Waypoint Sailing News January 2015

NAUTICAL NEWS FOR NORTH & CENTRAL FLORIDA SAILORS

LET’S GET IT STARTED IN 2015!

PATRICK DANIEL & CREW BEAT TOWARDS THE WEATHER MARK AT THE 2014 LMSA KETTLE CUP REGATTA ON LAKE MONROE

SOME OF WHAT’S INSIDE: NEW FEATURE: A PRO’S SURVEY ADVICE SJ21 KETTLE CUP CLASS RECAP HAPPY NEW YEAR! A LOOK BACK AT 2014 IN PICTURES DEAN’S WEATHER, ADM MUDGEON, CLUB NEWS, AND A LOT MORE A Game On! News Publication

100’s of photos are available for free on Waypoint news.com.

Happy New Year! Hopefully you had a good 2014 on and off the water. We are excited at what the future holds for sailing in north and central Florida. That being said, you may notice that this issue is a little thinner than usual.

Frankly, with the holidays and all, there just was not that much happening sailing-wise in December to report on. At Waypoint we are determined to stick to sailing news and stories that are pertinent to Florida sailors and to avoid fluff just to fill pages. There is quite a bit on tap in the coming months as the sailing season gets into swing so we will be back to full size in February for sure.

One event that did draw a crowd was the LMSA Kettle Cup held in early December in Sanford. The regatta had a record number of entries. We have a report, results and photos on page 8.

Key West Race Week is this month and we will cover all north and central Florida boats who make the trip. If you are planning on going please let us know. Closer to home, IRYC will host the Catalina 22 State Championship on January 24-25 in Cocoa. Waypoint will be on the water for that one. LESC will host the 7th MC Scow Train Wreck Regatta and the 16th Wayfarer Mid-Winter Championship starting on January 30th. We will be in Eustis for that too.

Nautical NEWS For North & Central florida sailors Publisher/Editor Bob Seay Reporters Leslie Roberts Ben Seay Gayle Woerning Contributing Columnists Willie Blevins Dean Vanderbleek Robert Beringer Graphics Rusty Fedsovich Distribution Ben Seay Wendy Waters

P.O. Box 2029 Daytona Beach, FL 32115 Tel. (386) 868-5910

WAYPOINT is also published online at waypointnews.com

Speaking of Eustis, LESC has two more big regattas planned with the 45th George Washington Birthday Regatta on February 14th & 15th and the MC Scow Mid-Winter Festival March 12-14. Just up the road, the Mount Dora Yacht Club will host the 61st Annual Mount Dora Regatta on March 28th and 29th..

Looking out a little bit more, SAYC has big things planned for St. Augustine Race Week scheduled 9-12 April coinciding with the city’s 450th year birthday celebration. There will be a Junior Invitational 420 regatta inshore as well as a number of big boat races offshore. There will also be numerous shore-side events going on all week for racers and spectators. Also in April SYC will be back with what we think is one of the best regattas anywhere with the Lipton Cup over the weekend of the 17th through the 19th.

If you did not race in New Smyrna last year you really missed out.

At the northern end of Waypoint’s coverage area, the Rudder Club in Jacksonville will run the River City Regatta in early March and then team up with PYC to host the venerable Mug Race which will be run for the 62nd time over the first weekend in May. If your resolutions this year did not include more sailing then you need to get your priorities in order. Remember that no one has ever layed

Regatta Results can be emailed to racing@waypointnews.com.

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This is Volume I- Issue 10

on their death bed and wished that they had spent less time on the water. If you are a sailor who does not race you ought to give racing a try.

Most clubs have set up friendly cruising classes which don’t require you to have a pristine bottom and space-aged sails to be competitive.

We sail right on through the winter months when our brethren up north have hauled their boats out of the water for the season. Sure we can have some chilly days and have to take some precautions when we head out, as Dean’s weather column highlights this month, but we can still head out. That is a cool thing.

Sail Fast! Bob

Spider Pig sailing fast on Lake Monroe.

Send letters to editor@waypointnews.com

RACING NEWS North & Central Florida Regatta Report: There was not a whole lot happening on the water over the holidays but LMSA hosted the Annual Kettle Cup on Lake Monroe. We have an on the water report of what went in in the San Juan 21 fleet, page 8.

