designed with a nautical theme. A bounty of freshseafood featuring our favorite Madeira BeachGrouper. 10 a.m. 8 p.m. Sat. and 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Sun. Johns Pass Village, Madeira Beach. (727) 393-1947
28 – Nov. 1. Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show.www.showmanagement.com
NOVEMBER4 – 7 Strictly Sail Boat Show St. Pete. The largest sail-
boat show on the Gulf Coast. Many inwater sail-boats, with smaller boats on land, numerousexhibitor booths, food, music, beer, seminars. Freeintroductory sailing with the Discover Sailingprogram. The best venue of any boat show in thesouth and the best crowd. Held in downtown St.Petersburg on the waterfront at the Vinoy Resort.www.sailamerica.com
Racing CalendarFor the legend, addresses, and contacts for the sponsoringsailing association of the races listed below, go to the 2004-2005 West Florida Race Calendar and Yacht Club Directoryat SOUTHWINDS’ Web site, www.southwindssailing.com.Contact [email protected] to receive a hardcopy.
Changes in the 2004-5 Race Calendar and Yacht ClubDirectory(For changes contact [email protected] will also be posted on the calendar on the Web sitealso. www.southwindssailing.com)
The Suncoast PHRF Boat of the Year (BOTY) Series as print-ed has been confirmed to be correct.Summerset Regatta postponed till Oct. 2-3
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 55
WEST FLORIDA SAILING FLORIDA WEST COAST & LAKE EUSTISThe races and regattas listed here are open to those whowant to sail.
To have your race, regatta, or club races listed, please contact [email protected] by the 5th of the month (call if later).Races listed should be open to anyone. Since races are sometimescanceled, postponed or locations changed, it is advisable to contactthe organization beforehand.
OCTOBER9 – 10 VYC Crow’s Nest Regatta. SBPHRF BOTY series2 CMCS Kayusa Cup Race2 –3 DIYC Sunfish State Championship2 –3 TITYC Morgan Invasion. Charles Morgan
designs of all ages2 –3 CYC Clearwater Championships. PHRF racing
in the Gulf off Clearwater Pass2 –3 SPYC Bruce Watters Optimist Dinghy Regatta.
Optimist Dinghy. Green Fleet only2 –3 TSS Appleton Rum Regatta. PHRF, TBYRA
BOTY series, Women’s2 – 4 SAMI Race Cruise to Fort Myers Beach8 BYC Race to Venice. PHRF starts 5:30 PM8 SPYC Distance Classic. PHRF, to Venice9 – 10 SAISA South Atlantic Interscholastic High
School. New School Districts. USF, St. Pete campus
9 – 10 LESC Junior Sailing Festival and IOD Regatta. Club 420, Laser Radial, Optimist Dinghy
9 – 10 SPYC Allison Jolly Regatta. Junior Girls, 420, Radial, Optimist Dinghy
9 – 10 USF/SAISAHigh School. Great Oaks Qualifier
15 –16 NYC Boca Grande Offshore Regatta. SWFPHRFBOTY. 4:00 p.m. start in Gulf
16 CMCS Race to the Bridge16 CortezYC
CYC/Regatta Pointe Marina Charity Regatta, PHRF (941) 720-2184
16 – 17 ESC River Romp Regatta & USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival
16 – 17 DIYC One-Design Keelboat Regatta. 23 TBCS Barton Catamaran Regatta23 – 24 DIYC Classic Regatta to CYC. Suncoast
WFPHRF BOTY27 BYC Turkey Trot. PHRF Bradenton to Pass-a-
Grille YC27 – 31 SPYC Rolex Osprey Cup. Women’s match
racing invitational, Sonars30 SSS Great Pumpkin Regatta30 – 31 CYC Clearwater Challenge Regatta. Suncoast
WFPHRF BOTY30 – 31 CMCS Festival of the Islands. SWFPHRF BOTY
series30 – 31 TBCS Hiram’s Haul Catamaran Race30 – 31 ESC Lee County Sailfest. All-class Dinghies30 – 31 Watersports West
Windsurfing-West Suncoast Classic. Holiday Inn Sunspree, St. Pete. (727) 517-7000
31 CortezYC 2nd Annual Halloween Race, PHRF. 31 DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS.
MOVE YOUR CLOCKS BACK ONE HOUR
56 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
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NOVEMBER 041 CYC Single-hand/double-hand Clearwater to
Egmont Key. PHRF, 1-2 people per boat4 – 7 Strictly Sail Boat Show
St. Petersburg, Vinoy Basin. www.sailamerica.com
4 – 7 SPYC America’s Disabled Open Regatta. Sonar, 2.4 Meter, Martin 16
5 – 6 SYC SYC Invitational Regatta. SBPHRF BOTYseries. Reverse Handicap
6 SPSA Commodore’s Cup. PHRF, TBYRA BOTY.6 – 7 DIYC Star Class Regatta6 – 7 NSYC Commodore’s Cup. SWFPHRF,
BOTY series6 – 7 CMCS/SAMI Festival of the Islands Regatta12 – 14 LESC Southeast MC Scow Championship.
Clinic precedes the racing13 – 14 CCSC Carlisle Classic. Dinghy Open Regatta13 – 14 DIYC Egmont Key Race. PHRF Tampa to
Egmont and return13 – 14 SSS Flying Scot Regatta13 – 14 MIYC Fall Charity Regatta. SWFPHRF
BOTY series13 – 14 NSC Naples Cup. Junior Regatta, Opti, C-420,
Laser, Radial18 – 21 St. Petersburg Boat Show, Bayfront Marina.
Mostly powerboats19 – 20 MIYC/NYC Hospice Regatta. SWFPHRF,
BOTY series20 SPYC Fall Bay Race. Suncoast WFPHRF BOTY20 SSS Drumstick Regatta20 CMCS No Boca Regatta20 – 21 SPYC Snipe Florida State Championship25 CortezYC
Single/Double-Handed Green Water Race, PHRF
26 DIYC Old Shoe Race27 – 28 DIYC Thanksgiving All Class Regatta.Dinghies,
Cats, Windsurfers, PHRF
Club Racing—Open to Everyone Wanting to Race The races listed here are open to those who want to sail.Please send us your race schedule for publishing [email protected].
