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!!