Lake Tampa

In the days leading up to the regatta I sent a few emails telling everyone how nice the weather would be. Sunny, high seventies, basically about as nice as you get in January. The forecast was true and the gang showed up in numbers, 29 with quite a few from outside Florida. We have been enjoying great attendance this season so keep it up!

We woke up Saturday morning to this beautiful Sunrise from our mobile bedroom window;

and a nice breeze from the SE, somewhat typical for DI. The question is, will it hold up. We have the very civilized start time of 12:00 noon so there is some time to wait. The group leaves the harbor in light air and as noon approaches it fizzles out so we have a postponement. Fortunately, we don't have to wait too long for a southerly to fill in and the racing is on. We spent a little more time with some general recalls but by about 4:30 the third race is done and we head in.

Allan Terhune and John Aras ended the day tied with 6 points and both getting a 1,2 and 3. They were followed by Paul Abdullah with 13 points and Jeff Linton with 15. The breeze was pretty solid but was still tricky in typical DIYC fashion. Consistent scores were hard to come by for most of us.

The forecast for Sunday was equally nice but for less wind so the RC decided to bump the start time to 9:00am. This would allow us to take advantage of the early breeze, at least that is the theory. We woke up Sunday to a sheet of glass for a bay. UGH.

A shoreside postponement was signaled early and we waited. We speculated that the RC would probably make a call by 11:00 but by about 10:30 or so half the sailers were into the beer or spirits. This would be a good time to thank North Sails and Mad Sails for the beer donations!!
At 11 ish the regatta was called and the scores from Saturday were final. Congratulations to Allen Terhune and his crew Dave for a hard fought victory taking the tiebreaker with John and John.

The winners; Dave, Allan Terhune, John Aras, John Wake, Paul Abdullah and Alex Krumdieck

Here is a link for results

The gang from DIYC did an Awesome job!!!

The next regatta is at Lake Eustis February 18 and 19, don't forget to get your room reservations early for the best rates.

Florida District Championship - Tampa

Friday Evening, March 4, 2011

The beginning of the Midwinter Extravaganza!!
I worked Friday, and Dave had taken the dogs to our friends for safe-keeping during our trip. Beau called Dave within seconds of leaving the house to say that Lexi had already started her vacation by lounging in the hot tub---Have a great week, guys, thank you!!

As some people are traveling straight to Sarasota, we’re off to Davis Island YC for the last Florida State District Race/Midwinter Warm-up. Talk was to prepare for wind on Saturday. Folks were looking for extra weight, and thinking that gaining those holiday pounds wasn’t so bad after all. Jeff and Harry spoke to the gathering crowd and Leslie had done a great job organizing and registering over 30 boats!

It was decided, after the reserve was met and a fierce bidding war, I would sail with Mike and Amy from Fishing Bay!! Yay! Dave headed down to Sarasota to help out for the weekend.

Sat. March 5

It’s supposed to be windy, and it certainly started out so. It was good to be 3 up. The first 2 races went well, and we were pleased. As it became lighter, and, in Davis Island style, more shifty, it became more difficult, but I think I can speak for my team and say we were happy with the day. Hope it goes well for them Sunday, they are on their own and the weather / wind predictions are all over the road.
After racing, Leslie and Pat (Mark’s crew) met us at the dock with a drink cart – fun! Folks enjoyed oysters, beers, and sailing talk by the boats (excellent regatta planning) then snack, showers, and a nice appy/happy hour upstairs. Lest we forget to mention- prizes, prizes, prizes!! Paul had a category for everything, and everybody wins!! (Most importantly, you must be present to win…some missed out!!) Excellent showing of Hawaiian shirt genius – the Flying Scot crowd does fashion and style, too! Leslie and Paul and all those involved in the event did a great job. More fantastic stuff for the winners tomorrow. Mark headed up a round table discussion for the DI version of Top Gun, and the crew of the top 5 boats were interrogated by a tough crowd (not really). Good work, Crew!!

Members of the Washington Street House (our rental for the week) packed it up and caravanned to Sarasota. Harry picked a winner! Super house, super location! A block to St. Armand’s Circle and a few more steps to the beach! I thought I would go walking and window shopping this am, but turned west on John Ringling Blvd. instead, hearing the call of the waves, and lo and ahold (how my sister, Beth, says it, therefore, so do we) Lido Beach beckoned. I half expected to see John Wake out there, too, but the sun was too high in the sky for him. He would have been out there at dark:30.

Sunday, There was some breeze for the 10 am start but also a little left over weather from the front that came through during the night. After a short delay the race started and the breeze picked up. Robby Brown was sitting on first place after the 4 races on Saturday and he picked up where he left off with another top five finish. The breeze had built enough the most seemed to be sufficiently “warmed-up” and headed toward the club after finishing the first race. The RC had the same idea so a five race regatta was in the books. Robby enjoyed a commanding win and was followed by Marshall Pardey, John Aras. The DIYC site is down as I write this so I don’t have the results to post just yet.

We have a new Florida District Champion; Jeff and Amy Linton!!!! They did 4 of the district regattas and won two of them to assume a commanding position. The solid finish at DIYC rounded out an excellent season and secured first place. Marshall Pardey made a strong showing this year as well and came in second.

I will add to this when I have the results and post the final district standings as soon as I can. Congrats to all the sailors!!!!

Flying Scots enjoy the steady breeze at DIYC

I know what you are saying "There's no such thing as steady breeze at Davis Island" which is true 99% of the time. We just did the 1% day! The breeze was both steady in velocity and direction.

Here's proof for the non-believers

One thing about the chart; the yellow directional arrows were off a bit, maybe more than a bit, more like about 100 degrees. We started at 2 pm in a westerly, maybe 270 - 280 (but we left our compass at home) and just enough for some micro-whitecaps. The W/L course was short with only about 20 minutes needed to finish the 4 leg races. I think we did 6 races but it might have been 7, hard to keep track. I do remember we started with a last (we decided it was time to practice sailing over the spin sheet) and finished with a first.

