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

Gator Bowl 2012

Friday, Nov 30...Travel day
Left home a little later than scheduled, due to more work at the hospital for Kim. We did make it on the road by 10:45, though, only to discover the book we had started on the last road trip was still at home. Crap! Tragedy strikes as we will not be able to keep up with Serge's new adventures as he blog his way through Florida in Tim Dorsey's book, Nuclear Jellyfish. Fortuately, have some backups to chose from, we read halfway through Janet Evanovich's Notorious 19.

3:30 At the Rudder Club, and it's sunny with some nice breeze but sadly, we arrived too late to join in on some tuning up. The forecast looks good for tomorrow, 10-12 mph and partly sunny.

Dec. 1, Saturday
Early morning, warm, sun breaking through the clouds, Kim enjoyed a little pre-race run and things were going smoothly as we set up the boat.

As boats were being launched, the wind and chop was increasing and a boat decided not to behave on the dock. It broke free and was headed precariously toward the bridge as the wind and current pushed it in that direction. Todd sped into action, starting a mark boat and rescuing the Scot.

The wind decreased as we approached the racing area, and ultimately died as the starting time approached. This was not at all what we expected from the predictions from all weather websites. Did I mention we were rained on several times, too? Mostly, a thick mist, but enough to make everything wet.

Dinner was fantastic and we watched the SEC Championship Game, so all was not lost.
We'll see if the weather websites are on target for tomorrow. So far, at 10:00 am, the wind is supposed to be E at 8 mph, and by 1:00, 10mph, and party sunny. Hope so!

Sunday, at least it was sunny and warm. We started a race in what might have been two knots of breeze. Not too surprising since we had been skunked on Saturday sop we make the best of it. It was a slow torturous affair and the 90 minute time limit looked to be in play. As the leaders began to close in the weather mark a powerboat raced to the scene and quickly dropped a hook and signaled shorten course, three legs. I think there were three minutes or so remaining when the Lintons crossed the line in first.

The next race, UGH!!! was started in about 5 or 6 knots which appeared quickly and disappeared as quickly. Soon it was back to 2 knots and torture. I guess it was good that the current was helping on the runs downwind. The Lintons prevailed again for a sweep of the 2 race regatta. The cream rises to the top as they say. Ryan Malmgren had 2 seconds for a fine showing as well.

Wally will be staying in Florida again this year.

The next district race will be January 12 and 13 in Port Charlotte. Out.

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.

Gator Bowl Day 2

Two races Sunday in about 10 to 12 knots, mostly clear and cold.

Six races total w/ a throw out.

Results Summary;

1 Linton
2Brake/Wake
3Carpenter/Ross
4Thinel
5Taylor

Amy and Jeff collecting the first place loot!

Joe Brake and John Wake team up for second place

Wally moves to Tampa!!

Here we have some of the FL gang with Wally

Results go here

PS What happened to the Sarasota Fleet? Except Ron and Barry, the Ironmen of the FL District!

Gator Bowl Day One

The steady rain from Friday continued through the night but began to break up by mid-morning Saturday. It was decidedly chilly but once the rain stopped it felt a whole lot better.

We got started shortly after noon in light breeze that built through the afternoon.



Very gusty and shifty conditions challenged the 19 boat fleet, there were many huge gains and losses with each shift. There were a couple capsizes which reportedly were quickly righted.

Jeff and Amy Linton were pretty untouchable, they had an OCS in the first race knocking them out of first place. Harry Carpenter with Bill Ross crewing lead the scoreboard after four races. We are tied with Mark Taylor for second and third. I don't have thec scores so will stop at that.

Donna and Jon are excellent hosts and the whole group here in Jax put together a great hot meal for us chilled sailors.

There will be a throw out with six races so if we get 2 in tomorrow, the whole situation could change.

Flying Scots at the Gator Bowl Preview

Piggy hitched up and ready to leave the house

It is Friday evening and we are checked in to the hotel and have the heat on! WTF! It was a lousy day to travel;

Near Ocala on I-75 is that a motorcycle?

rain the whole way sometimes a little heavy but we encountered no real tie-ups just a little slow going which wasn't so bad.


