Southwindsfebruary2010

SOUTHWINDS News & Views for Southern Sailors

Bringing the Wok Onboard St. Augustine Yacht Club Pearson 28 Review

February 2010 For Sailors — Free…It’s Priceless

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SOUTHWINDS February 2010

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SOUTHWINDS NEWS & VIEWS

FOR

SOUTHERN SAILORS

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Editorial: The Free Table

By Steve Morrell

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Letters You Wouldn’t Believe

13

Southern Regional Monthly Weather and Water Temperatures

14

Bubba Fashions a Meatchopper

By Morgan Stinemetz

17

Short Tacks: Sailing News and Events Around the South

26

Miami Strictly Sail Boat Show Preview and Seminars

28

Our Waterways: Issues and News About the Waters We Boat In

36

Boat Review: Pearson 28

By Greg Herschell

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St. Augustine Yacht Club

By Dave Montgomery

The Windmill Story. Photo by Marcey Sherman.

Page 49

44

Carolina Sailing: Living With PHRF Ratings

By Dan Dickison

46

Sailing Destination — Gulfport, FL

By Cathy Salustri

49

Small Boat Review: The Windmill

By Jabbo Gordon

52

Bringing the Wok Onboard

By Robbie Johnson

54

Cruising Florida’s West Coast in an Open 17’ Trimaran, Part I of II

By Bruce Matlack

58

Couple to Couple Training: Take the Drama Out of the Dream

By Jeff and Jean Grossman/Levine and Harold and Margie Ochstein

60

Good Delivery Gone Bad

By Bradd and Maeve Wilson

64

Demopolis Yacht Basin in Alabama a Magnet for Migrating Boaters Cruising Florida’s West Coast in an Open 17-foot

By Cyndi Perkins Trimaran. Photo by Bruce Matlack. Page 54 Southern Racing: News, Upcoming Races, Race Reports, Regional Race Calendars

68

COVER:

86

Getting Something for Nothing

By Peggy St. James

19 23 29 76 80 84 85

Florida Marinas Southern Sailing Schools Section Marine Marketplace Boat Brokerage Section Classifieds Alphabetical Index of Advertisers Advertisers’ List by Category

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February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

Bruce Matlack and Mac MacDevitt sailing on their Windrider 17s at the beginning of their trip down the West Coast of Florida. Photo by Marty Noble.

Each issue of SOUTHWINDS (and back issues since 5/03) is available online at www.southwindsmagazine.com www.southwindsmagazine.com

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS February 2010

5

FROM THE HELM

STEVE MORRELL,

EDITOR

Stories From the Free Table—Have You Got One? On page 86, we have an article by Peggy St. James on the “Free Table” that is commonly found at places around the world where cruisers roam. As Peggy writes, it is somewhat unique to cruisers, but this story kept me thinking about a related experience I had.

I once spent a week at a dive resort (called CoCo View) on Roatan Island, Honduras. This was a great resort—very casual and informal. Accommodations were excellent, and you could dive from the beach. It had an ol’ style feeling about it, but it was also very clean and modern with great dive boats and equipment. It also had a very unique dining and menu experience of real good, healthy food. I can’t say enough good about it.

It didn’t have a free table, but it did have a free paperback book exchange. One day, I was checking them out, and one of the books I picked up was hollow—just like you’d expect to find in an old prison movie where someone used it to smuggle in contraband. The edges were intact, and you couldn’t tell it was hollow till you opened it. I found several books like that and discovered that they were all books that most likely had been sitting there a while untouched. Eventually, termites found their way into them and ate out the insides. Termites avoid light and will always stay away from it. All they needed was one point where the wooden bookshelf was touching the wall and they could eat through it and reach a book, and— instead of reading it—they ate it. I learned that the termites

were so bad on the island that just about everything had to be made out of pressure-treated wood—or they’ll eat it.

The owners of the resort were a couple of sailors who had come down to the island years before and found the resort partially completed and for sale, so they bought it.

The husband was a builder from Florida and introduced pressure-treated wood to the island and used it extensively in building the resort. For example: The door frames, jambs and casings were all pressure-treated—even the wood trim around the bathroom mirrors. I found this out because I used to sit at the small bar with the owner, and since I was a builder at the time, we talked about building.

Above the bar, there was an old ship lamp about the size of a football. It was held up by a hawser (a thick rope used on ships) that was about four inches thick. It was supported at both ends and held the lamp up—quite artistically—in the shape of a “U.” One evening I came into the bar area and the whole thing was gone. The bartender told me the hawser just gave way in the middle of the previous night, and the whole thing came tumbling down. Turns out the hawser was completely hollow. Termites had eaten the inside out over a period of time to the point where all that was left was just a thin shell of a rope, till it gave way.

And that’s my free table story.

I am sure many of our readers have one; please send it in to us, and we’ll print it.

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News & Views For Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS Media, Inc. P.O. Box 1175, Holmes Beach, Florida 34218-1175 (941) 795-8704 (877) 372-7245 (941) 866-7597 Fax www.southwindsmagazine.com e-mail: editor@southwindsmagazine.com Volume 18

Number 2 February 2010

Copyright 2010, Southwinds Media, Inc. Founded in 1993

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5th Annual Latitudes & Attitudes Miami Cruiser’s Bash MIAMI STRICTLY SAIL BOAT SHOW Sponsored by Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine and SOUTHWINDS Magazine SATURDAY NIGHT • FEBRUARY 13 FREE pizza & beer • Everyone is invited Enjoy the tropical sailing sounds of the Eric Stone Band live on stage Strictly Sail Boat Show at Sea Isle Marina Latitudes & Attitudes TV will be on hand to record the concert for a one-hour special to air later You must be inside the Strictly Sail gate on Saturday night by 6 pm or you won’t get in. Come early, enjoy the boat show and stay for the concert.

Contributing Writers Letters from our readers Dan Dickison Jeff Grossman/Levine Jean Grossman/Levine Greg Herschell Peggy St. James Kim Kaminski Roy Laughlin Dave Montgomery Harold Ochstein Cyndi Perkins Cathy Salustri Morgan Stinemetz Rick White Maeve Wilson Contributing Photographers/Art

Jabbo Gordon Harmon Heed Robbie Johnson Bruce Matlack Margie Ochstein Hone Scunook Bradd Wilson

Rebecca Burg (& Artwork) Allen Chauvenet Dan Dickison Lisa Farth City of Gulfport, FL Harmon Heed Peggy St. James Robbie Johnson Bruce Matlack Marty Noble Cathy Salustri Scunook Photography St. Augustine Historical Society

Ken Delacy Kathy Gajewski.

Greg Herschell Mac MacDevitt.

Cyndi Perkins Marcey Sherman Rick White

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: ARTICLES & PHOTOGRAPHY: SOUTHWINDS encourages readers, writers, photographers, cartoonists, jokers, magicians, philosophers and whoever else is out there, including sailors, to send in their material. Just make it about the water world and generally about sailing and about sailing in the South, the Bahamas or the Caribbean, or general sailing interest, or sailboats, or sailing.

SOUTHWINDS welcomes contributions in writing and photography, stories about sailing, racing, cruising, maintenance and other technical articles and other sailing-related topics. Please submit all articles electronically by email (mailed-in discs also accepted), and with photographs, if possible. We also accept photographs alone, for cover shots, racing, cruising and just funny entertaining shots. Take or scan them at high resolution, or mail to us to scan. Call with questions.

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February 2010

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LETTERS “Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.”

A.J. Liebling

In its continuing endeavor to share its press, SOUTHWINDS invites readers to write in with experiences & opinions.

E-mail your letters to editor@southwindsmagazine.com BEES IN THE MAST In the September issue (“Letters to the Editor”), the O’Briens of Bradenton, FL, wrote about their dilemma with bees in their sailboat’s mast. In your footnote, you asked that replies be sent to you, so I’m hoping that you got some good solutions. We just found them in the mast of Pisces, our Catalina 30, and naturally, they are up at the top of the mast.

The most logical solution is to get a professional bee annihilator ($250 estimate), but to get him/her up the mast we would have to use the internal halyard to which the bees are comfortably attached. They get very angry when you tear up their home and dislodge their queen.

Another alternative was to hire a cherry picker truck at $500/hour and have him meet you and the professional bee annihilator at a waterside pier.

One of the downsides of killing the bees inside the mast is the residue (bees, honey and comb) will remain in the mast at the foot until the mast is eventually pulled.

We anxiously await your response to any solutions that might have been sent to your attention.

Galen Price Punta Gorda, FL Galen – We are working at compiling the solutions that the O’Briens have worked on, although none have been totally successful to this date.

Editor FERNANDINA BEACH MARINA GOES PRIVATE AND ANCHORING IN ST. PETE The new management team from Westrec, a Californiabased marina management company, will take over marina operations on Jan. 15 in Fernandina Beach. I got a copy of the lease agreement the city signed on Dec. 10. Nobody knows how this is going to work out in terms of cruisers.

The city will still have the last say on prices, but they are expected to go up, including dinghy dock fees. A friend told me the city is no longer concerned with providing cheap and easy access to the nearby downtown area. The marina is $4-million in debt, mostly from renovation costs, including dredging operations. The city is paying over $500,000 a year on this debt. All the employees, some of whom have been working the dock for decades, are being put on 90-day probation, and while the city says they will continue to pay their salaries, if I’m reading the contract correctly, Westrec will have the final say on employment. Everyone suspects they will cut costs by laying off some workers, but nobody knows for certain.

I think the FWC is responsible for a large part of the debt incurred by the city marina here. In 2006, the city received a grant from the FWC for $1.5-million to renovate the marina.

This paid for a number of improvements, including the initial dredging operations. (They also paid for the mooring field.)

But part of the deal required the marina to reserve 80 percent

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club Hosts and Sponsors three great Tampa Bay & Gulf Races All three regattas qualify for the SPORC Trophy (The St. Petersburg Ocean Racing Challenge) and the Suncoast Boat of the Year Special one-time entry fee if entering all three regattas at the same time — Michelob Ultra Cup, Suncoast Race Week and Crown Regatta Go to the SPYC Web Site Regatta Page for Details

29th Annual Michelob Ultra Cup March 13 Originates at and returns to SPYC downtown location.

Sponsored by Great Bay Distributors/Anheuser Busch

26th Annual Crown Cars Regatta March 27 Location will be the SPYC at Pass-a-Grille location Racing in the Gulf of Mexico.

32nd Annual Suncoast Race Week Presented by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in cooperation with Bradenton Yacht Club and Davis Island Yacht Club April 9-11 Venue to be announced in the Notice of Race.

All NORs will be on the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Website at www.spyc.org.

The Suncoast Race Week NOR will also be at http://scrw.home.att.net.

See LETTERS continued on page 10 News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS February 2010

9

LETTERS of the dock space for transients. This agreement eliminated a large part of long-term moorage, which is why the marina has been so empty for so long.

To make matters worse, the high price of fuel coupled with the recession, has decreased the number of transients headed south, or north. (You also have to include the marina’s high price policy, which is set by the city.) In fact, transient moorage is very seasonal, about four months out of the year.

But the deal the city made with the FWC took none of this into account, and over the last three years, it restricted the revenue flow because slips that should have been rented out on a monthly, long-term basis, went empty instead. (I suspect the FWC insisted on this agreement to eliminate long-term liveaboards?) The agreement with the FWC came to an end in December. Is it mere coincidence that the city is now signing a new lease agreement with Westrec? Off the hook on one bad deal, it looks like the city is headed for another.

I’ve run into a number of snowbird sailors headed south who were concerned about the police presence on the water.

The people I’ve talked with heard from friends that Florida is becoming more and more hostile to visiting sailors— restrictions, citations, high prices and so forth. I didn’t have a lot of good news from them. Apparently, a number of people who have visited the state went back north with one or two good war stories to tell their friends. Most of the sailors I have talked with were passing through Florida on their way to the Bahamas, Mexico, Cuba or the islands. Very few were interested in staying in Florida for the winter. And who

can blame them?

I was also pleased to note the moorage price reduction at the city marina in St. Pete. Maybe the management is beginning to wise up? St. Pete was the most unpleasant place I visited (with the exception of Key West) on my long trip around Florida. I got to know the harbor police in St. Pete very well. They were very considerate. During a long phone conversation I had with the head of the harbor police, he told me they had received numerous complaints about my boat being anchored behind the breakwater at the city marina. The complaints were coming from waterfront condos and fellow sailors who were paying high moorage rates at the marina. It made them angry to see me anchored out for free.

But with an eight-foot draft, there was no other place I could go to anchor.

The harbor police also told me they were not enforcing the city’s defunct anchoring restrictions because the city was afraid of being sued. But this didn’t stop the manager at the city marina from telling people that they could be fined, or even arrested, for anchoring behind the breakwater, which is an obvious lie. He tried to intimidate me with this threat, and I told him to go ahead and call the police. He knew there was nothing he could do. At one point, I decided to anchor Victory inside the marina proper and dared the management to have me arrested. Unfortunately, the holding is not good, so I didn’t stay long. Otherwise, I might still be there. The police told me that if I wanted to anchor inside the marina, there was nothing they could or would do. One guy

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How on a passing sailboat also told me the manager said that Homeland Security didn’t want people to anchor behind the breakwater because of its proximity to the airport.

(What about the zillions of boats moored in the marina?) This is the only city marina in the state that is closed to visiting boaters that anchor out. One of the coasties I talked with called it a gated marina.

Harry Knickerbocker S/V Victory of Burnham Fernandina Beach, FL Harry – It doesn’t surprise me that the city is turning over the marina to a business. It’s a growing trend and, although there are a lot of great privately run marinas out there, I fear the day when all the publicly-owned marinas are all private because the country is slowly turning everything over to business. Prices will go up and costs will be cut until these marinas become profitable—and how they are going to figure in all the other costs and benefits that come from a business that is so tied in with a massive natural resource like the water is beyond me. If the average Joe is cut out of cruising and boating, nobody will care if a profit can’t be made.

Joe will just disappear.

Look at Fort Lauderdale—once the sailing capital of the South and a jumping-off point for sailors heading to the Caribbean. It is now one of the megayacht capitals of the world.

Sailors don’t go there anymore. On top of that, with your comments about cruisers from the north telling stories of the unfriendly police presence on the water in Florida, I would say the trends of the past are only going to get worse.

It won’t be long before more marinas, our parks and other public properties are turned over to businesses. There are people out there right now—many of whom are elected—who would like to see our government land, like national parks and national forests, totally turned over and run by private business, charging huge fees to enter them. Local parks, too. We already have ballparks (appropriately, they are called “parks”), which are financed with public funds, with private company names on them, while private club owners make big profits off the public. I guarantee that when the marina is run by a private company, they will make good money and it won’t be cheap to get a slip there. These examples and the privatizing of these publicly-owned marinas are not businesses at the public trough. They are the corporate public trough.

About the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina: It has many solid good points about it, and people who are there, love it. And it is still the least expensive marina around.

Editor

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HOLDING STRENGTH OF MOORINGS IN SARASOTA BAY QUESTIONED In response to Harmon Heed’s article on “Sarasota’s Mooring Field Installation Snag” (Dec. ’09 issue), I would like to offer a few thoughts. It’s my belief that those looking to find a problem or villain with this project are in fact looking in the wrong direction. The city’s official choice to hire a reputable engineering firm was a good one. However, it’s debatable if it hired a firm that had sufficient knowledge when it comes to boat moorings, helix anchors or mooring field layouts.

In Heed’s article, he mentions the performance test requiring each helix anchor not move more than .01 inch See LETTERS continued on page 12 News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

February 2010

11

LETTERS during the pull test. He does not mention the amount of pull that Coastal Engineering wrote into the specifications. Each helix mooring anchor was required to withstand a direct vertical pull of 25,000 pounds.

I find it hard to believe that there is a single mooring anchor in all of the East Coast of America that would hold to 25,000 pounds. In the New England states alone, there are tens of thousands of single point moorings holding vessels of all sizes with a single concrete block or single mushroom anchor. To achieve an equivalent holding force (25,000 pounds) as specified by Coastal Engineering, from a concrete block, one would have to install 25 one-ton blocks. To achieve an equivalent holding force (25,000 pounds) as specified by Coastal Engineering, from a mushroom anchor, one would have to install 10 to 15 800-pound mushroom anchors.

If the engineering firm came to the meetings held by the city and told everyone that they were going to require 25 concrete blocks be placed in the harbor to hold each individual boat, they would have seen a few raised eyebrows and asked a few questions. Why would anyone require a pull test on a mooring anchor be from a vertical direction? If there is a proper amount of scope in the mooring system, when would the anchor be pulled vertically?

Seems prudent that the test pull would have been done from a diagonal direction, similar to the direction a vessel

would pull on its anchor.

With the minimal amount of impact helix anchors cause to the environment, and the holding power one is typically able to achieve, helix anchors are a good choice. Since their introduction into the marine anchoring market in 1992, helix anchors have grown in popularity. Thousands are currently securing vessels of all sizes around the globe.

It’s my belief that if the holding requirements were more in line with the American Boating Council’s recommendations for mooring anchors, Sarasota would have 35 good moorings and would be well on their way to a successful project.

Coastal Engineering’s planned layout for the mooring field has already come into question before the first 35 moorings are even in place. Ronald E. Giachetti and Jean Carlo Sanchez from Florida International University has studied the mooring field design for Sarasota and believe the space is not being fully utilized. They suggest that 14 mooring spaces could easily have been placed in the same amount of acreage.

Granted for every project of this size that has ever come down the pike, there are critics. My concern is: Sarasota may miss a great opportunity to improve its water real estate, and that the fingers may be pointed at the wrong villain.

Concerned boater New Hampshire

E-mail your letters to the Editor: editor@southwindsmagazine.com

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Southeastern U.S. Air & Water Temperatures and Gulf Stream Currents – February Weather Web Sites: Carolinas & Georgia www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southeast.shtml Florida East Coast www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtml Florida West Coast & Keys http://comps.marine.usf.edu Northern Gulf Coast www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/

CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA Cape Hatteras, NC 40º lo – 53º hi Savannah, GA 38º lo – 60º hi Water Temperature Cape Hatteras, NC – 49º

NORTHERN GULF COAST Pensacola, FL 43º lo – 61º hi Gulfport, MS 43º lo – 61º hi Water Temperature –58º

EAST FLORIDA Daytona Beach - 47º lo – 70º hi Jacksonville Beach - 46º lo – 63º hi Water Temperature Daytona Beach – 61º Jacksonville Beach – 57º Gulfstream Current – 2.3 knots

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA Miami Beach – 63º lo – 73º hi Stuart – 55º lo – 74º hi Water Temperature Miami Beach – 71º Stuart – 67º Gulfstream Current – 2.4 knots

WEST FLORIDA St. Petersburg 54º lo – 69º hi Naples 53º lo – 75º hi Water Temperature St. Petersburg – 62º Naples – 66º

FLORIDA KEYS Key West 65º lo – 79º hi Water Temperature Key West –69º

WIND ROSES: Each wind rose shows the strength and direction of the prevailing winds in the area and month. These have been recorded over a long period of time. In general, the lengths of the arrows indicate how often the winds came from that direction. The longer the arrow, the more often the winds came from that direction. When the arrow is too long to be printed in a practical manner, a number is indicated.

The number in the center of the circle shows the percentage of the time that the winds were calm. The lengths of the arrows plus the calms number in the center add up to 100 percent. The number of feathers on the arrow indicates the strength of the wind on the Beaufort scale (one feather is Force 1, etc.). Wind Roses are taken from Pilot Charts.

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February 2010

13

Bubba Fashions a Meatchopper

B

ubba Whartz hadn’t been around The Blue Moon Bar at all since he had gotten back from an impromptu outof-town trip with exotic dancer Trixie LaMonte following a debacle at the Sarasota Christmas Boat Parade of Lights in December. I had seen Trixie myself a couple of times where she worked, in a gentleman’s club of some local repute, and had inquired about Bubba’s whereabouts both times.

“He’s working on a project,” Trixie replied. “You want a lap dance?”

I demurred both times. I wonder where the courage came from. It could have come for financial reasons. Lap dances, however, seem to transcend economic rationale, as if there is another dynamic, entirely, at work. Still, I remained stiffly steadfast in my position.

Finally, it was Doobie, the bartenderette at The Blue Moon, who told me that Bubba’s project had him occupied at a warehouse off 12th Street in Sarasota. She gave me the address, so one day, when my journalistic load was light, I drove over to see what Bubba was up to.