It was a little strange to be sailing again at DI, seems like a really long time since we did. This is our home fleet but it seems there have been a variety of very excellent reasons why we have't been able to sail. Hard to beleive but it may be like 6 months or so...

Here is Andy's official report;

Saturdays practice had 10 teams on the premises and 8 out on the line. Dave and Kim Thinel # 812, Mark Taylor with Dean Bell #4321, Jeff and Amy Linton #4925, Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon # 504, Andy and Lisa Hayward #38, Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher # 5026, Dave Bell and Susan Cintron # 4156, Chris Morgan and Crew # 2052, Keith Lockey and Darren sailed # 3185 near us but did not race, and Bill Adikes # 3998, never got it wet.

The weather was the best I can remember, if not perfect, a full hike, vang on Westerly with fairly smooth water. (Although the studs on #4321 did not appear to be hiking!)

Big thanks to Dave Clement and Andrew Fuddy for some super Race Committee! Here is the blow by blow from them;

Race #1

Pack bunched up at the pin for the first start of the day. Amazingly, there was not one boat called OCS. Was this a practice race? A left shift helped the boats on the left get ahead and #4925 rounded first and never looked back, winning the race. They were followed by #2052 and #4321.

Race #2

All clear with #38 winning the start. Nice start! It appeared there was a port starboard issue between #4925 and #4321. You must have a plan in case the other boat does not respond to a ‘tack or cross’ request. It appeared 5026 or 4321 rounded first. At this point there are two packs with tight racing in each. #38 is working low on the run and is looking good until Thomas the train showed up to steal ALL of the breeze. #4321 and #4925 managed to escape the chaos (an understatement) at the leeward mark. #4925 was able to sail a little higher and eventually lee bow #4321 and take the lead which would last till the finish.

Race #3

General recall after RC calling the line stated, “There all over!”.

Second start was clean except for #4321 who was OCS.

We think #504 rounded first, but 5026 definitely had the chute flying first and lead the pack to the leeward mark. Somehow #4925 passed #5026 at the rounding and led the fleet up the second beat. The finish was #4925, #5026 and #38.



Race #4

All clear with Al and Cameron really, really, really close. Nice start! Three boats take the left side and 4 to the right. #38 is the first to the mark from the left hand side. Then #504 and #4321. There is some separation to the next pack. #504 rounds the leeward mark in first. Up the beat, there is better breeze on the left hand side. #4321 is smoking the fleet up the beat and extends the lead. Get the chute up!!!!!!!!! A good gybe coming into the finish and while crossing the line, the skipper hails, “I GOT YA!!!”

Race #5

Clean start, but just barely. Either a very aggressive fleet or better yet, “It was the current pushing us over.” –Al Thompson #4925 rounded first and held on the lead for the win. #504 decided to move the weather mark a little to the left. Thanks guys!


Race #6

There is much debate over whether or not this race counted due to the horrible line and windward mark placement. I guess the RC can’t get it right every time. There are some rumors that the two boats near the pin end of the line were over, but no flags were flown. #812 had a nice beat and were first to the windward mark followed closely by the pack. With blistering speed, #5026 passed #4925 downwind and rounded in third behind #812 and #504. #812 won the race with #504 in second.


Back to Andy; The shorter courses and a practice format kept the racing tight, and brought out the aggressive side of some teams (Guilty!) But we all got in some badly needed reps to help us prepare for the Thanksgiving Regatta.

The Lintons did their thing, but Mark and Deano got them in a race, did someone else get them? and I think most of the teams lead a race or was close to leading.



R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Tot

#4925- 1 1 1 2 1 5 =11

#5026- 5 3 2 6 3 3 =22

#812- 8 5 4 5 2 1 =25

#504- 4 6 5 4 6 2 =27

#2052- 2 4 6 7 5 4 =28

#4321- 3 2 ocs 8 1 dnf 8 dns 7 =29

#38- 6 7 3 raf 8 raf 8 dns 7 =39

#4156- 7 8 dns 7 dns 7 dns 7 dns 7 =43



The gang hit Tates but alas, the Dominoes stayed in the box, next time!

So far it's only the Lintons and the Haywards present on the online registration list for the DIYC Thanksgiving Regatta, it's November 28th and 29th register now!

This is the most words ever for a fleet race, thanks Dave C.!

Flying Scots Fleet Race in July

Uh oh, the RC boat waits for breeze (click to enlarge)


Kim and I were not racing today, owing to my recent Lasik surgery and Dr's orders to lay low. That created a good excuse to try out my new camera from the nicely shaded upper deck of the DIYC clubhouse. The deck is also conveniently located near the the bar and some cold draft beer.

Our fearless fleet captain Andy says;

Our July fleet practice races are in the books, we lost some of our regular "owner operators" to other aquatic pursuits, the infidels shall remain nameless... We still had 7 boats out which for the middle of Summer, not too shabby!
Andy and Drew charge out of the basin, Breeze On!

Big welcome to Robbie Brown and Richard to their first fleet event, they had the newly refurbished FS2052 going well!

There was a big kid's theme going, there was youngsters on three of the seven boats, (and I'm not counting Cameron!!)Stewart, Drew and Lilly Taylor and Drew Hayward all racing hard!


Dawn and Matt heading out

We had to wait for wind, but a nice Westerly filled in around 315 and was in the 12k range to start, fading slightly as the races clicked off. Big thanks to Dave and Dean Bell, Lisa Hayward and Paul for running some nice races!!
The stacks showing the westerly and a little storm cell but it stayed "over there"

Results:

Boat R1 R2 R3 R4 Tot

Robbie Brown and Richard # 2052 1 3 2 1 7
Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon # 504 3 2 3 2 10
Nate Velardebo and Crew # 2007 4 4 1 4 13
Andy and Drew Hayward # 38 2 5 4 3 14
Tom, Drew and Lilly Taylor # 4321 6 6 5 5 22
Dawn Naramore and Matt Dalton # 2262 5 7 6 6 24
Mark and Stewart Taylor #4925 8 dns 1 8 dnf 8 dns 25


Here we have the stragglers bringing up the rear. Again! Jeez.

