Gator bowl 2013, Jacksonville

So we left on Friday, around 11:00 (Kim was able to get the day off even though she's new to her job!), interested to see how much longer it would take to get from the new abode in Bradenton to a rest area landmark where we used to reach the highway from the house in Dunedin, where it took an hour. The new place is really close to the highway, but 50 mi to the south. It took 55 min. Crazy! Good!

We stopped on the way to get gas at the Flying J, where it was cheaper, but it took some time (thanks Gas Buddy, a worthwhile free app), so the whole trip took almost 5 hours, a little longer than usual. Lexi and Missy are along for the weekend! Don't know what the other folks think, but we enjoy having them along. We appreciate the Rudder Club for making accommodations for the RVs and the dogs!

The temperature was great for sleeping outside, the forecast close to 80s during the day and 60s at night. Aside from the highway noise, after a longstanding tradition of dinner at Trent's, we had a nice rest. Jeff and Amy Linton camped I their RV, Mark Taylor bunked with them, his crew, Andy Hayward enjoyed some truck camping, and so did Jamie Fisher (new Scot racer and on his way up to Ohio stopped by to see if anyone needed crew). Tom McNally had a tent. So good to see so many travelers!! Harry Carpenter picked up Bill Ross in NC on the way down from MD, Steve Shaw drove down and met up with Henry Picco, and John Kreidler from Greenville, SC joined Joe Break from the Outer Banks of NC to compete in the Gator Challenge. Way to go, out of towners! Overall, 18 boats raced for the prized Wally Gator who ended up staying in FL since Jeff and Amy, Mark and Andy, and Tom and Mike were 1,3, and 5 out scoring the boats with connections to the Carolina District.

It was quite a light air regatta, Saturday was challenging with one pretty fair race in the dying breeze. During the time spent drifting around between races, the Naval Air Station nearby put on quite an airshow. As Dave says, "Those planes are badass!" Just when we thought the show was over and we would go back to the club, the RC decided there was enough wind for one more race. We would beg to differ, but thankfully the torture, I mean drifter, only lasted 2 legs. Back to the club for cleanup, dog walk, and dinner! Excellent Latin influenced BBQ pork, chicken and brisket with all the extras! Yum!

We were all pretty tired, but stayed up to watch the Auburn/Mizzou game, (wow! Defense anyone?) and tried to start watching the OSU/MSU game, but had to read about it this am, since the club closed before 9:00 pm, Saturday night. Go Sparty!! That was really nice.

Woke up to lots of fog Sunday am, John and Joe went out early in the muck, fortunately, they didn't get lost! We waited a bit too long for the fog to clear, also, expecting the RC to return and let us know things were starting, since they said they would...anyway, we missed the first race...oops!!
Watching is always fun, great to see a different perspective. 2nd race, as yesterday, in wind that kept getting lighter...we had a good start, headed for the L corner, stayed L even longer than Ron! Things were going well, but we went to the wrong gate mark, and, even though the L was looking good again, for a while, some wind came out of the R, giving those on the R a little more pressure at the top of the course. John and Joe came back strong from a situational start, and we just looked for whatever pressure was available to finish. Enough racing for the weekend..it was great to see everyone!

Next stop...Port Charlotte

Jeff Penfield Regatta, Sarasota Sailing. Squadron

Well, we certainly haven't done much (any) sailing since NAC, and we definitely haven't been blogging about what we HAVE been doing...till now!

This is the Sarasota weekend, State Series #2, The Jeff Penfield Memorial Regatta. State Series #1 in Miami was won by Sarasota's
own, Ron Pletsch!

During any normal summer, we would fleet race in Tampa or Sarasota occasionally, but primarily we would try to keep cool. This summer, we had a ton of rain curtailing some sailing activities, and we decided to do something a little different...Kim applied for a job transfer from Largo Medical Center to Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, instigating a new activity...searching for a new home in the Sarasota area. The start date was scheduled for September, so we were very busy during June, July, August weekends looking at houses, and during the week, scouring the realty websites.
Finally, we found the neighborhood we love, and a house that suited most of our needs. In the meantime, Dave's parents visited for almost 2 months and found a builder and a model they love and are beginning their journey moving from Scottsdale, AZ.

So, we have a contract on a house in Bradenton. Due to some complications on the seller's side, we weren't able to close on the initial set date of Oct. 7. Some lawer-y and judge-type things have to happen, and closing is now set for Nov 15. In the meantime, we closed on the Dunedin house on Fri, Nov. 1, so we had to get our stuff out! We worked out a program with the owners of the next house, and we are storing our stuff in the garage. That big move happened last weekend and Dave had to go through quite a time with the Uhaul folks and some pretty crappy customer service. The initial truck leaked all of it's brake fluid on the driveway (fortunately, NOT on the highway). Several thousand phone calls later, he went to the assigned pick up place for a new truck with Beau (thank goodness he was helping!), and was told they had nothing for him. He went to the place where he picked up the first truck, and they did have a replacement. Then Dave had to progress with unloading and loading. Kim eventually came home, and we did some more loading, moved into the RV, and finished loading on Saturday am. By early afternoon, we were on the road to Bradenton, and unloaded the truck with the help of Beau, Lainie and Marshall. Lainie and Marshall have been a great help through all of this, so has Ron. Our power boat and Sunfish have been at Lainie and Marshall's, Kim stayed there, too, while she started work. (Kim totally made out on the deal. Dave stayed home and did the hard part of packing, while Kim rested at L&M's.) Ron helped store and transport the Scot!!