CLUB NEWS Club Scuttlebutt: What is going on at the clubs, page 11.

MAINTENANCE Marine Surveys: Professional John Gallagher explains the benefits of a marine survey, page 5.

DEPARTMENTS Admiral Mudgeon: Advice for light air racing, page 3.

Weather: Dean talks hypothermia...in Florida? page 10.

Photos: A brief look back at 2014, page 2.

Classifieds: Have something to buy or sell? Page 7.

Schurr Shot: The best of many great shots, back cover.

Zero Gusting To Three Dear Admiral Mudgeon

Did I mention concentrate? The next step is learning when and how much to shift from no drag to more power. Then there is tuning. Think I’m going to go sailing, more later maybe…

Admiral Mudgeon

In lake sailing we are often subjected to very light if nearly non-existent Send your questions to Admmudgeon@waypointnews.com, I’ve got an wind. Do you have any tricks that will help me go in really light air? answer for everything.

NoGo Dear NoGo,

Light Air

by Willie Blevins

There are a lot of necessary procedures for sailing in nothing or near nothing. Speed is more important than direction, better to go somewhere fast than point in the right direction and sit still. Let the sails out, let the sails find the wind. Sitting on the same side of the boat as the sails will allow gravity to help the sails hang properly. Concentrate. If you get the boat moving, keep the boat moving. Concentrate. Often, small head sails are more effective in light air than large sails. Usually, reducing drag is more important than getting your sails powered up. So, make the sails flat with lots of twist, let the puppies breathe. Anything that slows airflow across the sail, also slows the boat.

Many people used the plastic arrow Windex. I have had terrible luck keeping or using the Windex. So I use a yarn or ribbon on a vhf antennae at the mast head because it does not lie. Concentrate. The Windex is influenced by spider webs, dirt, being out of balance, and more. Worst of all, the Windex lies. It always points somewhere even when there is no wind whatsoever. A yarn will not only give you an accurate direction it will also give you velocity. Concentrate.

Watching for wind on the water, watching for indicators on the shore, smoke, flag motion, etc. may give a clue as to where the wind may be coming from. It is almost always the right choice to sail toward the new wind. Keep the rudder straight as much as possible, move slowly, trim gently, concentrate. Fore and aft trim is critical, reduce the drag, concentrate. Getting the transom out of the water is helpful on most boats but I just learned that the Flying Scott seems to want the bow up more, so talk to the best sailors with your type of boat and see what they do.

Concentrate.

Boat prep is more important in light air also. Again, reduce drag. If the bottom is too slick for a fly to land on, it is almost slick enough. Get the weight out. ( get it out anyway) but at this point we are talking about stocking the cooler with Michelob Ultra instead of Guinness. New sails make a difference in light air as long as they are not too new, smooth is the trick, no wrinkles, no fold lines, NO DRAG.

Be Quiet, don’t move or the cat’s paw will pass you by unattended Whistle, rub the backstay, the sailors equivalent of “spare change?”

When the water looks like a freshly cleaned mirror, light a cigar, blow some bubbles, Adjust the helm for maximum shade Pretend twelve knots of wild-flower fresh breeze is coming in over the quarter and Make the sails believe it.

Light air sailing is what you make of it. Seasoned crews welcome the challenge of making the boat go in in calm conditions. Patience and focus are two key ingredients to successful light air racing.

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The following is a new feature column from contributing author John Gallagher.

John is a professional marine surveyor who will be highlighting important boat maintenance areas that are often overlooked.

Why Do You Need A Marine Survey?

Often I am asked “Why do I need a marine survey?” Marine surveys are needed for a variety of reasons, Condition and Value inspections of a vessel when considering a purchase, Insurance surveys are often required by insurance companies before underwriting the policy, and vessel donations require a Value survey to determine the value of the donation.

One often overlooked reason that a survey can be extremely valuable is simply to assess the current condition of your vessel. The simple truth is that sometimes boat owners become complacent and neglect some necessary maintenance and safety items on their boat, items that can become expensive if not handled properly. Or the dreaded “I did all the work myself” or “My buddy knows a lot about boats” when it comes to repairs or upgrades. Quite often a simple evaluation survey of a vessel will uncover items that boat owners would never think to check on. Marine surveyors undergo constant training and are exposed to a variety of vessels providing an enormous amount of experience. This experience allows them to quickly identify and inform you, the boat owner, of items you may not even take into consideration but are very important. Coast Guard regulations, possible trouble areas on the vessel to keep an eye on, or most importantly – safety deficiencies that can become catastrophic are just a few reasons to hire a surveyor.