The large, sliding door to the warehouse was open, and I walked through it into an amalgamation of jigs and molds and cans of strange chemicals spread all over the floor. In the middle of this mélange was live-alone, liveaboard sailor Bubba Whartz, a red baseball cap on his head.

The place smelled like PVC glue, only more toxic. My eyes watered slightly. And because the sun was coming through the sliding door, I cast a long shadow, which Bubba noticed immediately.

“You’re not the police are you?” he asked me.

“Of course not, Bubba. It’s me,” I replied.

“Oh,” said Whartz, recognizing my voice. “With the sun behind you, it was hard to tell at first. How you doin’?”

“Fine, Bubba,” I said. “What are you up to? Trixie said you were working on a special project, but she never said what it was.”

“Meatchopper,” was Bubba’s singular answer. When one wants information from Bubba he can turn positively monosyllabic. It is sometimes maddening.

“What kind of a meat chopper?” I inquired, with a slight tension in my voice.

“M2BMG,” Bubba offered tersely.

“Dammit, Bubba,” I snapped off, “I am asking you for answers and you are giving me nothing. What’s wrong with you?

“Need-to-know basis,” Bubba said, walking out into the sunlight for a few seconds and squirting some Red Man

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SOUTHWINDS

tobacco juice in the direction of a feral cat.

The cat hissed at Bubba and skittered away to hide behind some trash barrels.

“Need-to-know basis, my foot,” I scoffed. “I know so much about you already from the years I have been hanging out with you, it would make a book. Or a long entry into the NCIC database.”

“Is NCIC some sort of famous sailors’ registry?”

Whartz asked.

“It’s the National Crime Information Center,” I responded.

“Oh,” Bubba replied, weakly, his attitude changing like a dirty diaper in the hands of a strict governess. He was not going to offer any more resistance, I could tell.

“What is an M2BMG and what does that have to do with chopping meat. You opening a hamburger stand?”

“An M2BMG is a .50 caliber Browning machine gun.

Back in World War Two, when they were mounted on halftracks in multiples of four, they were used against advancing infantry and that’s how they got the name ‘Meatchopper.’ It must have been pretty messy,” Bubba offered, pausing to spit again.

Then he continued, “The M2BMGs were actually mounted in pairs, one over top of the other, with another similar configuration right next to the first. The rig had what were called ‘tombstone’ ammunition boxes attached to each machine gun, and each held 100 rounds. The M2BMG was designed to shoot down planes, but it found its niche in shredding enemy infantry.”

“You are not making one of those things, are you?” I asked, while looking over my shoulder in case an ATF SWAT team was coming.

“Nah,” said Bubba. “They are expensive to own, because of all the licensing requirements, and they cost a Bill Gates fortune to shoot. I am making a prototype replica of a Meatchopper, four guns and all the accoutrements, that will look exactly like the real thing. But it will only weigh, the whole thing, about 40 pounds. It is being made of carbon fiber and some fiberglass. The barrel of a real .50 caliber BMG weighs 28 pounds all by itself. The gun is 85 pounds, so four of them hooked up together would weigh 340 pounds, exclusive of the weight of the quad mount and the ammunition. Small wonder that they were mounted on vehicles.”

“Why are you doing this? It won’t shoot. It’s not real.

Why would you want to have something like a Meatchopper?”

“It’s a business opportunity,” Bubba replied instantly. www.southwindsmagazine.com

By Morgan Stinemetz

“There’s a crying need for this device up in Appalachia.”

“Why so?” I asked.

“There’s never been an excess of money in Appalachia,” Bubba verified. “Life is hard up there. The movies Matewan and Coal Miner’s Daughter showed that pretty well. So, we have a bad economy, unemployment, and the people who live in Appalachia, who have a natural knack for survival, have—some of them—turned to cultivating marijuana in small patches hidden away in the bushy hills where such stuff is hard to detect. Authorities found a marijuana field near Jellico, Tennessee, last year that apparently was larger than the 350,000 plants they found in 2008, all in one patch.

“Cops say one pot plant may generate as much as $2,000 in income, which is not taxed, of course, so the value of 350,000 plants, assuming they all made it to market, is $700-million.”

“The growers must be rolling in dough,” I said, smiling at the thought of lying on a bed made up of thousands of pictures of Ben Franklin, the face on a C-note.

“Well, there are some business risks that cut into the trade,” Bubba said. “That’s where my Meatchopper comes in.

Law enforcement people have helicopters. These machines are expensive to operate in that they spend about as much time on the ground in maintenance as they do in the air. But they are perfect for spotting growing marijuana. So, some enterprising farmers are getting their crops ripped out of the ground by federal agents and their dreams badly shattered.”

“Where does your quad-50 enter?”

“I am making it so it will mount easily on a Jeep; that will provide the propulsion to get it around. The whole rig

assembles in about 15 minutes and disassembles in about the same amount of time. Because it is light, two guys can put it together. What I plan to do is rent the rig out for $500 a day. We’ll let the law enforcement people get a look at it from a distance, so they think that someone has a quad-50 up in those Appalachian hills. The chopper guys won’t want to get shot out of the air, so they’ll give the area where we show it a wide berth. But in a few hours it will be gone and will pop up in some other place. The whole arrangement will store in a trailer that can be towed by the Jeep.

“After a while, law enforcement will think the area where the pot is being grown—Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia—is riddled with quad-50s. Choppers will start flying higher, because an M2BMG has an effective range of 2,000 yards, and police spotting of marijuana patches will be far less effective. Not counting my labor, it costs about $500 to make one of these things, so the ersatz Meatchopper will pay for itself the first day.

“Aren’t you doing something illegal?”

“Of course not,” Bubba snorted. “There’s a need for this type of device. I will be meeting it. I’ll be paid in cash. And I know that I will have lots of satisfied customers. My invention is just another example of good old American ingenuity making for better lives everywhere.”

It’s nice to know that entrepreneurs still exist in the most unlikely places. I was about to mention that very thing to Bubba, but he was busy deeply inhaling some fumes from one of the open cans he had sitting around.

“Aaaahhh,” he said, when he was finished. “This was a very good year.” Then his eyes crossed for a couple of seconds. But just a couple.

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EVENTS & NEWS

OF INTEREST TO

SOUTHERN SAILORS

To have your news or event in this section, contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com.

Send us information by the 5th of the month preceding publication. Contact us if later.

Changes in Events Listed on SOUTHWINDS Web site Go to www.southwindsmagazine.com for changes and notices on upcoming events. Contact us to post event changes.

RACING EVENTS For racing schedules, news and events see the racing section.

UPCOMING SOUTHERN EVENTS Go to the SOUTHWINDS Web site for our list of youth sailing programs in the southern coastal states, www.southwindsmagazine.com. The list was printed in the April 2006 issue.

EDUCATIONAL/TRAINING Monthly Boating Safety Courses 2010 Schedule in Fort Pierce, FL, Feb. 20, March 20 About Boating Safety—Boating Safety Course designed for the recreational boater, to encourage safety on the water.

This one-day boating course emphasizes safety on the water to enhance the boating experience and to increase confidence on the water. The course is state of Floridaapproved for those 21 and under to obtain their Florida State Boater’s License. Go to http://a0700508. uscgaux.info/ (click on Calendar) for class information and the next scheduled class. Classes are usually very full. Call and reserve space on the preferred program date. $36 (+ $10 for each additional family member).

Courses are held from 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Flotilla 58 Coast Guard Auxiliary Building 1400 Seaway Dr., Fort Pierce FL. (772) 579-3395 Stephanie, or (772) 321-3041 Gary, or e-mail stephcgaux@hotmail.com.

Hudson, FL, Boating Safety Courses About Boating Safety (ABS) is a one-day course covering subjects including boat handlingweather, charts, navigation rules, trailering, GPS, federal regs, personal watercraft, hypothermia and more. The course fulfills the Florida requirements for a boat operator under 21, and allows 14-year-olds and up to operate boats and PWC. Many insurance companies also give discounts for attending. This course is scheduled every month on the second Saturday, 9 a.m.

For reservations or questions, call Jorja Carmichael at (727) 842-2094, or Edna Schwabe at (727) 457-3788. See the schedule at www.hudsonaux.com, USCG AUX Hudson, Florida 11-7.

Coast Guard Auxiliary Boating Courses, Jacksonville, FL Safe Boating Saturdays. 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $25 including materials. Captains Club, 13363 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville. Meets Florida legal requirements for boater education. Most insurance companies offer discounts to SOUTHWINDS PressGang Crew Web Site Up and Running Again PressGang, the crew and boat search Web site that SOUTHWINDS had running previously on our web site is again active and up-to-date. See details on page 58 or go to www.southwindsmagazine.com/pressgang. Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.com and then “Sailor’s Resources.”

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Miami Boat Show, Strictly Sail at Sea Isle Marina, Booth 857, Feb. 11—15 News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

February 2010

17

program graduates. Mike Christnacht. (904) 502-9154. Generally held once monthly on Saturdays. Go to www.uscgajaxbeach. com for the schedule.

courses continuously offered. To find out more, go to www.boating-stpete.org, or call (727) 4984001, or e-mail contact@boating-stpete.org.

Ongoing – Boating Skills and Seamanship Programs. St. Petersburg, FL Tuesday nights, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Satisfies the Florida boater safety education requirements. Eleven lessons, every Tuesday. Boating Skills and Seamanship Programs, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 1300 Beach Dr. SE, St. Petersburg. Lessons include which boat for you, equipment, trailering, lines and knots, boat handling, signs, weather, rules, introduction to navigation, inland boating and radio. (727) 823-3753. Don’t wait until next summer to have your children qualify for a state of Florida boater safety ID, possibly lower your boater’s insurance premium or just hone your safe boating skills.

Boating Safety Courses, St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg Sail and Power Squadron. Six-week Public Boating Course. Next course starts April 5, 7-9 p.m. and held each Monday for another six weeks. Instruction is free.

Materials are $25 per family. St. Petersburg Sailing Center, 250 2nd Ave. SE, Demens Landing, St. Petersburg, FL. Other Articles Wanted About Southern Yacht Clubs, Sailing Associations and Youth Sailing Groups SOUTHWINDS magazine is looking for articles on individual yacht clubs, sailing associations and youth sailing groups throughout the Southern states (NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, TX (east Texas). Articles wanted are about a club’s history, facilities, major events and general information about the club. The clubs and associations must be well established and have been around for at least five years. Contact editor@Southwinds magazine.com for information about article length, photo requirements and other questions.

North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort, NC Ongoing adults sailing programs. Family Sailing.

2-6 people; 2-6 hours. Traditional skiffs or 30-foot keelboat. $50-$240. www.ncmm-friends.org, maritime@ ncmail.net, (252) 728-7317. Reservations/ information: call The Friends’ office (252) 728-1638 Ruskin, FL, Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 75 Offers Home Study Safe Boating Course The Ruskin flotilla each month offers a Boating Safety course in Ruskin, but has found that many boaters do not have the time to attend the courses, so they are now also offering a home study course at $30. Additional family members will be charged $10 each for testing and certificates. Tests will be held bimonthly. Entry into the course will also allow participants to attend the classes. To apply, call (813) 677-2354.

Clearwater Coast Guard Auxiliary (Flotilla 11-1) Public Boating Programs For more information on upcoming education programs or to request a free vessel safety check, call (727) 469-8895 or visit www.a0701101.uscgaux.info. Click on Public Education Programs. America’s Boating Course and other courses regularly posted on the Web site.

Safe Boating Class, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Plantation, FL, Feb. 6 Plantation Flotilla 3-8, U. S., will conduct a one day Boating Safety Class that meets the Florida updated boating safety education requirements effective January 1, 2010. Registration and class begins at 8 a.m., Plantation Community Outreach Center, north entrance in the Broward Mall, at University

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Drive and Broward Blvd., Plantation FL 33324. Eight-hour program. Upon successful completion of class, a Florida Boaters ID is issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Effective, January 1, 2010, anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, who operates a vessel powered by 10 hp or more must have this identification card.

All materials and lunch is included for $50 per participant. Pre-enrollmene required. Contact Ronald Albert at FLSafeBoating@comcast.net, or at (954) 296-2303.

Safe Boating Seminar, Basic Coastal Navigation, St. Petersburg, FL, February 17.

Two-hour course. Must be 12 or older. This seminar will help captain and crew navigate safely and comfortably. The student kit contains The Weekend Navigator and the Maptech CD. Free. Cost of materials is $30 per family. 6:30-9 p.m. St. Petersburg Sailing Center, 250 2nd Ave SE, Demens Landing, St. Petersburg. Pre-registration is required. Register online at www.boating-stpete.org or call (727) 525-0968.

Captain’s License Class, Miami/Coconut Grove, FL. Feb. 15-28 Six-Pack License (OUPV) Course includes USCG exam in class, not at the Coast Guard. www.captainslicenseclass. com. (888) 937-2458.

About Boating Safely Course, Hudson, FL, Feb. 20 About Boating Safely (ABS) is a one-day course covering subjects including boat-handling, weather, charts, navigation rules, trailering, federal regulations, personal watercraft, hypothermia and more. The course fulfills the Florida requirements for a boat operator under 21 and allows 14-year-olds and up to operate PWCs. This course is now required for anyone under the age of 21 to operate a boat. Many insurance companies also give discounts for attending. USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 11-7, 9135 Denton Ave., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. It is also scheduled again on February 20 at the same time and location. For more information or reservations, call Edna Schwabe at (727) 457-3788, or Jorja Carmichael at (828) 842-2094.

Review Your Boat SOUTHWINDS is looking for boaters to review their own boat. We found readers like to read reviews by boat owners. If you like to write, we want your review. It can be long or short (the boat, that is), a racer, a cruiser, new or old, on a trailer or in the water. Photos essential. If it’s a liveaboard, tell us how that works out. Or—is it fast?

Have you made changes? What changes would you like?

Contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com for more specifics and specifications on photos needed. Articles must be sent by e-mail or on disc. We pay for the reviews.

Intermediate Marine Management Course, Charleston, SC, Feb. 21-25 International Marina Institute (IMI), www.marinaassociation.org.

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info@flagshipsailing.com • www.flagshipsailing.com 20

February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindsmagazine.com

Electrical Certification Course, Miramar, FL, Feb. 23-26 American Boat and Yacht Council. www.abycinc.org.

(410) 990-4460 Adult Basic Sailing School, Boca Ciega Yacht Club, Gulfport, FL, March 3 Boca Ciega Yacht Club will be offering a fiveweek Adult Basic Sailing Class beginning Wednesday, March 3. The course includes five Wednesday evening classes as well as four weekend waterfront sailing sessions.

Students will put classroom theories into practice sailing the club’s Catalina 16.5 fleet.

Cost is $225 per person including all classroom materials and a U.S. Sailing Association Basic Keelboat manual.

Participants will receive a complimentary three-month membership. With a 2/1 student teacher ratio, this is the most reasonably priced program in the Tampa Bay area. For registration information, visit www.sailbcyc.org, or call Jennifer Rogers at (727) 345-7544. Preregistration is required.

Marine Corrosion Certification, Jacksonville, FL, March 16-19 American Boat and Yacht Council. www.abycinc.org.

(410) 990-4460

Marine Systems Certification, Miramar, FL, March 23-26 American Boat and Yacht Council. www.abycinc.org.

(410) 990-4460 US Sailing Safety at Sea Seminar, Sarasota Yacht Club, March 27 The Safety at Sea day-long seminar is a US Sailingcertified safety event and an important opportunity for both cruising and racing sailors to learn more about handling their boats in offshore waters, boat crew and preparation, using heavy weather tactics, communications and first aid topics. The seminar will also include demonstrations of safety equipment, distress signals, helicopter search and rescue and “abandon ship” scenarios.

Organized by US Sailing, the seminar is sponsored by West Marine and Landfall Navigation. Tickets are required to attend and may be purchased online at: www.sarasotayachtclub.org, or by calling the Sarasota Yacht Club at (941) 365-4191.

Ticket proceeds will benefit the Sarasota Yacht Club Charitable Foundation, a not-for-profit organization intended to promote the growth, health and wellness and active lifestyle of the yachting community. Tickets for the Safety at Sea Seminar are: • General Public: $150 • Sarasota Yacht Club Members: $125

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February 2010

23

• Cuba Regatta Crew: $125 • US Sailing Members receive an additional $5 discount. For more information, go to www.sarasotayachtclub.org and click on the Boater’s Education page.

BOAT SHOWS 69th Annual Miami International Boat Show and Strictly Sail, Miami, FL, Feb. 11-15. www.miamiboatshow.com. www.strictlysailmiami.com. See page 26-27 for details and list of seminars.

Latts and Atts/SOUTHWINDS Magazine Party, Strictly Sail Miami Boat Show, Feb. 13 The 5th Annual Latitudes & Attitudes Miami Cruiser’s Bash at the Strictly Sail Miami Boat show, now co-sponsored by SOUTHWINDS magazine, will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday night on Feb. 13. The party will be at the new Strictly Sail location (see page 26 for boat show information) at the Sea Isle Marina in Miami. Enjoy the tropical sailing sounds of the Eric Stone Band live on stage with FREE pizza & beer.

Latitudes & Attitudes TV will be on hand to record the concert for a one-hour special to air later. Everyone is invited.

But guests must be inside the Strictly Sail gate on Saturday night by 6 p.m. or they won’t get in. So come early, enjoy the boat show and stay for the concert.

Carolina Power and Sailboat Show. Feb. 19-21.

North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, NC. Southeast Productions Inc., (336) 855-0208. www.ncboatshows.com.

8th Savannah International Boat Show. Feb. 26-28. Savannah International Trade and Convention Center and the Westin Savannah Harbor. Friday, 12-6. Sat., 10-6. Sunday, 11-5. Adults $8. Kids 12 and under free. The Savannah International Boat Show is the largest indoor and in-water boat show from North Carolina to north Florida.

For more information, go to www.SavannahInternational BoatShow.com.

25th Annual Palm Beach Boat Show, March 25-28. Flagler Drive on the water in downtown West Palm Beach and also at the County Convention Center, Palm Beach, FL. Thurs.

12-7, Fri. and Sat. 10-7, Sun. 10-6. $14, $12 online. Children 6-15 $5, $3 online. Children under 6 free. (800) 940-7642. www.showmanagement.com.

OTHER EVENTS

Catboat and Wooden Boat Rendezvous, Useppa Island, Southwest Florida, Feb. 25-27

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February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

The 2010 Useppa Island Catboat and Wooden Boat Rendezvous will be held Feb. 25-27 on Useppa Island in Charlotte Harbor in Southwest Florida. This event has been held for the last few years and brings a large contingent of catboats and catboat aficionados. Attendees can come early and stay late. Useppa Island management is offering special five- or seven-day discounts on both accommodations and dockage. Call Jennifer at the Useppa Island Inn and Dock Company at (239) 283-1061. Space is limited, and it is advised to register early.

Useppa Island is a tropical paradise surrounded by the pristine waters of Pine Island Sound (see www.useppa. com). The island is located in southwest Florida due west of Cape Coral and is accessible by plane to Fort Myers, and is 30 minutes off Interstate #75 to Bokeelia. Visitors can then ride on one of the Useppa launches to a bridgeless Useppa (239-283-1061).

Fee is $85.00 for each participating person, which includes both nights’ parties. Cash bars are available. For specifics on logistics, racing, and sailing information, call Mike Albert at (941) 376-1201, or e-mail Mycopres@aol.com.

Or contact co-chair Jay Taylor at (941) 737-4807, or e-mail jaytomato@aol.com.

Palm Beach Marine Flea Market and Seafood Festival, West Palm Beach, Feb. 26-28 Palm Beach Kennel Club, 1111 N Congress Ave. West Palm www.southwindsmagazine.com

Beach, FL. www.flnauticalfleamarket.com.

Bradenton Yacht Club Boater’s Swap Meet, Bradenton, FL, Feb. 27

tennis, coconut harvest, bridge, Texas hold’em poker, beach golf and much more.

For more information, contact Bill Sandelin, regatta chairman, at (305) 496-9553, or sandelin1@yahoo.com.

Free admittance to the public in the parking lot of the Bradenton Yacht Club at 4307 Snead Island Road, Palmetto, FL. Rent your own space for $10 to buy, sell, or swap marine gear. Grilled lunch and drinks available at good prices.10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For further information or to reserve a space, call Steve Fredrick at (941) 725-0959.