Dave made a trip down with the van every day this past week with more loads of stuff to empty the house. Thursday, we left the CRV at the Bradenton house, drove to Dunedin in the van, closed Friday am, and Dave drove the RV with Kim following in the van to the Squadron and got ready to race!

Friday night, the Tampa gang arrived and we all had a nice get together near the barbeque area while the Sarasota kids celebrated Halloween in the pavilion. Saturday came bright and early, but maybe not so bright, a storm loomed offshore and we kept watch on the radar while the PHRF fleet from Sarasota Yacht Club and the Scow fleet from here attempted to start races. The Scot fleet was not scheduled to start till 12:30 and calmer heads prevailed and postponement till after the storm was called. Some of the boats from the other fleets made it to their courses, but turned around and came back due to the storm. the Scots made it out to the racecourse and started the first race in very light conditions. Those conditions went from light to drifting, and the race was abandoned. The wind shifted north, the RC changed course, and we sailed 2 races in fairly light air. The cold front went through making for lovely sleeping conditions, and with the extra hour of sleep, we were refreshed and almost ready for the heavier winds today. We sailed 2 races, watched a couple of crew members on other boats go swimming, (great recovery David and PJ!) and one boat capsized, and a couple of boats broke things...The RC adjusted the line since the mark boat was busy with the capsize and we started a third. We were reluctant participants in this one, but off we went.

A successful regatta, with Zeke and Jay Horowitz pulling off 2 spectacular bullets today to win the event, the establishment of a Charlie Fowler Memorial Award, and John and Susan Domagala winning the Jeff Penfield Award in an emotional ceremony. Good job to all the Sarasota volunteers and Bob Twinem Race Chair and Fleet Captain!!

2013 NAC Wrap up

After spending the night at the Big Wheel Park in St. Mary's GA we had a fairly short trip to Orlando. We were jones'ing big time to see the girls, nothing like seeing them after a week, they practically come out of there skin with excitement. This time was no different except that there was a golden retriever named Sterling in the house that stuck to us like glue. Sterling is five and has just been used to breed and has not had much of a life. Carol thought the 9 days with our two did some good for Sterling, got to see what it is like to be a dog. Cool!

We made it home just before 3 pm, the only traffic we hit was passing through Tampa which is mostly to be expected with the construction. The RV did well after the brake repair done on Saturday. We have to give a plug to Huntersville Ford, they were a pleasure to deal with. We got lucky that we broke down only 2 miles from them, which allowed us to limp to them after the brakes cooled down for a couple hours. We were also fortunate that we did not get them really hot, so we did not damage the bearings, rotors or even the pads.

The folks at LNYC did a fine job with the regatta. Holding an event there during summer is always a little risky due to the high chance for light wind. However, unlike some recent NAC's we got all the races in and the RC did a really good job. We were reminded again why this is one of our favorite venues. I would not have wanted the job of PRO with the weather we had.

The Lintons staged a solid come from behind victory to repeat as NAC champions. This is no small feat considering they needed to overcome Allan Terhunes lead who is a multiple champion himself. Not to mention a bunch of great teams that filled out the rest of the top 10. Way to go Amy and Jeff!!!

John Kreidler is the man! Well most of the time, at least when he is not it he weeds. He was kind enough to stop and offer to help as we waited, stuck on the side of the interstate. It appeared we were going to have to leave the boat behind since the wrecker was unwilling to double tow the RV with the boat attached. He went and found a place off the highway and dropped his boat and came back for ours. In the end we never got a tow, which is a long story but he did take our boat to the Ford dealer. Thanks John, we owe you big time!

Speaking of thanks, we also need to thank Harry Carpenter for his above and beyond assistance with our boat. When we were at LNYC for the Great 48 regatta Harry took our boat back to the factory and left his boat at the club. Our boat had soft side decks that led to a bunch of cracks in the gelcoat around the cockpit. He re-cored the side decks then re gelled the entire deck which turned out excellent. That is an unpleasant enough job that I would have put it off probably forever. After doing these and a few other repairs Harry brought the boat to LNYC for us to sail at the NAC. That is some awesome service! If your boat needs some fixin give Harry a call.

That's it for now, our future event plans may include a trip to Fishing Bay YC for their annual regatta in August. Next year the NAC is in Toms River NJ, like last time we will probably skip that one but we will see. Planning to visit New Orleans in March for the 2014 Midwinters.

Thanks for reading.

Getting home

First thing, off to see Jeff, our Ford dealer service guy at 8:20 am to encourage him to start working on the RV --quickly. He said they would be working on it "soon." At 10:00, we did a little happy dance and cheers went up from the crowd as they moved our rolling home into a bay!
Jeff came to us with the news that we needed new calipers. The parts were a half hour away... So, some quick mental calculation, a couple of more hours of work and an hour to retrieve various pieces and parts and we figured we would be on the road again around two-ish, we hoped.
At right about 2:00, Jeff said they would be ready to take it for a test drive! The verdict is it rides nicely, no pulling, so it seems we are good to go. At 2:20, the boat is hooked up and we are on the road again. So we get a few miles down the road and , it's fine. Our next stop is to be picking up our dogs in Orlando but that will likely take until midnight or 1 am which won't work so we decided to shoot for st. Mary's GA. It is near the FL/GA line and there is a nice little rv campground there that we stayed at before.
We ended up arriving there just a it was getting dark so the timing was good for some dinner and the much anticipated beer.
Should be under four hours to get to the dogs in the am. Looking forward to seeing them!!