Davis Island YC. Thursday evenings. PHRF, one-design, everything. Daylight savings time of year. Must beUS Sailing member. Register before racing, once for summer.www.diyc.org
Davis Island YC. Wednesday Evenings Dinghy Series.First warning 6:30 p.m. Laser, Laser Radial, C420, Sunfish,Lightning, Flying Scot, 470, Fireball. Andrew Sumpton [email protected] or Allison Jolly at [email protected]
Bradenton YC. Thursday evenings. Starts with daylightsavings. PHRF racing on Manatee River. For info call LarryLecuyer, (941) 729-5401
St. Petersburg YC. Friday evenings. 6:30 start off theMunicipal Pier. PHRF, Snipes Starts May. Look for the RCboat at the Pier if an easterly, a half mile downwind from thepier in other breezes. Course around nearby navigationbuoys. Sail by the RC boat to register. Anywhere from 10 –25 boats www.spyc.org
Treasure Island Tennis and YC. Friday evenings. 7 p.m.start outside of John’s Pass in Gulf of Mexico. PHRF. StartsMay. Get together to go under the bridges. www.tityc.org
Venice Sailing Squadron. Saturdays. First Saturday ofeach month, PHRF racing. Start at mouth of Venice Inlet.www.venice-sailing-squadron.org
Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Friday evening. BeginsApril 9. Start at 6:30. Everyone welcome. www.sarasotasail-ingsquad.com
Edison Sailing Center, Fort. Myers. Sunfish and dinghyracing once a month, [email protected]
Port Charlotte. Third Saturday of month, [email protected]
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 57
WEST FLORIDA SAILING
Sailing NewsThe Saint Petersburg Yacht Club is excited to host this
year’s J/24 Southeast Regional Championships onDecember 4-5. We expect an awesome event highlighted byexceptional race management, excellent facilities, and ofcourse, competitive racing.
This regatta is also an excellent opportunity to winteryour J/24 in Florida. There aretwo other significant J/24 regat-tas coming up, including the St.Petersburg NOODS on February18, -20 and the J/24 Midwintershosted by Davis Island YachtClub in Tampa from February24-27.
The SPYC has arrangedboat/trailer storage for a nominalfee for the time between theRegionals and the NOODS, butspaces are limited. Make yourarrangements as soon as possibleby contacting Jim Lindsay, Fleet169 captain at [email protected].
Check the SPYC Web site,www.spyc.org for the NOR andfurther details including accommodations discounts.
So spread the word; feel free to forward this e-mail toany non-class J24 sailors. See you in St. Petersburg!
Local Sailors Win NationalJunior ChampionshipBy Morgan Stinemetz
Nip and tuck all the way, the U.S. Junior TriplehandedChampionship for the Sears Cup was nailed down up
in Vermont by three local youths, sailing for the VeniceYouth Boating Association. Theyare Fred Strammer (Nokomis),skipper, Charlotte Sims (Venice),foredeck and Dalton Tebo(Sarasota), spinnaker. The threeare the acknowledged best in thenation, beating nine other teamsat the national championshipsheld at Mallets Bay Boat Club inColchester, VT. The champi-onship was sailed in Lightnings,a 19-foot one-design, centerboardboat.
The three are the first sailorsto ever bring a Junior US Sailingnational championship trophy tothe greater Sarasota area.
The sailing was done on LakeChamplain. The Sears Cup, creat-
ed in 1921 by Commodore Herbert M. Sears of the EasternYacht Club of Marblehead, MA, was originally only for BayState youth, but the cup’s venue has broadened from justMassachusetts to include all of the United States and theCanadian province of British Columbia.
The team was stoked when it talked to this writer aweek ago. Hurricane Frances was just starting to make thewaters of Sarasota Bay untenable for most, but the threethought that it would be a great day to be out there doingwhat they do so well, sailing fast.
Strammer, Sims and Tebo are all high school studentslocally. Strammer, 15, and Sims, 16, go to Pine View and are,respectively, a sophomore and a junior. Tebo, 15, is a sopho-more at Booker.
They did their training at Davis Island Yacht Club inTampa, because DIYC has a fleet of Lightnings. Due to thedistance they had to travel, Sims was the key in the trans-portation matrix. She had the only driver’s license. She alsohad spunk and determination.
“Charlotte is a fast learner and pays attention, staysfocused,” said Strammer. “This is the first time she sailed on
Charlotte Sims, Dalton Tebo and Fred Strammer. Photo byMorgan Stinemetz.
58 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
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a crewed boat in competition like this.”To get to Vermont, the team had to win in the
Southeastern United States, US Sailing’s Area D. The quar-ter finals, sailed off the Davis Island Yacht Club in TampaBay, were open to all. Four boats were in the initial compe-tition. Two were eliminated, and then the local team sailedin the semis in July at Davis Island, which they won. TheSears Cup was sailed August 16-19 at the southern end ofLake Champlain, VT. The boats were provided by the hostclub, Malletts Bay.
The lead in the regatta see-sawed back and forthbetween Strammer and company and a boat from the RoyalVancouver Yacht Club in Canada. Strammer said that whenthey got a first place finish in the first of the scheduled nineraces, he knew that they were as good as anyone up there.“We felt strong about what we had accomplished, and weknew we would give it our all,” he said.
Championship sailing is not only about sailing fast; it isalso about sailing smart, looking for an opening your com-petition does not see and taking advantage of it while youcan. With two races left, the Canadians and our guys weretied. The last day of racing had heavy winds, and the sail-ing was done in Malletts Bay, whereas the previous raceshad all been sailed in the lake.
“It was windy that last day,” Tebo well recalled, “35knots. In the first of the two races on the last day we round-ed the weather mark in ninth place. We did a gybe set andcarried a big puff all the way down the leeward leg. We fin-ished second in that race and the Canadians got a fourth.That meant all we had to do was stay with them in the lastrace and we would win.”
The champions match-raced the Canadians the entirelast race, sticking to them like glue, covering every move.The Vancouver team finished fifth, and Strammer and com-pany came right behind them. It was over, but there werestill other considerations. It is often traditional in sailingchampionships for the winning team to get tossed in thewater. Strammer said his team was having none of that.And even though Strammer and Tebo sailed the last racewith no shirts on to show their machismo, none of theFloridians wanted to get thrown into a lake that actuallyfreezes in the winter. It doesn’t get real warm in the sum-mer either. They stayed dry by staying a long way fromthe dock.
Winning a national championship takes ability andthe guts to suck it up when the going gets tough, butStrammer said that the team owed a big vote of thanks forthe coaching it got from Jeff Linton of Tampa, Bill Shore ofShore Sails, Mark Bryant and Greg Fisher. The youthspaid attention to the old salts, and each practice showedthat they were getting their game together better eachtime they went out.
In the semi-finals in Tampa, Sims pulled off someimmaculate work at the pointy end of the boat that madethe difference between going to Vermont to play with thebest or staying home. She did absolutely the right thing atabsolutely the right time. Flawless execution and exqui-site timing don’t often meld into one move, but Simsmade it happen.