JSI 14th Annual Nautical Flea Market, St. Petersburg, March 13

30th Annual George Town Cruising Regatta, Exumas, Bahamas, March 1-13

31st Annual Dania Marine Flea Market, Dania Jai Alai Fronton, Dania Beach, FL, March 19-22

This is a cruisers regatta that builds up over several months. Most boats start arriving from around the United States, Canada and other countries in November and stay till March.

When regatta days start, sailboat races are held in the harbor and around Stocking Island with volleyball tournaments and other beach events in between. Opening night of the regatta is a very big event held March 3. The first event is the “Pass in Review” of the fleet. There also is Softball,

The world’s largest marine flea market is held at the parking lot of the Dania Jai Alai Fronton, Dania Beach, FL. Private individuals and corporate vendors sell marine equipment, coral encrusted antiques, used boats, fishing tackle, diving gear, marine artwork and other boating related items. Thursday- Saturday. 9-6 p.m. Sunday 9-4 p.m.

Thursday $12. Friday, Saturday, Sunday $10. Children under 12 free. Free parking. Al Behrendt Enterprises, (954) 920-7877. www.daniamarinefleamarket.com.

Spaces available for sellers. Shop for bargains, sell your old stuff or just browse. JSI parking lot at their NEW LOCATION at 2233 3rd Ave S., St. Petersburg. Call to reserve space at (727) 577-3220 or (800) 652-4914. bill@newjsi.com.

Tampa Bayr’insa Premier Ma THE HARBORAGE MARINA • Deep Water Access between two Coast Guard Stations • Straight Channel In and Out • All Floating Docks – 800 Ft. Breakwater – Deep Water • Wet Slips & Dry Stack Marina, starting at $5/Lineal Foot • Member Events, Privileges, & Discounts on Fuel

• Two Restaurants, Multiple Bathhouses, Pool, Captains Lounge • Catamarans Welcome – Boat Clubs Welcome • Transient to Annual • Next to Downtown St. Petersburg & Dali Museum

Harborage Marina ST. PETE 1110 3rd St. South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-821-6347 • www.HarborageMarina.com Next to Dali Museum just south of downtown St. Pete News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

February 2010

25

DIRECTIONS TO STRICTLY SAIL— NEW LOCATION Sea Isle Marina & Yachting Center 1635 N. Bayshore Drive Miami, FL 33132 DRIVING DIRECTIONS From the North or From the South via 95 Exit East on I-395 at exit 2D (same exit number going south or north) towards Miami Beach At exit 2B, keep right to stay on ramp, going straight Road becomes NE 11th Terrace. Continue, stay to the left At the fork where the road splits, go right, then turn left on Biscayne Blvd., Go north on Biscayne .2 miles then right on NE 14th St. Go on 1 block and first left on N. Bayshore Dr., then .2 miles to the show From the West, SR 836 (Dolphin Expressway) Going East Towards Miami Beach Continue past 95, road becomes I-395.

At Exit 2A, take ramp left on NE 11th Terrace.

Go .4 mile and turn left on Biscayne Blvd.

Go north on Biscayne .2 miles then right on NE 14th St. Go on 1 block and first left on N. Bayshore Dr., then .2 miles to the show

69th Annual Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail Miami February 11-15 www.miamiboatshow.com One of the largest boat shows in the world, this event combines the main show at the Miami Convention Center, the annual Strictly Sail Miami Show at the Sea Isle Marina & Yachting Center and the Yacht and Brokerage Show on the 5000 block of Collins Avenue.

The Strictly Sail Miami Show is the largest Catamaran show in the world. Sailboats of all sizes, monohulls and multihulls, are on display along with numerous vendors and exhibitors.

Boating and sailing seminars are held daily.

Children 12 and under free. Ages 13-15 at $6. $16 for adults for a one-day pass, $30 for a two-day pass (any two days), Friday through Monday. Premier Thursday costs $30. Hours are 10-6 Thursday thru Monday. In-water displays close at 6 p.m. E-tickets can be purchased in advance at www.miamiboatshow.com, or www.strictlysailmiami.com. All tickets include entry to the convention center show and vice versa if you purchase the tickets at the center. If you go to the convention center, a shuttle will take you to the sailboat show and vice versa.

For more information, go to www.strictlysailmiami.com.

Buy your tickets online and included in your paid admission is a one-year subscription to one of the following magazines: Yachting, Motor Boating, Salt Water Sportsman, Islands or Cruising World Magazine ($7.00 value).

Discover Sailing Free half hour lessons and sail with an experienced sailor from the docks.

Kids Aboard Boatbuilding Program Children ages six and older can participate in free boat building workshops from noon to 6 p.m., Friday through Monday.

Under the supervision of bilingual, U.S.-certified instructors, children will create two 10-foot wooden sailing yachts that will be launched at the show on Monday Seminars The list is available on the next page.

Yoga Onboard —- A guide for cruisers and liveaboards All Days of the Show. See Seminar Schedule for Times and Location Yoga Onboard is a practical guide intended to introduce various ways of tapping into your creativity; adapting traditional yoga postures or asana to your vessel as well as learning to listen to your body and create exciting new postures that work for you. Some of the benefits of a regular yoga practice include increased strength and flexibility, restored energy, and harmony between the body and mind.

Latts and Atts/SOUTHWINDS Magazine Party, Strictly Sail Miami Boat Show, Feb. 13 The 5th Annual Latitudes & Attitudes Miami Cruiser’s Bash at the Strictly Sail Miami Boat show, now co-sponsored by SOUTHWINDS magazine, will be held at 6 pm on Saturday Night on Feb. 13. The party will be at the new Strictly Sail location (see page 26 for boat show information) at the Sea Isle Marina in Miami. Enjoy the tropical sailing sounds of the Eric Stone Band live on stage with FREE pizza & beer. Latitudes & Attitudes TV will be on hand to record the concert for a one-hour special to air later. Everyone is invited. But guests must be inside the Strictly Sail gate on Saturday night by 6 p.m. or they won’t get in. So come early, enjoy the boat show and stay for the concert

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SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindsmagazine.com

MIAMI BOAT SHOW STRICTLY SAIL SEMINAR SCHEDULE Below are the upcoming seminars that will be available at the Strictly Sail Boat Show in Miami, Feb. 11-15.

Check the show Web site or show directory for seminar locations (tent numbers, etc.) and any final changes.

THURSDAY 10:45 Lee Chesneau 10:45 Steven Bowden 12:00 Charles Kanter 12:00 David Horst 1:15 Brenda Wempner 1:15 Nick Hayes 2:30 Liza Copeland 2:30 David Pritchard 3:45 John Kretschmer 3:45 Steve Armitage 5:00 Doc McComiskey 5:00 Scott Sky Smith FRIDAY 10:45 Anson Mulder 10:45 John Franta 12:00 Josie Longo 12:00 Jeff Thomassen 1:15 Randy Deering 1:15 John Gambill 2:30 Doug Moody 2:30 Scott Sky Smith 3:45 Liza Copeland 3:45 Bob Williams 5:00 Lee Chesneau 5:00 Nick Hayes SATURDAY 10:45 Jean & John Silverwood 12:00 Doug Hanks 1:15 Panel of Industry Experts 2:30 Anson Mulder 3:45 Liza Copeland 5:00 John Kretschmer SUNDAY 10:45 Bob Williams 10:45 David Pritchard 10:45 Randy Deering 12:00 Steven Bowden 12:00 Anson Mulder 12:00 John Kretschmer 1:15 Charles Kanter 1:15 Armand Cognetta Jr Md 1:15 Liza Copeland 2:30 Corinne Kanter 2:30 Doug Moody 2:30 Josie Longo 3:45 Marti Brown 3:45 Brenda Wempner 3:45 Jean & John Silverwood 5:00 Kim Hess 5:00 John Gambill 5:00 Phillip Berman MONDAY 10:45 Jean & John Silverwood 10:45 Steve Armitage 12:00 Armand Cognetta Jr Md 12:00 Jeff and Jean Grossman 1:15 Charles Daneko 1:15 Josie Longo 2:30 David Horst 2:30 Matthew Dunning 3:45 Charles Kanter 3:45 Kim Hess

Basic Marine Weather Interpretation Skills Communication for Cruisers The Most Important Skill: Anchoring Collision Avoidance: Sound and Light Signals Made Easy Sailing Made Easy Saving Sailing - The Story of Choices, Families, Time Commitments, and How We Can Create a Better Future.

Mediterranean Magic What to Wear Sailboats For A Serious Ocean - 25 Great Sailboats For World Voyaging Propellers & Propulsion Diesel Fuel Knowledge and Diesel Fuel Management Basic Boat Maintenance Projects Sail Care Benefits of Synthetic Standing Rigging Two on a Boat - How to Keep it Afloat Satellite Communications at Sea with Q&A A Beginner’s Guide to Planning a Cruise New Technologies in Energy Production and Storage Cruising Information, Camaraderie, and Clean Wake Select the Best Boat for You Preparations for Offshore Cruising Cruising Power Management Basic Marine Weather Interpretation Skills Saving Sailing - The Story of Choices, Families, Time Commitments, and How We Can Create a Better Future.

Cruising as a Family Sailboat Buying 101 Top Ten Upgrades for Your Boat Spinnaker Sailing Cruising for Couples Mercy of the Sea Offshore Refrigeration and Air Conditioning What to Wear Cruising the Suncoast Communication for Cruisers Spinnaker Sailing Sailboats For A Serious Ocean - 25 Great Sailboats For World Voyaging Understanding the Catamaran Phenomenon How to Avoid, Detect and Reverse Sun Damage at Sea Cruising the Caribbean Circuit Galley Secrets A-Z Cruising Information, Camaraderie, and Clean Wake Two on a Boat - How to Keep it Afloat Safety at Sea with the Marine SSB Sailing Made Easy Cruising as a Family Healthy Cruising with Yoga On Board New Technologies in Energy Production and Storage How to Buy a Catamaran that Best Suits Your Needs Cruising as a Family Propellers & Propulsion How to Avoid, Detect and Reverse Sun Damage at Sea Take the Drama out of your Dream LifeRaft Survival and Rescue at Sea Two on a Boat - How to Keep it Afloat Collision Avoidance: sound and light signals made easy Catamarans and the Pacific The Most Important Skill: Anchoring Healthy Cruising with Yoga On Board

News & Views for Southern Sailors

Two-Day Marine Meteorology Weather Course (Level 1)

by Lee Chesneau Lee Chesneau, senior marine meteorologist, formerly with NOAA/ NWS’s Ocean Prediction Center, and now owner of Lee Chesneau’s Marine Weather, will provide a challenging follow-up to his hour seminars with a two-day course (see below) to increase a mariner’s selfreliance in understanding high frequency (HF)-single side band (SSB) radio-facsimile weather charts (also available on the Internet) and predicting marine weather.

Lee’s 38 years of forecasting marine weather and strategic route planning on a global, synoptic, and local scale for mariners has now been successfully transferred to the classroom where he takes you step by step toward understanding both the ocean and atmospheric environment you boat in. As a former mariner, Lee knows that this is necessary and important for not only determining your own weather forecasts, but making strategic decisions whether operating with the coastal waters, offshore, or in transocean crossings.

Two Day Course Includes: • Concepts of atmospheric behavior and its cause and effects of marine weather.

• Basics of cloud formations and related visibility concerns.

• Basics of surface weather and patterns.

• Interpretation of OPC and TPC surface pressure charts.

• OPC wind and wave chart interpretation.

• Introduction to tropical cyclone basics and avoidance.

• Workbook of application exercises and note-taking guide of the material presented.

Course fee: $325 Feb.13-14 (tentative); 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Location: Sea Isle Marina Show Office Includes 2-day ticket to the show For more information, updates and questions, e-mail Lee Chesneau at lee@chesneaumarineweather.com.

SOUTHWINDS

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OUR WATERWAYS Ground-Bound Boats in Florida Bays Require Government Priority

By Harmon Heed In the late afternoon of December 18, three more anchored boats blew aground in quiet Sarasota Bay. At the time, the Mote Marine Aquarium, near New Pass, registered winds of 25 knots. On the Beaufort scale, that’s a moderate breeze.

One boat, a Pearson 25, was pushed up on the rocks in the nape of the bay by the city’s “Walk of Art,” just across Bay Front Drive from Sarasota’s posh, high-rise, condo row.

The boat had no engine, no rudder, its furled jib was torn and tattered, and wouldn’t last long in 25-knot winds. It was properly registered until 10/2010.

Another boat was blown onto a shoal farther south by Selby Gardens, Sarasota’s beautiful botanical conservatory.

The boat had no main, its furled jib decayed beyond use.

From the look of its fouled prop and exhaust outlet, the internal engine had not been run in years. Its registration expired last October.

The third boat, which looks like a Cal 20, was run up on an old oyster bed near the Hudson Bayou outlet, infamous for its high arsenic content. That boat had no sails, not even a mast, no rudder and no engine. This writer didn’t want to walk out that far, through the soft, contaminated, alluvial muck, to see if the orange permit sticker on the boat was

This Pearson 25 has been on the rocks for weeks at Sarasota’s Bay Front Blvd. Photo by Harmon Heed.

current. In a matter of a few days the tides and winds stuck the boat’s keel in the bay bottom, and the decrepit hull stood upright, out of the water, mounted like a piece of sculpture up on the “Walk of Art.” It’s almost like a middle finger of defiance from the bay’s boat owners to the art lovers, horticulturists, wealthy condo dwellers, high tax paying tourists, snowbirds and citizens of the city.

Why are boats like these allowed to anchor in public water in a way that they can blow aground in moderate breezes?

The city of Sarasota, in its herky-jerky fashion, has been working on that question for over 25 years, at least since a mooring field was first proposed in 1985. The city has passed many laws, which, if enforced, would probably have ended the problem long ago (Sarasota City Code 10-50).

Those laws give the police the authority to tag, tow and destroy derelict boats and/or boats that are a danger to the public. The laws also give the boat owners time and recourse to show that their boats are not derelict or dangerous or to move and repair their boats if they are. There are also Florida laws that allow state law enforcement officers, such as Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wardens, to tag boats as derelict and/or dangerous (Florida Statute Chapter 327).

Funds for the removal of such boats are available to the city from the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND), a combine of the four counties of Charlotte, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota, which has an annual tax-derived budget of $2-million. The city of Sarasota receives a grant of approximately $42,500 a year from the WCIND to remove and destroy derelict boats. Tax-paid funds are also available to counties from the Florida Boat Improvement Program (FBIP).

According to the Sarasota police, it costs about $1,000 to tag, tow and destroy a boat under 30 feet without an inboard engine. Simple math shows Sarasota should be able to, at no cost to the city, rid its scenic bay of 40 derelict boats a year, or 40 percent of the boats anchored in the bay, if they are derelict.

Why isn’t it being done? For many reasons. First, the city’s priority on policing the bay is very low. There are 175 sworn police officers in the city, but only one officer exclusively assigned to the marine section. When officer Ken Goebel is on leave or in training, his duties are assumed, See OUR WATERWAYS continued on page 34

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To Advertise, call 941-795-8704 or email editor@southwindsmagazine.com GEAR & EQUIPMENT

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33

OUR WATERWAYS part time, by his supervisor, Sgt. Kevin Churchill, who is also in charge of the traffic section.

The second reason is fear of litigation. What if the police destroy a boat they cannot later prove to have been derelict or dangerous? Presently, the two criteria for a boat being derelict are: it is not currently registered, and it cannot move under its own propulsion. Of these three boats that went aground, two are without rudders; two are without visible outboard motors (and the operability of the internal engine is quite questionable); one is without a main sail; one without any sails or even a mast; and the two with jibs, in this writer’s estimation, would probably shred in a 25-knot breeze.

None of the three can propel themselves off the ground they are on.

The third reason is compassion. Some of the people who live aboard the boats in Sarasota Bay are unable to work because of physical or mental handicaps. Their boats are the only homes they can afford. If their homes are tagged, towed and destroyed, they will have to This boat that washed ashore off Sarasota’s Hudson Bayou has no mast, move onto the streets. The city already has a reputation no sails, no motor, no rudder—and no water. Photo by Ken Delacy. for being “mean” to its homeless. People who live tions outside of mooring fields for non-liveaboards. And it aboard boats in the bay are seldom seen by the public— has left the term “in navigation”—which helps define a until their boat goes aground. non-liveaboard—very ambiguous.

The fourth reason is that this past year legislative What happens to the boats that run aground and are changes were made to Florida Statute Chapter 327 prohibitabandoned by their owners? First, the owners are identified ing municipalities from enacting local anchoring regulaby the police through registration records. Then the owners are notified and the boats are tagged with a date of compliance. (The Sarasota police have been very generous in allowing boat owners plenty of time to refloat and move their boats.) If the owners do not refloat and move the boats, No More Smell • No More Dumping • No More Pumpouts the police do and destroy them at the taxpayer’s expense.

If a boat is tagged, towed and destroyed at the taxpayers’ expense, the police inform the tax assessor’s office, and the owner will not be able to register or reregister any vehicle or renew a driver’s license until the state has been reimbursed for its cost of tagging, towing and destroying the boat.

What should be done to reduce the number of boats going aground and ashore on our Southern beaches? First, enforce the laws on the books—city, county and state—by increasing the priority given to marine law enforcement.

Augment sworn officers with less expensive public assisPlace the Wag Bag in your toilet (see photo), use it 2-3 times. tance officers (like meter maids) and the very inexpensive The “Pooh Powder” in the Wag Bag solidifies the waste.

Coast Guard Auxiliary. And expand the police department Stick it in the disposal bag (shown here on top of the toilet seat), Citizens Volunteer Program to marine participation. zip it shut, store it, then take it to the trash — you can legally dump this in a city trash can or city dump Second, reduce the fear of litigation by more accurately (it will break down in several months). defining the term derelict. Provide officers with training on boat conditions by certified and experienced sailors and NOW SOLD THROUGH SOUTHWINDS MAGAZINE marine surveyors. Provide officers with digital cameras so they can download photos of boats into their government — PRICE REDUCED — computers. $4 for one, 10 for $30 Third, allow reduced mooring rates for people on assisPlus shipping/Sales tax applies in Florida tance like SSI or VA disability so they will keep their boats in regulated mooring fields, on sturdy, inspected moorings, Read the articles about Wag Bags on our Web site at where their heads can be inspected and pump-out provided. www.southwindmagazine.com/wagbags.php The local governments, people, police and boaters don’t need new laws or taxes to protect our beautiful bays To order, call and coast. All that is needed is a priority shift by the gov(941) 795-8704 or e-mail ernments to uphold the laws already in place and the mutueditor@southwindsmagazine.com al support of the enforcement agencies and the people.

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February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

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BoatU.S. Announces Recreational Boating Access Award Winners— Two Winners in the Southeast United States From BoatU.S. In December, BoatU.S. announced the winners of its program for those individuals or groups that contributed substantially to improving access to the water for recreational boaters. Two of the five were from Florida.

In Florida, the Kissimmee River Valley Sportsmans Association (KRVSA) was able to stop and turn the “train” around, literally at the last minute, when it saved critical public boating access on Lake Kissimmee in Central Florida. On the day the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) was set to transfer Shady Oaks Fish Camp and the Speight Family Ranch to a big developer—who had no future plans to offer public boating access—KRVSA intervened and stopped what everyone thought was a done deal.

Instead, after spirited discussion, SFWMD agreed to set aside 136 acres of waterfront property from the ranch and provide $1-million for launch site improvements. The district agreed to cede the property to Polk County, which initially balked but later agreed to accept the land and maintain the property as a county park. When completed next year, the

136-acre Shady Oaks parcel will provide the second publicly owned vessel launch facility on Lake Kissimmee and will include campsites, vessel launch facilities and other amenities for a diverse group of users. To top it off, the KVRSA backed an effort by the Florida Airboat Association to have Florida state policy changed, so that “surplussed” lands bought with tax dollars cannot be sold to any private developer until government agencies have decided not to accept them.

In Florida, an Access Award went to Raymond Graziotto, president and COO of the Loggerhead Club & Marina, a chain of 11 marinas located around the state, and a board member of the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, for his work in leading the effort to gain passage of Florida Amendment 6. The amendment will move forward a plan to provide some tax relief for water-dependent businesses. Prior to Amendment 6, some marine-related businesses were receiving property tax bills under a system of “highest and best use” taxation, which allowed counties to tax on the potential use of the land, such as a high-end condo development with hundreds of units, instead of the current use of the property. Some marinas had their tax bills double in just two years, threatening Florida’s $18-billion marine industry. Graziotto provided seed funding, led fundraising efforts to hire attorneys and brought the issue to voters who overwhelmingly approved the measure.