Surveys are important, financially, functionally and from a safety standpoint. In the coming months we will discuss the particulars of specific survey types, tips on making sure that your survey goes well, along with suggestions for general items found during a survey that typically come as a surprise to boat owners.

Smooth sailing to all, John John Gallagher is a Surveyor Associate member of SAMS (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors) and a member of ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council). You can learn more about Marine Surveys at BlueSquaredMaritime.com

The author climbs a sailboat mast and checks the rigging for potential trouble spots..

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The 2014 Kettle Cup hosted by the Lake Monroe Sailing Association on Dacember 6 & 7 in Sanford was well attended with 52 boats racing in six differnt classes. Waypoint was fortunate to have contributing writer Willie Blevins racing his own boat in the regatta. Below is his account of what happened on the water in the San Juan 21 class.

SJ21 Racing at the 2014 Kettle Cup By Willie Blevins Somewhat typical of racing on the first weekend in December, the wind was predictably unpredictable.

Saturday, was vacuous, saved only by a great party at the Riverwalk Pizzeria. Sunday the The author & crew dousing the chute wind was 10 knots plus and during action at the 2014 Kettle Cup. forecast to build and veer around noon. Four San Juans made it to the starting area. Our course had the open displacement class and the open planing class.

The first race was discouraging. Bill Holstein’s Black Jack walked away from Randy Pawlowski’s Justice, my boat Juan Too Many and Ross Martin’s Pivot. We had some fun trying to keep Justice covered but did not manage to pass. Black Jack was scored incorrectly with a DNF, but the scores went unchallenged. The second race was better. Juan Too Many had a good start, good speed, height, stayed in phase, a clean spinnaker set and since it was single windward leeward course, it was a quick easy win.

In race three, the challenges of racing a hundred dollar San Juan became evident. On the first leg, the starboard jib block shackle deserted inducing significant unnecessary twist in the jib. Angle and speed suffered, so the windward rounding was not crowded by anyone else in the fleet.

After hoisting the kite we lashed the jib block to the car on the downwind leg. The wind began to shift as predicted. At the leeward mark we doused the chute on the starboard side and I made a poor decision, went to the

Randy Pawlowski’s Justice leads Ross Martin’s Pivot to the windward mark as the breeze builds during racing on Sunday.

wrong side through the leeward gate. The lashing came apart halfway up the leg so we were low and slow again. In addition, it was distracting enough to keep us from repacking the chute for a port side launch. The second downwind to the finish line was leisurely without the spinnaker and long enough to have time to be really self deprecating. We finished DFL. The forecast shift was complete and pressure was at least 15 knots with higher gusts. Race committee adjusted the course which gave us enough time to repack the chute and make a better repair to the jib block/car connection. After a close start, we were hiked to our max, with the leeward rail in the water. Juan Too Many shuddered as we pounded about every third wave. Compared to the competition we made great time to the windward mark and rounded in the lead. Justice rounded second and struggle with the chute but did get it to fly. I went wing and wing, thinking I had enough wind to stay ahead. Justice got past us and rounded a couple of lengths ahead. Black Jack gained but we stayed in front.

At the leeward gate we followed Justice around the starboard gate end.

Black Jack went to the port end. Up wind we spanked Justice with better speed and height. Black Jack did well by taking the other side and we rounded nearly together. I don’t remember whether we rounded ahead of Black Jack but because we had not used the kite in the first leg it was ready for a clean set and it worked well. The leg was a nail biter and we finished overlapped, edging out Black Jack by a second, for a second place trophy, with two wins a third and a DFL. It was very competitive, fun and exciting.

So much so I may spend another hundred bucks on Juan Too Many.