The last day of racing

Everyone was awake early and in the water. It's serious, and this is the last day to make the regatta. With only 2 races completed, the RC needs one more to constitute a regatta. They extended the time frame till 3:00 pm, to make sure they get it. Turns out, we raced 3, 4 leg races today. Downwind finishes are our fave, and we had a pretty good day in building 4-6-8 kt breeze. Its kind of strange that we have once again finished 11th at the NAC, third time in four tries. team Tampa had a good time of it with 3 in the top 10 and 5 in the top 13 or something like that. The RC did their best to make good courses, but maybe a little too much time between races getting everything, "just right."
Jeff and Amy Linton prevailed, so happy for them!! two in a row!!

We decided to hit the road before awards, since the ceremony was taking some time to get started and we were anxious to see the girls and get home tomorrow.
Unfortunately , the highway gods had other plans for us. About 12-15 mi down the road from the club, Dave started feeling some resistance on the right side front brake. When we weren't able to roll downhill, and it was pulling hard to the right, we decided it might be time to stop and further assess the situation. Sitting on the side of the road, nervous about the RV and the boat, Chris and Monica Morgan were the first to stop to offer assist. We were on the phone with the roadside assistance people and thought they would send a tow quickly to the nearest Ford dealer, or RV service center. Sadly, they had some misinformation regarding the tow companies who actually tow RVs and service centers who service said RVs. Kreidler was the next poor sod to come along and stop to offer assist. By then, we realized the roadside assistance co was of little help, and we were making other plans. With 3 smart phones and an iPad, we were able to rule out some other tow companies and convince a Ford dealer in Huntersville to work on the RV. After this amount of time, (2hours) the brakes cooled off enough that we were able to drive the 2 miles to the dealer. Kreidler dropped his boat off at a parking lot nearby, and towed our boat to the dealer, as well. Gosh, what a fortunate series of events. Conveniently, a Best Western is located across the street from the dealer, and we are comfy and cool in our post-pool and beer temporary location. Hope to have the rig fixed in the morning sometime, but we'll probably only make it part of the way home, as it would be poor form to wake the Dogsitter up at midnight to get the girls. Miss them so much, but glad they didn't have to play this game, although the Best Western would have been happy to accommodate them, too, for a nominal fee.
So, didn't quite make it as far as we thought we might today, but, for this to happen, it probably occurred at the best time in the best place.

We will see what happens in the am.

The real racing has to wait

another day. It turns out the forecast for little to no wind turned out to be spot on for Thursday. We did a couple hour postponement but at about 11:30 the RC canceled for the day and we were free to roam. We spent a good part of the afternoon at the rental house (SWEET!) with the gang. The house is the second house south of the club and right on the lake. This one is a keeper, for sure. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon in the lake since it was pretty hot, could be worse.

Friday looks a little more promising with the forecasts generally calling for 5 or 6 knots. The time limit for the last race has been adjusted from 1 pm to 3 pm. The start time is 9:30 so if breeze is on we could get 2 or maybe 3 races in.

Fingers are crossed....

The real racing begins...

Today is the first "real" day of racing. This morning, the water was calm, and folks were saying it's starting off worse than yesterday. (Lighter wind)
The RC was going with the forecast and set up a course. We were slow to get going, and they politely postponed to let everyone leave the harbor and have a chance to get to the racecourse.
The RC gamely went after 2 races today. The first, a 5 legger, with variable breeze. The second, in somewhat less breeze, dying around some of us on the torturous downwind leg, and they shortened to 3 legs. We had an ok day, could have been better but after talking with some others it could have been much worse. Results are posted on www.lnyc.org.

If you are into another take on things there is Amy's site www.amysmithlinton.com she has a lot more words than us plus she's smart, so check it out.

Phew! Races over, time for swimming, drinking, snacking, kibitzing, napping, reading, boat adjusting (wow, we were busy), dinner with ferocious ankle biters! Sleep. The RC is already suggesting that we find alternate activities for tomorrow. Hmmmmmm...

Day 2 of qualifying, or not

One would think that with all the time we had to write today, that we would have a bunch of stuff written...sadly, there was nothing much going on, so not much to write about.

We were quite amazed that 8 hours could pass, without much notice. A summary : sitting, sweating, swimming, socializing, siesta-ing, stretching, snoozing... Also a good Top Gun chat with Allan Terhune, Paul Abdullah, Steve Shaw, and Jeff Linton. Good questions from the group, and good feedback from the experts.
Then the talk turned to dinner. Team Florida and friends planned for pizza at a local fave Pie in the Sky, and the Mad House and friends have reservations at Joe Fish.
The forecast is not too favorable for racing tomorrow, either, although some seem to feel it is "solid".
While we were chatting on the porch and listening to the RC on the radio, apparently some radio pirates captured the airwaves with a Buffet tune, something about being 5o'clock somewhere? Who could that have been. Then, a rogue rendition of the chicken dance heard between wind reports. Those RC folks are doing quite a job, too bad the wind isn't cooperating for them, much. Funny quote of the day, on the radio topic... A time when "let's go private on channel 70" was heard at an event, just made everyone giggle.
Goal for the day: stay cool and in the shade.

As for sailing, the fleet is split based on the race from yesterday, top half championship and bottom half challenger. There were a couple of requests for championship fleet placement but the committee did not grant them. There is some criteria to these things....