Our next event was supposed to be the much heralded Lake Hollingsworth Invitational, July 25th but it will be re-scheduled for this fall.

Now for the fun stuff on the drive home;

Biker Down! I hate it when that happens!


The next victim?


Another one not really getting the "side of the road concept"


Re-arranging "the Goods"... always a priority


A little thrill for wheel chair guy! and Kim,

NOT!

Stay tuned as we begin the road trip next week. First stop is the Sandy Douglas regatta at Deep Creek then to WI for the NAC. Missy will be joining in the fun.

Florida District Championship Update

One more race to go at Davis Island YC and we will have our District Champion. Jim Egan leads the way and only John Domagala has a chance to catch him. Awards are given to the top four and second, third and fourth are up for grabs. Charlie Clifton took some nice photos of the action in Sarasota, here are a couple good ones;


Jim and Richard showing winning form in Sarasota


John and Susan going fast as well


Here we have the speedy Jeff Penfield giving Jim a run for his money

The Florida District site has been updated with current standings, the link is on the right sidebar. Make plans now to be at DIYC for the finale, April 18 and 19, 2009, the NOR is up on the DIYC homepage.

Thanks for the photos Charlie.

January Scot Sailing in Tampa Bay

This past weekend was a good one for Tampa Bay Scot sailors. We had a nice fleet at the DIYC Keelboat/One Design race on Saturday. Club racing in Sarasota on Sunday gave us another reason to splash the boats. Kim and I did both and had a good time of it. Here is Captain Andy's report from Tampa;

Thirteen teams braved the chilly weather Saturday at DIYC's Keelboat/One Design regatta. Flying Scots comprised the largest fleet of the event, way to go people!

Three great races where held by our own Judy Hanlon (FS5477) and team, longish Windward/Leewards in a shifty North Easterly that started at about 12 to 15 and faded as the day progressed. No lead was safe as many speedy teams hit the corners and gained (and lost) places.

In the end it was Sarasota's Mr Consistency; Jim Egan prevailed nipping DIYC's Jeff Linton by a point.

Full results at www.diyc.org

Our next event is DIYC's Sunday race, Sunday, February 8th. Followed by the Florida District race at Lake Eustis, February, 21, 22.

Andy


Captain Chuck reports on the sailing Sunday;

Another thanks to Andy Martha and friends, and to Dan Muss, all of whom signed on to run yesterday's Sunday races for all manner of SSS sailing craft.
Jim, Richard, Ron, Barry, John and Susan put sailing's elite under the lash in their Davis Island home waters Saturday.

Governors Dave and Kim thought that was cool so they put on some new racing slicks, came on down, and drag raced all over the healthy SSS crowd on Sunday. Beautiful conditions and a great time. Keep in mind this Fri evening at SSS, and chat up Scot sailing between now and super bowl Sunday, Feb 1. All the best, Chuck

As Chuck mentioned the conditions were indeed beautiful; all the sun you could want, a perfect seabreeze, high near 70 = awesome shorts and shirt sleeves sailing. Throw in some beers back at the club and it was all good.

Upon further reflection I add the following from the other (wtf) Sarasota fleet captain, jim;

o.k., here are the results so far for the spring series. please comment as needed.

5141: 2, 2, 3, 4, 4 ,4 , 19
600 : 1, 1, 1, 10, 5, 6 24
5296: 5,4, 4, 2, 2,12(ocs) 29
5318: 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 3 30
3917: 7, 10 , 2, 3, 6, 5 33
2068: 11d,7, 7, 5, 3, 2 35
812: 11d,12d, 5, 1, 1, 1 41
5222: 9, 9, 9, 7, 8, 7, 49
3347: 4,11,10 8, 9, 8, 50
3636: 8, 8, 8, 9, 11, 9 53
5360: 6, 3, 11, 11, 11, 11, (d) 53
2762: 10,6, 11, 11, 11, 11 (d) 60
4978: 11,12,11,11,10, 12 67

some general comments: with throw-outs the racing tightens up considerably. (please refer to paragraph 1,3, 5 from some previous e-mails in which i seriously manipulate the awarding of trophies.) the contest for best dressed needs to heat up, as i have already started preliminary sketches that includes three crew-members. i really don't want to award the guy in first place more than one trophy. hmmm, well, i could change the throwout structure, but then the guys in seventh become a threat to the guy who is manipulating the scores to begin with. the guy in second is seriously in the running for least improved for the season. the guy in seventh isn't really just a guy and is in the running for most improved but that doesn't look fair either. i think he/she will need to show up enough to battle for 1st. anyone with 49 pts or more, needs to have one stellar day to get the stellar day award, or start fighting hard for the most improved award, and finally, i had better start working on the awards, or i'm gonna have to pony up and buy some, which is out of the question!!!!!!!

please, continue to comment on scoring- do you guys also want to count our local regatta scores in the season standings?, etc.

next year we can plan all this in advance.

jim

Fleet 168 Sailing and Christmas Party

Our December 20th Practice Races and Christmas Party was by most accounts a tremendous success!

We set a fleet race attendance record with 14 boats on the line Saturday, nice!! This was in part due to the generosity of numerous fleet members who loaned out their boats. Big thanks to Mike Roberts, Mark Taylor, Dave Thinel, and Mat Wey.

After a very tough Summer weather wise for our races, we had picture perfect conditions Saturday. Temps in the mid 70's 10k of breeze from the South West and only a "moderately annoying" chop.

From my perspective, Team Linton's boat was sailing above the chop, and the straight bullets they amassed would seem to support my view. All that was left was for the mortals to battle it out for position 2-14, and battle they did!

