Photos from 2010 Gator Bowl

Lori was volunteering on the mark boat and was kind enough to snap some nice photos on Saturday. I have posted a few of them, they are high resolution so clicking them will show some nice detail. Enjoy!


The Lintons (4925) leading the way to the top mark


Dave Thinel 4901, Hunter Riddle 19, John Kreidler 2677, Donna Mohr 5502


Al Terhune 5761, Chris Morgan 842, John Wake 5341


Hunter Riddle 19, Mark Taylor 4321


Tommy Smith 4909, Thomas Darcy 5828


A good portion of the fleet


Todd Stickley 4171, Charlie Fowler 2496, John Kreidler


The run


Vincent Gubbini 5309, Thomas Mcnally 5179


Rob Smith singlehanding 4145

Check back with the Rudder Club website for some more photos soon.

Gator Bowl, Day 2

We were thinking that early morning rain would totally suck so when we woke up at the hotel and saw a lot of light peaking through the curtains we were hopeful. We pulled back the curtains and.... Blue Sky! Sweet! Some cool weather is much easier to take if the sun is out and it is not windy either.

We arrived at the club around 8 to get ready for the 10 am start and as we were all leaving the dock the clouds came and breeze filled in.


Still having some issues with the red gust line, I guess

Just before the start we saw Rob Smith capsize while singlehanding again. Being fairly close to the bridge this had the ugly potential going big time. Rob reacted quickly and was over the high side and standing on the board. In what seemed like record time he had the boat coming upright and he climbed in and seemed to be dry. We were impressed! We also hoped he would head back to the club since the breeze was building and it was too much to singlehand. Thankfully, he did.

We left off yesterday with Jeff Linton leading Al Terhune by 2 points but that lead was cut in half when Al won the first race with Jeff second. The last race would decide the winner and Al jumped out to an aerly lead. At the top mark Al was first and Jeff was back in fifth or sixth but Jeff made up ground on the run then rounded the left gate and banged the right side hard. We were shocked to see him cruising back in on starboard and he crossed the leaders by a healthy margin. The run was uneventful, Jeff got the bullet and Al was second. It was an incredible turn around to see. Congrads to the winners and thanks from Wally Gator who has grown fond of Davis Island.

It was also nice to see several new scot owners along with a good group from outside the District. I'll get some results up soon.

Gator Bowl In Jacksonville, Day 1

A pretty healthy group of Scot sailors turned out for the 2010 Gator Bowl. I think the final tally was 26 boats which is well above the average of 18 over the last 5 years or so.
The weather on Saturday was actually really nice, a little better than was forecasted on Friday. It was cool early but by 10:00 am it was nice enough to be shedding clothing. The breeze looked a little shaky but it filled in before lunch and was at times more than the lightweights would have preferred.


Not sure what happened to the red gust line but you get the idea

Three W/L (twice around) races were completed by 3-ish and we were heading in. As usual there was an abundance of trickiness (a word?) to be had, as the wind did the lake thing. The current was flowing north at a good pace, as well, so some good stategy would come in handy to deal with that.
We don't have a Wild Man award, but if we did John Kreidler would get it. While we were heading out to dinner in Jax, John Wake traded a text or 2 with JK. JK was sitting in a bar with Dennis the Lightning guy, in South Carolina with a proper frame of mind when they said "want to go?" With the all-important wife's permission they decide it was a go. Sadly, the boat was sitting at the club which added 2 hours to the drive. After catching a little sleep they departed at 2 am to get the boat then head south to FL.
About 10 am they rolled into the club, looking none the worse for wear. Talk about wanting to go racing.
Two locals receive runner up awards for sailing solo today- Kudos to Rob Smith and Warren Keene!! Singlehanding in 5 knots is one thing but when it is shifty and gusting over 15 its another deal.
Oh yeah we should mention the Lintons have a one point edge on Al Terhune who is just ahead of Robbie Brown.
Tomorrow; rain early, high 59, NW wind 15 to 20...
Out.