“We were fast downwind,” was the way Sims summedup their best sailing.
“We knew where the puffs were,” added Tebo, “and we
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 59
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all have our own, established personal strengths in the var-ious points of sail.”
How did it all feel, the big win? “I did not feel that wehad actually won the regatta until we got home. It didn’tregister up there,” admitted Strammer.
“It feels like being a celebrity,” said Tebo.“We had to fight for what we got, because the
Canadians were good and were matching racing us, so it’snice to have won after working so hard,” Sims said.
For a year anyway, the venerable Sears Cup will be atthe Strammers’ home in Nokomis. And that’s becausethis part of the world produced three kids who had thedrive, work ethic, maturity and the compatibility tobecome the very best in this nation at sailing a one-designLightning fast.
Edison Sailing Center Seeks Approval of NewFacility in Fort Myers.
The city council final hearings for the approval of theEdison Sailing Center’s new downtown facility were
scheduled for Sept. 29 and Oct. 12. The center is seeking thepublic’s attendance in support of approval.
Edison has worked out a really great deal with theThrogmartin Development Company, who will build anddonate to the Edison Sailing Center a new clubhouse, worthwell over $ 1-million. They will have three stories of privateoffices above the clubhouse. There will be a meeting room,rest rooms, office, workshop, and lots of indoor and outdoorstorage space for boats. Edison already has a long-term leaseapproved with the city for the riverfront land area betweenthe proposed clubhouse and the river and has obtainedgrants to start new docks, launching areas, gazebo, etc.
West Florida PHRF Levels the Playing FieldBy Morgan Stinemetz
It appears as if the board of directors of West FloridaPHRF has successfully come to grips with the some-
times-thorny issue of how to fairly rate boats set up forcruising. Joe Barrett of Naples, who is the point man for aseven-member committee that deals with cruising boatsand their ratings for West Florida PHRF, explained themethod and the logic behind it to me in a phone inter-view.
A year ago, I had the same position on the PHRFboard that Barrett holds today. Frankly, his understandingof the variables involved in making the ratings fairer ismuch deeper than what I was able to bring to the table,and the cruising/racing community is better for it.
First of all, you can forget about the “True Cruising”category that was part of the WFPHRF lexicon for a cou-ple of years. That appellation is gone, kaput. Boats thatqualify for a Cruising designation are now broken intotwo categories based on displacement. There are otherconsiderations, too, but let’s look at the displacement cat-egories first.
Boats with less than 10,000 pounds displacement arenow called “pocket cruisers.” Boats that displace morethan 10,000 pounds are simply called “cruisers.” For thepurposes of this story, we will dispense with the quotesaround the two different cruising classes from hereonward.
The clever aspect of separating boats out based ontheir displacement is that, in light winds, light displace-ment boats are faster than heavier boats. Conversely,heavier displacement boats do better in a blow. By com-paring, so to speak, apples and apples and oranges andoranges, the disparity in performance characteristics ofcruising craft is eliminated, which makes racing less amatter of chance and more a matter of skill.
60 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
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The displacement separation stroke of genius was ahuge step in the right direction, but Barrett and his com-mittee, plus WFPHRF handicapping guru Jay Tyson, wenteven further. They took three different ways to rate aboat’s potential performance, put those into the recipeand came up with a final number that they could objec-tively use to qualitatively predict how a boat would doagainst other boats.
Barrett called this number a “horsepower” ratio. Thehigher the number, the more “horsepower” a boat had. Ifthe number got high enough, the boat was automaticallyexcluded from the cruising class and would have to racein non-spinnaker or spinnaker classes. Put another way, itkept the wolves in sheep’s clothing out of the flock. Somepeople may have said “Bah!” to the edict, but fully 55 per-cent of the current 650 member boats in West FloridaPHRF are cruising class boats.
Joe Barrett on what he and his people did to make allthis happen: “We took a number of formulas and putthem into one equation. That allowed us to see what kindof horsepower different boats had. It was an interestingexercise, because we found that some boats just had toomuch horsepower to qualify for the cruising class.
“Typically that might include, say a J-30. Our first for-mula dealt with displacement and sail area, and we divid-ed the displacement by the sail area. We came up with amaximum number of 29 for pocket cruisers and 24 for thebigger cruisers. The second formula that we used dealtwith displacement and length overall (LOA). In this equa-tion we divided displacement by LOA. The cut-off forpocket cruisers was 1.75 and 1.19 for cruisers. Then weused an equation that divided displacement by theamount of downwind sail area. We came up with the finalhorsepower number of 650 for pocket cruisers and 450 forcruisers.
“The formulae makes rating boats objective, insteadof subjective. Even when we were evaluating boats thatappear, on the surface of it, dissimilar, they were actuallycompetitive by the formulae that we used.”
Barrett went on to say that a J-105 and a Catalina 32are within a few feet of each other in length. However,predicated on the “horsepower” available to the boat’screw, a J-105 rated 745 and a Catalina 32 rated 243. Theseboats shouldn’t be racing in the same class, obviously.Maybe they shouldn’t be racing in the same hemisphere.
“I think that it will take a bit of time for people to getused to it,” Barrett continued. “Overall, we have a fleetlarge enough to accomplish what we are trying to do. Wemay not see the results this year, but expect to next year,particularly in Boat of the Year events.”
Another change affecting the cruising class is the per-mitted use of laminate materials: Kevlar, Spectra andMylar. Dacron is the base. The use of composite sails willcarry a rating hit. New woven laminates out of the boxwill carry a 3-second hit. Non-woven laminates willacquire a 6-second hit. Barrett said that bigger cruisingboats are coming from the manufacturers with compositesails now because the sails are lighter and easier to handlefor a husband/wife team than a similar-sized Dacron sail.
The cruising class now has some very definitive rulesto operate by, and the loopholes, which some skippershad inched through, are closed. A tip of the cap to Barrettand Tyson and WFPHRF president J.A. Booker. Keep upthe good work, guys.
Sarasota Sailing SquadronLabor Day Regatta,One Week LateBy Morgan Stinemetz
Call it what you will. Later. Smaller. Whatever. But theSarasota Sailing Squadron’s 58th Annual Labor Day
Regatta was, for those who participated in much dimin-ished numbers, a small ball. The easterly winds at theearly afternoon start were 8 knots out on Sarasota Bay,
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 61
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good enough for racing in the baddest of worlds. For mostof the day they held true and steady, though there was alittle slump in velocity about 3:30 p.m. that lasted for anhour, maybe less.