Results:
Boat R1 R2 R3 R4 Tot
Jeff and Amy Linton #4925 1 1 1 1 4
Andy and Lisa Hayward #38 4 2 3 3 12
Dave and Kim Thinel #5544 2 3 6 7 18
Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher #5026 5 11 4 2 22
Nate and Melissa Velardebo #2007 3 6 7 12 28
Gail and Shannon Heausler #812 12 7 2 8 29
Dave Bell and Susan Cintron #4156 6 4 11 9 30
George and Pat Haynie #2339 9 10 5 6 30
Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon # 504 7 5 9 10 31
Dean Bell and Judy Hanlon #5477 10 12 8 5 35
Ed and Penn Ruark #4321 14 9 14 4 41
Brian and Michelle Watts #4921 11 8 12 13 44
Bill Adikes and Crew #3998 8 14 13 11 46
Matt Dalton and Dawn Narramore #2262 13 13 10 14 50

We also had some new faces, welcome George and Pat Haynie and Gal and Shannon Heausler and crew! These folks weren't just out for a day sail, they both ran in the lead pack in their borrowed boats! #812 was a rocket in race #1 until her outhaul failed, ahem, Mr Thinel?


So, in case you ever thought about trying to tow another boat using the outhaul shackle attached to the towee's side shroud, hmmm not so good. Oh did I mention the boats were traveling in opposite directions. Worse yet, the boat owner may then suffer the Fleet Captain's ridicule!


Post repair, Piggy never looked so good as with three ladies abord! Woo Hoo!

Huge thanks to Rod Koch for running the races all by his lonesome!, awesome dude! The breeze was bouncing around and Rod must have weighed anchor on the Mako a half dozen time or more! Also thanks to Ed and Penny Ruark for the us of their Mako!


Here we have the fleet stalking the RC boat, Rod (at the bow) is resetting the anchor, again (solo) and probably cursing, A LOT!


Fleet Captain; Andy (Lisa, wisely is hiding her face from view) after the third race where he obliterated us (port tack) at the weather mark. I think I detect a little smirk...


The post race party was the bomb, the "Heavy Hors' D'oeuvres" were a meal. And the homemade desserts, man, I'm thinking that my blood sugar got close to 500. Thanks to Cameron Salmon and Kim Thinel for the "dessert guidance". Amy Linton's slide show kept everyone's attention, and Lisa Hayward's gift exchange was a riot, keep a close eye on Cameron's lips, he's got lip serum!


Al and Cameron, pre lip serum, of course


Masthead Sailing Gear donated some great and highly sought after bags, (Yea! I got one) for the exchange. If you haven't been to Masthead, you are missing out on the best sailing shop in Florida, perhaps the World.
www.Mastheadsailinggear.com


Returning to the club under colorful spinnakers. OK I thought the sun hitting only the third boat was kinda cool.

Lastly I would like to thank our Fleet Secretary, Leslie Fisher for all her hard work she does for Fleet 168.


Leslie and Paul thinking "We had Jeff in that race....and then...oh shit"

Leslie made all the arrangements with DIYC, mailed the invites, and handle most of the RSVP's and the
paperwork/data collection at the party, Leslie, you rock!

Ok, we don't have much down time, put your relationship to the test this Saturday, @ 1400, DIYC,
for the Winter Couples Race. We are sure to have a bunch of Scots. www.diyc.org

And January 17th we are going to have a Scot class at DIYC's Keelboat/One Design regatta, one day, $30.
trophy's and beer! Heaven! www.diyc.org


This one has nothing to do with sailing, just some fun with the Missy dog trying to be cute and score a food scrap from the table

Flying Scot Thanksgiving Regatta - Tampa

10 boats registered and 7 sailed in this year's Thanksgiving Regatta. Turnout is a bit lower than last year's,
blame the economy, the forecast, the Fleet Captain, looks like more work to do!
Saturday dawned breezy with temps in the 60's, not bad, and it would warm as the day progressed. The breeze was in the 15k range from the South and Southwest with a "Scot unfriendly" chop. Most of the crews
where in healthy de power mode, but if your boat had someone with the last name of Thompson on board you definitely had a advantage!

The first race saw Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher win the start at the boat and jump out to the lead for the first two legs, until.. Here's the lecture, if your boat's forestay extender or forestay are over two years old,
replace them, kids, don't argue, replace them. If, on the other hand your extender is brown with rust like someone's was, replace them.
The demise of #5026 briefly gave the lead to the Hayward's until Dave Clement and Corey Thompson #4925
got inside them on a jibe set. This would be the first of four bullets for Dave and Corey in what would prove to be a very impressive day for them. No Scots raced on Sunday as the wind was in the 20k range and the Southerly built chop was much worse.

Dave and Corey coupled solid tactics with a tic better speed upwind to dominate the regatta with 7 points. Following #4925 in the standings was the crafty and charming duo of Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon, #504 with 14 points. One point behind Al and Cameron was the Hayward's #38.
Full results @ www.diyc.org

Big thanks to George Haynie and his team for five great races!

Giveth and Taketh Away

11 highly motivated, super dedicated yachts we call Scots plying the tannic water of the upper bay, fantastic!
Ah, yet mother nature, who Paulie thumbed his nose at a few months ago, was not done with us yet!
She teased us out with a 4-5k Southwesterly, gonna build into a nice sea breeze right?

Big thanks to Jay Tyson and Kevin Fouche for their efforts on Race Committee. We had a couple of practice starts in what would be the most breeze of the day, helped the teams work on their light air boat handling.
Sharp eyed Jay saw that the breeze was getting softer and quickly got a race going. Details are a bit sketchy but I believe that Paul and Leslie restarted at the pin and hit the left hard in the dying wind.
There was small shaft of breeze in the left corner that #5026 and #38 rode in on port to the mark.
It was #5026, #38, #4925 at the start of the run. The "brain trust" Ha! on #38 tried to stay in that same left breeze but mother nature wasn't having none of it, it filled form the West. The fleet did all coast into the down wind finish line, but the wind was done. Thanks to Wing it, Another Road, and Penny and Ed (power steering) Ruark for the tow ins!

Results:

#5026 Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher
#4925 David Clement and Joe Blouin
#4156 Dave Bell and Susan Cintron
#812 Dave Thinel all by his lonesome!
#38 Andy and Lisa Hayward
#5477 Dean Bell and crew
#2262 Matt Dalton and Dawn Narramore
#4321 Tom and Mark Taylor
#504 Al and Corey Thompson
#4305 Mike and Andrew Douglas and Terry
#2007 Nate and Melissa Velardebo

Our post race meeting was lightly attended, Kevin Fouche will have a synopsis out soon to answer questions, all is well with Fleet 168!

