#247 SOUTHERN BAY RACING NEWS YOU CAN USE
on Monday May 2, 2005 03:47PM
MOTHER'S DAY is this coming Sunday, May 8th.
Take her sailing - you bring all the goodies and treat her like Queen of the
Nile!
Annapolis NOOD: Five southern Bay boats
went to the 2005 Annapolis NOOD Regatta and of the five, Case
Whittemore's Patriot placed highest and collected silverware
in his class. Patriot finished 3rd in a class of 7,
dominated by J/29 class president, John Edwards' (Solomons, MD) Rhumb
Punch. In the 23 boat J/24 class, Mike
Veraldi, Quicky, finished 11th, and in the J/22s (38 boats),
Scott Batchelor finished 12th. Dennis
Hannick, Radio Flyer, was 5th in the 8 boat Tripp 26 fleet,
and Pam Burdett, Polar Express, was 24th in the J/105
30 boat fleet.
In case you had not noticed, there is a 210 foot ketch
docked at Norfolk's Waterside (temporarily).
Felicita-West is up from the Caribbean and will be spending, according
to skipper Jim Livingston, 4-5 weeks in a local yard undergoing
maintenance. After that, she'll head for the Med where she is managed by
the Sparkman & Stephens charter group. Felicita carries
a crew of 12 and takes up to 12 passengers. If price for a week long
charter concerns you, this is one of those boats about which you probably should
not ask!! But, she is worth the trip to downtown Norfolk for a dockside
gander. Better hurry though; she will head to the nearby yard any day
now.
Coming Up This Week: Saturday,
May 7, Yankee Point YC Spring Regatta.
Update on Gary Jobson: All of those
wondering about Gary's well-being can be especially happy for him this
morning. Seems he's doing pretty good. Gary won the Etchells Fleet at the
Annapolis NOOD.
Expatriate homie, Frank Schinco
(Avanti, Taylor 40, then ID35), who now hails from Saginaw, Michigan,
is quoted in a Sailing World article (May issue) on the "comeback" of
the 1D35 class. There are two other very notable
southern Bay homies who sailed very successfully in the 1D35 class in its heyday
(2000 - 2002) - Sledd Shelhorse (Avalanche) and
Nick Worth (Widowmaker) brought home their shares of
silver.
Word is that by now, most Chesapeake Bay
J/105s (with shallow-draft keels) will have swapped out their old keels
for deep keels favored off the Chesapeake. The change preserves re-sale
value and, most say, makes for a much better
racer. Thirty J/105s raced at this past
weekend's NOOD Regatta in Annapolis.
When racers hit Block Island Race Week (June 19 -
24) this summer, they'll see the new (to the USA) IRC handicap
rating system at work. BIRW says any boat with a PHRF rating of
90 or faster will be racing IRC. And, if the boat's rating is 91-175, it
can race PHRF, but to be scored for the overall trophy in the "Around the
Island Race", a boat will need to provide an IRC certificate.
Media Watch: Great coverage in
Friday's SPORTS SECTION of The Daily Press
(Newport News, VA) on the Hampton University Sailing Team. It
would be nice to have a sailing - racing article on a regular basis (like every
Thursday) in the local papers like the DP, Norfolk's Virginian
Pilot, and the Richmond Times Dispatch. Call them and let
them know your feelings. Give them positive reasons for coverage
of your sport. DP: (757)
247-4630; VP: (757) 446-2366; TD: (804)
649-6341
Expect Fireworks! There will be
fireworks Saturday of Southern Bay Race Week. However, these
fireworks will not be during the racing. They come courtesy of the
Hampton Blackbeard Pirate Festival which is happening a block away for
regatta headquarters the same weekend on the Hampton River. More
fun! 2005 Southern Bay Race Week (Friday - Sunday, June 3-5
); for info check out the web pages at www.hamptonyc.com
(click on the SBRW logo). Formula for fun: 6 great races + 3
great parties = an event you must not miss.
There's a popular website that several racers are checking out
these days. SailFlow provides a computer model wind
report/forecast for very specific, as in Hampton Flats, Willoughby
Spit, 3rd (CBBT) Island, etc., areas. See the info and options at www.SailFlow.com
Tomorrow is the day, IF you are one of the ones all
set to attend the CCV "Learn to Crew on a Racing Sailboat"
Course. If you are just now getting your act together in this
regard, call right now, Neal Garrett at (757) 245-2665.
Classroom session every Tuesday evening in May; on-the-water (on a racing
sailboat) every Wednesday evening in May. First set of sessions is
tomorrow - a very few spots are still available - call Neal now!
Twenty+ skippers and crew attended the inaugural CCV
New Racing Skippers Clinic on Saturday. The morning classroom session went
well with Bill Peach and John McCarthy
instructing. However, the 3 foot chop and howling 20+ gusts from the SSW
changed the planned afternoon on-the-water session from a learning environment
to something along "survival test" lines. The participants, guiding
seasoned skippers, and race committee decided not to risk breaking people or
boats and returned to the docks. Kudos to Ben
Cuker, for developing the clinic concept and honcho-ing the entire
event.