For information on the rest of the award winners, as well as a look at the projects and winners including photos and video, go to www.BoatUS.com/gov/AccessAward.

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SOUTHWINDS February 2010

35

Pearson 28

By Greg Herschell

A

new-to-me 1980 Pearson 28 has lit a spark that you only see on a sailor smitten by his spouse and that first boat (but don’t tell my spouse). My wife and I relocated from East Texas at the beginning of 2008. I decided to learn to sail, enjoy all that Tampa Bay has to offer and eventually purchase the right sailboat. Getting my wife on that twohour cruise out of Sarasota was not only the first time either one of us had set foot on a sailboat, but it was also the first step in embracing the weekend sailing dream. Within that first year of moving to Florida, we learned to sail. At first, we learned on a 48-foot ketch out of Davis Island Yacht Club. Over the course of a year, we’d sailed boats of all types to begin developing the requirements list for the ideal boat.

All of these experiences culminated in the purchase of Panacea, a Pearson 28, hull #309. She fit the needs of this couple’s first boat.

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Through countless discussions during that first year of learning to sail, one common question was asked of all the “old salts” that were willing to impart their wisdom. The question was, “If you had to do it over, what would make a good first sailboat and why?” Of course, if you’ve been around sailors, their opinions are always free-flowing. I soaked it all up and came to a few conclusions about what would make a good first boat for us.

The first requirement was that my wife and I could handle her. While the 44- and 48-foot sailboats we sailed on certainly let us dream of sailing off into the sunset on a smooth gentle ride, crew was often the deciding factor in whether these boats set sail for a short day-sail. Panacea’s simple design and features means that just the two of us can leave the dock within five minutes for a two-hour sail. We’re not cruisers.

“Pick a boat that’s going to satisfy your needs 80 percent of the time instead of a boat that is set up for that twoweek hideaway each year,” said a trusted friend at the Tampa Sailing Squadron. The ideal boat is one that we could day-sail weekends and maybe once a year spend five to seven days sailing. Panacea’s Harken roller furling makes for easy handling. In 10 knots, she’ll get to her hull speed of 6.5 knots under jib alone.

The tiller steering aboard Panacea teaches me about sail trimming. Every time we go out, there’s a quick lesson about sail trim from the tiller’s response. I’m rewarded with not handling the tiller for up to two minutes if I’ve trimmed her right. On a 10-15 knot day, there is little to no weather helm when I’ve done my job right on trim.

Except for hoisting the main, there is no reason to leave the spacious cockpit. Seven-foot long seats make for comfortable napping during the lazy summer days on the hook.

The second requirement of our first boat was that my wife would be comfortable when Tampa Bay got a little rolly.

With a five-foot draft, Panacea displaces 7,850 pounds—of which 3,530 pounds is in the keel. This makes for a nice motion for a 28-foot sailboat. While the five-foot draft for Florida makes this new skipper pay attention to the tides and the area waters, the compromise is that my wife is the one frewww.southwindsmagazine.com

BOATOWNER’S BOAT REVIEW

The spacious cockpit with seven-foot long seats make for comfortable napping during the lazy summer days on the hook.

jerry@boatersexchange.com

News & Views for Southern Sailors

Looking forward towards the V-berth.

ann@snugharborboats.com

SOUTHWINDS February 2010

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BOATOWNER’S BOAT REVIEW

Looking forward on the starboard side, showing the galley aft (to the right).

The chart table just aft of the settee on the port side.

quently asking if we’re going out. (Did I mention that, since it’s our first boat, we’re chalking up a lot of firsts like getting adequately grounded—on my wife’s birthday?)

The third requirement was an inboard engine. Panacea has an 11-horse 2-cylinder Universal diesel and a 12-gallon fuel tank. At the recommended cruising speed, she’ll easily shuffle through moderate headwinds at five knots burning about a half of a quart an hour. There is easy access under

the companionway stairs and through the cockpit lazarettes for learning about stuffing boxes and where to check the transmission fluid. To starboard, a Racor pre-filter is easily accessed under the companionway stairs.

Additional benefits that make Panacea the right boat for us include a keel-stepped mast, head and holding tank, small galley, six-foot headroom, large cockpit, swim ladder, plenty of lighting throughout, and a fan in the V-berth.

The galley systems are basic. The single deep sink has a manual water pump, as does the sink in the head. No frills equates to simplicity and affordability. A built-in cooler with a shelf has plenty of space for that extended weekend. And because the starboard single berth was converted to counter space years ago, I’m betting we’ve got the most counter space of any 28-footer out there. There’s plenty of storage for pots, utensils, and glasses behind the sink and under the counter.

The port-side settee is plenty big enough for the two of us to relax and watch a movie. There’s also plenty of room for the wife and I to mull around down below without stepping on each other because the table folds up out of the way.

Navigation is a Furuno GPS unit, a compass and a Horizon depth finder. The GPS is on a hinge that swings in/out for viewing in the cockpit or while down below. For a basic GPS, Furuno did a great job providing several features including anchor alarms, waypoint and track plotting, and several displays including voltage, overall distance, speed, etc. The compass and depth finder are located conveniently on the port side in the cockpit. The two-bladed prop and tiller arrangement will turn her in her own length.

The autopilot is easily mounted to the tiller from the starboard side of the cockpit with enough room for the wife to still sit and read while under way.

For a couple wanting a weekend getaway and a day sailer, the Pearson 28 serves us well. This boat’s seaworthy enough to have made the Bahamas and Keys in the past, yet easily slipped off the dock in five minutes and sailed Tampa Bay for a two-hour mid-week escape. With a boat with age, there’s always room for improvements. My wife made the Bimini, and we’re working on recovering the Vberth and settee cushions. New sails are still a dream, but this budget cruiser is sturdy and has been well taken care of for the last 30 years.

REVIEW YOUR BOAT SOUTHWINDS is looking for sailors who like to write to review their sailboat — whether it is new or old, large or small. It can include the following: Year, model, make, designer, boat name Specifications: LOA, LWL, beam, draft, sail plan (square footage), displacement Sailing performance Comfort above and below deck Cruiser and/or Racer Is it a good liveaboard?

Modifications you have made or would like General boat impression Quality of construction Photos Essential (contact us for photo specs) We have found that our readers love reviews by those who own the boats — comments are more personal and real All articles must be sent via email or on disc For more information and if interested, contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com or call (941) 795-8704

(If you hate your boat, we aren’t interested — you must at least like it)

38

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS February 2010

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St. Augustine Yacht Club Launched in the Gilded Age — Still Sailing in the Digital Age

By Dave Montgomery

First Lieutenant Richard F. Armstrong, first commodore of the St. Augustine Yacht Club, shown during his service aboard the CSS Alabama. Photo courtesy St. Augustine Historical Society.

T

he late 1800s was dubbed the Gilded Age by the great Mark Twain. Just ten years after the Civil War, it was a time of national expansion, new prosperity and the second industrial revolution. Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant was president. The newly rich were enjoying tourism, and St. Augustine was a newly popular destination during the winter months. Visitors from the North bore names like Carnegie, Colgate, Vanderbilt and Mellon and came from places like Boston, New York, Newport and Philadelphia.

They arrived by private railcars, or private yachts seeking milder weather during the winter months. Sailing and sailboat racing was a popular pastime among these seasonal visitors as well as the permanent residents. As people with common interests often do, the St. Augustine gentry gath-

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St. Augustine Yacht Club clubhouse on the city waterfront circa 1880. Photo courtesy St. Augustine Historical Society.

ered to form their own yacht club in 1873. Members paid a $25 initiation fee and $15 yearly dues.

The St. Augustine Yacht Club became the first chartered yacht club in Florida and the fourth in the nation. It only stands to reason the oldest yacht club would be in the oldest city. But there was much more to it than that. Because of the city’s strategic coastal location and navigable inlet,

News & Views for Southern Sailors

SAYC was actually chartered by the War Department. In the event of war, the club was assigned the mission of blockading the entrance to St. Augustine Inlet! Can you imagine, in this day and age, gathering a fleet of your friends and sailing out to guard against an invasion from the sea? But with the Civil War a fresh memory, and federal troops still stationed in Florida, this was serious business—a 19th century

SOUTHWINDS February 2010

41

SAYC’s first home circa 1880. Photo courtesy St. Augustine Historical Society.

To this day, SAYC members speak with pride of the famous Cheemaun, which was never beaten in her entire racing career.

Courtesy photo.

version of homeland security.

The first commodore of SAYC was Richard F. Armstrong, a hero of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Armstrong distinguished himself as first officer of one of the Confederacy’s most successful and famous commerce raiders, the CSS Alabama. The Alabama was a heavily armed three-masted sail- and steam-powered warship that bedeviled Union trade routes for years. Armstrong served on the Alabama until she was literally shot out from under him off the coast of France. After the war, Armstrong settled in St. Augustine and ran a company that delivered supplies to Henry Flagler’s massive railroad-building effort. Because of his illustrious naval background and U.S. Naval Academy training, he was an ideal choice as SAYC commodore.

Imagine what sailing was like in Florida in the late 1800s. You have no auxiliary engine to take your boat out or bring her back in at the end of the day. If you couldn’t sail, you would row, hitch a ride from a steam-powered launch or wait for wind. Your sails are not Dacron or Mylar.

They are built with cotton canvas that’s heavy to begin with and twice as heavy if they ever get wet. However, they actually perform better when wet. Your lines are made of rough hemp rope, and blocks are carved out of wood. Multi-speed winches will not be invented for many decades to come so all trimming and sail-handling is done by sheer strength and muscle. Boats are entirely made from wood, of course, so even a 25-footer is going to be much heavier than today’s fiberglass vessels. Forget electronics. You depend on a magnetic compass for direction and your sense of touch to gauge

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SOUTHWINDS

wind speed and direction. In the days before modern yacht designs and fin keels, bags of ballast were piled onboard to keep a boat upright. You would load on as much as you thought you’d need for the conditions of the day. Finally, you have no radio so any communication to other boats is done with a megaphone and lung power if you happen to be in range.

Despite the primitive equipment, sailboat racing was extremely popular in 19th century Florida. Newspapers of the day describe “hundreds of spectators” lining the St. Augustine seawall along the Matanzas River to watch the club’s races. During the heyday of SAYC from 1890 to 1900, the yachting-racing season corresponded with the fourmonth tourist season—from January 1 to May 1. During that era, one yacht in particular acquired legendary status. To this day, SAYC members speak with pride of the famous Cheemaun, which was never beaten in her entire racing career. Owned and sailed by St. Augustine mayor, municipal judge and state legislator W.S.M. Pinkham, Cheemaun (pronounced She-moan) was a graceful gaff-rigged racing sloop originally commissioned by the New York Yacht Club.

Her wide hull was just 25 feet long at the waterline, but her overall length was nearly doubled by a bowsprit extending over 15 feet forward of the bow and a boom that reached far beyond her stern. This allowed the sloop to carry a prodigious amount of sail for such a relatively small vessel. In addition to her main and jib, she had a spinnaker, which, according to historical reports, caused no small amount of rolling due to the boat’s hull shape. The hull had a round bottom so she carried from 1,950 pounds to 3,000 pounds of ballast in handy 75-pound bags depending on conditions. To manage all this ballast and sail she sailed with a 10-man crew.

Cheemaun sailed for a lot more than bragging rights and trophies. Gentlemen sailors of the day were in the habit of putting up serious money for their races. During 1892, Cheemaun won regattas in St. Augustine, Palatka and Jacksonville, earning a total of $500. Later, she raced in Fernandina against the yacht Missie owned by financier Andrew Carnegie and won $300. Today those winnings would be a nice chunk of change but consider this: When you convert $800 in 1892 to what it would buy today, the total purse comes to nearly $19,000!

SAYC members love to recount the chicanery Pinkham used to beat Carnegie’s yacht. The winds were relatively light off Fernandina Beach on race day. As the yachts approached the starting area, Capt. Pinkham had his crew www.southwindsmagazine.com

The clubhouse today, looking east towards the Atlantic.

Photo by Kathy Gajewski.

throw out 40 bags of ballast in full sight of the Missie crew.

The opposing captain figured he should follow suit to remain competitive and had his crew throw out 25 of his own ballast bags. What he didn’t know was that Pinkham had purposely loaded extra ballast just for his little show.

While Cheemaun still had all the ballast she needed, Missie was barely able to avoid broaching. Cheemaun easily outraced her opponent and finished a half hour ahead. She earned her place in SAYC history and has a perpetual club trophy named after her.

Although SAYC is Florida’s first chartered yacht club, there is a gap in her history. In 1933, the Great Depression hit and fortunes plummeted. Interest in yachting seriously waned and in 1939, the club was decommissioned. While folks still sailed in St. Augustine, no yacht club existed until 1979. At that time, developers Tom and Joe Taylor were creating the beautiful marina, condominium and retail com-

News & Views for Southern Sailors

plex known as Camachee Island located off the Intracoastal Waterway just north of the city. By that time, enthusiasm for sailing had revived in St. Augustine, so a group of sailors agreed to help build a clubhouse at the entrance to the Camachee Cove yacht basin in return for a long-term lease.

With SAYC assistance, the Taylors built a spacious two-story structure overlooking the marina and the Intracoastal Waterway. It had a swimming pool and space for a restaurant financed by club members. This became the new home of the recommissioned St. Augustine Yacht Club. The club has been going strong ever since. However, there is one more important chapter to this story.

In 2004, the lease ran out on the club’s Camachee Cove location. Luckily, the city of St. Augustine owned a property on the shores of Salt Run just a stone’s throw from the front porch of the famous St. Augustine Lighthouse and it was available. It was a rundown structure that had been a restaurant and a bait shop and had been shuttered for some time. Club members went to work donating their money, skills and sweat in completing an intensive six-month renovation that transformed the old building into an elegant and comfortable clubhouse complete with a working kitchen and large outdoor covered deck.

Today SAYC is a rare combination of a successful sailing and powerboat club with a current membership of approximately 200 members. The cozy clubhouse has its own kitchen and a spacious, covered outdoor deck, perfect for monthly informal dinners. During the fall and spring sailing season, SAYC has an offshore event each month as well as regular beer can races inside St. Augustine Inlet. One of its most prestigious events is known as the Race of the Century, which is held in honor of the legendary Cheemaun and her intrepid owner. The club sponsors the annual St. Augustine Blessing of the Fleet and the Holiday Regatta of Lights. They also co-sponsor, along with North Florida Cruising Club, the annual First Coast Offshore Challenge, a four-day event held in April. In addition, SAYC helps sponsor a youth group named SPARS (Sailors, Paddlers and Rowers).

Few clubs can claim the rich 137-year history that SAYC has, not to mention a nearly miraculous return from the dead. Anyone interested in learning more about the club is invited to visit their Web site at www.sayc2000.com.

SOUTHWINDS February 2010

43

CAROLINA SAILING

Living With PHRF Ratings

By Dan Dickison

D

uring the deep of winter, many of us long for days of extended daylight and more temperate weather—conditions that are conducive to a more active sailing scene. Racing may be a year-round pursuit here in the subtropical Low Country, but during these winter months, it happens on a much-diminished level. Yes, there’s the local bimonthly “frostbite” series that continues ‘til the end of February. And for the offshore crowd, there’s the Fort LauderdaleCharleston Race at the end of March. But things don’t really get moving in this region of the country until mid-April when Charleston Race Week is staged as the seasonal highlight.

In this chilly interim, there’s time to tinker with deck gear and fine-tune your sail inventory. Time to investigate the latest gadgetry and puzzle through revisions to the racing rules. And for some boat owners, this is the time to push for a more favorable handicap rating.

Love it or hate it, sailboat racing that’s conducted under some form of handicapping is a staple in our sport. That’s true to greater and lesser degrees throughout the United States, and it’s certainly the case in the Low Country. Onedesign fleets may be gaining momentum in these waters, but they still remain the exception rather than the rule.

As it is for the majority of racing sailors across the country, in this neck of the woods, PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) is the standard handicapping system. Most sailors know that PHRF is essentially a time-on-distance formula that purports to establish a fair comparison of performance between dissimilar boat designs over a given distance. They also know that rarely is a boat owner satisfied with his or her boat’s PHRF rating.

And so it was that in late December of 2009, five members of the Charleston Ocean Racing Association’s (CORA) rating committee met to consider rating adjustments for several different boats that race actively in the local fleet.

Chairing this meeting was Dave Anderson, a local J/24 skipper and retired engineer who has served as CORA’s measurer for the better part of a decade. He readily admits that no rating system is perfect but asserts that he and his committee do everything they can to keep the competition as fair and equitable as possible under PHRF. “The committee meets several times each year to con-

44 February 2010

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www.southwindsmagazine.com

sider adjustments that may be necessary,” he explained over the phone. The majority of these cases don’t originate as requests by the boat owner, said Anderson; they actually stem from work that he and his committee do month in and month out. “Part of the policy and procedures that we have in place includes looking at results from various races and talking regularly with people in the fleet. Through those investigations, we determine which ratings may need to be examined.”

In their December deliberations, the committee considered the case of a cruising-oriented, 51-foot Beneteau and whether it should be given additional seconds per mile. To decide, says Anderson, they reviewed “race analysis and the ratings of other models with similar dimensions” and granted an adjustment. In another one of the cases, they agreed that adding a roller-furling spinnaker to an Alerion 38 merits some adjustment but determined that further racing data would be needed to guide that decision. And in another case, a J/130 owner was granted an additional three seconds per mile due to his boat having an aluminum mast rather than one made from carbon fiber. And so it went.

Anderson believes that PHRF is working reasonably well for the CORA fleet. “I don’t think there are too many genuine complaints,” he offered. “Most of the comments and requests I get as measurer come from folks who are new to the sport or to our area, and they put the blame on their rating. I always ask them ‘what shape are your sails in and how is the paint job on your boat’s bottom?’ Because we have such rapid marine growth in these latitudes, the most important thing is having a well-prepared bottom.”

If there’s one issue that continually challenges Anderson and his committee, it’s ensuring that sprit-style sport boats, or any design that planes easily, can be equitably rated rela-

tive to non-planing craft.

“In our local summer series, we start and finish just off the Carolina Yacht Club’s dock,” he explained, “and that often means that either the start or the finish legs, or both, are reaches.

That usually favors boats with asymmetrical spinnakers. We’ve tried hard to resolve this, but it’s really something that remains a concern. We’ve worked with the race committee and added new course configurations to address this situation, but really, only so many configurations will work in our harbor. So we’re trying to handle this with smarter race management.”

According to Anderson, smarter race management will be the key tool for resolving this inequity when Charleston Race Week rolls around in April.

“Sailing various boat types against each other really becomes an issue during that event. The sport boat types sometimes don’t fit well into classes of boats that fly symmetrical spinnakers. Sport boats like the Viper 830 or the Henderson 30 have PHRF ratings, but once they’re planing, that changes the situation entirely. We try to consider that, but it’s a characteristic that’s almost impossible to compensate for because you never know what the race conditions will be. So, at this juncture, we’re desperately trying to get enough similar sport boats to register that we can put them in their own class and thereby avoid the problem.”

That’s pretty much the way it is with PHRF—here and everywhere. The system is far from perfect, but you find ways to abide by it all the same because there are few other options. But look on the bright side: PHRF ratings give everyone something to complain about. And, better yet, something to work on during these chilly winter months.

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SOUTHWINDS February 2010

45

Sailing Destination –

GULFPORT, FL

By Cathy Salustri

Now that the city of Gulfport allows cruisers to dock at the municipal marina for up to two weeks at a time, sailors from across the country have a chance to get to know the little town by the sea. ulfport, a tiny town that only 12,000 people call home, covers two-and-a-half square miles, and, despite bordering St. Petersburg, retains its sense of individuality and small-town charm while taking advantage of the present.

The chamber of commerce and residents alike tout Gulfport’s charm, and its downtown lives up to the city’s reputation. Walk through Gulfport at night and you’ll see trees in the waterfront district draped with tiny blue lights year-round. Residents and visitors alike still walk downtown; it is one of the few small villages that has yet to succumb to pricey stores and chain boutiques. Most of the restaurants and shops are owned and patronized by locals.