LMSA 2014 Kettle Cup Overall Results (First 4 Places) San Juan 21 (5 entries) 1. Justice Randy Pawlowsi 2. Juan Too Many Willie Blevins 3. Pivot Ross Martin 4. Black Jack Bill Holstein Open Planing (8 entries) 1. Dream Chaser Herb Maguire 2. Raider X Dave Ellis 3. Radio Flyer Jim Davis 4. No Not Yet Terry Warren Open Displacement (11 entries) 1. Spider Pig Patrick Gudat 2. Mercury Rising Brad Ruff 3. Point Blank Ed Sims 4. Show Me Andy Forrest Lightning (7 entries) 1. Something Good Bill Mauk 2. No Name William Faude 3. Rather Be Lucky Laura Jeffers 4. No Name Fisk Hayden Sunfish (17 entries) 1. Gail Heausler DIYC 2. Joe Blouin DIYC 3. Jim Richter GL 4. Branden Nathe HSA Windmill (4 entries) 1. Pig Headed Lon Ethington 2. Bella Colin Browning 3. Go Blue Ralph Sponar III 4. Elvis Lisa Fath

1-2-1-2 2-1-4-1 3-4-2-4 6-3-3-2

7 8 13 14

1-1-1-3 6-5-3-2 2-3-5-9 9-8-2-1

6 16 19 20

2-1-1-2 1-2-3-1 3-3-4-5 12-4-2-3

6 7 15 21

1-1-2-2-1 3-3-1-1-2 2-2-3-3-3 4-4-4-5-5

7 10 13 22

3-1-7-1-1 1-2-14-2-3 7-3-6-7-4 4-9-2-6-7

13 22 27 28

1-3-1-3-1 2-2-2-2-3 3-4-3-1-2 4-1-4-4-4

9 11 13 17

Hypothermia, Florida Winter’s Subtle Danger

By Dean Vanderbleek

“It is impossible to get hypothermic in cold water unless you are wearing flotation, because without flotation – you won’t live long enough to become hypothermic.”

-Mario Vittone, Maritime Risk Consultant Hypothermia, a rapid and progressive mental and physical collapse that accompanies the lowering of body temperature, occurs when one’s body loses heat faster than it can produce it. Cold water is usually defined as water less than 70F. Central Florida’s inland and coastal water temperatures average in the low 60’s from late December, through January into early February, however, during extended periods of extreme cold, estuarine water temperatures in the 40’s have been observed as far south as Titusville. Hypothermia, a serious condition that affects major organs such as the brain, heart and lungs, can lead to permanent damage or even death.

It is a very real threat during the winter in Florida in a man overboard situation, even on a warm and sunny day. Immersion in 60F water for as little as one hour can lead to exhaustion, followed by unconsciousness and death.

Hypothermia Facts A person’s body temperature needs to only fall 3F (from 98.6F to 95.6F) to induce conditions favoring hypothermia. The rate of heat loss when immersed in cold water varies greatly from person to person.

Metabolism rate, body type, and overall health all factor in how long one can survive.

Water conducts body heat away 26 times faster than air of the same temperature. The cold water rapidly causes extremities to become numb, weakening the ability of muscles to work effectively.

When the water is extremely cold in Florida (under 50 degrees F) there are significant physiological reactions that occur. First, you can’t breathe.

The body responds quickly to cold water immersion with cold shock response by increasing heart rate and blood pressure, uncontrolled gasping, and sometimes uncontrolled movement. Lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes depending on a number of factors, the cold shock response can be deadly. In fact, of the people who die in cold water, it is estimated that 20% die in the first two minutes. They inhale ice cold water in that first uncontrolled gasp, panic and drown, or if they have heart problems the cold shock may trigger a heart attack.

The lack of ability to swim, called cold incapacitation, is the second stage of cold water immersion. In approximately 10 minutes, The effective use of fingers, arms and legs for any meaningful movement is lost. Concentration on self-rescue during this time is imperative. Swim failure inevitably occurs within these critical minutes, and if in the water without a life jacket, drowning will likely occur. Lacking adequate insulation, the body will attempt to make its own. Long before core temperature drops a degree, the veins in extremities will constrict, resulting in loss of ability to control hands, and the muscles in the arms and legs will quit working well enough to stay above water. Without some form of flotation, in 30 minutes or less the even the best swimmer will drown. Without experiencing the drop in core temperature, that by definition is hypothermic death, over 50% of the people who die in cold water die from drowning perpetuated by cold incapacitation.