Our next fleet race/practice was scheduled for October 18th. We have 4-5 boats leaving town to attend the
Masters Championships in Ft Walton Beach the same day. Much discussion has revolved around this and it
has been decided that the fleet will sail the following day, Sunday the 19th which is the DIYC Dore Drake Regatta. This is a women's only event so Scot ladies form your teams and Scot men come help with Race Committee. I will need a manly Scot man to accompany me and my cooler full of beer on the pin boat.
We also need boats for the teams to use, contact me if your Scot is available. Info at www.diyc.org / women's sailing.

See you at the club!

Labor Day Fleet Race (Pummeling) in Tampa

Sound familiar? Fleet race at 3pm, thunderstorm shows up right on time. Go figure.




More later...

Ok, its a little later. Andy has this to say:


43.5 knots at 1532, or so says the anemometer at the club. Having left the dock at around 1500, team #38 has no reason to doubt it!

When I close my eyes and think of sailing, I fancy blue skies, fresh breezes, and sparkling water.

I SWEAR ONE OF THESE DAYS IT WILL HAPPEN!

Around 1330 most teams were setting up, rigging boats and got chased into the club by a stout boomer. The consensus was that it was good to get that out of the way.

The skies cleared up a bit so it was back out to the boats and in the water they go.
It wasn't very long once out on the bay that it became evident that another storm cell was forming from the North. The wind ramped up pretty quickly and the conversation on #38 was if we could somehow skirt the storm...

Nope, no fringes, solid gray from Bayshore to the channel. Everyone has their stories of tested seamanship and valor. Ours from old #38 was how awful the boat shakes with a flogging main and how the un-sheeted main was trying to drag us over.

Match the quotes: This is a test. There is a prize.

1. "any other centerboarder would have tipped over"
2. "last ones in, we WON!"
3. "this is the last time Jeff will loan me his boat"
4. "time for a new suit of sails, SHUCKS!"
5. "how does this halyard thingy work"
6. "50 year old chainplates don't fail us now"
7. "my green crew and I are outta here!"
8. "the police car on Bayshore has his lights on for us, how nice"
9. "Hike like he__ Dad!"

A. #5026 Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher
B. #4321 Mark and Tom Taylor
C. #812 Bo, DeDe, and Alyson
D. #38 Andy and Lisa Hayward
E. #4156 Dave Bell and Susan Cintron
F. #4925 Dave and Kim Thinel
G. #2007 Josh and his buddy
H. #5477 Dean Bell and nephew Mike
I. #504 Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon

Everyone was eventually accounted for and only a few sails were damaged. The weather remained gray and rainy for the rest of the afternoon, but this did little to dampen the spirits of the hearty bunch known as Fleet 168! Thanks to all for the good eats, and to Lisa Hayward for her efforts with the cookunder.

Thanks to Henry Moore and Jay Tyson for their efforts on RC and the tow in of the unnamed Scot with the red waterline.

****Please review the class rules in regards to anchor requirements, this was a problem for some boats.****

Our next Fleet Race is September 20th @ 1500 and I promise the weather will be horrible, but the company will be great! We hope to have Jay Tyson as RC again.

August Fleet Race in Tampa

We arrive at the club and keep an eye on this cell to the south. We expected it to move south and away from us but it seemed mostly parked. Wind is from the south which seemed a little odd.



We set the boat up and notice a rapidly building cell just to the north which is heading our way


Pig Pen strapped down to the trailer again and we head for cover in the Clubhouse


Here is the wind graph for DIYC. The start was scheduled for 3:00pm, the thunderstorm pulled in right on time. UGH!

Here is Andy's report of the day including the new Fleet 168 scoring system;

Well we tried! 10 Scot teams were ready, willing, and able this Saturday, full blame on Paulie Silvernail
for thumbing his nose at Mother Nature!
A strong storm cell crossed over the southern tip of the island taking the electricity and the wind with it, no hoists, no wind, a bad combo.
Talk of ramp launching was halted as the bay turned into a mirror, so we chilled, some of the girls got a little out of hand and Toni had to cut off the rum drinks, don't worry Amy, Leslie, Lisa, and Penny, I won't tell a soul.

Results:

1. Mark and Tom Taylor, #4321 Only briefly unbuckled their boat cover.
2. Andy and Lisa Hayward, #38 Removed cover, (for repairs) moved boat, no sails rigged.
3. Leslie Fisher and Penny Ruark, #5026 Removed cover, snapped jib on.
4. Nate Vilardebo, #2007 Removed cover, moved boat down drive, no crew.
5. Jeff and Amy Linton, #4925 Cover, Moved boat, rigged sails, was the ramp launch ringleader.
6. Dave Clement and Cory Thompson, #2339 Moved boat swapped out mainsails.
7. Dave and Kim Thinel, #812 Really moved their boat, put mast up.
8. Dave Bell and ? #4156, Boat in the water.
9. Dean Bell and Kat Malone, #5477 Boat in water, paddled to the boat ramp to remove.
10. Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon, $650 Boat still in water late Sunday morning!

Our next "event" (I won't mention sailing) is Saturday August 30th @ 1500. I'm sure we will have food and drinks, sailing... who knows.
Covered dish info to follow soon, and we are lucky to have Jay Tyson and his considerable connections with Mother Nature for our Race Committee!

P.S. Forgot to add Matt Dalton and Dawn #2262, that makes 11 boats! They tied for 7th with the Thinel's
as they trailered in and had their mast up!
Man, I hope that's everybody!

Oops! Another P.S. Some fairly reliable sources have informed me that Tom and Janet D'arcy #5828 trailered in and had their mast up, making it a three way tie for 7th place! I do recall seeing them milling around "that other boat"!
Dave Thinel also thinks that Robert Hobbs had #2456 in some state of readiness before the monsoon, that would make 13 boats!
Be sure to buy Mark Taylor a rummer next time you see him if you left your Scot at DIYC during Fay.
Markee personally checked and adjusted tie downs on all of the Scot's Monday night, Thanks Mark!!