That same mixture of old and new works at the city marina as well: Harbormaster Denis Frain manages a marina on the edge of an aquatic preserve and city park, Clam Bayou. Clam Bayou, a tidal estuary, appeared on navigation charts as early as the 1500s, and the marina itself was once considered part of Clam Bayou. Today the marina offers amenities that range from the basics, like fuel and pumpouts, to the more modern niceties, like free wireless Internet access. The marina does not yet allow liveaboards, but most of the boat slips are private rather than commercial slips, and neighboring Boca Ciega Yacht Club has a thriving community with frequent cookouts and gatherings.

The marina sits in a well-protected basin in Boca Ciega Bay, a wide, shallow bay that runs the length of Pinellas County between the mainland and the barrier islands.

The floating transient dock is 325 feet long, and vessels up to 70 feet can comfortably maneuver in the marina. The marina can also put cruisers up to 40 feet on the T-heads of

the piers or cruisers of different sizes in the few vacant slips.

Most of the time cruisers don’t need reservations, although the dock does fill up when cruising clubs come to town.

Cruisers entering the marina basin will find that the sense of community in Gulfport extends to the transient dock, and once they’ve gotten themselves settled in to their slip, the town awaits them. A short bike ride or slightly longer walk takes cruisers into Gulfport’s downtown.

Come in on the first Friday of the month and get treated to Gulfport’s Art Walk, a 15-year tradition. The Art Walk celebrates Gulfport’s diverse arts community. Unlike many “First Friday” celebrations, Gulfport has only a handful of bars but a bevy of artists who set out their wares as well as live bands. These bands often play folk or Irish music in addition to rock and pop. Come on any Tuesday morning of the year and the Art Village Courtyard on Beach Boulevard has a fresh market offering fresh fruits, vegetables, and local art.

Many of the restaurants and shops welcome leashed dogs; Gulfport has changed their laws to allow restaurants to offer “doggie dining” on patios. Additionally, many of the shops also welcome leashed, well-mannered pets. The city has a small dog park and a groomer who sells dog food.

The marina staff is friendly and helpful, and all the businesses welcome cruisers with open arms. If visitors contact the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce before their arrival at the marina, the chamber will provide an information packet for local businesses.

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Harken, Lewmar, Ronstan, Samson & Others 46

February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

www.southwindsmagazine.com

The Gulfport Marina, looking south. Photo courtesy city of Gulfport.

nal, showers, 30- and 50-amp power, diesel and gasoline, marine supplies, bait, ice and basic staples, and marine supplies. Cruisers will pay only for what they purchase at the ship’s store and fuel; everything else is included in the nightly or weekly fee.

Cost The marina charges cruisers $1.50 per foot per night with a $45 minimum charge (for one night.) They also offer a weekly rate of $5.25 per foot with a minimum charge of $157.50 (for one week). This fee includes 30- and 50-amp shore power, water, wireless Internet access, free pump-outs, and the use of all marina facilities.

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Getting around If cruisers don’t want to use the marina-provided courtesy bikes, they can take a stroll downtown. From the marina, Gulfport’s downtown is a leisurely 20-minute walk through an established waterfront neighborhood. Any businesses or city facilities denoted with an asterisk (*) below are in the waterfront district downtown. The Gulfport Trolley, decorated with pink flamingos, takes people to St. Pete Beach and back for no more than $1.75 per trip (less for seniors, students, and minors) or city-issued tokens. Among other locations throughout Gulfport, the Village Pub, Small Adventures, Bay Breeze Salon, Peninsula Inn, Domain Home Accessories, the Outpost, and Bluewater Outfitters sell tokens.

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Charlotte Harbor to Tarpon Springs SOUTHWINDS February 2010

47

O’Maddy’s, a short walk and even shorter bike ride from the marina, serves lunch and dinner seven days a week. Owners Al and Maddy Guenther serve a consistent, tasty menu, but if the daily special has any sort of fish in it, opt for that.

If you’re looking to explore nearby Clam Bayou (a struggling estuary home to osprey, manatee, gators, and green herons), you’ll need to do it from a kayak. The Outpost rents kayaks and offers advice on local happenings. It also sells Gulfport-themed merchandise and other whimsical gifts.

Gulfport also operates its own bright red and green trolley from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. This is a free trolley that runs throughout the waterfront district.

Closest Laundry: Gulfport Village Laundry*, 2813 Beach Blvd. S. (727) 347-7920 Places to eat: Sal’s Town Shores Restaurant, 5808 28th Ave. S., (727) 347-5788 O’Maddy’s*, 5405 Shore Blvd., (727) 323-8643, www.omaddys.com Pia’s Trattoria*, 3054 Beach Blvd. S., (727) 327-2190, www.piastrattoria.com Peg’s Cantina*, 3038 Beach Blvd. S., (727) 328-2720, www.pegscantina.com Habana Café, 5402 Gulfport Blvd., (727) 321-8855, www.nacafe-usa.com Fazio’s Pizza (delivery), (727) 345-0097 Places to get a good book: Small Adventures*, 3107 Beach Blvd. S. , (727) 347-8732, www.ladventuresbookshop.com Gulfport Public Library*, 5501 28th Ave. S., (727) 893-1074, www.tblc.org/gpl Places to get online: Gulfport Public Library*, 5501 28th Aveve. S., (727) 893-1074, www.tblc.org/gpl Gulfport Technology Center*, 3037 Beach Blvd. S., (727) 388-3493, www.gtcinc.us

Closest Walk-InClinic: 6801 Gulfport Blvd. S., (727) 347-2273 Closest Drugstore: Walgreens, 5701 Gulfport Blvd. S., (727) 344-3701 Closest Boating Store: 5001 34th St. S., St. Petersburg, (727) 867-5700 Gulfport Chamber of Commerce: 2808 58th St. S., (727) 344-3711, www.gulfportchamberofcommerce.com Local paper: The Gabber Newspaper, free every Thursday, available throughout the city Gulfport Municipal Marina Monitoring VHF Channel 16; 27’-44’-00” North 82’-42’-00” West 4630 29th Ave. S.; (727) 893-1071; www.ci.gulfport.fl.us Marina Winter Hours Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & holidays, 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

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Friday, Saturday, Sunday, * holidays 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

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Groceries: TLC*, 2822 Beach Blvd. S., (727) 321-2833 Publix & Sweetbay, corners of Gulfport Boulevard and Pasadena Places for pet care: Reef Dog Gifts and Grooming*, 2820 Gulfport Blvd. S., (727) 323-7007, www.reefdoggrooming.com Gulfport Veterinarian, 5621 Gulfport Blvd. S., (727) 384-4413 Gulfport Chase Dog Park*, corner of 54th St. & 28th Ave. S.

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SMALL BOAT REVIEW

The Windmill Story

By Jabbo Gordon,

Like Dr. Frankenstein, Clark Mills created a monster, and he had to do something about it.

Photo by Lisa Farth

M

ills’ monster was the Clearwater Optimist Pram, which has evolved into the International Optimist Dinghy. More than 150,000 have served youngsters all over the world, and it is the largest one-design vessel on the planet. Not bad for a boat that some folks call a shoebox with a sail on it.

When Mills designed it in 1947, his main purpose was to create a training platform so kids could learn to sail.

Quickly, his little pram hooked hundreds on sailing in general and racing in particular. However, the age limit was— and still is—15. As some of his disciples aged out, they found their options were limited.

The class of choice around Clearwater, FL, at the time was the Snipe. And while the Clearwater Yacht Club had some great Snipe sailors and hosted the midwinters every year, a Snipe was relatively expensive, especially for a teenager. A competitive Snipe in those days might cost about $1,500, which was big money in the early 1950s, especially when the kid had paid about $75 for his Optimist Pram.

It was back to the drawing board for Mills. And he designed still another winner and named it after himself:

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“Wind-Mill.” It is the same length (15’ 6”) as a Snipe, but it is three inches narrower and somewhat lighter at 198 pounds (minimum) compared to a Snipe’s 381 pounds.

Another difference is that the Windmill uses a wooden daggerboard instead of a metal board.

It has a hard chine that adds stability to the hull shape, which has a slight “vee” to it, but it will still plane.

In addition, the Windmill was simpler to build and could be purchased in kits, like the Optimist, with the idea that a father and his son or daughter could put it together.

The cost: $750, half the price of a Snipe.

The rigging is about the same, although a Snipe’s sail area (main and jib) is 128 square feet whereas a Windmill has only 119 square feet. Neither boat has a spinnaker or a trapeze.

Ah, but how would it compete against the more established Snipe? It was actually faster. Still is. Ethan Bixby, of North Sails in St. Petersburg, grew up racing 505s out of Melbourne Yacht Club on Florida’s east coast and sailed collegiately for Tufts University. He still competes in 505s along with Contenders, Snipes and Windmills. And Bixby is quick to say that a Windmill is quicker than a Snipe.

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SOUTHWINDS February 2010

49

SMALL BOAT REVIEW Not as competitive, mind design modifications, such as aluyou, but quicker. Snipes, designed minum masts, fiberglass hulls and about 20 years before Mills took flotation tanks, took time. So did up his pencil and started drawing shortening the daggerboard. lines, have always been very popActually, skippers have the option ular. The Snipe class has some of making the board shorter. great sailors and is a bit more A Windmill’s rudder also has competitive because of the class undergone some changes. Mills size and international strength. originally designed it to look like However, the latest Portsmouth an overgrown Optimist rudder, Yardstick Index rates a Snipe at according to 65-year-old Dave Ellis 91.9 and a Windmill at 89.5. This who has been sailing one since he means that a Windmill has to give was 14, growing up in the time to a Snipe. But speed is not all Gulfport, FL, area. He crewed for that Bixby loves about a Windmill. national champions in 1957 and “It’s very simple to sail and 1959 and won the title as skipper in easy to control,” Bixby said. “It’s 1980, 1985, 2004 and 2005. very light and responsive.”

“Clarkie just laid an Opti rudder Bixby became interested in on a piece of wood and made the the class about 10 years ago and Windmill rudder an inch and a half set out to revitalize it. In years bigger all the way around,” Ellis gone by, there have been some recalled. “Unfortunately, the rudder issues over the wooden kits and would come out of the water somethe fiberglass molds. Some of times and people would capsize.”

Photo by Allen Chauvenet. those issues have been resolved Through the years, the Windmill because the class now owns the molds, he indicated. But the rudder evolved into a longer, skinnier and deeper blade. class was slow to change with the times in some areas. Some Officials also allowed the owners to trade in their wooden mast and boom for aluminum in the mid 1960s, Ellis said.

“The boat is easy to build from kits, but a lot of people are fixing up old wooden ones and finding that wooden boats are as competitive as the glass boats,” Bixby said.

“They are a low-cost racing platform and a pleasure to sail.”

One convert is Lisa Fath of Palmetto, FL. Although she grew up in St. Petersburg, she started out in keelboats, working the foredeck on boats that competed in the Adams Cup for a couple of years.

“I did it backwards,” she said with a laugh. “Most people go from a dinghy to a keelboat, but I went the other way.”

She readily admits that she didn’t know what a Windmill was at first, but she spotted one, and it was almost love at first sight.

“I like mine because it is wooden and it is a good boat for me,” Fath said. “I wouldn’t move to another dinghy. I would go back to a keelboat first.”

Fath, who ran the Manatee River Pram Fleet for 14 31% of boats aren’t insured. years, enjoys the fact that people can change things.

I can help you make sure you don’t get stuck with 100% of the “There are three different types of travelers,” she said.

“You can move shrouds out, or in. We have a new rudder cost if something happens. For less than $1 a day*, Allstate Boadesign now. You can tweak it.” towners Insurance can cover things like injury, theft, and damBixby, Ellis and Fath also complimented the people in age to your boat, or someone else’s. Don’t wait. Call me today. the class. “They are a great bunch of people and they help each other,” she said.

PAUL HESS PHANEUF “Windmill sailors usually are less hard core,” Ellis commented. “They are in it mostly for fun.”

(813) 353 0303 “A husband and wife can sail together on a Windmill,” Bixby added. “You used to see a lot of fathers and sons or 3641 W KENNEDY #E, TAMPA fathers and daughters at regattas, but there aren’t as many a076075@allstate.com these days because youngsters usually prefer high performance boats such as a Laser.” *Based on 2009 countrywide average gross premium for boatowners insurance. Your actual premium will Ellis sees many dinghy classes such as Lightnings and vary based on state and value of boat. Subject to availability and qualifications. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL. © 2009 Allstate Insurance Company

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www.southwindsmagazine.com

Thistles diminishing in size, but the opined that the Windmill is still a average age of owners growing older. good boat to learn on.

“You used to stand in line to get “I’ve taught a lot of people to sail to crew on a boat like a Windmill.” on a Windmill,” Ellis explained.

He said. “Now, it’s often hard to find President of the Windmill Class a crew. There are too many other Association is Dave Neilsen of things for kids to do these days.”

Sacramento, CA, a “fur piece” from Is there a downside? Some peothe vessel’s birthplace. He grew up ple mention how much open area in Santa Cruz and sailed El Toros, there is—similar to a Thistle—and OK Dinghies and Lasers early on. there is very little deck space.

“A friend attempted to coax his “I like that feature,” Bixby wife and teenage daughter into a explained. “It is very tippy because family activity with Windmills, but it is so narrow, but you can walk forafter several failed outings, he gave ward in the boat without having to up and gave me my first Windmill 10 get up on a deck, which would make years ago,” Neilsen recalled. And he it even more tippy.” has been hooked on it ever since.

Ellis quickly added, “It’s tough So hooked was he that when Bill to flip a Windmill, but they will go Blanton, who migrates between over. And during the early years, it Maryland, Virginia and Florida, was darn near impossible to wanted to step down as class A fiberglass Windmill. Photo by Marcey Sherman. bring back up. You had to go to president, he roped in Neilsen. the beach.”

“They are light, fun and David Neilsen echoed simple,” he said about the Bixby’s comment about the tipWindmill “Yet they are competpiness. “You need to pay attenitive. We don’t have a lot of tion when you are sailing or people who are going to the else you will be swimming,” he Olympics, but the boat is good said. “On the other hand, they for families.” are easy to bring back up.”

Speaking of racing, the Now, with the new flotaWindmill class will have its tion features, you can bring up 2010 Midwinter Championship a Windmill practically dry. regatta at Tampa’s Davis Island Others may think of it as Yacht Club on March 12-14. The primarily a racing class, but nationals will be at Georgia’s Bixby estimates that 10 to 15 Lake Lanier in July. For further percent of Windmill owners information on the class, go to will go day-sailing. And Ellis www.windmillclass.org.

Racing in a wooden windmill. Photo by Marcey Sherman.

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SOUTHWINDS February 2010

51

COOKING ONBOARD

By Robbie Johnson

Bringing the CHINESE WOK Aboard

E

very cruising sailor learns quickly that the least amount of fuel expended in the galley, the better. No matter whether it’s propane, kerosene, alcohol or diesel, fuels are expensive and frequently unavailable in the more remote places. And it doesn’t take long experience sailing in the high temperatures and humidity of the tropics to appreciate the value of cooking methods that generate minimal heat down below. With those thoughts in mind, I would like to suggest that you bring a Chinese wok aboard your sailboat, and enjoy its frugal use of fuel and fast cooking technique that minimizes heat generation down below.

The primary criteria for a cooking method is that it be nutritiously healthy and produce palate-pleasing meals.

Meals cooked in the Chinese wok easily meet both of those goals. In the bargain, little precious fuel is expended, and because the cooking is so fast, a minimum of heat is generated in preparing the meals. Most of the time spent in wok cooking is in the slicing, dicing and marinating of the ingredients; all of that is done before the wok goes over the heat.

With this article, I am going to give you a crash course in wok stir-frying. To get you started, I’m providing a recipe for pork, one for chicken and a vegetarian dish. In a later article, I will show you how to use your wok to braise, boil, poach, steam, deep-fry and smoke meats, seafood and veggies. Believe me, the versatility of the Chinese wok can’t be matched by any other single cooking utensil! Its sole limitation aboard a sailing vessel is that it cannot be used in unsettled weather or roly-poly anchorages because of the danger of hot oil being tossed out of the wok. But there are plenty of calm harbors and snug marinas where the wok is king when it comes to low fuel consumption and fast cooking!

If you don’t already have a wok aboard, it is probably because you don’t have one in your shoreside kitchen either.

That being the case, when you go shopping for your first wok, make it a point to buy a carbon-steel Westernized wok with a flat bottom and two opposing handles. The flat bottom is essential for cooking over a range, and you need a handle on each side of the wok to have solid control of the hot oil and ingredients. Don’t buy a stainless steel wok, or one with non-stick Teflon coating. A 14-inch wok with a depth of 4 inches is a perfect size for most boat galleys.

While you’re at it, buy a Chinese-style metal spatula that is also 14-inches long. This spatula will have a shovel-like shape and a slightly rounded lip designed to fit the contour of a flare-shaped wok. It holds a lot more food than a Western-styled flat spatula. (See picture.)

You need to season your new wok before cooking your first meal, and that is done very easily. First, wash the inside

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February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

and outside of the wok with hot water using a stainless-steel scrubbing pad and liquid soap. Rinse with hot water, then dry with paper towels. Next, place the wok over low heat for 1-2 minutes to totally dry it. Now, chop up a half-dozen or so fresh scallions and a few slices of fresh ginger. Put your new wok over very high heat and get it smoking, so hot that a drop of water evaporates in a second or two. Reduce the heat to medium and swirl in 2 or 3 tablespoons of peanut oil or canola oil, then add the scallions and ginger. For the next 5 minutes or so, use the spatula to push the hot scallions, ginger and oil mixture up the sides to the top edge of the wok. Add oil if it begins to dry out. Remove from the heat, allow to cool and discard the scallions and ginger slices.

Wash the wok one more time with hot water and a soft sponge, then dry over low heat for 2 minutes. That’s it!

Now, with your newly-seasoned wok, you’re ready to prepare one of the delicious stir-fry meals described below:

I PORK

This recipe for a pork stir-fry meal is older than the United States! And it is being prepared in perhaps several million restaurants and homes in China this very day. What greater testament do you need to be assured that you and your crew will be well pleased when this simple, but fabulous, meal arrives on the galley table? Sailing chefs will be pleased, too, when they discover that the total cooking time is only four minutes! Serve with a side of Basmati rice, and make four sailors very happy! www.southwindsmagazine.com

Ingredients 12 oz. lean pork, cut into 1/4 –inch-thick bite-sized pieces 1½ teaspoons Shao Hsing rice wine (or dry sherry) 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1½ teaspoons sesame oil 2 teaspoons cornstarch ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper 1 tablespoon canola oil 3 slices fresh ginger 6 scallions, white and green parts, halved length-wise and cut into 2-inch pieces ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon sugar Preparation 1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the pork, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch and pepper.

2. Heat your 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a drop of water vaporizes within 1-2 seconds of contact. Swirl in the canola oil and sliced ginger then add the pork mixture, spreading it evenly in the wok with your spatula. Cook without disturbing for 1 minute, allowing the pork to begin to brown. Then use the spatula to stir-fry for 1 more minute, or until the pork is lightly browned.

3. Now add the scallions, salt and sugar and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the pork is just cooked and the scallions have become bright green. Serve immediately with a side of rice.

I CHICKEN

Cantonese stir-fries are famous the world-over, and you can’t go wrong with this tried-and-true chicken/garlic/sugar snaps recipe. The fresh sugar snaps, the canned bamboo shoots and the baby corn are probably the only three ingredients you don’t already have in your galley. Five minutes is the total cooking time for this gem!

Ingredients 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ¼-inch bite-sized pieces 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon corn starch 1 teaspoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry ¼ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup chicken broth (Swanson’s sodium-free) 2 tablespoons canola oil 2 tablespoons garlic, minced 1 cup sugar snap peas (about 3 oz.), strings removed ½ cup carrots, thinly sliced ½ cup canned baby corn, rinsed then halved length-wise ½ cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced 1 teaspoon sesame oil Preparation 1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken pieces with 1½ teaspoons soy sauce, the cornstarch, rice wine, sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Set aside to marinate. In a small bowl, mix the broth and remaining teaspoon of soy sauce and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

2. Heat your wok over high heat, then swirl in 1 tablespoon of the canola oil, garlic, and the chicken pieces mixture, spreading all evenly inside the wok. Cook without stirring for 1 minute, allowing the chicken to begin browning.