Symptoms of Hypothermia and Treatment If a victim has hypothermia when pulled from the water, he has an 80 percent chance of surviving. Recognition of the symptoms of hypothermia, which can range from mild to severe, will help initiate critical treatment quickly. Continual shivering, shallow breathing, poor coordination, increasingly numb hands and feet, dazed and confused

Immersion hypothermia occurs faster than standard hypothermia as water conducts heat away from the body much faster than air.

behavior- including memory loss, slurred and slow speech, hallucinations, decreased attention span, and change in personality.

Rescuers can lessen the effect by handling the body as gently as possible. Get the victim inside, out of the elements, and remove wet clothing. Dry victim and carefully wrap in warm/dry blankets or clothing.

Warm the trunk first, not the extremities. Warming the hands and feet first can lead to shock. While the heart will work hard as cold blood from the arms and legs moves back into the warmer core of the body, gradual warming is best. Never immerse the victim in warm water or apply dry heat directly to skin. Give the victim a warm drink, if conscious. Avoid caffeine or alcohol. Keep the body temperature up. Once the body temperature begins to rise, keep the person dry and wrapped in a warm blanket. Wrap the person's head and neck, as well. Follow up at the hospital. Health care providers will continue warming efforts, including providing intravenous fluids and warm, moist oxygen.

Hypothermia Statistics Approximately 600 people die each year in the U.S. from hypothermia due to cold water immersion and temperature exposure. Deaths in relatively warm Florida averaged 6 per year during the same period.

Examining the time period from 1979 through 1999, 124 deaths were observed from excessive cold. The number of temperature-related deaths during this period in Florida is greater than those from hurricanes, tornadoes, and even lightning.

While the distribution of heat-related deaths from year to year is relatively uniform, cold deaths are more concentrated in certain years. If the cold deaths are classified by winter seasons that have significant freeze events rather than by year (Figure 4), the distribution of cold deaths is even more concentrated. The winters of 1983-84, 1984-85, and 1989-90 accounted for 65 of the 124 cold deaths. Severe freezes occurred in Florida during each of these winters.

Cold deaths occurred in the months from November through February, with December recording the most deaths with 53. The coldest month of the year in Florida is normally January, but during the period from 19791999 cold snaps often occurred in December, with abrupt change from milder fall weather possibly contributing to victims being caught Pets on boats and near the water can suffer from hypothermia too. Take unprepared for the cold. precautions during winter months to ensure that your pets stay safe.

Cold-related deaths show opposite correlation to age, with the majority and 32 degrees, respectively. Over North and Central Florida temperatures of cold-related deaths occurring in those older than 60. were even lower, but not all areas had all-time record lows. Temperatures Hypothermia Takeaways reached modern day record lows of 10 degrees at Pensacola and 20 Remember the steps to survive cold water immersion: Don’t panic in degrees at Orlando. the first minute. The average person has 10 minutes of physical ability to A U. S. Department of Agriculture report said the following crop loss: save himself, followed by 1 hour of consciousness to be rescued.

Citrus 35%, Vegetables 95-100%, Commercial Flowers 50-75%, Surviving the first stage of cold water immersion is about getting breathing Permanent Pasture Land 50%, Sugar Cane 40% In addition, there was a under control, realizing that the stage will pass, and staying calm until severe loss to the tropical fish industry. It is estimated the freeze cost the rescue.

Florida economy $2 billion (1977) dollars.

A flotation device increases the survival time in cold water by decreasing January 20 1983 – Windstorm - A strong low pressure system developed the amount of movement necessary to stay afloat as well as helping to in the western Gulf of Mexico and moved rapidly eastward during the insulate against heat loss. One of the primary reasons given by night of the 19th and the early morning of the 20th. As the Gulf low recreational boaters when asked why they don’t wear a life jacket is that deepened and moved east, a very strong pressure gradient developed they can swim. When the water is cold, wearing a PFD can mean the between high pressure to the north. difference between rescue and death. Not even the best swimmers can Strong winds hit the western Panhandle at the time of high tide early swim for very long in cold water. on the 20th, causing widespread coastal flooding that receded rapidly as In conclusion, while it is always good practice to wear flotation when boating for a variety of reasons, it is a life and death matter when the water the winds subsided. Schools in Gulf and Franklin Counties were closed due to the high winds and flooding. is cold.