Flying Scot Fleet Race July 12

Here is Andy's post race commentary:

Ah summer sailing in Florida!

Even with a later start time we again struggled with unreliable breeze this Saturday. (One of these days we will have a nice ripping sea breeze, I'm sure of it!) Nice turnout of 9 boats! Andy Hayward and Tina Tenret, # 38, Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon, $650, Nate and Melissa Vilardebo, # 2007, Dave Clement and Joe Blouin, # 2339, Bill Adikes and crew, # 3998, Dave Bell and Susan Cintron, # 4156, Mark and Tom Taylor, # 4321, Paul Slivernail and Leslie Fisher, # 4925, and Ed and Penny Ruark, # 5477.

Big thanks to Dave and Kim Thinel, Dean Bell, and Lisa, Drew and Abby Hayward for their hard work running the races!

Race # 1 Teased us again into thinking we were going to have a full day of racing with about 5-7 from a weird summer direction, North West. Dave Clement with sharp eyed Joe Blouin connected the puffs nicely for the win followed by Taylor and Taylor.

Race # 2 was in fading breeze With a 30 degree right shift. Don't ask me how Paul and Leslie (1st) or Dave and Joe (2nd) got it done because # 38 and # 4321 where speed testing in the far left corner, (this is becoming a regular thing for us two, that is our story anyhow!)Here is a video of the start:


The low light of this race for # 38 was passing four boats on the run only to snag the RC boat's anchor line right at the finish UGH! Race # 3 was not to be as the wind totally shut off 3/4 the way up the beat. Nobody second guessed that decision!!

Results: Crew/boat R1 R2 Tot Dave Clement, Joe Blouin # 2339 1 2 3 Paul Silvernail, Leslie Fisher # 4925 5 1 6 Dave Bell, Susan Cintron # 4156 4 4 8 Nate and Melissa Vilardebo # 2007 3 6 9 Mark and Tom Taylor # 4321 2 8 10 Al Thompson, Cameron Salmon, $650 7 3 10 Ed and Penny Ruark # 5477 8 5 13 Andy Hayward, Tina Tenret # 38 6 dnf 16 Bill Adikes and Crew # 3998 10 7 17

Note our next races are on August 16th, THIS IS A DATE CHANGE. 1500 start.

Flying Scots Fleet Race in Tampa

Rain Rain Go Away!

Despite some rather bold predictions the weather was, rather crummy, but the wind was, rather crummy!
The Race Committee was, rather...

Take the weather into account, and the eight boat turn out was rather good! We had Nate and Melissa Vilardebo, FS #2007, Matt Dalton and Dawn Narramore, FS #2622, Dave Bell and Susan Cintron, #4156,
Mark and Tom Taylor, FS #4321, Jeff and Amy Linton, FS #4925, Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher, FS #5026, Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon, FS #5447, and Dave Clement and Cory Thompson, FS #5477, Whew!

Light rain and a spotty Easterly was the flavor of the day, YUCK! Race # 1 had the most breeze, say 5-7 (at times). Dave and Susan brought the "A" game, went 2nd row at the start to dig into the right, and liked what they found! OooLaLa! The Lintons closed the gap, but #4156 held them back for the win.
Race #2 started in a tad less wind and was dying. Matt and Dawn worked the left for a nice lead, but as the wind faded they watched as the boats brought breeze up on their hip.
Another race wasn't meant to be and the stellar Race Committee sent the fleet in. (Please note: the Race Committee's engine sucked up a piece of plastic and was overheating, hence the no tow in!)

Once ashore and dried off a large group invaded Tate's for pizza, beer, truths and some lies!

Results:

Boat R1 R2 Tot

Linton #4925 2 1 3
Thompson/Salmon #5447 3 3 6
Bell/Cintron #4156 1 6 7
Silvernail/Fisher #5026 5 2 7
Clement/Thompson #5477 7 4 11
Vilardebo #2007 4 8 12
Dalton/Narramore #2622 8 5 13
Taylor #4321 6 7 13

Our next fleet race is July 12th @ 1500. and our August race is on the 9th.

Flying Scots Fleet Race in Tampa and Sarasota

Today’s update is for last weekends Flying Scot fleet racing from Tampa on Saturday and Sarasota on Sunday, we tried both.

We’ll start with Saturday, a check of the internet wind reports in the morning looks pretty good, southeast at 12. While an easterly is likely to fade some around midday, at least it is solid enough that I expect some decent sailing. The first start is scheduled for 1pm and we are running late leaving the house. On top of that, we hit a lot of traffic near the airport construction area, which then gets worse on I-275. I’m getting pretty aggravated, as I usually am when sitting in traffic, not exactly the frame of mind you want for racing. So after 1 ½ hours (should be about 40 minutes) we arrive at the club and see quite a few boats on the bay, sitting almost completely still. Even though it is now after 1pm we have not missed anything, except some drifting. We hit the elevated club balcony for a better look at the bay and it’s not good. The funny thing was, the club had a light easterly breeze but about halfway between it and the pack of motionless boats, it transitioned to glass smooth water. So what to do? We probably have time to rig and launch but with little to no motivation, we decide to hang out on the balcony to see what the wind does.

The wind transition line seems stubborn, unwilling to give the Scots, J-24’s and Melges any relief. However, very near the club shoreline a few lasers and Opti’s are busy with some short course drills, they have wind. Go figure.



The wind readings from the club - the bay wasn't nearly this good. UGH! You gotta love those yellow direction arrows.

For about the next hour our conversation goes something like this:

Well what should we do?
I don’t know, you think the wind will come?
Maybe, but probably not till 4 o’clock, maybe never
At least it is cool in the shade of the clubhouse
We might be better off than those drifters
Maybe we should get a beer?
We could but then we’d have to leave the balcony.
It would be bad form to drink outside beer (we aren’t members) on the club balcony
We could bag it and head home
Yeah, but then we get to sit in traffic again
Which is worse?
Not sure
Well, let’s wait a little
That crazy breeze line still hasn’t moved
They must be pissed, you know they can see it
I bet they are
Maybe the traffic is better now
Maybe, at least the Van has A/C
At least if we go home we can play with Missy
That’s it, lets go…

The traffic isn’t better...
For about the next hour we can’t print much of what Dave has to say.