Then, stir-fry for 1-2 minutes turning ingredients vigorously until the chicken is browned on all sides but not thoroughly cooked. Transfer to a plate.

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3. Swirl remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil into the wok, then add sugar snaps, corn, carrots and bamboo shoots, stir-frying them for a minute or so until the vegetables begin to soften. Return chicken to the wok. Stir the sauce mixture and swirl it into the wok. Stir-fry for one more minute or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the sauce just thickened. Drizzle with sesame oil just before serving. Serve with a side of white or Basmati short grain rice. Serves 4.

I VEGETABLE STIR-FRY

(Bean Sprouts & Scallions) Healthy and lip-smacking delicious, this vegetable stir-fry goes great with steamed or grilled fish.

Ingredients 2 tablespoons canola oil (peanut oil okay, too) 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced 12 oz. (6 cups) mung bean sprouts (soybean sprouts okay, too, but cook additional 2 minutes) 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon sesame oil 2 scallions, white and green parts chopped Preparation Heat wok over high heat and test with a drop of water that should evaporate in 1-2 seconds. Add canola oil and swirl to coat wok’s sides, then add ginger and stir-fry for 10 seconds.

Now, add bean sprouts and stir-fry for 1 minute. Next, add salt and sugar and stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until sprouts are cooked but still firm. Be careful not to overcook. Stir in sesame oil and chopped scallions. Serve immediately.

Wrap Up There’s a lot more to enjoying meals prepared with a Chinese wok, but the basic techniques and recipes presented in this article for stir-frying are a good place to start. Follow the instructions as presented and you can’t go wrong. If you don’t use your wok for a few weeks and discover the surface has acquired a thin coat of rust, the rust can be easily removed. Just heat 1 cup of salt in the wok over high heat, then allow it to cool a bit.

While the salt is still warm, take a clean, double-folded rag and scrub the wok with the salt. When the wok has cooled, rinse it with hot water. Dry the wok over low heat for 2-3 minutes. If the rust was especially thick, you may want to re-season your wok with the scallions/ginger/oil method explained earlier.

Robbie Johnson lives aboard a steel Tahiti Ketch and is the author of Gourmet Underway – A Sailor’s Cookbook. Order his book at www.gourmetunderway.com.

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Cruising Florida’s West Coast to the Florida Keys in an Open 17‘ Trimaran —

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Part I of II

By Bruce Matlack Cover: Bruce and Mac off Anna Maria Island at the beginning of their trip. Photo by Marty Noble

A

llen Parducci, who led me to buy one of these wonderful trimarans—the Windrider 17—sight unseen, inspired the title for this recent sailing adventure. He wrote me from his fall residence in France to let me know that he wanted a full report on my trip to Key West on my Windrider 17, Further. He wanted the whole story—the good, as well as the bad and the ugly. The name of my boat, Further, was a simple answer to anyone I met along the way who may have asked how far I was headed. I’d simply point to the name on the stern, Further. Nobody asked—there were no people.

I and three other Windrider enthusiasts decided to make a run from Key West to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas last October in these 17-foot open boats. Home base was to be at Dan’s waterfront place on Stock Island adjacent to Key West. Joe would trailer down from Tampa, while Mac and I would sail the 250 miles from my place on Anna Maria Island, on the south end of Tampa Bay, and meet the other two at Key West.

I’ll cover this adventure in two parts. This month will be the trip to Little Shark River on the southwest corner of the Florida peninsula. Next month, I’ll cover the trip from there to Key West and Fort Jefferson via the Marquesas Keys.

My First Mistakes Having roughly paced off the total sailing distance with my fingers on a Florida road atlas, I came up with roughly 190 miles, although the thickness of my finger could add a dozen miles. It turned out to be 250 nautical miles instead.

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So mistake #1 was to use a map instead of a chart to measure distance. Mistake #2 was leaving a day and a half late, losing valuable time and favorable winds. My plan was to sail in a weather window with favorable winds, especially in a boat that has no centerboard, as going to windward is more difficult and not as efficient as many other boats. My original planned departure date had me leaving with favorable winds predicted all the way down to the Keys.

I had originally planned this as a solo sail to Key West, but Mac joined with his Windrider at the 11th hour. My boat was named Further (after Ken Kesey’s famous bus of the ’60s). Mac’s unnamed trimaran should have been named “Westsail 32” for all the stuff, gadgets and gear he had onboard. I had not met Mac, who’s from upstate New York, before, but I welcomed the prospect of someone sailing with me on the trip. But my departure date was put off a couple days, making my weather window smaller.

We finally headed south with a strong east-northeast wind and glassy, protected, picture-perfect water, making it into Stump Pass at Englewood for our first night—a good run of around 50 miles. Just inside the pass, we quickly set up tents on deck before sunset, but no-see-ums made life more difficult. Huge fish and dolphins thrashed around all www.southwindsmagazine.com

Bruce leaving for Wiggins Pass, now alone, from Sanibel Island causeway, leaving Mac who would smartly sail back north to Anna Maria to make the rendezvous in the Keys by land, rather than continue by water under Bruce’s “do or die” schedule. Photo by Mac MacDevitt.

The first day was marked by flat water and great winds off Sarasota. Photo by Bruce Matlack

night as sporadic, jolting reminders that this was not my comfy bed at home. I sail because I love it, and I camp only because I have to. Basically, I hate camping.

The second day was another late start, but another great day of favorable winds and close inshore sailing at its best.

At one, I yelled over at Mac and said, “Hey, Mac! It doesn’t get any better than this!” He nodded agreement with an earto-ear smile. We were screaming along with bursts to 12 knots and eating up the miles nicely—until the wind began to fade in mid-afternoon. In the lighter air, Mac was starting to lag behind. His lake experience was now beginning to take a toll as real live ocean currents and light, shifty, offshore winds slowed his heavier boat. Our schedule was getting squeezed, as the wind was not supposed to be dying off until the next day. Setting up and tearing down camp was eating up six hours of daylight each day.

On the second night, we pulled up onto a beach that looked promising with lots of endless sand and no people.

This is where Mac may have started to lose confidence in me, our leader and navigator. My dead reckoning had us on Cayo Costa Island and his sophisticated GPS had us on North Captiva Island, some seven miles further south! It was 24 hours later that I reluctantly agreed that we had slept on the wrong island.

After the first two days, the wind became more fickle, and my error (from mistake #1) of 60 miles more to Stock Island/Key West was becoming more of an issue. I had a goal of a minimum of 25 miles a day, and it was becoming more and more unattainable. With lighter winds, on the afternoon of the third day, we started motoring. We sailed south past Sanibel and decided we would spend the night somewhere near the bridge to Sanibel Island. We couldn’t find anything we liked, but Mac offered to pay for a hotel and dinner in St. James City a few miles north of the Sanibel bridge, so we headed up there and spent the night—heading away from our final destination of the Florida Keys.

The next morning, we backtracked south to the Sanibel bridge area, but Mac’s motor was acting up, so we decided to go ashore and work on it. While there, Mac decided—and wisely so—that he didn’t want to continue to the Keys sail-

ing his boat and headed back to Anna Maria to fetch his rig to trailer his boat to Key West. I decided to press on alone at a more aggressive pace to chase the dying northeast wind before it clocked southeast into my face. I think Mac figured out by now that I was a bit crazy and would put in a marathon effort that was not his cup of tea.

All alone on the fourth day out, using the same dead reckoning navigation skills that I’d used so far, I sailed south towards Naples. With a surprise bonus tailwind of up to 18 knots, I had a great surfing session to Wiggins Pass north of Naples. My cousin lived nearby, and I stayed with him that night but slept little in anxious anticipation of my next adventure.

At 9:00 a.m. on the fifth morning, I left Wiggins Pass in my wake in an attempt to reach the Little Shark River nonstop. The wind began to seriously lighten as I cruised just off the beach down the Naples coast and on to Marco Island. I motored off and on and then ducked into the Marco Island inlet to fasten running lights in mid-afternoon for my intended all-night sail, skirting the Ten Thousand Islands area towards the river inlet. I was still getting a comfortable east-northeast wind.

I was now on a mission to round Cape Sable to beat the predicted southeast breeze, which would have meant beat-

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February 2010

55

Bruce’s tight, empty, lonely cockpit where circles in the night became the norm when sleep was impossible at anchor. Photo by Bruce Matlack

Mac just after sunrise on a secluded beach near Cayo Costa State Park. Surf was too big to beach the boats, and Bruce worried all night that Mac’s boat would be off to Cozumel on its own during the night. Photo by Bruce Matlack.

ing to windward across Florida Bay. My dilemma was that if I could not get far enough east after rounding the three capes of Cape Sable, then I would not be able to fetch the Seven-Mile Bridge near Marathon in the Keys and would be faced with the prospect of turning back, since going to windward across the bay would have been too much.

Tall Marco Island skyscrapers abruptly stopped north of the inlet on the south side of the island, making an eerie contrast to the wilds of the Cape Romano peninsula to the south. About halfway down that peninsula in the late afternoon, I spied the only protected inlet and decided to bump and surf through the shallows for a break for dinner and a rest. Also good were the Oregonian freeze-dried, pouch meals that I ate almost exclusively during this trip. An hour or so later, just after sunset, I was on the move again, as the ever ferocious no-see-ums nipped at the back of my neck. I sailed briskly away into the encroaching darkness, watching the last lights of civilization disappear over the stern. The wind died shortly thereafter, and I ended up anchoring 10 miles at sea in about 12 feet of water to try to sleep, but without success.

I began sailing again two hours later, and I soon became drowsy and started nodding off at the helm, going in circles and becoming disorientated until coming to and steering radically back to the proper course. It was a miserable time, and I was making bad choices due to my sleep-depraved state. Looking back, I should have simply dropped the sails and slept for a time, using my cell phone alarm to awaken me periodically for a look about. Again, I forgot I had a GPS onboard. All I had to do was turn it on and it would give me my exact position after a much-needed snooze. But I had used dead reckoning with success for many sailing trips in my past and did not feel I really needed it.

With the rise of a half moon, some breeze developed with a reduced swell, so I pressed on, approaching my 15th hour under way, sailing—and nodding off—through the light breezes. I steered by the stars with the compass light off in the damp, night sky as the moon set about 1:00 a.m.

Blackness closed in, and emerging stars rising on a vague horizon looked like ships approaching in my fried brain.

Soon, I shut off all the running lights as the glare was mak-

ing me crazy. As I struggled in and out of consciousness, sailing lazy, uncontrolled circles in the night, the wind suddenly began to crank up. Now was my chance to sail my ass off to make up time! It could be the last of a favorable wind!

Soon it was blowing 18 knots with higher gusts, and I was starting to think about the terror of reefing, which I knew would be impossible in my deranged state in the pitch-black night. Luckily, as I furled the jib away, the wind moderated to about 10 knots, and the time approached when I should see the red, flashing light of buoy #6.

Right on schedule about 5:00 a.m, lo and behold, there was a red flashing light before me to windward! I was so happy to see this light; you cannot believe! I was happy to see anything besides total blackness and the phosphorescent sea rushing by. I sailed hard towards the light to make a positive ID for a fix, nodding off now and again even in my exuberant state. Yes! ...It was #6! So I sailed off some distance and hove to. I turned my headlamp on and began plotting my next course into the Little Shark River, some 8 miles away. Perhaps I dozed off, but the next thing I experienced was a terrible collision with some immovable object three miles from land. I was petrified. What in the hell? In only 10 feet of water, I am colliding with steel? Was I being run down by a ship for the second time in my life? Whatever it is, I couldn’t get away from it! I looked up to see the stinkin’ red flashing light of #6—20 feet above me with the red steel triangle plate slicing back and forth between my mast and the leech of the jib. Any moment I was expecting the mast to come down or at the very least, to get my sails shredded!

Somehow, the boat had jibed around in a complete circle without my knowing (had I really fallen asleep?) and she deadheaded the steel marker post of #6. I jumped up to clear it away, but my harness line tether prevented me from reaching the mess. So now, I had to release my safety line to wrestle myself away from a three-foot diameter pole while expecting my rig to come crashing down at any moment.

Miraculously there was no damage at all! I could not believe that I had gotten away scot-free! I figured it was nearly 48 hours since I’d had a real good sleep, and I had sailed the last leg nonstop, about 60 miles—and I was still going, hoping to make the Shark River in a few hours for a short break

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The first night’s camp just inside Stump pass near Englewood Beach was spent anchored off mangrove. Photo by Bruce Matlack.

A great deserted spot for Bruce’s “last supper” and rest along the Cape Romano Peninsula before striking out on the all night marathon across the 10,000 Islands area to Cape Sable.

before I continued south towards Cape Sable.

Next month, I’ll cover my trip up the Little Shark River, the rounding of Cape Sable and across Florida Bay to the Seven-Mile Bridge, my run to the Key West rendezvous and our trip to the Marquesas.

Champion in 1973. Bruce currently sails a Windrider 17 off Anna Maria Island on Tampa Bay, FL, where he lives part of the year during the cooler months. He travels and windsurfs in cooler climates in the summer.

To learn more about the Windrider 17, see SOUTHWINDS, February 2009. Go to the Back Issues pages at www.southwindsmagazine.com.

Bruce Matlack was the first National and World Windsurfing

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February 2010

57

Captains Harold and Margie Ochstein, on the right, with their sailboat Island Dreamer anchored behind them, at Bahia Honda State Park with their students Peter Carbonaro and Annette Tripp, who are from Scottsdale, AZ, and came to the Keys for a week of sailing instruction.

“T

he sky was boiling with black clouds; the wind was on the nose and the sea spray was splashing over the deck. My wife was curled up in a ball on the cockpit sole with tears running down her face in terror.

There I stood with my hands gripping the wheel wondering if I could get her to take the helm long enough for me to take another reef.”

That’s the drama you usually read about—the men seem to seek the challenge, and the women start off in fear. This scenario can be avoided if the two of you take the time to train together to gain the knowledge and confidence you both will need to weather the storm.

A new trend in sail training is starting that we call Couple-to-Couple Instruction.

Instead of a single male or single female instructor, you learn as a couple from another couple. You’ve heard it all before; men and women learn differently. Why not learn from a couple that has already mastered working together as a team and are both captains in their own right? She can share her learning experiences woman to woman, overcoming

By Jeff and Jean Grossman/Levine and Harold and Margie Ochstein any of her fears, and he can relate better man to man. Like a team of athletes, a sailing couapproached from different perspectives while still achieving ple will help you train together with the goal of living the positive results. Let the other couple show you how they do cruising dream without the added drama. it, then practice with the comfort of knowing you are not Sailing instruction, however, is just the first step in alone. During training you will be taking turns at the helm, bringing the dream to fruition. If your dream includes sailsetting the sails, dropping the anchor and tying up to a ing your own boat with confidence and skill to distant locadock. In addition, you will practice man overboard drills tions, there’s more to the story. Let’s break it down into three until both partners are confident with single-handed control easy steps for taking the drama out of the dream. They are: of the boat. When you actually do it yourself, you improve (1) learn to sail together as a team; (2) choose the right boat; your skills as crew, and as you practice together, your confi(3) and sail together as a couple. Before you know it, you dence in each other grows. Remember, you must be able to will be living the dream. get the boat to safety if something happens to your partner.

Begin by taking sailing lessons together, as a couple, Sometimes not knowing how to deal with a situation can with another couple. Not only will you learn the skills neccause a raised voice or a flash of anger. By watching another essary to sail, but you’ll also see that problems can be couple work together, you can learn to communicate without yelling. When you have discussed and practiced “what if” scenarios, you can remove that “fear factor.” Further, when SELL YOUR BOAT CLASS IFIED ADS something does not go as planned, you will both know how SOUTHWINDS CLASSIFIED ADS to work together to make things right. Be aware that you WORK! won’t learn it all in a weekend or even in a week. However, you will gain confidence in your ability to be a team, and you REDUCED RATES SPECIAL will feel more of a bond in your relationship. $15 FOR A 3-MONTH WORD AD The next step is finding the right boat. You will avoid drama if you select your boat together, so sail as many dif$25 FOR AD WITH PHOTO ferent boats as you can. Now is the time to learn about the Ads must be emailed by March 10 difference between a day sailer and a voyaging yacht. when this offer ends. E-mail ads only.

Educate yourselves about the different yachts on the marMailed in ads, add $5 for words and $5 for photo. ket. Understand the best compromises between sailing performance, storage space, tankage and layout for your intend(941) 795-8704 editor@southwindsmagazine.com ed use. Sign on as crew together, and go ahead and try some

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$25,000 ter rigged 30’ custom built, aft transmissionketch. The hull & Volvocabin, cutwere completely engine in 2007. Hand re-condition & laid up ed Sweden in 1980. Mainfiberglass hull. Built in tee/berths each cabin has 6-foot setward V-berth. side and a semi-enclos ed forTom O’Brien Boat lies in Cortez, zon.net. (3/10)(941) 518-0613. FL. Contact jtoaia@veri-

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Jeff and Jean Grossman/Levine next to their Skye 51, Polyponic.

Learn more about Couple-to-Couple training at the Miami Boat Show at the SOUTHWIND’S sponsored seminar: “Take the Drama out of the Dream.”

racing. Racing gives you the opportunity to experience heavy weather sailing within the safety of the fleet. Let’s face it; for any of you who have raced, you know that to win the plastic trophy, you will go out in any weather; whereas if you were cruising, you would never have left the dock.

Once you are ready to move on to actually choosing the boat, why not work with a brokerage couple who has lived aboard? They will listen to your dreams and help match you to the boat that’s right for you. You gain the advantage of their experience knowing that the advice and judgment they give is coming from sailors who have owned, maintained and sailed cruising vessels.

After you have purchased your dream yacht, consider sailing it home with another experienced couple in order to get over the first humps of new boat ownership. When you first buy a boat, there are always new things to learn and figure out, regardless of your boating experience—from the various boat systems to how the boat handles. If you just throw your buddies on board, they will expect you to know everything about your new boat. Sometimes this can cause more trouble than the crew is worth. Why add more stress to the trip home? By using a couple that has had multiple boats and has experience making that voyage on that type of cruising boat, what might seem like a big problem will be reduced to a minor inconvenience. You’ll be accompanied by a couple that has experienced all the same anxieties you have. They can help smooth over the transition of living aboard and making the boat your dream home. If you bought your boat at the Miami Boat Show, for example, and you need to sail it home to Houston or New York, you may want delivery couple captains that specialize in the type of “his and her” training that will fit your needs.

Together you learned to sail, selected and purchased your boat and made your first passage. Now you are living the dream. Open to new adventures as a couple, you look forward to the next time you set sail, shut off the engine and hear nothing but the waves roll off your bow. There is a glorious peace that you get from sailing the ocean. Whatever Mother Nature throws your way, you will confidently handle it together.

Below is a list of couples you can partner with for lessons from beginners to advanced, for buying the right boat and for getting the boat to its new home: News & Views for Southern Sailors

Margie and Harold Ochstein, married for 31 years, have spent 27 years exploring the Florida Keys in canoes, powerboats and sailboats Both have USCG 50Ton Master’s licenses with sail endorsements. Harold is an ASA-Certified Sailing Instructor. They live aboard their Morgan Out Island 41 and teach beginning couples on their Balboa 20 and more advanced couples aboard the Morgan. They teach in a relaxed atmosphere in the Florida Keys. Island Dreamer Sailing School is an ASA-Certified Sailing School. www.sailsoftly.com.

Jeff and Jean Grossman/Levine combined have 60 years of sailing and have cruised in the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Florida and the Yucatan coast of Mexico. Both Jeff and Jean are 100GT Masters and ASA-Certified Sailing Instructors. They own a fully equipped Skye 51-foot sailboat. They give advanced systems training, weather and Gulf Stream crossing instruction. Couples get the opportunity to practice their skills sailing between Florida and the out islands of the Bahamas or Mexico. www.twocansail.com.

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February 2010

59

Good Delivery Gone Bad

By Bradd and Maeve Wilson

Over our past five years and 35,000 miles of cruising on our own boat, a Beneteau 390 named Sampatecho, occasionally delivering boats for friends has been a welcome respite. It has allowed us to experience different systems and designs, which—in some cases—we have incorporated on Sampatecho. We have always been over-cautious when “surveying” the subject vessels before setting out. Safety and survival have always been paramount in our cruising—so we won’t be held to any artificial deadlines. This is the story of an experienced crew, a well-found, high-tech boat, a near-perfect forecast and a relatively short hop offshore—and how it all went terribly awry.

