- Local News for Southern Sailors - January 2002 Next Story
Melbourne's regatta week has something for everyone
By Stu Shadbolt
| Melbourne, Florida, has a race week. Is it just like Key West's famous international winter regatta? |
Not exactly. But eight days of racing activity in mid-October sure beats the standard weekend around the buoys.
Melbourne Yacht Club's Dave Noble—with flocks of club members on his team—had envisioned an extended fall regatta long ago. In this millennium year they pulled it off with a flair even the Key West organizers could have admired.
The events opened Sunday, October 21, and the Indian River was frosted with white caps left from a cold front that moved in the night before. A heavy chop plus southern winds honking at 20 knots with higher gusts were less than ideal conditions for the regatta's scheduled dinghy races. No matter. Twenty-three entrants whose motto could have been "no guts, no glory" ventured forth when knock-downs and belly-tightening hiking were the order of the day.
The fleet separated into six classes with five Lasers, five Sunfish, three Force Fives, three multihulls, five in Open Portsmouth, and one Optimist pram.
Warrick Smith, at six-foot-three and 230 pounds, had an easier job than most keeping his Laser flat and took line honors. John MacNeil, whose home is within sight of the course, used his home court advantage to take the gold among the Force Fives. Dave Silverman won among the Sunfish. Dave Andrews' Hobie 16 took first in the beach cats, and Michael Barile, with his sister, Elizabeth, won in the Portsmouth class. Robert Tottenham, an 11-year-old student of Dave Noble's junior sailing program, was given a special award for his willingness to try sailing his Opti in those tough conditions. He was, however, convinced by his mentor to return to shore before the first flag went up.
 Jim Strachan photos 1. Warrick Smith 2. Greg Apotsos 3. Jim Miller, 4. Jim McTavish 5. Pat Reilly 6. Lachlan Smith Force Fives 1. John MacNeill 2. Paul Alexy 3. Sherry Beckett Sunfish 1. Dave Silverman 2. Andy Burke 3. Derek Bowden 4. Michael Grayson 5. Bridget Cooper Multihulls 1. Dave Andrews, Hobie 16 2. Marlene Sassaman, International 21 3. Dan Smith, Hobie Getaway Open Portsmouth 1. Michael Barile, O'Day Daysailer 2. Jerry Butz, Precision 15 3. John Drawe, Raider 16 4. Mark Strauchman, Sandollar 5. Paul Lindenberg, Moth
The next night MYC member Gary Smith presented a seminar on "How To Win On the Indian River." He ought to know. Smith, in his Lindenberg 28 Five Speed, is the winningest skipper along the Space Coast. Earlier this year he and his sons Warrick and Lachlan, plus other crew, took the boat across the Gulf Stream and came home with trophies as overall winners of Regatta Time in Abaco.
Smith, a native of Australia, stressed the basics: preparation, clear air starts, wind shifts caused by shorelines, sea breezes, short-sheeting on reaches, and unflinching focus. The affable Aussie's closing comment was, "It's a game of boat lengths."
Wednesday, Oct. 24, MYC hosted an "Evening with Gary Jobson" who was flown in for the occasion from his home in Annapolis. More than 150 sailors turned out for his presentation, which included short films on the Olympics in Sydney, Polar sailing and, of course, the America's Cup past and future.
The start of the next defense on the Huraki Gulf is less than 10 months away. Jobson surprised some by predicting that New Zealand's "Black Ships" may not prevail in 2003. The world class sailor and former crewman on a winning America's Cup team cited four reasons for his fearless forecast:
 |
 Fast Lane works downwind at Melbourne Yacht Club's Fall Regatta Week Jobson said that Team Dennis Conner, although the man himself will not be on board, has a good shot at bringing the Cup up as he did in Freemantle in 1987. "And besides," Jobson added, "Team Dennis Conner will be all Americans. That's the way it should be." Jobson is adamant that America's Cup teams should be made up solely of citizens of the country they represent. That's how the world's longest competition began and remained for 132 years.