That was the shoreside angle, here is the on-water take from Andy Hayward:

This Saturday's single race was a real test of sanity, be sure to ask Dave Bell about his back up skipper's intervention, hilarious!
The fleet of six Scots was equal to the Melges 24's and three shy of the J/24's turnout. We had a nameless
(Dave and Kim Thinel FS #812) boat attend, but they made the call of the day and stayed firmly tied to their trailex!
The fleet pushed off around 1230 in a spotty breeze generally in the southerly quadrant. The RC postponed and the fleets drifted and waited. Stewart and Drew Taylor, FS #4321 had the right idea and had a blast swimming and splashing around in the cool bay water. At 1445 Andy and Lisa Hayward, FS #38 spotted a small Easterly puff and decided the was the ticket to ride back to the club. Tied up and all set for a cold one at the bar, Lisa foolishly points out that it appears that the Melges are racing, Huh? It's back in #38 and we slowly limp back toward the starting area, Lisa muttering something about finding a cutthroat divorce attorney. Settle down honey, we are only 8 minutes late for the start, anything can happen in light air right? More muttering about visitation rights. We were close enough to see a boat hit the first puff and quickly jump to a 200 yard lead, (too far to read a sail number). Turns out too be Dean Bell in his snappy new racer, FS #5477, well done Dean! The hot 4k Easterly does exactly what hot Easterly's do and craps out. Dean holds his lead, Team #38 rallies hard, passes a boat, and scares the pack, Lisa still muttering something that ended in "idiot". www.diyc.org


I'm back,now it’s Sunday and we are off to Sarasota. Upon returning home on Saturday, I checked the wind in Sarasota and was pleased to see that the seabreeze kicked in close to 10 for the afternoon. Nice. Hope for some of that today.

We actually got to the Sarasota Sailing Squadron in less time than it took to get to Tampa yesterday, even though it is about double (or more) the distance. As we set up Pig Pen, the seabreeze begins to fill in from the west. We leave the dock in about 8 which builds and holds in the 10 -12 range for the rest of the day. The tide is up, so the water is really clear and beautiful, we know we made a good decision to come. I think there were 8 other Flying Scots who made the same good decision and everyone enjoyed the perfect day.


Random photo before departure, I'm fairly certain that I would become a regular under that dock-mounted-shelter-thing, if I were to join this club

There must have been a PHRF race as well since there were more sailboats out than I think we’ve ever seen before. Perhaps it was a distance race, not too sure though. It all seemed pretty random to us. Then again we may have appeared random at times as well with having to locate the compass course marks. There were a few “oh shits” followed by a quick tack or jibe, once a mark was spotted. I intended to bring the GPS but of course, I forgot it. Worse than that was Kim forgot her clothes, well I should say her “sailing” clothes: ie: padded shorts, gloves, sailing shoes, hat and god knows what else. She didn’t completely forget them, they are all neatly packed in the “sailing bag” which is probably sitting on the bed, all ready to go…. Oops. She is a little cranky as a result, I’m keeping quiet.

We do the rabbit start thing again this week and I’m WAY late crossing “Ron the Rabbit”s” stern, fortunately, we hit the left side and quickly make up the deficit. We round first, just ahead of Fred and Cathy Strammer and hold on for the win. This is our second day trying out a new to us but used set of Mad Sails, we continue to do well with them.

The second race was similar to the first but our start was good, we work the left side and we are two for two. Kim’s crankyness has subsided considerably and life is good.


Here is a shot of one of the newer additions to the fleet. This would be a good place to add his name and such, but I can't remember. What can I say?


I mess up the start in the third race again, I think Ron seems to take delight in sailing much higher than I expect, leaving me really late for the cross. We enjoy a joke or two with the Twinems about how screwed we are once Ron’s angle becomes apparent. So, off the start we are pretty deep but we manage to get a shift or two and get left so we are third at the top mark behind Ron and Fred. We end that race with Ron clear ahead and Fred and us overlapped, not too bad.


Spotted this one on the return trip to the club, kinda matches the color motif of old FS#38 in Tampa, this is a truly unique vessel. (click to enlarge) I know, zooming in a little would have been a cool thing to try.


This wind graph from Sarasota on Sunday is where it's at!

The weekly, spur of the moment April fleet race program seems to be a hit. How come no one thought of this sooner?

DIYC Sunday Race - Flying Scot

The club's Sunday races are a great way to break into racing in a less-than-intense setting. The format is a little off the wall, we start and finish at the mouth of the basin. The course is a random affair using pre-set marks and not necessarily oriented to the wind. It's a little like a "Tour of the Bay" with a racing component. Being a persuit race the start is staggered, you receive your exact start time when you sign in. The slowest boat, a Pearson Ensign goes first, the fastest was the Melges 24 so they go last, with the rest of us in between. The basin is a little tight but since the start is staggered there isn't the customary fight for position, which is probably a good thing owing to the concrete jetties on either side. In theory the reverse start should have all of us arriving back at the basin for the finish at the same time. Good thing that is only theory, the reality is, we get spread out enough to keep the drama of finishing to a minimum.

This day, (Feb. 24) we had 6 Scots; Matt Wey 2339, Ryan Flynn 3020, Mark Taylor 4321, David Bell 4156, Mike Douglas 4305 and me 812. The weather was fairly nice with temperatures in the mid seventies but really spotty breeze. Some passing clouds seemed to bring some welcome breeze but thankfully, no rain.



Mike and Andrew Douglas finished first, you can see the look of determination on their faces


Pig Pen with Bill Watts flying the chute in a big right shift and Dave in the distance



Dave and Susan trying out a new experimental chute, a couple tweaks may be in order

All in all it was a good day, all coolers functioned properly, good weather a few laughs. What else is needed?
Thanks to Amy Linton for the pictures.