W

e agreed to deliver a boat from Fort Pierce, FL, to Norfolk, VA, for friends who had to return home for medical attention. Bradd and I had been working on our boat in a yard in Beaufort, NC, for a week, and Bradd’s arms were bruised and sore from fighting with plumbing hoses. We were both ready for a sailboat ride—and what a boat! She is a 47-foot custom-built racer, de-tuned from an Open 50 design by Roger Martin. She is a treat to sail with her self-tacking jib, power winches and carbon fiber sails. She really flies. We considered it a compliment that the owners would allow us to take their boat north.

We spent a day with the owners learning the systems and reviewing the equipment above and below decks. One of the last queries Bradd had was, “Where is your emergency tiller?” The owner jinxed us by saying we would never need it—“This steering is a totally reliable fail-safe steering system. There’s no way you’ll ever need it!” —but he showed Bradd the emergency tiller just in case.

Departure From Fort Pierce We left Fort Pierce at 0630 Tuesday morning with a reasonable weather forecast for the rest of the week. Bradd plotted a course that would curve with the coastline and not take us more than 50 to 60 miles offshore. If we drew a straight line from Fort Pierce to Beaufort, it would take us much further offshore, and north winds were forecast for that area of the

ocean for part of the week. So he felt it would be more prudent to stay closer to shore to take advantage of better winds but be far enough off to get a little help from the Gulf Stream along the Florida coast. We calculated that if we could maintain seven knots, we would be in Beaufort before noon on Friday and be in Norfolk by Sunday or Monday at the latest.

Winds Tuesday were variable, and we did some motor sailing to maintain speed. After sunset, the winds picked up, and we flew along at 9 to10 knots. By midnight, the wind was up to 20 knots, so we reefed the main. The owner had told us that he doesn’t normally tuck a reef until the wind is close to 25. Seas had been building, and it was becoming a wet ride, but she has a hard dodger and a second chart plotter mounted on the coach roof by the companionway. So we let the autopilot drive the boat and stayed dry and comfortable under the dodger.

Steering Problems By 0530, the wind was gusting over 30 knots, and Bradd decided to furl the jib and put a second reef in the main. We had just sorted out the lines to furl the jib when the autopilot failed, and she started to round up into the wind. Bradd grabbed the wheel, but before he could get us back on course, the steering “snapped,” failing completely, and we were at the mercy of the wind and sails. She started careening back and forth. Bradd took hold of the main halyard,

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and as she passed bow through the wind, he managed to drop the main—thank goodness for lazy jacks! He retrieved the emergency tiller, removed the cap in the cockpit sole, positioned it and we once again had control.

Bradd went below to see why the steering had failed and to determine whether he could repair it. The boat was designed with small parallel arms on the steering post and the rudder post. Unfortunately, both the main steering wheel and auto helm steering arms had snapped off and

Bradd and Maeve Wilson.

were beyond his ability to repair. We were just over 50 miles from shore in 130 feet of water and about halfway between Jacksonville and Fernandina. We checked the charts and decided to alter course for St. Mary’s Inlet (Fernandina), where we knew we could anchor to sort out the steering problem. We were resigned to our revised agenda and settled in for a day of tiller steering at 5 knots under 100 percent jib alone in sloppy seas.

The sun was beginning to rise and by the dawn’s early light, we watched with open mouth disbelief and horror as the emergency tiller arm separated! It looked as easy as peeling a banana! The emergency tiller was made of aluminum no thicker than a boat hook (We thought that whoever manufactured it should go straight to jail!)

Now, we were once again without any steerage, and the self-tacking jib began tacking back and forth. I realized that there was no way for us to readily heave-to. (So much for the ease of self-tacking jibs.) We furled the jib and began a search of the boat for something to jury-rig a new tiller. We found that by putting the broken handle upside down in the rudder block and jamming tools around it, we could at least hold the rudder in one spot and try to keep the bow into the wind. We couldn’t get bow to the wind, even with the tiller hard over, but it did keep us from turning and running further offshore with the wind and waves. We were still drifting farther from shore, but not as quickly as we otherwise would have.

Pan, Pan, Pan While I held the rudder in place, Bradd tried to radio the Coast Guard on the VHF radio. Neither the Coast Guard nor TowBoatU.S. answered our call; We were too far offshore.

Bradd transmitted a panpan to any vessel in the area.

Danny, on fishing vessel Misty, answered our call at 0730.

He was about 20 miles closer to shore and was able to relay information to the Coast Guard.

“Panpan, panpan, panpan. Hello, all stations. Hello, all sta-

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tions. This is United States Coast Guard Sector Mayport, United States Coast Guard Sector Mayport. Time…universal coordinated time… The Coast Guard has received a report of a 47-foot sailboat adrift in approximately position Lat… Long… All mariners are requested to keep a sharp lookout, assist if possible, and report all sightings to the United States Coast Guard. Signed, United States Coast Guard Mayport, FL. Out.” Their broadcast was strong enough for us to hear them, but they couldn’t hear us.

It was then a waiting game with plenty of time to contemplate our predicament and peruse hindsight. We both felt sick about it. We had done more damage in 24 hours to the owner’s boat than they had done since taking delivery— or could imagine doing! What could we have done to prevent it? Should we have reduced more sail sooner? Should we have stayed closer to shore where the winds may have been lighter?

The first vessel to answer the Coast Guard panpan at 0745 was the tug J George Best. He was not able to lend assistance but had lots of advice. If Bradd could get a line around either side of the rudder and up to the winches, perhaps he could steer, or—better still—clamp 2 x 4s on either side of the rudder, fasten lines to the wood, and that might allow us to control the rudder. There were no 2 x 4s on board, and with the ship pitching and rolling in 6- to 8-foot seas, there was no way my captain was going to attempt to fasten anything to the rudder. J George Best then suggested we put out our anchor, even if we didn’t have any scope. Bradd felt that dropping the anchor in 130 feet with the wind and wave conditions was only inviting damage to the bow with no hope of holding.

U.S. Navy Warship 79 A short time later, we were hailed by Navy warship 79. They were about 16 miles away and asked if they could be of any assistance. Bradd said short of towing us to shore, if they had a welder on board, perhaps they could fashion a new tiller for us. They radioed back that they would come and stand off until the Coast Guard arrived (ETA noon), and if possible, manufacture a tiller. They were beside us in no time. Trying to describe what we needed over the VHF radio was no easy feat. Bradd took measurements of the block that fit in the rudder post and described it to them. I stood on

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deck and held up the tiller arm at their request and they took a photo of me! The warship explained that their davit was broken and they couldn’t launch a boat to get to us, but they would work on the tiller, and the Coast Guard could deliver it to us when they arrived.

The Coast Guard cutter Kingfisher arrived shortly after noon (we were easy to spot with the warship beside us). The wind and waves had been gradually subsiding. They launched their jet boat and sent over a boarding party. The warship had completed the tiller, and the Coast Guard retrieved it. The block was perfect, but the arm was mounted on the wrong side. We sent it back, along with the original one, so that they could see the proper orientation. They modified it, unfortunately using some parts of the original aluminum tiller, and it was quickly apparent that wouldn’t work. We sent the tiller back to the warship.

While we waited, we were wallowing in the aftermath of the big winds and seas with the rudder squeaking from side into side. A small pod of dolphins approached the boat.

The normally playful dolphins were obviously curious about the inert sailboat and the noises we were making.

Four of them approached and in unison popped their heads above the surface and while completely stationary, looked at us directly in the eye! What was wrong? They seemed to ask. Bradd and I looked at them. The Coast Guard looked at them and as quickly as they had appeared, they disappeared. I guess they were satisfied that we were okay.

Three times lucky! The Coast Guard engineer, Benjie, made a slight modification to the manufactured tiller (screwing the old aluminum arm over the Navy’s fabricated steel arm to make it more comfortable to hold) and by 1400 we were all under way—Kingfisher leading, us following and the Navy Warship 79 bringing up the rear. The Coast Guard insisted on accompanying us all the way to Jacksonville (thank goodness), and the warship soon left the parade.

The Tow to Jacksonville The Coast Guard had offered to stay aboard to help with the steering, but Bradd assured them that he would be okay.

However, the short tiller arm was very difficult to control and required quite a bit of strength. I was only able to relieve Bradd for short periods, and after a couple of hours, it was clear that Bradd would not be able to continue to steer for the hours it would take to reach shore. We had drifted southeast over the morning and we were about 54 miles from the Jacksonville harbor entrance when we got under way. We were looking at a minimum nine-hour trip if all went well. The Coast Guard had been checking on us by VHF every half hour. When they called again, we accepted their offer of assistance steering the boat.

The first two volunteer “drivers” were delivered. The steerage was so difficult and demanding that three hours was all that they could manage. A second troop of volunteer drivers took over. Some people have a natural ability to steer a boat and others can learn. Some people just never get the feel for it. Our first “helmsman” was a natural, and he taught his partner. The second two volunteers, on the other hand, were of the last category and consequently were very hard on our makeshift tiller. We actually did several 360s www.southwindsmagazine.com

when they lost control. The tiller was repaired three times by the Coast Guard under way. The final repair lasted till we were about 11 miles from the approach buoy off Jacksonville, and the tiller was now mangled beyond repair.

The Coast Guard was willing to tow us, but we had already made arrangements for TowBoatU.S. to meet us at the approach buoy. Bradd didn’t want to maneuver through the jetties and into a marina with so little control, so we suggested that TowBoatU.S. come out to get us rather than switching tows at the approach buoy. While we waited for them, the engineer fashioned yet another tiller for us to hold the rudder straight while under tow. Without it, the boat would be out of control and the stress on the rudder may have broken it off.

The new tiller was made of two 4-foot-long 4 x 4s held together with huge C clamps and nailed and screwed to the block that fit in the rudder post. It was actually the easiest of all the makeshift tillers to control, which was a good thing.

I got to steer most of the way in as Bradd’s arms had turned to Jell-O (and he is incredibly strong, my Popeye!). The final leg under tow was about 15 miles. We had drifted while waiting for the tow and the boatyard is about 4 miles from the approach buoy. We were finally docked at 0300 Thursday morning. What a long day!

In Port for Repairs We slept for three-and-a-half hours and then started the process of effecting repairs as quickly as possible. Bradd removed the broken parts, and they were sent to a machine shop to have new parts fabricated. He also delivered plans for a new emergency tiller. We scrubbed the decks to remove the salt and the multitude of Coast Guard footprints from her decks. The staff at the yard was fabulous, bending over backwards and calling in favors to get the parts done as soon as possible. The parts were finally delivered by courier at 1630 Friday, and Bradd set to work installing them. Unfortunately, one screw hole was drilled too small and, of course, being late Friday, there was no one left in the yard.

Shrimper Madam Butterfly came to the rescue, and Bradd was able to borrow a 1/2-inch drill from him and a 5/8-inch bit from Extravaganza, a sport fisherman, to get the hole enlarged. The installation was completed, tested and we motored out the St. John’s River at dusk. It was an uneventful motor boat ride to Norfolk, but that was okay.

We’d had enough excitement for one trip.

Lessons to Be Learned In hindsight, the tug operator’s advice of an anchor wouldn’t have worked to hold us, BUT—it probably would have held the bow into the wind and seas and slowed our drift.

Know where your emergency tiller is stowed and what it is made of. Is it substantial enough to control steering?

Check the fitting to make sure that you can remove the deck plate and install the emergency tiller safely in difficult conditions. Does the emergency tiller fit in the rudder post?

Try actually steering with the emergency tiller in heavy conditions and determine whether you can manage it for any length of time, or are modifications required?

Like most cruisers, we pride ourselves on our self-sufficiency.

In a pinch, another friendly cruiser is usually all it takes to keep us going. This time it was different, and we are thankful that the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy were there for us. The tug and fishing boats that answered our call gave us assurance that we weren’t alone out there and “unlimited” TowBoatU.S. coverage proved to be one of our best-ever investments. TowBoatU.S. Capt. Randi Olsen was most helpful, offering us the loan of his car and returning the 4 x 4s and C-clamps to the Coast Guard. In Jacksonville, St. John’s Boat Company, Jim Hendrick of MCS Marine and Liddy’s Machine shop all worked together in the design and manufacture of two new steering arms. The steering system today is better than the day it was built, and she is none the worse for the experience. It was not one person but the collective efforts of many who made a happy ending to this saga.

When I was packing for the trip, I looked at my camera and thought, “All I’m going to see is wide open ocean,” so I left it behind. I would love to have a photo of Warship 79 standing by, Coast Guard Cutter Kingfisher and her awesome jet boat and all the folks who lent their assistance— but most of all—photos of the evolution of the emergency tiller. I’m sorry the Navy’s tiller didn’t last. If it had, I would have painted it gold and written “U.S. Navy warship 79” on the handle for the boat’s owners. After all, it isn’t every day you get a custom-built part from a United States warship!

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63

Nothing Goes to Wind Like a Mack We were quite pleasantly surprised to find several reputable options for trucking our boat from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula roughly 1,200 miles to Demopolis Yacht Basin.

Quotes ranged from $7,000 to the $3,600 we paid American Boat Carriers. The decision wasn’t solely based on price; we were also impressed with customer testimonials as well as helpful info on how to prepare the boat for transport. Consider that a boat traveling along the interstate would in effect be facing hurricaneforce winds and it is easy to understand why the decks had to be absolutely clear with the mast down and rigging tightly wrapped. The driver assigned to pick up and deliver Chip Ahoy couldn’t have been more cheerful despite working in the cold sleet of our Pequaming, MI, boatyard to get Chip Ahoy loaded. You gotta love a guy who brings his dog along for the ride! He reassured us that even a full glass left in the galley sink would remain upright throughout the journey and called to let us know where the boat was and when it arrived in the yard.

Generally, boat transport costs average about $3 per mile. If you can choose a time to have your vessel delivered that coordinates with the company’s overall delivery schedule, chances are you will get a better rate. The company we chose had a delivery going north and was able to transport Chip Ahoy on the turnaround.

Captain Scott located boat transport companies through research on the Internet, collected some phone numbers and then proceeded with those companies who returned his phone calls. Our theory—and it’s always worked pretty well for any kind of contractor from lawyers to plumbers—is that if they aren’t responsive about phoning you back, they likely won’t be prompt about getting the job done. Coincidentally, I note that during our last Great Circle Loop we talked to some sailors who had their masts shipped down to Turner Marine on Mobile Bay’s Dog River rather than carrying them aboard the entire trip down the rivers.

At that time, they commented on the great service and reasonable prices from American Boat Carriers.

Information on this company can be found at www.americanboatcarriers.org. (800) 828-3364.

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the fury of a Gulf blow.

Demopolis is considered a sweet spot not only in the eyes of boaters who relish its competent and reasonably priced service department, modest dockage/yard fees and wellstocked ship’s store. Its strategic location above the 32nd parallel is dear to the hearts of vessel insurance companies. Below the snowline and out of the hurricane belt, the boatyard has become known as a great place to store your boat or perform long-term overhauls.

Gill Hummel, who has sailed his 32-foot DownEast around the world, has been here for a year refitting—although admittedly at that point where he feels like he’s “been here a little too long.”

Hummel has found this Alabama boatyard is a very good place to perform extensive interior and exterior rehabs and renovations.

Hummel’s Sang Froid was one of three DownEast 32s in the yard in November 2009.

Our DE32 Chip Ahoy was trucked down in late October. We found her expertly blocked up in the boatyard awaiting our arrival. A day and night spent living on the boat in the yard was made possible, even pleasant, thanks to a sturdy ladder/step and close proximity to the bathhouse. Chip Ahoy was splashed the second day, the stick went up on day three and all was in order with cotter pins double-checked, rigging tuned and sails hanked on day four. We were very impressed with the prompt professionalism of Matt and crew, and pleasantly

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surprised by the super-reasonable labor rates. A week of storage, two lifts, mast-stepping, etc., ran well under $1,000.

The boatyard offers very affordable rates for do-ityourselfers performing long- or short-term work on their vessels. There is an adjacent motel, which may have room, or you may stay on your boat.

By day five, Chip Ahoy was provisioned, polished and

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ready to go. no marinas between Demop and Then came Ida. Mobile Bay. The only fuel stop Though downgraded from hurribefore the marinas of Dog River and cane to tropical storm by the time she Fly Creek down on the bay is at reached Alabama, Ida still managed Bobby’s Fish Camp, 97 miles south to wreak havoc, sitting stubbornly of Demopolis—an LA (lower over the region for a couple of days Alabama) treat in and of itself. Aside while dumping 7-8 inches in the from Bobby’s 110-foot floating face Black Warrior-Lower Tombigbee dock, slower boats have no choice waterway and surrounding environs. but to anchor out for the remainder “Right now, there’s a six- to of their overnight stays on the river. eight-knot current. It’s dangerous For us, there was no question of out there; you may hit something— stay or go. The Highway 10 Bridge and you may not,” said Fred took the decision out of our hands.

Hansard, owner of Riverview The normal 52-foot clearance was Marina at a Nov. 13 meeting for down to 45.48 feet in the wake of cruisers waiting out the storm. Fred, Ida—not possible with a 47-foot who manages the marina for the mast. Fred’s complimentary gumbo Marengo County, Alabama Port lunch in the clubhouse the following Authority, joked that he knew day was a pleasant diversion for boaters “wanted to get out of my those antsy to travel. In another pop‘Fred Triangle,’ so if you really want ular move, he dropped the per-foot to go, I’d advise you to go as a group dockage rate to 85 cents for those so if someone gets in trouble, they weathered in by Ida. have a tow to Mobile.” Areas above Cruisers occupied their time with Demopolis “released water down on provisioning. A courtesy car was us,” he explained, noting, “they are available; since we drove down to still flushing this thing big time,” meet our boat, we had our own with the Selden Lock on the Black wheels to take us to the excellent Warrior “wide open.” Swirling flotlocal butcher shop for some of the sam and jetsam drifting through and best rib eye steaks and pork chops into the basin. Everything from trees we have had in a long time as well as to small dock sections and runaway the seafood store, where a Gulf fishboat bumpers illustrated Fred’s Chip Ahoy’s splash in the Riverview Marina went erman offers his catch of the day. admonitions. The marinas along the (We had some Gulf pinks to die for well. We can’t say enough about the cheerful, Tenn Tom were staying in close comand the price was right!) The yacht courteous and competent crew here. munication and at one point actually basin’s on-site New Orleans Bar & coordinated a voluntary shutdown to encourage boaters to Grill features happy hour drink specials, tasty burgers, stay put until water levels became manageable. wraps and salads as well as full dinners and evening enterOn this increasingly desolate stretch of the waterway, tainment. The friendly bar and grill manager Mo gave the Demopolis Yacht Basin is the ONLY game in town. There are nod to Captain Scott when asked if he was up for some

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acoustic guitar and demand, even more so vocals. Scott played a few considering that sand nights there, entertaining excavated at the expanthe crowd with rock, sion site is being used to blues and original tunes. help fund the project.

Getting in the launCommitted to providdry loop and shower line ing a harbor of refuge for is another part of the all boaters, Demopolis waiting game. First timers Yacht Basin staff has to Demopolis are often become very creative in astounded by the uh, cramming in as many shall we say “familyvessels as possible. style” amenities: “Really, During her past two there’s only ONE shower visits, Chip Ahoy was for all these boaters?” Cruisers congregate for a lunchtime confab at the cheerfully aging lounge, rafted three off the This problem and other docks. It is also not bathhouse and Laundromat. overcrowding issues that uncommon to spend a clog the facility during night or two on the fuel bi-annual boater migradock if conditions are tions are slated to be unfavorable for river addressed in the coming travel. Reservations are year. Excavation that will not accepted at this result in significant maripoint, but a call to the na expansion is well basin as you are headed under way. The first phase up or down the river of the project would bring will likely bring a reasthe marina from roughly suring “we’ll fit you in 90 current slips to 700, 500 somewhere.” wet (some of which will For more info, contact be covered), as well as 200 the fuel dock at (334) dry storage slips. In addi289-4647, or the office at tion to desperately need(334) 289-4374. The ed bathhouse improvemarina welcomes livements, future additions aboards, a situation that include waterside condos will only increase as the and townhomes as well capacity expands. InterThe Demopolis fuel dock bustles 24/7, with a commercial tow-fueling as a pool. Quite an ested? Contact Kim in operation on one side and “RVs” (recreational vessels) on the other. upgrade from the current the office for reservation situation where there info. The Demo-polis quite often are more boats than available slips. The financial Yacht Basin Web site is found at www.demyb.com. feasibility of the project appears sound given ongoing Lake Superior sailors since the early 1990s, Cyndi Perkins and her husband Scott have completed two 6,000-mile circumnavigations of America’s Great Circle Loop as well as explorations of their home waters and other cruising destinations on the Great Lakes. They are Overhead Light currently headed south in their 1977 DownEast sailboat with no par• Handcrafted, High ticular plans other than to “go where the butter melts.” Questions Efficiency Area Light and comments may be directed to Cyndi at svchipahoy@gmail.com.