And we thought traveling in the rain sucked

I guess it was almost 6 pm when we arrived at the club. We dumped the boat and went to Trents for dinner, their specialty is to fry stuff, mostly seafood and cold beer. In attendance were our hosts and fleet captain; Jon Hamilton/Donna Mohr, along with Harry Carpenter/Bill Ross, John Wake/Joe Brake, Amy/Jeff Linton and Kim and me. Others are en route but not in time for dinner, hope thier trip is good.

Early in the week the weekend forecast was fairly good, each day it got a little worse; colder and wetter. This morning the forecast for Saturday had a high of 56 with 100% chance of rain, that will cost us a few boats for sure. This evening the latest forecast is a high of 58 and 50% rain that should end early afternoon. Thats a little better so we'll go with it, and keep the heat on.

Out.

Gator Bowl-Flying Scots-Jacksonville FL

We will post some reports from sunny jacksonville, actually we have had drizzle Friday night but are hoping for sun.

The La Quinta is quite a deal. We booked a room for $39 through Orbitz, normally $39 would raise the red flag, or at least mean some yellow crime scene tape will be involved. Having stayed here last year we knew the place wasn't bad at twice the price. Anyway the room has free wifi, microwave, fridge, coffeemaker, an iron and board (who uses those?) and is clean. I couldn't locate the coin slots on the mattress though so....

If we could just get all the jovial, 3am parking lot hangouts to stop telling jokes and get some sleep it would be ideal.

Saturdays forecast is for clearing and breeze around 8 to 10 so that should work pretty well. Later.

SATURDAY EVENING UPDATE.

In my next life I want to come back as a weather forecaster.

The 11:00 am skippers meeting was held behind the club overlooking the glass smooth St. Johns River. The sky was overcast but last night's rain was gone so that was a step in the right direction. After about an hour shoreside postponement the flag is dropped and we leave the dock in wind averaging about 1 knot. The trip out to the course was slow but the current was helping so we were fairly sure we would actually get there.


Proof that there were actually some puffs...

When the breeze kicked up to 2 knots with gusts to 4 the sequence was underway. The pin was favored to start with and the wind sghifted left during the race so that was the place to be. Ryan Malmgren edged John Damagala followed by us, Jim Egan and Harry Carpenter.


and plenty of glass, Note; Rons new RED paint job.

Shortly after the race concluded the southeasterly shut down, leaving the 19 Scots to drift and socialize. On the bright side the sun was out and the day was shaping up nicely, aside from the breeze. We loitered until about 3:30 when the RC abandoned racing for the day. The current had reversed so it was helping us on the trip back to the club. A westerly appreared long enough to get the fleet back to the club and it shut down.

As always the Rudder Club more than satisfied the racers with an abundence of homemade entrees and deserts. The Florida Gators did their part to entertain the group by defeating top ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship.

We will see what happens tomorrow, 10 am start with a 12:30 limit for the last race. Anybody's game.

SUNDAY UPDATE

Sunday morning was cool and brisk, we were happy to see some breeze at the hotel at 7 am. The sky was clear so it appeared that we were in for a nice day.

The breeze was NNE around 10 but shifty and gusty. The current was flowing to the north against the breeze. For the day I think there were 3 general recalls and quite a few individual recalls as well. We ended up getting in 3 races for the day so we had a lot of starting practice.


The Winners! Ryan and Carrie

Ryan Malmgren with Carrie Carpenter crewing won the regatta with very consistent results and 9 points. Close behind was John and Susan Damagala 11 pts, Jim Egan and Richard (reigning FL District Champs.) were 3 rd with 14 pts, we were forth with 18 and Judy Hanlon was fifth with 30 pts.

Full results will be posted soon along with updated FL District Standings.

P.S. Wally Gator returns to Florida!

Flying Scots at the Gator Bowl

Well, this site seems to be having issues. I had added a post earlier which seems to be lost in cyberspace so here is the important stuff;

Results and Fl District Standings are up on the District site http://www.fssa.com/fldist/news.htm

Gator bowl site has detailed results http://gatorbowl.home.comcast.net/~gatorbowl/OneDesign07.htm#scot

Maybe the lost post will become found and re-appear...