Thursday night some adults got to play with the kids' toys. A short series of heats around buoys set in Melbourne Harbor allowed grown-ups to try sailing the MYC's fleet of Optimist prams. Twenty good sports gave the little boats a try. All had a hilarious time, including spectators. When Warrick Smith boarded a tiny pram, someone observed that he didn't get IN the boat, he put it on. At the end of the evening Hasty Miller was crowned King of the Prams.
"First time in a pram, Hasty?" someone asked.
"Heck, no, I had one of these as a kid."
"How long ago was that?"
"About a half century."
Warming up for the final weekend's serious racing, the regatta threw in a "no counter" Friday night reverse handicap race for anyone who wanted to tune their boat...sixteen skippers did. By the time the fleet began the second of two triangles, it was so dark on the river only those who had put the small marks in their GPS systems knew where the course was.
Overheard commentary across the black surface of the river included not only shouts of mild profanity directed at the darkness but also, "Is that the mark?" followed by "Hell, no, that's a crab pot," and "Get that damn flashlight out of my eyes!" and "Just follow the stern light ahead,"and "WHAT stern light...?"
Jim Miller, in his lightning quick Beneteau 38 Sea Turtle, led the fleet across the finish and back into a well-lighted Melbourne Harbor. Jim was also the big winner among the cruisers in this year's Abaco race week.
Forty-two skippers and their crews got down to some hard-core PHRF racing on the weekend. Mother Nature smiled on the fleet with overcast, but rainless skies and northeast winds that peaked no higher than 15 knots Saturday. Sunday was a different story.
Thanks to a number of out-of-towners—some from the Tampa Bay area, some from Jacksonville, and some from points south—the race committee was able to organize four fleets. Five SR Max sailed one-design, as did five Catalina 22s. Six boats sailed in the non-spinnaker fleet and another ten flew chutes. The courses were laid out in triangles and windward/leeward legs, and the competition was as tight as a good day of match racing. A happy but tired crowd jammed the MYC clubhouse Saturday night for an abundant Italian feast.
Sunday's forecast called for 10-15 knots from the northeast with frequent showers. With the showers came short-lived, squall-strength gusts. Those who started with their largest headsails were overpowered when the rain blew through. A few smaller boats nearly lost it under spinnaker, but there were no capsizes...at least none reported.
A clubhouse full of soggy, smiling skippers and crew crowded around the awards ceremony. They appeared united in their opinion that Melbourne's first race week was a winner and worth repeating.
Brad Kadau of St. Petersburg won the Bert McAllister Trophy for the lowest corrected time in the PHRF fleet with his SR Max Changes in L'Attidude. For his successful participation in the most events during the race week, Warrick Smith was selected Sailor of the Week. Jim Miller and his crew on Sea Turtle were awarded Boat of the Week honors.
PHRF Racing Oct. 26- 27 SR Max 1. Changes in L'Attitude, Brad Kadau 2. Slot Machine, Greg Kowalski 3. Tug, Frank Zioilko 4. Slippery When Wet, Don Midgett 5. Chainsaw, Mark Lipkus Catalina 22 1. Flip, Flop and Fly, Don Lasky 2. Lil Flash, Alan Jepson 3. Detour, Ray Laguna 4. Mercury Rising, Brad Ruffe 5. Jagged Edge, Dick King PHRF Non-Spinnaker 1. Sea Turtle, Beneteau 38, Jim Miller 2. Maverick, Hunter 28.5, Rick Crockett 3. Nordic star, J/30, Rob Van Name 4. Sleighride, J/30, Jerry Ross 5. Yankee Rebel, Islander 30, Stu Shadbolt 6. Marathon, Beneteau 35.5, Steve Bell PHRF Spinnaker 1. Five Speed, Lindenberg 28, Warrick & Lachlan Smith 2. Max Q, J/24, Patti Massey 3. Luff Affair, Laser 28, Jim Boyd 4. Animation, Melges 24, Amy Lacy 5. Fast Lane, Lindenberg 28, Sherry Beckett 6. Dragon Lady, Wavelength 24, Jim Parker 7. Skimmer, Nigh Wind 35, Hasty Miller 8. Eraser, Melges 24, Bob Sowden 9. Freebird 2, J/24, David Summers 10. Blue Lou, Pearson 33, Jerry Butz
|
Copyright © 2001 Southwinds Media.
All rights reserved. 12.30.01