DIYC Couples Race - Flying Scot

What a great day to wrap up fleet racing for the year. Technically it wasn't a fleet race , instead we decided to promote the club's Couples Race to see if we could get some Scots out. The rules are simple, each boat must only have a male and female on board. Im guessing about 20 to 25 boats showed up, among them 6 Scots; Lintons, Taylors, Haywards, Taylor in-laws, Thinels and Silvernails.

The weather was awesome, one of those days when you can hardly believe its actually winter. when you see the weather map and most of the country is shaded blue its like "Oh yeah, it's December and cold as hell up there".

We enjoyed the moderate southwesterly, mostly sunny skies and the temps which were near 80. The Taylor's won the start and held off a late charge from the Linton's to win the race. Nice job! Racing finished at about 3 pm but we decided to put in some extra practice since we haven't been sailing as much as we'd like, or as well.

Update 12/31 - Here is Andys race report including results;

Six intrepid couples put their marriages to the test Saturday at DIYC. The six Scots was a super showing
for the fleet, and the Race Committee gave us our own start! THANK YOU! In order of finish: Mark and Shannon Taylor #4321, Jeff and Amy Linton #4925, Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher #5026, Andy and Lisa Hayward #38,Dave and Kim Thinel, #812, and Jim and Susan Taylor #2456.
The course was upwind to "G" mark, (almost a fetch) A long port pole run down to "B" mark, honor "A" to starboard, and a basin finish.
The weather was perfect, 8-12k of breeze, moderate wave action. Winning the start at the boat was Mark and Shannon, who use the right puffs are lifts to full advantage to a nice lead at the windward mark.
Jeff and Amy and the Hayward's started more toward the pin, and try as the might could not get over to the right to challenge Mark. At the mark it was #4321, #38, #5026, #812, #4925, #2456. The Hayward's, Silvernail/Fisher's and Thinels all jibe set and where bunched together, this allowed our Scot National Champs to bear away, set with speed, jibe and put on a amazing display of blazing downwind speed to pass all three boats and nearly nip the Taylors at the finish!
The Linton's Silvernail/Fisher's and Hayward's hit Rick's for some carbs, (liquid and pasta) where we managed to extract some downwind speed secrets from Mr & Mrs Linton! Look Out!!


We may soon have a new crew, check her out



Hope she can hike!

Happy New Year.

A Practice Day

August 18, 2007, a few of us decided to gather together to get in a bit of practice for next weekends Wife/Husband Championship. This regatta is one of the Flying Scot Class sanctioned regattas and the defending Champs are the Lintons. This year it looks like we will have three teams from the Tampa fleet vying for the top spot. This is may not sound like many but when you consider it is a two day event and it is being held in Connecticut, we’re talking about some effort and expense.

So today was a great day for sailing aside from the heat. It seems like we have been lucky this year to have pretty good wind for our fleet races this summer.

Davis Island Yacht Club

When we arrived it looked a little iffy, the view from the second floor deck showed very patchy and light breeze. Check out this cool site showing the sailing area, etc, http://marinas.com/view/marina/3998

We decide to get some lunch to give the breeze a little more time to get it going, which it did. I’d say we had between 5 and 10 knots about 80% of the time. Throw in a few lulls and a few more puffs approaching 15 and I guess you have a typical day at DIYC, if there is such a thing. I continue to be amazed at the relatively strong puffs that seem to come from nowhere especially on an Easterly.

We decided to run a whole bunch of short races in order to get lots of starts and mark rounding practice. I lost count of the number of races but it was about 3 hours worth. In attendance were Andy and Lisa on #38, Kim and Dave #812, Amy and Jeff #4321, Leslie and Paul #5026 and Robert Hobbs and his young son came out on there newly purchased Scot named “Animal House” (#2462, I think).

Following the sailing we all quickly put the boats away and retired to the club pool. Spending an hour or two in the pool (with cocktails in hand) has become a bit of a ritual this summer. Only an approaching storm convinced us to abandon the pool for the clubhouse.

Good luck to Team Tampa at the Wife/Husband Championship!

A Hot August Fleet Race

I have posted Andy's report for our fleet race August 4th.

We had a great turnout of 10 boats for our August fleet race. The heat was definitely the "hot" topic as the index was at or near 100. The only saving grace was there was breeze, a Westerly at around 6-10. The water was relatively smooth with the exception being boat wakes.We unfortunately had a couple members feeling the effects of the extreme temp, Lisa Hayward and Dean Bell both "seeing black" for brief spells and Lisa needed a assist into the club cool off, ( Thanks Kim!!)

Nice to see Roy and crew out on the water

The attendee's ( by hull # ) Jeff Linton and Dean Bell, #38, Dave and Kim Thinel, #812, Doug King and Ann Tihansky, #2069, Roy Burnett and Ryan Flynn, #2166, Dave Bell and Susan Cintron, #4156, Mike Douglass and Terry, #4305, Andy and Lisa Hayward, #4318, Mark and Shannon Taylor, #4321, Paul and Leslie Silvernail, #5026, Mike and Stacey Roberts, #5544.

Yes that's the long lost Mike and Stacy Roberts

The racing was challenging, more "connect the puffs'' than shifty, the right seemed to work out more than the left ( ask Andy and Mark about winning the left.) Jeff and Dean, despite the elderly state of their baby blue sloop, took no mercy on the rest of the fleet winning three of the four races.

Jeff and Dean aboard FS 38, hunting for the next victim

Dave and Kim won the last race of the day. Full results will be posted on www.scotsrock.us soon, but it was Linton /Bell 1st, Dave and Kim, 2nd, Paul and Leslie 3rd.
The gang hit the pool post race, (it almost seemed cold at first!) Then invaded the Caprice Bistro for dinner and "attitude adjusters."
Next fleet race is Saturday, September 1st, (Labor Day) We are having separate keeper trophy's, (custom hand made one of a kind) for this event. Killer party to follow at DIYC. If you plan to attend the party please RSVP to tell the social director the covered dish you plan to bring. The fleet is providing hamburg's, hotdog's and beer.

A closer shot of Roy and the tie-die effect spinnaker