Sixty-eight boats in 11 classes were out for the sailing,despite the threat of Hurricane Ivan and despite othercompeting sailing events, both of which sucked awaycompetitors from the 2004 regatta like a congregation ofsouped-up Hoover vacuum cleaners whose operatorswere on amphetamines. This regatta, sponsored this yearby the brokerage firm of Charles Schwab, normally drawsmore than 300 boats, roughly five times the number ofboats competing this year.
For the die-hards, the parochial and those that justdidn’t have anywhere else to go, the 58th, though onlyone day this year—Ivan was out there somewhere,remember— was no less fun or no less fiercely contestedthan the Olympics or the America’s Cup.
Charlie Clifton of Sarasota won the SR Max one-design class, four boats, with a line score of 1-3-1. Cliftonis a regular winner in this class. Second was Bill Johnsenof Sarasota. John House, also of Sarasota, was third.
The Sunfish one-design class had eight boats compet-ing and notched five races. John Kremski of Fort Myersgot better as the day went on, ending up with a line scoreof 3-3-1-1-1. Mike Mierswa, Jr., of the Venice YouthBoating Association, took second with a line score of 1-1-2-4-2. Three points back and in third place came ErikEricson of Sarasota.
The five-boat Laser class also got in five races.Christopher Enger of Sarasota was easily the class of thisclass, ending up with a line score of 1-1-2-1-2. In secondwas Robert Norris of Crystal River. Rick Ericson of St.Petersburg was third.
There were also five boats in the Laser Radial class,which was won by Dalton Tebo of Sarasota, 1-1-2-2-1.Tebo also excels in the Lightning one-design class and is acurrent national junior champion and co-winner of theSears Cup. Second was Zeke Horowitz, who sails out of
Clearwater. Third came Josh Proctor of Sarasota.The Club 420 class (four boats) was won by Ashley
Ashley with five bullets in five races. Second went toNoah Kaplan of St. Petersburg, and third was taken byReguli Granger of Tampa.
Ron Pletsch of Sarasota was supreme in the FlyingScot class, which got in three races. His line score was 2-1-1. Second went to Michael Roberts of Tampa. And thirdwas taken by Marshall Pardy of Sarasota. There wereseven boats racing in this class.
The Opti Prams green fleet fielded but 13 boats thisyear. The class was won by Christopher Stocke ofSarasota, 3-3-1-2-1-1, after a total of six races. Second wasSusannah Spoto of Sarasota. Sophia Schultz, also ofSarasota, was third.
Pram blue fleet winner was Michael Popp of Tampawith a line score of 3-6-6-7-2. Parker Polgar, sailing out ofClearwater, was second. Jasper Curry of Sarasota came inthird in the eight-boat class.
The six-boat Opti red fleet went to Justin Hall ofClearwater. Second was Carey Hall of Clearwater. Alsofrom Clearwater was third-place finisher, Cam Hall. TheOpti white fleet had two entrants, Stephen Jarman ofSarasota, who was the winner, and Brian Firth of Sarasota,who was not.
Finally, after three races on a windward/leewardcourse, Rick Gress’ Fat Bottom Girl, a J-29, won the 3-boatPHRF division one. Division two had only one boat,Waterrat, an Olson 25 skippered by Kevin Ratigan, so itwas both first and dead last. Division three also had oneentrant, a Morgan OI 36, Illogical, which, of course, won.PHRF division 4, another single entry class, had EdSherman’s one-design Windmill as the winner.
On a closing note, it is tough for a regatta sponsor toget whacked by bad weather and bad fortune, but theCharles Schwab brokerage people gave it 100 percent allday, in the face of, certainly, less bang for the buck.Amateur sailing needs business support, and the honchosat the squadron couldn’t have been more appreciative.
62 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
WEST FLORIDA SAILING
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Massey Enterprises, Inc.Launches In-House YachtFinancing Department
Massey Yacht Sales & Serviceannounces the launch of its in-
house yacht finance department. SherylBoddy is the yacht finance specialist incharge of this new service. Her expan-sive financial background will enhancethe consistent growth at Massey YachtSales & Service. She comes to Massey with 20 years experi-ence in the finance industry. Her experience encompassesall aspects of consumer financing. including luxury auto-mobiles, recreational vehicles and yachts. For the past sevenyears her expertise has been focused exclusively on yachtfinancing. Sheryl began her career in finance as a loan offi-cer with Sears Consumer Financial Corp. Her successes inworking closely with customers to help them achieve theirdream recreational product led to her being promoted todistrict sales manager. She left the high-powered job inChicago to start a family, but continued working in therecreational field, financing RVs and yachts.
“We feel that the addition of an in-house yacht financ-ing department will add greatly to the range of servicesoffered by Massey Yacht Sales,” states Ed Massey, presidentand CEO of Massey Enterprises, Inc. “Sheryl’s highly per-sonalized service, a broad knowledge of the yacht financeindustry, superior customer satisfaction, and valuablemarine lending institution contacts should assure yachtpurchasers of the best rates and loan packages,” Masseygoes on to say. “We are delighted to be able to work closelywith the industry’s finest banks.”
For more information, contact Edward Massey at [email protected] or visit their Web site atwww.masseyyacht.com or call (941) 723-1610.
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Clean 28 MacWester, strong English bluewa-ter cruiser, Lloyds, 3' draft, Atlantic veteran,27 Yanmar, 510 hrs, wheel, furler, windless,NEW paint, interior & canvas, sleeps 5, a saltyhead-turner, will trade for real estate. 43K(850) 384-9020 (10/04)
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 63
“In August, you began running an advertisement to sell my diesel engine in your classifieds section. I am pleased to advise you thatI have a buyer as a result of the advertisement. Please discontinue it. FYI, I have also had inquiries from West Africa and Franceas a result of the Internet ad you made available. I’m MAJOR impressed!! Thank you very much.” Capt C.T., St. Petersburg, FL
C L A S S I F I E D A D S
1. Classified ads for boats are $25 for a three-month ad for up to 30 words. Check or Creditcards accepted.2. Add $25 for a horizontal photo (vertical pho-tos $5 a month more), ($50 for a three-monthad for boat with photo).3. Free ads for boats under $500 (sail anddinghys only), all gear under $500, and wind-surfing equipment. Add $10 a month for a hor-izontal photo.4. Boats and gear must be for sale by the ownerto qualify for the above. No businesses.(see #10)5. E-mail ads to [email protected]
(including photos). Then mail a check or call withcredit card. Add $5 typing charge for ads mailedin or faxed in (including free ads).6. You can also go online and pay by Paypal andtype the ad into the message area or e-mail it sep-arately to editor. Photo must be sent separately.7. Photos not accompanied by S.A.S.E. will not bereturned. Photocopies of photos will not work. E-mail photoa as an attachment or send actual photo.8. Ads (and renewing ads) must be received bythe 10th of the month.9. The last month your ad runs will be in parenthe-ses, e.g., (10/04) is October, 2004.