Starts for the rest of the week are scheduled for 9:30. The forecasted wind for tomorrow is solid all afternoon, but it is for 4 knots. Time will tell but we think it is on.

Team Tampa is out for dinner.

Monday Day 1 Qualifiers

Last night they awarded the Women's NAC Winners, Edie Sullivan, Wendy Diard, and Heidi Gough on the 1st place boat and Morgan Iriel, Kenzie Currie and Kaaren Rue on the 2nd place boat. They had some good wind yesterday, and those we spoke to said they had fun! Team Tampa was solid in the Junior division with father/son representatives Hobbs and Taylor taking home the trophies for 1st and 2nd. Great work, so proud!

Tis morning was interesting because the start was to be at 9:30, which means we all had to be early risers. Several folks launched their boats with their own vehicles to ensure making it to the warning signal on time. The club has tractors available to assist with launching and hauling out, as well, but the addition of the trucks seemed to make the process more smooth. The fleet is split between the ramp and the hoist side of the cove, so we can only really speak to the ramp launching side of the business. We were one of the first to launch with the tractor, so we were able to leisurely put the sails on and head out to the course. Why is it we only see a mark boat? The RC boat remained on the dock, due to the on shore postponement during which we all came back to the dock, as the wind (light to start with) started to die. As folks tied their boats up, John Wake performed a lovely reverse triple lindy to the delight of the crowd! After lunch, a training swim for Deb Aronsen, and a quick siesta for some, listening intently to the radio, we heard they were planning to take down the postponement flag as the random puffs started to organize into some measurable breeze. Everyone scattered! We left the pleasant porch of the Ryan/Kreidler house, re-loaded the cooler and hopped on the boat! If only Dave weren't so tired! Why is Jeff Linton running to the boat? Oh, the dock is hot and his shoes are on the boat...overheard, "I've never seen Jeff Linton run before!"

One race completed, light air, and a crazy shift at the end, not sure why they didn't try for 2 shorter races, but it was nice to have some time to work some bugs out. Again, Team Tampa finished strong (it is still qualifying races, but we're pleased) Morgans were 7th in their race, Lintons 2nd, then in the other group Hobbs were 9th, Taylors 11th, and we were 3rd. Good work, team!

Dinner and, more importantly, beer and wine served to the 68 boats present. One boat retired before starting, hope everything's ok.

Quote of the day; Amy is wearing a fluorescent orange sailing shirt (can be seen from about 10 miles away) and proclaims, "Don't round me bro". If you don't get it you probably don't race sailboats...

Flying Scot NAC lake Norman YC, Pre regatta crap

The journey begins, Friday, July 12,2013. We finally started packing for real this morning after a busy week with family in town. Dave's parents have been house hunting for a little over a month in the Sarasota/Bradenton area and staying in the Palace de Pardey in Sarasota (thanks so much Lainie and Marshall!!). They have been successful and are showing off the model home to Christy (sis) and Ashlee (niece), who flew in to town Tuesday, today.

The weather forecast seemed a little iffy (thunderstorms likely), in Moorestown, so even though we Pre-registered, the decision to attend still Seemed a little silly. Tis morning, though, final preparations were made, everything (we hope) packed, and we're on the road. The boat has been under refurbishment in MD so it is not behind us, which feels weird. It went to the Homeland with Harry after the Great 48 for some repairs so we have not seen it since then. We may call it the Guinea Pig this week.

Almost exactly 2 hours to the dogsitter's in Orlando. Dropped off the girls with old friend Mia, a small, white dog, and new friend, Sterling, a very sweet golden retriever who enjoys holding hands and being next to you. She even placed a paw on Missy's shoulder for attention. Too cute. Hope Missy doesn't try to eat her. Lexi was busy cleaning up after someone else's breakfast mess to notice new friends. On the road again just in time to experience some noontime Orlando traffic. Mixed in with the traffic is major downpours or the look of one just ahead. the trip through Orlando has us traveling north on 95 on the FL east coast which kind of sucks since that has us closer to the tropical storm offshore. We actually got off lucky with traffic jams considering the weather and were grateful for the traffic feature on the smartphones.

Found a nice state campground in SC, and miraculously it finally stopped raining. It's a smallish state park, but really nice. Very woodsy, lots of dogs, reminding us of the girls. The Edisto River is swiftly running by, good sized sites, electric, clean and mostly bug-free bath houses are pleasant aspects of the park. We were surprised to not have Mosquitos descending all evening. When Kim tried to take pictures in the morning, however, it was a different story! Still, a great stopping point close to I-95 for future trips.


Saturday, July, 13
Awoke to a light rain...it's never far away, some clouds. Able to pack up and said good bye to the friendly Park Ranger by 1000, and pulled into LNYC just before 2:00. Longer (again) than the stated 3 hours that certain electronic devices predict. Everyone seems great! Busy with boat measurement and registration! So many folks helping to make the process run smoothly. With all the land saturated by rain, the parking areas had to be rearranged. Amy and Jeff Linton brought their bikes to make the frequent trips around the cove less taxing and significantly faster. Mark and the Family Taylor, the Hobbs family and us are here to represent Team Tampa.

Dinner with part of the Ryan/Kriedler house gang ended up at the Hickory Tavern. Plans started with Vinnie at his Oyster House, but he apparently got whacked by Eddie, who has evidently taken over, but he hasn't been heard from in a while, either.

More rain expected tonight, as well.