A yacht race from Fort Lauderdale to Key West was severely disrupted January Averages by winds gusting to 70 knots and seas higher than 20 feet offshore. Many of the 169 vessels entered in the race turned back to shore, and the Coast Daily high/low temperatures: 68-71F / 46-49F Guard helped up to 30 vessels back to harbor, including aerial rescue of Average rainfall: 3.1” several crew members.

Average wind speed/direction: NNW/N/NNE 7-9 mph A woman was killed when her car was apparently blown into a guard Notable January Weather Events rail on the Florida Turnpike in Broward County and flipped over. Another January 11-12, 1982 - Statewide - Arctic airmass behind a strong cold fatality occurred when a car skidded on wet pavement and hit a pedestrian. front brought a Severe Freeze to south central Florida. Temperatures Most of the reported injuries were minor and were the result of automobile dropped to 14 degrees at Tallahassee, 18 at Gainesville, 23 at Orlando, 17 accidents on rain slick streets. Minor wind damage was reported across at Ocala and 19 at Avon Park on the morning of the 12th. the state and was the result of trees crashing into power lines, trailer January 12 1886 - Statewide - Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 12 homes, windows, etc. High waves and beach erosion also damaged homes, degrees at Tallahassee, 16 at Gainesville, 18 at Ocala and 19 at Orlando businesses, and piers along beachfront areas. reported.

January 27-28 1986 - Statewide - A cold outbreak over Florida was January 18-21 1977 - Statewide - Severe Cold Outbreak of Arctic air, preceded by strong, gusty winds on the 27th. A three year old girl was climaxing one of the coldest winters ever recorded in the eastern United killed on I-95 near Palm Beach Gardens when the wind broke loose a sign States, swept into Florida. Snow fell at Miami Beach and Palm Beach and hurled it into the car on the 27th. Temperatures dipped into the 20s over was reported as far south as Homestead- the most southerly point to much of north and central Florida on the morning of the 28th. Melbourne receive snow in Florida history. A severe freeze affected all of the State's and Orlando reported 26 degrees and Daytona Beach 22. Space Shuttle citrus and vegetable crops.

"Challenger" exploded on the morning of the 28th.

In south Florida agricultural areas, the freeze was one of the most Additional Links severe of this century. On the night of January 19-20, temperatures My regularly updated surf forecast (Cape Canaveral to Jacksonville) dropped to 27 degrees at the Florida Agricultural Experiment station in wind/wave forecast page (updated daily), with additional weather Homestead, but some farmers in this area reported temperatures near 20 forecasting links: http://surf-station.com/north-florida-surf-forecast/ degrees. Temperatures were below freezing for 10 to 14 hours, and 28 degrees or colder for 4 to 8 hours. An unusually heavy frost accompanied I welcome input! Please feel free to send questions or comments, submit weather quotes, and share your local weather knowledge to these freezing temperatures and extended to the immediate coast. Both dean@waypointnews.com West Palm Beach and Miami Beach recorded all-time lows of 27 degrees

In addition to the sailing events, St. Augustine Race Week includes after-race parties for racers and guests along the downtown waterfront and St. Augustine Yacht Club including live music and catered meals.

Many of the competitor yachts will be docked at the downtown City Marina and available for casual inspection by the public.

The best in one St. Augustine Race Week is a descendant of the former First Coast design sailboat racing will Offshore Challenge (2005-2014). The new name reflects the expansion of come to Central Florida sponsorship to include all nine member clubs of the First Coast Sailing January 30 to February 1, Association and its now-official home base in the Ancient City. when the Wayfarer Class Chairman Guy Anderson explains, “It’s a perfect location for this regatta.

Mid-Winter Sailboat It has easy access to the ocean, a great fleet of local racers and plenty of Regatta is held on Lake docking for visiting yachts, not to mention all the great restaurants and Eustis. attractions of St. Augustine itself. And we’re especially happy to be part Called “The Gathering of the city’s auspicious 450th birthday year.” of Champions” by Al Race Week begins Wednesday, April 8th with a competitors meeting Schonborn of the Canadian at St. Augustine Yacht Club. Offshore racing begins Thursday April 9th online sailing magazine “The Whiffle”, in addition to sailors from all and continues with a series of races ending on Saturday, April 11. Small over the United States and Canada, the participants include the current U.S. Champions, the 2013 and the 2014 North American Champions, and boat racing downtown begins Saturday and ends Sunday the 12th. Big boat sailors wishing to register for the race are invited to contact Adam the reigning World Champions.