All ads go on the Internet, and your Web site or e-mail address in the ad will be linked by clicking on it.SOUTHWINDS will only be responsible financially for mistakes for a one issue period. Please check your ad. Let us know any mistakes by the 10th of the month.
CLASSIFIED ADS — 3 MONTHS FOR $2510. All other ads are $20 a month for up to 20words, add $5 a month for each additional 10words. $10 a month for a horizontal photo.Frequency discounts available. Contact editor.11. No refunds.
Now pay on-line at our Web sitewww.southwindssailing.com
SOUTHWINDSPO Box 1175, Holmes Beach, FL 34218-1175
(941)795-8704 • (941) 795-8705 fax
DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDSAdvertise your business in a displayad in the classifieds section. Sold bythe column inch. 2 inch minimum.
(3 column inches is 1/8 page)Monthly Cost Minimum Total
Ads Per Inch Inches Cost
12 $17 2" $346 $20 2" $403 $23 2" $461 $27 2" $54
64 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
C L A S S I F I E D A D S
Ranger 28 Winning boat! sleeps 5, 12 sails,EVERYTHING for GO FAST, lots more, immac-ulate NEW diesel, Electronics, Surveyed @$20K Protected Investment @ $10,500, See &Deal! (251) 342-3153, [email protected]. (11/04)
30’ Cherubini Hunter, 1976. Complete refit.New standing and running rigging, includingchainplates. 3 cyl Universal diesel. 250 hourson rebuild. Propane Hillerange and Force 10grill. Engel refrigeration and ice box. Hot andcold pressure water. Harken cabin top travelersystem. Custom built nav station. Completelyrewired with new AC and DC circuit panels.Horizon DSC VF with Ram mic at helm.Raytheon ST4000+ autopilot. Too much moreto list. Turn key cruising/liveaboard. (239)280-7434. [email protected] (12/04)
30' Northstar 1000. Bristol condition, 2mains, 3 headsails, spinnaker, Autopilot, VHF,depthfinder, GPS and more. (843) 412-5740(11/04)
31' Farrier F9A Trimaran, Exactly as specified.Launched 1993. Cedar/epoxy laminate, Best
gear, rig. Spinnaker. Trailer. Needs TLC.$45,000. Write: PO Box 572, Islamorada, FL33036 or e-mail [email protected](10/04)
32' STEEL GAFF CUTTER, 1991 This vessel isready for that world cruise! $49,000, PanamaCity, Fl, For details call or e-mail at (850) 870-4505, [email protected] (10/04)
1984 Aloha 32. Performance cruiser. 35 LOA,32 LOD, 4’9” draft, 11 ft. Beam, 6’4” head-room, Westerbeke 21, AC, Autopilot,Canadian Built, In South Florida. Photos onrequest. Consider trades. RV, etc. $ 39,400.(863) 612-4831. [email protected](239) 218-8680. (12/04)
1989 O’Day 322, 4’2" draft, AC, roller furling,Yanmar, cruise spinnaker, wind gen, H20maker, dinghy & OB, cruise ready, turn key,$48,900. (727) 514-5700. For complete info.www.captainbobdaly.com (10/04)
32.3’ Pearson 323 (1980), Coastal CruisingSloop, Bill Shaw Design, Volvo MD11 diesel,fully battened main, high cut jib, extra sailsand equipment, Navico autopilot, $27,000,[email protected] (12/04)
Peterson 34' Mark II Tall Version, 1982 byIsland Yachts, One of the finest racer-cruiserdesigns ever produced. Wheel, cushions,roller-furling system, high/ low boom positionand complete sail inventory (>10 bags) forcruising and club racing with this very fast,well-kept yacht. Electronics update 2003. E-mail [email protected] or phone (504)734-7331, 35K (2/05)
1983 C & C 35 Mk III Great cruiser/racer,Yanmar, 11 sails, bunks for 7, stove with oven,A/C (’00), refrig (’00), feathering prop (’03),self-tailing winches, Harken roller furler, bimi-ni, covers for everything, autopilot, new bat-teries, etc., etc. This boat needs nothing.$59,500 [email protected] or (504) 392-0840 (1/05)
SEE CLASSIFIED INFOON PAGE 63
DISPLAYCLASIFIED ADSSTARTING AT$34/MONTH
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 65
C L A S S I F I E D A D S
Schock 35, Morn-ing Glory. Fastracer/cruiser withlifting keel. 5 1/2'up, 8' down.R e f r i g e r a t i o n .Proven race andcruising record.PHRF 72. $46KContact JohnSteele (941) 922-5071 (10/04)
1980 Union Cutter 36 World Cruiser justcompleted 3 yr. documented keel-up renova-tion and 1000 mile sea trial. The best materi-al and craftsmanship throughout. All newstainless standing rigging, electronics, plumb-ing and custom everything. 45' LOA, 12 ton,full keel, double-ended cruiser equipped with
all new toys. Beautiful inside and out. Brokerswelcome. Laying Key West. Over $200Kinvested. Sacrifice at $129k. E-mail:[email protected] (702) 275-8752. (11/04)
1982 C&C 37 Loaded Cruiser Racer, Passion,asking 59K. Make offer. Located in PassChristian, MS. (504) [email protected] (12/04)
’84 RACER CRUIS-ER KIRIE’-ELITE 37.RON HOLLANDDESIGN.Also know as aFeeling 1100. Since1995 vessel hasbeen totally refur-bished and up-graded, both as acruiser and racer.Nothing to add orbuy, just add food,clothes, and crewif you want torace. Too manyupgrades, equip-ment, and sails to list. $70,000. CONTACTW.R. HARDEN (850) 897-3653 or [email protected] (12/04)
41' Gulfstar Ketch 1974 in bristol condition.Great cruiser, enclosed cockpit, custom teakinterior, cedar lined lockers, 4-108 Perkinsdiesel, autopilot, inverter, Avon dingy, 5hpYamaha $54,700 (337) 981-4873 or [email protected] (11/04)
Nautical 60'Ketch, 1982,Bristol conditionmaintained byprofessional skip-per (refit yearly),4 cabin layoutplus crew, largefamily or charter,125hp desiel,A/C, Sat phone,$250,000
www.yachtsoutherncomfort.com email [email protected] Capt Mike (10/04)
BOOKS & CHARTS
Ocean Routing – Jenifer Clark’s Gulf StreamBoat Routing/Ocean Charts by the “best inthe business.” (301) 952-0930, fax (301)574-0289 or www.erols.com/gulfstrm
BUSINESS/INVESTMENTOPPORTUNITIES
Construction/Real Estate investment Highly-experienced, honest, licensed, responsibleand reliable contractor seeks investor/partnerin new construction/remodeling in westFlorida. Perhaps a spec house or purchase toremodel. Contractor is experienced in customhomes of all sizes, including very high-endhomes. Only interested in doing interestingand enjoyable projects. (941) 795-8711
66 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