Sunday, July 14
More arrivals and more boat measurement. We needed to finish up, but that required the assist of another vehicle, since the Rv is parked, and pushing the boat from it's assigned spot in the (did we mention mushy?) grass field to the cove would have been difficult. At least we pulled the green list from the measurement lottery (the easiest to measure). Ever-helpful John Wake pulled us around and helped with out boat covers, etc. brief appearance by Ryan at the Rv, looking forward to meeting Stacey! They arrived early this am, probably as Kriedler's crew, Mike, was about to embark on his 20 mi training run, sadly, in on and off rain, which was good from a cooling off standpoint, they may have passed in the driveway. Wake and Kim were not as ambitious but were able to join Mike for a few minutes!

Women's and Junior's NAC events scheduled for today. One came back after breaking the out haul, and another was towed back swamped.

Skipper meeting and welcome party on the slate for Sunday evening, later.

Great 48, Lake Norman YC, 2013

Thursday, May 2, 2013
We started our trip a little later in the day than usual, since Kim had her only day of Sunfish racing in this Spring series today! The weather has been mostly uncooperative these past few months (a theme we will see repeated this weekend). Up to now, the forecast for Lake Norman is beautiful for the weekend, we're looking forward to a change from the rain and gray skies we've been experiencing in FL this week.
Since we couldn't Priceline a good deal in the Charlotte area, we decided to RV it and it seems like we haven't blogged in a long time.
Ryan planned to arrive at LNYC early in the day, Friday, we hope to meet him for some warmup/tuneup.
Much like the week we've had, there was rain during the entire drive to St Mary's GA. where we stopped for the night at a lovely (although it was difficult to tell through the raindrops) RV park. Nice owners on site invited us back for Sunday's potluck dinner (every weekend, and they have a crowded table for Thanksgiving, too). They have owned the land since 1984 and began work on it, clearing 5 sites to start, in 2006. A Big Wheel RV Park was born with large, level cement pads, big showers/bathrooms, with everything you need. Even with the never ending rain the night is going by quickly! We see a low of 65 deg predicted for tonight, and the Rays vs KC game is postponed due to SNOW??! It could be worse!!

Friday

After misjudging the time needed to drive here when speaking with Ryan, we arrive at LNYC around 3:30. Sadly, a little too late to sail, and probably in the best conditions we'll have all weekend. We finished setting up the boat and establishing our choice parking spot for the weekend, saw some good folks and volunteers fed us three different types of chili for dinner. Wondering the wisdom of eating a bunch of chili before racing, but we appreciate the great job the volunteers do at this club.
It was a brisk and chilly (ha! A pun) walk back to the lee side of the cove, NE wind, it made us appreciate our choice of parking spot. Racing starts at 1:00 on Saturday, hope the wind moderates a little and the sun can make an appearance.

Saturday am
42 boats registered, the forecast has changed dramatically from the before- travel sun and light winds to increased wind, rain, and cooler temps. Worse conditions for Sunday. The RC was optimistic at the skipper's meeting, and more than 1/2 of the registered boats went out to start. After a short postponement, the first race was underway. We were a little surprised that waves had a chance to develop in the lake, and after the start, we ended up coming in after Kim decided she was nervous about sailing downwind. The water was fresh and cold. About 10 other boats decided to come in, as well. The RC lengthened the course for the next two races, and while we were out putting gas in the RV so the generator could run, they had finished the 2nd race and were starting the 3rd 5 leg race of the day.
Paul Abdullah and Alex Krumsieck had 3 bullets for the day,
Steve Shaw and his crew of 2 fine yoots had 3 2nd place finishes
And Harry Carpenter was 3rd for the day.

Saturday night the club hosted a pirate-themed costume party, served yummy BBQ, and we watched the wind pick up even more on the flags outside the club. It was nice to be inside the warm building catching up with friends, Sandy Eustis made a special toast to Charlie Fowler, Ben and Deb had a good day, Chris and Tom discussed their travel plans to France, and John Kreidler would like it to be known that he has never been to a strip club. Maybe it should be narrowed down to a strip club in FL.

Sunday am
Most of the tents on the windward side of the cove were gone by morning...blown away??!! There was a little rain during the early am hours, but not the amount we saw on the radar, that, thankfully swept to our west, or dissipated before arriving. At breakfast, RC announced it would be running some races. A 9:30 start was scheduled, but at 50 minutes till warning signal, only 2 boats were in the water. Only 2 boats on the club side of the cove had their masts up. The sailors were speaking, was the RC listening? After a postponement, and little interest from the racers racing was called for the day, and Saturdays results were final.

Congrats to Paul and Alex!!!

Harry will be taking our boat back to the Homeland for some work, and we'll be seeing the new and improved Piggy at NACs!
We were able to get on the road by 10:30, and, why should it be any different, Dave had to drive through rain till GA.
Quote of the day, "Is that blue sky ahead or some other shade of cloud? As we approach the GA state line and the wall of clouds and rain we are in comes to a very abrupt end.

So hear we are back at A Big Wheel... We arrived in time for the Sunday potluck, cookies on a plate will have to do for our contribution, since we missed the cooking of the main course. Thanks, Karen

Flying Scot Midwinters 2013, Day 4

Well this is it, the last day. The forecast is for a nearly perfect day, sunny and about 10 knots from the NE. Of course the weather will improve as the regatta wraps up, it seems that has become some sort of Midwinter law. It goes something like this, schedule the regatta and wait for the inevitable cold front to roll through with big breeze. Done.