Norwood at ahnorwood@comcast.net or 904-398-7343. Junior sailors The races will be conducted on Lake Eustis from the Lake Eustis Sailing Club, 1310 N. County Road 452, Eustis. Although the races will who wish to participate in Optis or 420’s should contact Jack Feeney at captjack@bamvest.com or 904-568-8405. be visible from the Eustis City dock and the Sailing Club dock, many private power boats are expected from the Harris Chain of Lakes area. A SYC Sailor’s Banquet spectator boat will also leave from the Club dock.

Every November the Smyrna Yacht Club holds its fun, informal celebration HRYC Presents Year End Awards of the sailing year.

The Halifax River Yacht Club 2014 racing year ended with an The Old Men of the Sea meet every awards dinner hosted by HRYC on November 16. Awards were Wednesday throughout the year with presented to the top Junior sailors, Commodore’s Cup Series winners and the intention of going sailing. We are the Old Timer’s Race. Some of the boats receiving awards were always full of good intentions, but do Obsession, skippered by Norm Charlton, Patrick Fischer-Carne’s Perpetual Motion and Brad Opreneau’s YaYa. In addition to the awards occasionally end up going to breakfast Phil Cornett (center) accepts presentation, plans were also made for the upcoming sailing season. For instead. We try to race every 1st Wednesday of the month with results the Spice Cup Trophy. more information about racing at HRYC contact Dave Huff at all counting towards the Spice Cup. sailatlantic@conch-house.com.

Phil Cornett and Sailaway has won this cup more times than any other Skipper Norm sailor in SYC and is seen here at the 2014 presentation.

Charlton and The SYC Sailors are another group within the club which promote sailing the crew from in the club owned Precision 15 boats. We now have 5 boats and compete his Morgan 41, Obsession, on two Saturdays per month January through May for the Spring Series crew accept Cup. At least one other Saturday is devoted to just having sailing fun, their award for with relay races, slaloms and Chicken Island roundings. winning 1st Phil Cornett has dominated this series for a few years now and took the place in the 2014 prize yet again.

Commodore’s Cup Series for The Banquet is also an opportunity to just have fun with several 2014. video/music presentations which celebrate all of our activities which includes the sail training courses for children and members. This year the sailors acted as Race Committee for the Cocktail Boats, hand built, wooden boats, 8ft long with 8 HP motors. This enables us to have even more fun with video and present the Navigational Aid Award to past commodore Kevin Wilke for attacking channel markers with his boat.

We normally present the Chicken Island awards at this event but due St. Augustine Race Week to the weather the race was not run until November 22nd. We can now report that we had a challenging race won by none other than Phil St. Augustine Race Week is a brand new Spring sailing event Cornett. combining large-boat ocean racing and spectator-friendly small boat Smyrna Yacht Club has had a great sailing year taking trophies in the racing along the St. Augustine waterfront. The four-day regatta, April HRYC Commodores Cup and the St Augustine Dash as well as 9-12, 2015 coincides with St. Augustine’s 450th birthday and celebrates organizing 3 very successful regattas; The Lipton Cup, The Solstice the first city’s colorful maritime heritage. Sailors from Savannah to Daytona are scheduled to race offshore in yachts from 24 to 50 feet long. Regatta and the .Brewers Cup. Arrangements for the 2015 Lipton Cup on April 17th – 19th are well in hand.

The downtown races will feature a fleet of junior sailors in Optimus Prams and 420 dinghies.

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Wayfarer MidWinters On Lake Eustis

Skipper Jim Davis sailing Radio Flyer out of CFYC eyes the weather mark as his crew eases the headsail preparing for the rounding at the 2014 LMSA Kettle Cup on Lake Monroe. Radio Flyer would go on to a very respectable 3rd place finish.

There are more pictures of this regatta and others on Facebook and waypointnews.com.

Willie Blevins is a Central Florida based sailor who has sailed and taught sailing for a long time on a wide variety of boats.

He has a knack for translating what most of us feel when sailing to words on paper.

Currently he races his San Juan 21 with the LMSA on Lake Monroe. You can read more of his musings on his blog at http://sailorsboatyard.com.