C L A S S I F I E D A D SSailtime.com is looking for base operators onthe Florida coast. This may suit existingmarine business owners who wish to add anadditional income stream. Sailtime is a uniquebusiness model that requires minimal capitaland no staff. Tel. (813) 817-0104 or [email protected]
CREW AVAILABLE/WANTED
Visit SOUTHWINDS “NEW” boat and crewlisting service at southwindssailing.com
ELECTRONICS
SeaTech Systems – Computerized navigation& communication. Call for free Cruiser’sGuide to the Digital Nav Station and CAPNdemo disk. (800) 444-2581 or (281) 334-1174, [email protected], www.sea-tech.com
HELP WANTED
Yacht Salesperson Wanted. Massey YachtSales has sales positions available for profes-sional, successful yacht salespersons for thenew Fort Myers dealership location. Massey isone of Florida’s largest dealers for the sale andoutfitting of Catalina, Hunter, Caliber andMainship yachts plus sells a wide range of pre-owned sail and power yachts. Sales candi-dates need to be computer literate, self-moti-vated with a good knowledge of the sail andpower industry. Massey offers the best mar-keting and sales support system with a largelead base for the right candidate. Call EdwardMassey for interview appointment. (941) 723-1610. (10/04)
Regional editor wanted for the southeastcoast here which includes the Carolinas andGeorgia. Part time and spare time as an inde-pendent writer to write about sailing, racingand cruising, put together a calendar for theregion, and other misc. sailing and relatednews and articles. Must be a good communi-cator and have a computer, some writingexperience, e-mail, good with the internet,and a great personality, and, of course, beinto sailing. This is a chance to mix businessand pleasure. Not a lot of hours or money butgreat potential. (941) 795-8704 or [email protected]. (11/04)
Advertising Sales Reps wanted in the Southfor SOUTHWINDS magazine. Must be a goodcommunicator, have a computer, and someexperience in selling to call on national adver-tisers and advertisers in your area. All areasof the South. Part time by commission. Tocall on national advertisers, you can livealmost anywhere for this job. (941) 795-8704 or [email protected] .
MARINE ENGINES
MISCELLANEOUS BOAT GEARNEW & USED
HYDROBUBBLE ANCHORS FACTORYDIRECT with 100% Customer SatisfactionGuaranteed. Also highly polished StainlessSeaLock CQR-type and Bruce-type anchorsand SeaLock windlasses at GREAT PRICES!Stock and custom rode. (888) 282-2535www.HydroBubble.com .
Rigging Cable, New, 7 X 19, 7/16”, Stainlesssteel, non-magnetic, 600 feet. $2/foot. (904)461-1253 (12/04)
Pactor IIPro Modem Includes cables for Icom710 SSB radio and remote computer control.Do email using your SSB! $600. (813) 925-0500, e--mail [email protected]. (11/04)
Garmin 175 Hand-Held GPS/ChartplotterPurchased new 1998; little used. Includes 2Garmin G-Charts for the U.S. West Coast andMexico, AC adapter, cigarette lighter adapter,manual, padded case. $275. (813) 925-0500,e-mail [email protected]. (11/04)
Single side-band transceiver (Yaesu), ama-teur/marine, antenna, antenna tuner, excel-lent, $475. (941) 235-1890. (11/04)
2001 Mercury 6 HP, 4-stroke outboard $750OBO.e-mail:[email protected]. (11/04)
Henri Lloyd TP 2000 Rapid foul weathergear. Great condition. Two sets, jackets plusbibs. Size large, red. Size medium, yellow.$150/set. (813) 925-0500, e-mail [email protected]. (11/04)
ACR “Rapid Ditch” ditch bag Bright yellow,roomy with pockets for GPS, handheld radio,EPIRB. Floatable. $50. (813) 925-0500, [email protected]. (11/04)
Whisker pole Kemp, 13 foot. 3 1/2-inchdiameter. Internal pull. Socket. Like new.$150. (863) 675-4244. Can Deliver. (10/04)
35' Mast with steps to top, and boom. $500.(863) 675-4244. Can Deliver. (10/04)
Yanmar, YSE-12, marine engine, transmis-sion, alternator, mounts, manual, extra injec-
DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDSSTARTING AT$34/MONTH
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 67
C L A S S I F I E D A D S
tors and many spare parts. $ 450 obo. [email protected], (727) 345-3212. (11/04)
Wheels Custom Leathered – Satisfaction guaranteed, 1 year warranty. Free turks head. Over 100 satisfied customers last year. Contact Ray Glover at Sunrise Sails Plus (941) 721-4471 or [email protected]
Tiralo floating deck chair - a beach chair thatfloats in water and rolls easily on the sand.Looks great. Folds and fits on your boat orinside your car. More info: www.tiralo-usa.com or [email protected]
AC/DC Reefer, 22# Bruce Anchor, AnchorBall, Sospenders, Magma Grills, Mariner 9.9)Mercury Long Shaft 7.5 HP, Folding Bikes,Windsurfers, Metzeler Sailing Rig, Windscoop,Drogues, Lifesling, Type I Life Jacketsw/strobe. Nautical Trader. (941) 488-0766.www.nauticaltrader.net
LODGING FOR SAILORS
Ponce de Leon Hotel Historic downtown hotel at the bay, across from St. Petersburg YC. 95 Central Ave.St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727) 550-9300 FAX (727) 826-1774www.poncedeleonhotel.com
NAVIGATION SOFTWARE
REAL ESTATE
Ft. Lauderdale Waterfront Home OceanAccess. No fixed bridges. Sale/Lease option.Ft. Lauderdale. New River. Downtown. Newpool, dock. 3/2 with den, 2 car garage,$449,900 or $2500 a month. (954) 767-9877. [email protected]. (11/04)
Miami Waterfront River House for RentDeep dockage 60 Ft. No fixed bridges to bay.3/2, New AC, New Kitchen, Garage, FloridaRoom, Utility room, wood and tile floors.$2000 Month w/dock, Without dock $1500.Fenced yard. Near airport. (305) 799-9589.(11/04)
SAILING INSTRUCTION
SEE CLASSIFIED INFOON PAGE 63
68 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
and get that off there.” Angry, loud skippers usually get our attention. The boatheeling very sharply, everyone was hanging on for dear life. Dogs went sliding.There was fear and concern in the skipper’s voice. The second time they wereyelled at, my wife and the jet pilot-rocket scientist took action. So my wife andthe rocket scientist began to tear off the cover of the sail around the back boom.It was the only “that” and “there” close by, hands and fingers flying, undoingsnaps and ripping material.