The starting time was moved to 10:30 to see if we could catch up a little on races. The breeze was there so we banged out the first race in 50 minutes or so. David Ames had a near horizon job with our old boat, probably the most decisive win of the regatta. Continuing the old boat theme Marshall Pardey won the second race as the sea breeze was trying to fill in. There was some delay in getting a third race going as we waited to see what the wind would do. The 2:00 pm limit was looming, the sea breeze just didn't have enough punch to break through and we called it a day. We did get 5 races for the regatta so all was not lost. Paul Abdullah and his crew Alex were solid in all conditions and won the regatta but a nice margin. Very impressive and big congratulations to them!

It is kind of a shame that we could not have had better weather for the out of towners. Sarasota is an awesome sailing venue, hopefully one of these years the weather will be more cooperative.

John and Susie Domagala did a great job running the regatta as did all the volunteers. John awarded the Allen Douglas sportsmanship award to Mark Taylor who helped many of the competitors with boat tuning and set up. Good job Mark!

Larry Taggart reminded everyone to get the third week of March on the calendar for the 2014 Midwinters at Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans.

The results have been posted on FSSA.com for your viewing pleasure.

P.S. by the time awards were being given there was a solid sea breeze from about 260 or 270. Just the way it goes....

Flying Scot Midwinters 2013, Day 3

Sarasota Midwinters Day 3

Well, where to begin...the wind howled through the night and there was some difficulty sleeping, and the wind continued this morning, where Jeffrey was heard saying, "I was going to go fishing, but I can't stay standing up on the sea wall." Amy returned the s'more ingredients, as it ended up being too cold last night to stay outside and grill and eat. We had been picked up by Ryan to join the "folks in the house" (with whom we stayed last year) for dinner.
Amy, Dave and I discussed how to photoshop best RV dog, Lilly, into a picture depicting Amy flying her as a kite. Then it was discussed what game would be chosen for game day. We have scrabble, dominoes, boggle, cranium, and jenga to choose from.
Larry Taggart: "There are white caps on the pool" he and Carrie decided to visit the Myakka River State Park today, turns out to be a good call.
Postponement (again) as we listened on the radio to the RC take wind readings for 2 hours (poor Dave, poor Lainie, poor Bob) while we anxiously awaited the cue to hop in the boats and go! There was a lull predicted and I believe the RC was waiting for the perfect time to send us out to play. Finally, the sign was given and we left the dock, the wind seemed a little light for the 3 of us on the rail, but it remained choppy enough that we thought we could hang in there if it lightened a bit. First we heard some wind readings (we were paying attention to RC on the radio) that scared us, "Avg. 8.1, gusting to 10" YIKES! Then we heard numbers that helped us relax, and made us think we had a chance, "Avg. 11, gusting to 16" PHEW said the boat with 3 people on it. The RC was hoping to start a race in a few minutes, then...their anchor started dragging and she felt that it was time to send the sailors back to the dock. Boo. The wind had picked up again by then and the wind readings were at the highest during the sail in.
Tonight was BBQ at the club and more beer. Dave, aka "Keg Boy" keepin' it flowin' all week long. The Salty Dog is also popular for long pours of vodka for Paul A.
Tomorrow promises to be what those of us who normally sail with 2 have been looking for all week. The computer has been teasing us with 8-10 on Friday and we are really looking forward to it as the resident crew whore (Kim) floats from sitting between Ryan and John, back to the Piggy sitting next to Dave where she belongs. Tune in to see what happens!!

Flying Scot Midwinters 2013, Day 2

So after a shoreside postponement both fleets got one race in for a total of three races. Paul Abdullah has moved up to first place in the standings, many others are in hot pursuit. The schedule calls for eight races with no throw-outs so anything can happen.

We will embellish more later. Thursday forecast seems to be more of the same, mid to high teens from the North. Friday looks light to moderate. Stay tuned.

P.S. My wife won the race today so all good!

Out.

Here is the promised further embellishment;

On Wednesday morning, Brian Hayes put together an excellent video assisted presentation and discussion that received rave reviews. He is a patient and understanding instructor. Good use of postponement time. He also jumped in the water (again!) to aid a sailor in distress after racing.

The flag came down and the boats were launched. Pretty windy and wavy, and I must say I'm happy to be part of a 3-person boat. Dave and I would be having very little fun trying to keep the boat down, and moving in the right direction in these conditions.

Dave was helping Lainie on the pin boat today, and he had an excellent view of the "midline bulge" - the exact opposite of the midline sag- and at 40 sec to go at the start, he and Lainie accurately predicted a general recall. The I-flag went up, and we were more careful on the 2nd try. The wind came up even more, and the PRO considered sending us in, but, fortunately for us, the racing continued and we pounded upwind and surfed downwind, resulting in our best race of the regatta.

Quotes from Wednesday:
as Brian pointed out on a picture of Dave and I during the practice race...
"Hiking would also be a good idea.." Thanks, Brian
"Respect the luff!" stated by Jeffrey re: the interesting tendencies of the sailors on the line
"I've got shutes coming out of my butt!" from Mark, the one to see if you need a new kite!

FYI, If you wnt Kreidler to meet you just mention a titty bar.

Flying Scot Midwinters 2013, Racing Day 1

Today really started last night when we woke up to rain, wind, and concern for the boat. Dave went to check on it, we brought the sails inside the RV and tried to get some more sleep. We are very lucky to have the RV and we feel sad for the tent campers. So, as some of us dreamed of other things we would do today, the Race Committee postponed on land for a bit, but sent us out at 12:30! After the wind switched to the north - also noting it is much colder than the southerly that we had previously. On the sail out to the race area, Ryan Malmgren was pretty pleased with how the boat felt with both John Wake and Kim on the boat, as it was pretty windy. By the time the first race started, the wind settled down and was gusting to 18-ish. Dave and I decided it would be no fun for us on the boat in these conditions, and we split up, loaning Kim's weight to the boys, and Dave assisted on safety boat #2.
The wind lightened some for the 2nd race, and we were a little pokey downwind with 3, but the forecast is for more wind tomorrow and Thursday, so we will have the work cut out for us.
Jeff and Amy are superstars, and the lead group is tightly bunched together, there are 6 more races, anything could happen (like, say, a protest that results in a dsq, that we are not talking about.)

Notable quotes of the day;
-RC reporting "a collision resulting in a dismasting"
-following an individual recall signal "Dave is gonna kill me if we are OCS"

Results are on fssa.com

Out.

Flying Scot Midwinters 2013, Volume 1

For some, the midwinters begins with the warm-up regatta the weekend prior which this year is at Davis Island YC. We decided to skip this one since 6 days of sailing in a 7 day stretch loses appeal quickly. Instead we got a sort of early start and landed at the Squadron late Saturday afternoon. One pleasant development is the powers at the Squadron have cleared an area of old boats and are designating it the RV area. Sweet! Electrical hookups are rumored to be on the way soon, so that will even be even cooler.

We mostly chilled on Sunday but did find the time for a two hour-ish sail. Pretty nice to get out and do a little sailing for a change. Most of the last few regattas have included little or no sailing.



Monday was the final check-in day and last we heard we have about 60 boats or so. Not too bad all things considered. We also had a practice race on the schedule which became interesting as it breezed up a little and a couple boats capsized. Some of us finished at about the time a freakish monster powerboat wake was blocking the finish line. We saw a couple boats ahead of us hobby horsing there way through but I didn't expect to plunge the bow three times. Lots of water to bail later!

We volunteered to help coordinate the welcome party Monday night and were happy it went off well. All of the local Sarasota fleet members signed up to bring a dish and they did an awesome job!!!!! We definitely out-fooded the gang this year, and it was good.

The forecast for the week is for a front to come through Tuesday and for a breezy few days to follow.

Some quotes for the day;
-The official videographer said "you probably passed more boats than anyone out there" real meaning is you were behind a shitload of boats.
-Brian Hayes said hello and casually mentioned "saw you reaching around the course today"
-Opti dad talking about his parental powerboat (full of gouges) "Optis are perfect gelcoat removers"
-From Ryan our sailmaker "So, do you ever thinking about taking a third crew?"
Out.

Lake Eustis FL District Regatta 2013

This regatta has become the best attended of the FL series events and is one we look forward to every year. The weather forecast may keep the crowd down a little since it includes a passing front, healthy breeze and overnite low temperatures in the thirties.

The club has room for 5 RV's so we planned to head over Friday, so we could be sure to get one since it is first come, first served. The Lintons had a better plan and got there Thursday night and they were the third to arrive already. So much for being early. We arrived Friday after lunch and got a spot but it was getting tight, if you count trailers and pop ups there may be about 10.

The cold front was scheduled to pass through Saturday bringing a NW wind around 25 -ish and a cold night to follow. The breeze was picking up nicely during the skippers meeting, hmmm. Most boats were launched by the time the RC boat left the dock but not too many seemed interested in heading out. A little while later the RC signaled abandonment and that was that. Normally, quite a few boats will spend the night on a mooring ball but there was some discussion about how much wind the moorings could take and a note of caution from the organizers. I had no interest in taking a chance and after Hunters boat dragged the mooring and ball back to the club dock it was kind of a no-brainer.

We had a fun afternoon at the club and in town at a local establishment going by the name of Turkleton's. The building was from the early 1900's and was an auto repair facility of some kind. In the area that was once the auto bays they now have seating, pool tables and other arcade games. It was kind of cool but they are in need of more customers.

So the weatherman thought it should be around 32 for a low Saturday night, we imagine the Sunday starting time of 9:30 will get bumped back some to allow the ice to melt. The other thing is Sunday's high is supposed to be 54 degrees and the wind is only 8 to 10. You must be thinking how could this wind die down so quickly?

We sleep in a little in the toasty RV and say our thanks that we were not one of the dozen or so tent campers. We head over to the clubhouse a little after 8 and to my amazement there are about 15 Scots in the water already, and more launching. It is mid to high 30's outside, but sunny, still not getting it though. Also, no indication of a postponement. Kim and I are discussing whether or not to go out so knowing she hates cold weather I let her make the call. There is no way she will want to be on the water in this cold and it will only get to the fifties. She, of course, said "let's go" and in total disbelief I mumble something like ok if you are sure, among other things. So we go uncover the boat and launch it. More disbelief here.

It appears most of the Scots are launched, huh? WTF. Apparently I have entered the twilight zone?

We are one of the last to depart but figure we should at least try to make the start if we are going to freeze are asses off. The area near the club is fairly sheltered but out in the middle you can see a healthy breeze. We broad reach on out and reach the RC boat in time to check in. After about 10 minutes of getting spray, having my hands and ears freeze and observing few rescue boats in the area, I ask Kim if she will be pissed if we head in. I know her hands are cold too since she has been having a harder time tieing knots. Thankfully she puts up no resistance. So we take the long port tack back to the club, in typical lake fashion the lulls are low maybe 7 or 8 then an instant puff of maybe 17 or 18. This is a "be ready for an auto tack" kind of day, not me.