They did this so fast they tore the snaps off and left holes in the sail cover. Then came the third yell from the skipper, “No. No. Undo the rope on the
mast.” There was a rope tangled on the mast. Then I, with one flip I might add,undid the line, which had become fouled. For some reason that line was veryimportant because as soon as it was free, the boat became level again.
The jet pilot-rocket scientist looked perturbed and ready to get off the boat.My wife looked angry and ready to get off the boat. I looked down to count dogs.One. Two. Everything was okay. The puppy looked as happy as ever, tail wag-ging. The older dog, however, looked as if he was ready to get off the boat.
We have not been invited back. Perhaps the skipper figured out how his sailcover got ripped. If asked, we will claim it was the jet pilot-rocket scientist.
ROCKET SCIENTIST continued from page 70
Air Duck 24America’s Generators 66Aqua Graphics 43Atlantic Sails 38Banks Sails 43Beachmaster Photography 65Beneteau Sailboats BCBeta Marine 24Bluewater Sailing Supply 16,60Boaters Exchange 38,42,64BoatUS 4Bob and Annie’s Boatyard 20Bo’sun Supplies 47Bradenton Yacht Club Kickoff Regatta 55Bubba Book 16Carson/Beneteau BCCharleston to Bermuda Race 12Coast Weather 68Coral Reef Apparel Company 35Crow’s Nest Restaurant/Marina Regatta 25Cruising Direct Sails 8CYC/Regatta Pointe Marina Charity Regatta 56Defender Industries 66Dockside Marine Services 43Dockside Radio 28Don’s Salvage 59Dwyer mast 67Eastern/Beneteau BCEl Cid Caribe Marina, Mexico 11E-marine 67Fleetside Marine Service 66Flying Scot Sailboats 65Garhauer Hardware 11Glacier Bay Refrigeration 28Great Outdoors Publishing 59Gulf Coast Yacht Sales 63,64Gunkholer’s Cruising Guide 59Hanse Sailboats 65Hood/SSMR 57Hotwire/Fans and other products 18,66Hunter 19Island Marine Products 32JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 29JS9000 PHRF Racer 64Leather Wheel 42Martek Dinghy Davits 66Massey Yacht Sales 3,9,17,22,29,30,IBCMasthead Enterprises 21,52,68Melbourne YC Fall Regatta 37Memory Map 67Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau BCNational Boat Owners Association 53National Sail Supply 44Nautical Trader 57North Sails 18Nuclear Sails 16Porpoise Used Sails 68Raider Sailboats 65RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke 27Regata Del Sol Al Sol 13Rparts Refrigeration 27Sail Exchange/Used Sails 25Sailboats Florida, Inc. 65Sailor’s Wharf Boatyard and Brokerage 56,60Sailtime 15Sarasota Youth Sailing Program 62Schurr Sails 36Scully 34Scurvy Dog Marine 47Sea School 39Sea Tech 32,67Seafarers International Brokerage 10SPYC Fall Regattas 58SSMR/Hood 57St. Augustine Sailing School 67St. Barts/Beneteau BCSt. Pete Strictly Sail Boat Show 5Suncoast Inflatables 61Tackle Shack 54Tampa Sailing Squadron Youth Program 52UK Sails 26Ullman sails 14Weather Wave 51West Marine IFCWest Marine Books and Charts 14Winch Buddy 33Windcraft Catamarans 46Yachting Vacations 8Yanmar Diesel 66
SAILS & CANVAS
USED SAILS SAVE $$$ 1000s of headsails,mains & spinnakers. We ship everywhere, sat-isfaction guaranteed. We also buy sails. SailExchange. (800) 628-8152. 407 FullertonAve. Newport Beach CA 92663 www.sailex-change.com See Display ad in Index of adver-tisers.
SERVICES FOR SAILORS
WINDSURFING GEAR
Wanted: Used Prodigy (standard or race),other boards, miscellaneous windsurfingequipment. Steve (941) 795-8704,[email protected]
CLASSIFIED ADS INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
Local News For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2004 69
SAILTIME continued from page 31
FLORIDA KEYS SAILING continued from page 51
NORTHERN GULF SAILINGcontinued from page 47
conditioning/heating. You may even find an espressomachine that was the first purchase that Martin Town puton his first boat in Tampa Bay.
Martin Town adds: “SailTime Tampa Bay has been inoperation for one year. SailTime Tampa Bay was the firstbase in Florida with Jacksonville opening back in Februaryand Miami about to launch their first boat. I have enjoyedthe start-up of this new type of business. It has been a greatjoy getting people back into sailing and also introducingnew sailors who would not often been able to afford to sail.The bridge between learning to sail and then what to donext is huge. SailTime is a great way to get people over thathurdle. Global SailTime is doing a lot for the sailing commu-nity; to be told that we are shockingly affordable was greatconfirmation for me.”
Hugh James, a SailTime member, also explained,“Karen and I undertook to learn to sail in 2004. The SailTimeprogram has provided us with the opportunity to learnwithout incurring either a large charter expense or purchas-ing our own vessel. Each time we have taken Delos out, wehave noted numerous boat owners working on their vesselsin the marina and taken great pleasure in the get-in-and-drive opportunity that SailTime provides.”
For more information and pricing details, please visit w.sail-time.com and contact Martin Town at [email protected] or 1-866-SAILTIME (724-5846).
seas, ports and waterways safe for our use and for the protec-tion of our country, but two of the yacht club’s members hadpersonally experienced the Coast Guard’s aid during thisyear’s Pensacola, FL, to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, sailboat race.