We notice another boat or two is ahead of us on the way in and a couple more are following. The whole time I am thinking; there was my boat sitting on the trailer, minding its own business and I had to come along and launch it. It was even covered!

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

So we are all packed up when we can see the second race is about done. We are thinking of sticking around and helping the haul outs if they head back. They instead start a third race, so we attach boat to RV and hit it.

We heard they did three races, don't know any scores or who Won. Did hear that several folks fell out of there boats and did some swimming but were ok.

We now have a new boat rule that is now in effect forever; Boat stays on trailer unless the temperature is 50 degrees or more.

We are now officially members of the fair weather sailing club.

Oh, and not to forget, John Kreidler's boat has been re-named "In the weeds" Not after the TV show you watch or the stuff you smoke....Be sure to ask him.

UPDATE --- The Lintons Win! Congrats!!

Here are the results;


Pl Last Name First Name Div Club/St Fleet# Sail # R1 R2 R3 Total
1 Linton Jeff Flying Scot 5982 1 2 1 4
2 Shaw Steve Flying Scot 5755 6 3 2 11
3 Harowitz Zeke Flying Scot 4901 2 6 3 11
4 Chapin Dave Flying Scot 5020 4 1 8 13
5 Whittemore Robert Flying Scot 5566 5 5 4 14
6 Riddle Hunter Flying Scot 11 3 9 5 17
7 Ames David Flying Scot 812 7 7 6 20
8 mcnally thomas Flying Scot 77 8 4 10 22
9 Grimes Dean Flying Scot 3360 10 10 7 27
10 Kreidler John Flying Scot 2677 9 8 11 28
11 Boekema Randy Flying Scot 5697 14 11 9 34
12 Bowling Bronson Flying Scot 2321 12 14 12 38
13 chennells gus Flying Scot 3059 13 13 14 40
14 Tillema Scott Flying Scot 680 15 16 13 44
15 Picco III George Flying Scot 5636 19 12 15 46
16 Stickley Todd Flying Scot 4171 11 15 DNS 56
17 Willsey Paul Flying Scot 5031 22 17 DNS 69
18 Simon Francois Flying Scot 5554 16 DNS DNS 76
19 Klick Larry Flying Scot 5690 17 DNS DNS 77
20 Mohr Donna Flying Scot 5502 18 DNS DNS 78
21 mcnally John Flying Scot 5179 20 DNS DNS 80
22 Dove Thomas Flying Scot 3153 21 DNS DNS 81
23 Thinel Dave Flying Scot 2925 DNF DNS DNS 90
24 Taylor Mark Flying Scot 4321 DNF DNS DNS 90
25 ireland1 anne1 Flying Scot 5366 DNF DNS DNS 90
26 Laguna Ray Flying Scot 5957 DNF DNS DNS 90
27 Hayward Andy Flying Scot 5257 DNC DNC DNC 90
28 Shore Douglas Flying Scot 5455 DNC DNC DNC 90
29 Pardey Marshall Flying Scot 400 DNC DNC DNC 90

FL District Championship - Charlotte Harbor 2013

We continue the 2012 - 2013 FL District Championship with a stop in Charlotte Harbor where the newest FL fleet continues slow, steady growth. We had a nice looking forecast that included temps in the 80's so all we needed was a little bit of wind for a perfect weekend.

With the close of registration we had 21 entries which may be a new high for this event. The crowd left the harbor in a solid ESE breeze that included some white caps in the puffs. The RC set a fairly long WL course, twice around and we were off. The sailing was nice but pretty shifty especially up near the weather mark. Big gains and losses were the norm, make a mistake and pay big time. The breeze held up all afternoon and by about 3:00pm we had three races in and were heading back to the club.

The Lintons were sitting on a nice little lead and were being chased by Zeke Horowitz who just bought a Scot a couple weeks ago. I don't have results but I'm fairly sure Jim Egan was a close third. After that there were a bunch of us giving it our best shot and enjoying a perfect day of sailing.

Saturday night included a nice dinner and and the viewing of some NFL playoff games. Can anyone believe how Denver gave that one away? Holy crap!

Sunday morning was nice again, warm and a nice Easterly. For a little while. During the first race it pretty well fizzled out to nothing at times and very little the rest of the time. Let's see, the race started at 10:30 and by about 10:35 the first beer was required, so there you go. RC shortened course to 3 legs or the time limit would have come into play. Only 8 boats finished within 20 minutes of the leader so the other time limit did come in to play. TLE's were scored 2 more than the last finisher so a mess of boats received a 10 for that race. Fortuitous for some.

We loitered a bit while the sea breeze tried to fill in from the west. With a patchy light westerly a race was started and the memories of the drift-a-thon we just had last month in Jacksonville were going strong. UGH! Similar current as well, which had us a little surprised. The course is way up the bay, fairly close to where it becomes a river but the flood current is still very strong.

Jeff and Zeke were having a good go of it and either could have won the regatta depending on the others score. Jeff pulled a little come from behind thing and took the race and regatta by four or five points, overcoming a small beer emergency. There were another bunch of TLE's who could not manage the 20 minute rule, and so it goes. Zeke ended up second and Jim Egan third, nice job to all. Also many thanks to Martin and the volunteers at the club.

Go to Lake Eustis Feb. 16 and 17 and bring your Scot.

I will add some results here when available.

Results;