As mariners we are constantly aware of the servicesprovided by the U.S. Coast Guard. Services such as commu-nity “blessing of the fleet” celebrations, regattas and bluewater sails or during extreme weather conditions such ashurricanes and tropical storms. Members of the CoastGuard Station Pensacola, represented by BM1 TravisSanders, and Coast Guard Auxillary Flotilla 17, representedby SOHS Vince Mercon, both received plaques to mark theoccasion. Thanks to these dedicated men and women,sailors can rest assured that the Coast Guard will always beprepared to answer a call for help.
this time, boaters see isolated summer T-storms, waterspoutsand the “Route 1 squall line” (a cloud accumulation from thethermal effects of HWY 1). In 2002 on September 11, oddlyenough, a violent squall stormed in from the southwest. Ananchored cruiser claimed that his instruments recorded gustsin the 70-knot range. After everyone lost their bimini tops orsail covers and many boats dragged anchor while one wasdismasted and another sunk, I believed him. Thankfully,these storms are extremely rare.
Summer can also bring lengthy periods of windlessdays and temps in the 90s. Modern weather radar and theVHF reports are an invaluable resource. I would soon learnthat Defiant’s licensed captain used a laptop computer andwireless Internet to access weather data on the Web. He’dview live radar images, track storms and access hurricaneinformation. After he and Defiant had survived the eye ofHurricane Georges and were struck by lightning a numberof times, he took the weather quite seriously. “This comput-er shows exactly when I’ll get my butt kicked!” he wouldtell me. Visitors to Key West can do the same at the afore-mentioned Waterfront Market Internet café. For starters,visit www.srh.noaa.gov and www.goes.noaa.gov.
Overall, the average wind direction is easterly; beauti-ful and sunny weather is prevalent. The Keys are conve-niently close to home, yet the clear water, vibrant sunsets,surrounding reefs and numerous deserted mangroveislands give the area a truly exotic, tropical appeal.Impressed by it all, I just had to break out the stash ofspiced rum. Under the guise of helping me mend that tornstaysail, Defiant slyly coaxed Angel to raft up alongside.Welcome to America’s little Caribbean! Angel and I werealready having fun.
SOUTHEAST COAST continued from page 33
handed out for each class. Also this year, viewers onshore willbe able to follow each boat with tracking devices onboard.
The foundation is also always looking for more sponsorsfor the race and to also help fund the building of the Spirit ofSouth Carolina and other educational projects.
For more information on the race and sponsorship, con-tact Katy Durant, race coordinator at (843) 722-1030 [email protected]. Also visit the race Web site,www.charlestontobermuda.com/ and the Web site for thefoundation at www.scmaritime.org.
70 October 2004 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindssailing.com
Several years ago my wife and I went sailing onan acquaintance’s sailboat. It was a beautiful
boat, 42 feet long with two masts and two dogs.Yes, two dogs. We were sailing out of Beaufort,NC, and were going to sail over to CapeLookout and back. It was supposed to be athree-hour trip, just like on Gilligan’s Island.Besides the skipper there were three otherson the boat that day: another married cou-ple, and a gentleman who was alone. Heappeared to be around 40 years old. As weintroduced ourselves, he commented thathe worked in Washington and was downfor the weekend. A little far for a weekendtrip I thought.
We made idle conversation as wepositioned ourselves around the boat,assisting the skipper. We discovered thatthe single gentleman was a jet pilot. Hewas working at a government facilityin Washington. Cool. As we proceed-ed out to sea, he told the other couplehe was a rocket scientist and physicist.Now I don’t want to be jealous, but Imust confess I was envious.
Anyway, the weather started getting worse, and thetiny ship was tossed. (Remember the song) The wind pickedup and the waves rose and the sea became choppy. The boatheeled over a little as sailboats do. My wife does not like theheeling part. She grabs available parts of the boat with aniron grip. We hit the waves and the boat would heel overwith the wind, and then when the wind calmed, the boatwould heel level again—and sometimes even heel in theother direction. We positioned ourselves firmly on the boatas the skipper made the traditional sailing comment, “If youfall overboard, stay there - we will pick you up on the wayback.”
We were at the rear of the boat sitting on two aluminumchairs. The other couple, who had stationed themselves onthe foredeck, went to the cabin. We noticed that the alu-minum chairs were bungee-corded to the boat. Not a goodsign. As the boat would lean from one side and then theother, the chairs would move just enough—just enough tomake you wonder if they would hold the next time.
Also on the boat were two dogs. An older dog, a nobleoverweight golden lab, and a happy young puppy. Early onin the voyage we had an experience that had happenedbefore. Because of their higher level and range of hearing,the dogs can hear dolphins. The dogs can hear the clickingand whistling sounds dolphins make before you actually
see the dolphins. The older dog would head over tothe side of the boat and bark, and you would followto watch for the dolphins to appear as they surelydid. The young puppy would follow along and barkas well. I am not sure the puppy was aware of whathe was barking at, but he seemed to be enjoying him-self all the same. Off to one side of the boat—bark,bark, bark, yap, yap, yap. Then a few seconds later tothe other side of the boat and bark, bark, bark, yap,yap, yap. Everyone was having fun except my wife.As the boat began to heel more sharply, the dogstook cover.
As we sailed farther out, wind and wavesmade the deck a little slippery. As the windshifted and the boat leaned, the dogs wouldslide to the left. Then the wind would shift theother way, and the dogs would slide to the
right. Now this sliding took the dogs rightup to the edge. We asked if the dogs
ever fell overboard. “Not yet,” saidthe skipper. As the wind became alittle more serious the dogs contin-ued this slip-slide along the deck.
The older dog began to look a littleconcerned. That is—if a dog can look con-
cerned. The puppy, however, thought all of this was greatfun slip-sliding along the deck, tail wagging all the way. Asthe wind became worse, the older dog tried to take refugeunder our chairs. It did not work. More dog sliding, onesmall happy dog and one older not-so-happy dog.
The wind picked up even more, and the skipper askedus to stand by at the mast at the rear of the boat. This is calledthe aft section if you didn’t know. As the wind picked up, theskipper asked us to “get that off there.” He did not ask, actu-ally. He screamed, “Get that off there,” looking at us.
Well, we did not have the slightest idea what he wastalking about. Fortunately the rocket scientist-physicistcame to our aid. We stood up as if ready to act, but notknowing what to do. When you are confused, it is alwaysgood to have a smart person nearby. Thank goodness for thejet pilot-rocket-scientist-physicist guy. However, this time Iwas not so sure. I could tell by his expression that he was alittle unsure himself about what “get that off there” meant.He had been holding his expensive camera, standing withus as we discussed what “that” and “there” might be. Mywife was standing there as well, very unhappy. Somehowthis would become my fault.
Then we heard a loud shout. “Put that camera down
The Rocket Scientist,The Sailboat & Well-Heeled Dogs
By Bruce Sanspree
See ROCKET SCIENTIST continued on page 68