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News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

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SOUTHERN RACING NEWS AND EVENTS

42nd Regata del Sol al Sol Gears Up for the 2010 Race

Safety Harbor Boat Club Seeks Female Racers

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club’s Regata del Sol al Sol/ Mexico Race, an international regatta from St. Petersburg, FL, to Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico, is off to a good start with 12 entries so far and a long way to go until April ’09, the final entry deadline.

Thirty-one boats set sail for Isla Mujeres last spring, and even with some breakdowns and bad seas, 28 made it to the island.

Regatta chairs are Valerie Massingill and Elizabeth (Beth) Pennington. They can be contacted through the Web site at www.regatadelsolalsol.org (click on Chairpersons@ regatadelsolalsol.org on the home page or anywhere you see it in the NOR).

There will be many island activities as in the past, such as the poker run and parties.

Anyone interested in joining in the fun on the island, but not necessarily wanting to sail, can fly to the island.

Contact Judy Malone at jmalone@humanresourses.com for reservations for rooms and island transportation. There are new places to stay on the island, and she can let you in on all the new locales.

There is also now a secure site for online entries, although entries can be filed online, by snail mail—or a combination thereof.

For more information, go to www.regatadelsolalsol.org.

The Safety Harbor Boat Club needs experienced female sailboat racers to participate in the 2nd Annual Safety Harbor Woman’s Sailboat Race/Bikini Cup. The race is April 17, and crew is forming now for practice sessions. For more information, contact Ellen Henderson/Safety Harbor Boat Club at (727) 797-9380. More club information is available at www.safetyharborboatclub.com.

SOUTHWINDS PressGang Crew Web Site Up and Running Again PressGang, the crew and boat search Web site that SOUTHWINDS has been running as a free service was inactivated last spring because of problems maintaining the listings current. We now have a new manager, Greta Dabringhaus, who will keep the Web site active and the lists up-to-date.

PressGang is a free service of SOUTHWINDS magazine that allows people to find boats to crew on and boat owners to find crew to sail on their boats. This service is for racing, cruising, day sailing or passagemaking.

Those who have used the service in the past for racing crew know that the service has been very successful— for both crew and boat owners—and SOUTHWINDS hopes to make this service even more successful in the future.

Those interested in finding a boat or crew for cruising or day sailing will also find PressGang useful.

PressGang also has a section for those looking to make a passage on a boat or a boat owner who needs crew to make a passage.

The service is private and your name and e-mail are not publicized unless you choose to make it so. The service is provided to anyone, but the service is for boat and crew sailing in or from the Southeastern United States.

You can go to PressGang at www.southwindsmagazine.com/pressgang, or go to the SOUTHWINDS Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.com and then “Sailor’s Resources.”

Pensacola Loft • 850-438-9354 490 South “L” Street • Pensacola FL 32501 Visit us on-line at www.schurrsails.com 68

February 2010

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US SAILING Safety at Sea Seminar, Pensacola Yacht Club, Feb. 27

By Kim Kaminski In early May of 2010, sailors will be preparing to make the infamous Pensacola, FL, to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, race, a 550nautical mile journey across the Gulf.

In preparation for this offshore adventure, the Pensacola Yacht Club will be hosting the US SAILING Safety at Sea Seminar on February 27 at the Pensacola Yacht Club. Registration can be completed online and will be accepted until the close of registration on February 13.

The registration fee is $125 per person. This daylong educational program, which begins at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning and runs until 5:00 p.m., is open to cruising and racing skippers, crews, their families, powerboaters and commercial fishermen. Seating is limited and early registration is encouraged.

The seminar will be conducted by experienced sailors and experts in their fields who will present a program that is designed to provide sailing skills and information to the novice as well as experienced sailors. Mariners will be presented with information required to prepare their vessel for sailing offshore. Skills that will be learned can help with boat preparation, sailing in heavy weather and emergency procedures. In addition, information will be provided that will aid the traveler in obtaining the listing of recommended safety equipment to be used offshore.

For more details, go to www.ussailing.org, or www.pensacolayachtclub.org

www.southwindsmagazine.com

UPCOMING MAJOR REGATTAS

Sportboat Classes to Headline Charlotte Harbor Regatta, Feb. 4-7 The Charlotte Harbor Regatta recently added the Viper 640 fleet to the seven other fleets racing, including the Melges 24s. Organizers are expecting more than 100 boats.

Viper 640 class president Justin Scott touted the event as an ideal midwinter rendezvous. Hobie 16 class president Chris Wessels is arranging the delivery of a trailer packed with Hobies to be delivered to Charlotte Harbor for the regatta.

Other fleets sailing will be Hobie 16, Flying Scot, S2 7.9s and Sunfish. The Flying Scot class association recently bestowed a brand-new fleet number on the Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club in recognition of its efforts on behalf of the class, which is expected to be more than 20 strong for the regatta.

Go to www.charlotteharborregatta.com for more information or contact regatta chairman Brian Gleason at (941) 206-1133, or briangleason@charlotteharborregatta.com.

Mardi Gras Regatta, New Orleans, LA, Feb. 17-20 In what will be a true carnival experience, the New Orleans Yacht Club is holding its annual premier racing event the

News & Views for Southern Sailors

weekend of Feb. 17-20. Following on the heels of Fat Tuesday (Feb. 16) and a few weeks after Key West Race Week, Southern racers refuse to let the party end and will be ready for more hard-core one-design and PHRF racing.

With six boats constituting a class, the one-design classes expected are Melges 32, Melges 24, Finn, J/22, J/24, J/30, J/80, Lightning, Open Flying Scot, R-19, V15, Moths, Fish Boats, Sonars, Sunfish and Optimist.

More information, as well as hotels and directions are posted on the Web site, www.mardigrasregatta.org. Limited free “college style” housing is available.

Gasparilla Regatta, Tampa Sailing Squadron, Apollo Beach, FL, Feb. 20-21 Tampa Sailing Squadron will be the host for the annual Gasparilla Regatta on Feb. 20. This will be followed on Sunday, Feb. 21, by the Women’s Gasparilla Regatta. These racing events tie in with the annual Gasparilla celebrations, parades and pirate festivals in the Tampa Bay area.

Racing will include both Spinnaker and Non-Spinnaker classes as well as True Cruising and Mother Lode. OneDesign fleets are encouraged to attend.

Go to www.tampasailing.org for more information.

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SOUTHERN RACING Catalina 22 Midwinters, Cocoa Beach, FL, Feb. 20-21 The Indian River Yacht Club will host the Catalina 22 Midwinters on Feb. 20-21. Windward/Leeward races will be held on the Indian River in the vicinity of government marks 77 and 79. Exact distance and course are weatherdependent and will be announced at the skippers’ meeting on race day. The skippers’ meeting and awards ceremony will be held at Lee Wenner Park, 300 Riveredge Dr., Cocoa, FL. Boats will be hauled out after racing on Saturday and stored, mast up, on their trailers. Entry fee is $40. Register on Feb. 20 at Lee Wenner Park on Saturday at 9 a.m.

Skippers’ meeting will be at 11 a.m. The first race will start at 12:30 p.m. On Sunday, the first race will start at 10 a.m.

For more information, contact Jerry Butz at jerry@boatersexchange.com.

2010 Washington’s Birthday Regatta, Palm Beach Sailing Club, Feb. 21-22 Featuring ocean racing for all classes: Opti IOD all classes (except Opti Green), Lasers all classes, Sunfish, Snipes and Portsmouth. Palm Beach Sailing Club. Information and registration at www.pbsail.org. (561) 881-0809.

FIND CREW CREW ON A BOAT RACING · DAYSAILING CRUISING · PASSAGEMAKING SOUTHWINDS’ PressGang* crew and boat finding web site is again up and running FIND CREW FOR YOUR BOAT - FIND A BOAT TO CREW ON PressGang serves people who are seeking crew or boats for racing, day sailing, cruising and for longer passages.

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Washington’s Birthday Regatta, Barnacle Historic State Park, Biscayne Bay, FL, Feb. 27 The 15th annual revival of the Washington’s Birthday Regatta takes place on Biscayne Bay just off shore of Barnacle Historic State Park. The regatta was first organized in 1887 by Commodore Ralph Munroe, founder of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coconut Grove pioneer. The race is open to traditional-style sailboats (eg, mudhens, seapearls, bullseyes, sharpies, Bahama dinghies, cat boats, gaffrigs, etc.). It is a great spectator event by land or sea. Award ceremony follows the race at the park.

The entry fee is a suggested donation of $15 per boat, made payable to, The Barnacle Society, a not-for-profit volunteer organization whose mission is to support the state park. The park is located at 3485 Main Highway in downtown Coconut Grove. For an entry packet, and more information, call the park office at (305) 442-6866. Go online for the NOR and other registration information at www.floridastateparks.org/thebarnacle/Events.cfm.

30th Annual George Town Cruising Regatta, Exumas, Bahamas, March 1-13 This is a cruisers regatta that builds up over several months.

Most boats start arriving from around the United States, Canada and other countries in November and stay till March.

When regatta days start, sailboat races are held in the harbor and around Stocking Island with volleyball tournaments and other beach events in between. Opening night of the regatta is a very big event held March 3. The first event is the “Pass in Review” of the fleet. There also is softball, tennis, a coconut harvest, bridge, Texas hold’em poker, beach golf and much more.

For more information, contact Bill Sandelin, regatta chairman, at (305) 496-9553, or sandelin1@yahoo.com.

2010 Acura Miami Grand Prix, March 4-7 Farr 40, Melges 32, Swan 42 and IRC boats are invited to race in this event. Four race days. Event details, entries and past results are available at www.Premiere-Racing.com.

17th Annual Conquistador Cup, Charlotte Harbor, March 6-7

www.southwindsmagazine.com and go to “Sailors’ Resources”

The 17th annual Conquistador Cup will be held on

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Charlotte Harbor March 6-7. Historically the largest regatta in southwest Florida, this event’s organizing authority is the Punta Gorda Sailing Club in cooperation with the Royal Order of Ponce de Leon Conquistadors.

The regatta begins with registration and free beer on Friday evening, March 5, at Harpoon Harry’s Restaurant, at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda. Two buoy-course races are planned for Saturday afternoon. Divisions will include Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker, True Cruising, and Multihull.

Racers will meet at Harpoon Harry’s after racing for beer and a buffet.

On Sunday, all registered boats will join together for the 17th running of the reverse start Conquistador’s Cup. Mix it up with some 70 boats all on the course at the same time. A staggered start is meant to bring all boats to the finish at the same time, with the final moments of the race often resulting in quite a gaggle of boats all striving to be the first over the finish line. The winner is awarded the coveted Ponce de Leon Conquistador Helmet and gets his boat pictured on next year’s regatta T-shirt.

An awards ceremony with beer and munchies will follow the completion of Sunday’s race. The fun and festivities, including handing out door prizes, will be held at Harpoon Harry’s.

The official NOR and entry forms are on the Punta Gorda Sailing Club Web site at www.pgscweb.com.

Maxine Sansom Series 2010, Pensacola, March 6-20

By Kim Kaminski The Maxine Sansom Regatta is a unique three-race series held on Pensacola Bay every March. The series honors Maxine Sansom for her work through the years on various race committees at the three Pensacola-area yacht clubs.

The race format has three different competitions, each one held at one of the three clubs Sansom frequently worked with. Each of these races is held by the individual yacht club fleet captains but are combined for an overall series trophy. The first race is held at the Navy Yacht Club of Pensacola in conjunction with its first race of the season, the Commodore’s Cup Race #1. The second race is held at the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club in conjunction with its springtime race, the Rites of Spring Regatta, and the final race of the series is held at the Pensacola Yacht Club (which was Maxine’s home club) and is known as the Maxine Sansom Series Final.

Participants can race in one race, two out of three races or in all three races. However, the overall series trophy goes to a participant of all three races. Race #1 will be held on March 6, Race #2 on March 13, and Race #3 on March 20, with the awards ceremony held at the Pensacola Yacht Club following the final race.

For registration and more information, go to www.pensacolayachtclub.org.

Michelob Ultra Cup, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, March 13 Racing in Tampa Bay, this race is a Suncoast Boat of the Year and St. Petersburg Ocean Racing Challenge event. The Michelob Ultra Cup has existed under various names for the past 29 years and has enjoyed a varied venue finally landing at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club this year. We invite all classes to participate. In the past, the event has been a point-to-point regatta. The committee is working on the venue, and it will be announced in the Notice of Race, which can be found at www.spyc.org Due to the closeness in time of this regatta and the Crown Cars and Suncoast regattas, entrants may make reservations to stay at either the SPYC downtown docks or the Pass-a-Grille location in between regattas. Call the dockmaster at the SPYC downtown to make arrangements.

2010 Lightning Class Southern Circuit Gears Up— First Regatta March 14-15 For nearly 40 years, the annual Lightning Southern Circuit has been sending a fleet of 50 or so boats on a combination road rally and regatta that includes stops at Savannah, GA, and Miami, before finishing with an additional couple of dozen of the 19-foot-long sloops in St. Petersburg, FL. The series kicks off at the annual Deep South Regatta, News & Views for Southern Sailors

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SOUTHERN RACING held March 13-14 at the Savannah YC. On March 16-17, the Lightning Midwinter Regatta will be hosted at the Coral Reef YC in Miami. The 63rd Lightning Winter Championship in St. Petersburg will take place on March 18-21. Competitors from South America, Europe, and North America will be on hand, as well as former and current world champions and Olympic sailors.

For more information, go to www.lightningclass.org.

34th Southwest Florida Regatta, Melges 24 Regatta and the Porsche Cup of Naples, Naples, FL, March 26-28 Held by the Gulf Coast Sailing Club, the regatta will begin on Friday, March 26, and conclude on March 28 with a party afterwards. The Porsche Cup of Naples will highlight the regatta and will be held at the new Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club in Naples.

The 2nd Annual Melges 24 Regatta will also be a part of this regatta. It will be one of six regattas in the southeast circuit of the US Melges 24 Class Association, southeast district.

For more information and to register for the regatta, go to www.gulfcoastsailingclub.org, or call (239) 263-7254.

Crown Cars Regatta, March 27 This event has been an ongoing event for the past 26 years under several different names and this year as last year, it will continue to give participants a great time in the Gulf of Mexico. Although it is a one-day event, it will have windward/leeward courses and point-to-point venues for different classes. It will be located at the newly renovated SPYC at the Pass-a-Grille location. This is a Suncoast Boat of the Year and St. Petersburg Ocean Racing Challenge event.

Due to the closeness in time of this regatta and the Michelob and Suncoast regattas, entrants may make reservations to stay at either the SPYC downtown docks or the Pass-a-grille location in between regattas. Call the dockmaster at the SPYC downtown to make arrangements.

Sarasota Youth Sailing Program Sailfest Regatta, Sarasota Sailing Squadron, March 27-28 Sailfest will be a part of the Sarasota Bay Yachting Association (SBYA) Boat of the Year series. One-design classes will be spread out over Saturday and Sunday. Racing for all PHRF boats will be held on Saturday, being consistent with all other SBYA events. One-Design fleets include Laser 4.7, Laser Radial, Laser Standard, Optimist RWB, Optimist Green, Sunfish, Club 420, and Flying Scot. Any other fleet with five or more competitors is welcome with prior notice.

All money raised will go to benefit the Sarasota Youth Sailing Program. For information, go to www.sarasotaysp. com, or contact David Livingston, sailing director at (941) 504-4236 or e-mail sarasotayouthsailing@gmail.com.

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Jabbo Gordon Invitational Regatta, Venice, FL, April 3 Venice Youth Boating Association and the Englewood Sailing Association will host this annual regatta on Lemon Bay. The one-day regatta will feature Optimists, Lasers, Sunfish, 420s, Walker Bays and a Portsmouth division.

Adults as well as youth are invited to race a trapezoid course. For more information, go to www.veniceyouthboating.com or e-mail Jabbo Gordon at veniceyouthboating @verizon.net.

Suncoast Race Week, Tampa Bay, April 9-11 A longstanding tradition among regattas in Tampa Bay, this three-day regatta is a point-to-point event to different yacht clubs. It is a Suncoast Boat of the Year event and a qualifier for the St. Petersburg Ocean Racing Challenge (SPORC).

The yacht clubs involved this year are: the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, Bradenton Yacht Club and Davis Islands Yacht Club. The venue will be announced shortly, so look for the announcements on the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Web site at www.spyc.org and the Suncoast Race Week Web site at http://scrw.home.att.net for more information.

Due to the closeness in time of this regatta and the Crown Cars and Michelob regattas, entrants may make reservations to stay at either the SPYC downtown docks or the Pass-a-grille location in between regattas. Call the dockmaster at the SPYC downtown to make arrangements.

I RACE REPORTS

25th Annual Key Largo Steeplechase, Dec. 12-13 The 25th Annual Key Largo Steeplechase was held in Key Largo December 12-13 with 20 teams of catamaran sailboats from around North America competing, including a two-time Olympic Silver medalist. The race is a 110-mile trek around the islands with the first leg a relative drag race down the ocean side of the islands. The second leg up the Florida Bay side requires a lot of navigation skills and water reading for the sailors.

Steve Lohmayer of Tavernier and Jay Sonnenklar of Miami took top honors both on first to finish and on handicap. After 110-miles of grueling sailing in winds near 25 mph, they won by a mere five seconds.

The annual race was sponsored by Catamaran Sailor magazine of Key Largo, and Rick White’s Sailing Seminars of Key Largo. The headquarters for the race, as well as the start and finish, was at the Caribbean Club in Key Largo.

The steeplechase started 19 years ago when a group of CABB (Catamaran Association of Biscayne Bay) members decided to try a race around Key Largo—no entry, no frills, no award. The total distance was 110 miles. The course starts at Jewfish Creek and goes clockwise around the Keys, www.southwindsmagazine.com

Charleston Ocean Racing Association. www.charlestonoceanracing.org Winter weekend club racing. See Web site for schedule.

Neuse Yacht Racing Association www.nyra.org Winter weekend club racing. See Web site for schedule.

Lake Lanier. www.saillanier.com Winter weekend club racing. See Web site for schedule.

13 Hot Ruddered Bum. University YC Long Bay Sailing. www.longbaysailing.com See Web site for local club races

Steve Lohmayer and Jay Sonnenklar, flying a hull across the finish line. Photo by Rick White.

through Angelfish Creek, down Hawk Channel, through Channel No. 5 Bridge and back to Blackwater Sound.

The first race was won by Rick White, Key Largo author and Sailing Hall of Famer. Meanwhile, one of the women on ground crew had meandered into the woods and found an old, dilapidated lawn chair. As a joke, she presented this old lawn chair to White at the finish. After sailing all that distance, White didn’t take it as a joke. He rather proclaimed, “Great! This ‘Olde Lawn Chair’ will be the Annual Perpetual Trophy for the race.”

The race is always the second weekend of December yearly, with this year’s dates being December 11-12. For more information, go to www.Catsailor.com.

I REGIONAL RACING CALENDARS Regattas and Club Racing—Open to Everyone Wanting to Race For the races listed here, no individual club membership is required, although a regional PHRF rating, or membership in US SAILING or other sailing association is often required.

To list an event, contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com. Send in the name of the event, date, location, contact info, possibly a short description. Do not just send a link to this information.

Since race schedules and venues change, contact the sponsoring organization to confirm.

FEBRUARY South Atlantic Yacht Racing Assoc. Go to this site for a list of the clubs in the region and their Web sites. www.sayra-sailing.com News & Views for Southern Sailors

MARCH South Atlantic Yacht Racing Assoc. Go to this site for a list of the clubs in the region and their Web sites. www.sayra-sailing.com 7-8 YFlyer Midwinters. Y-flyer. Carolina SC-SC 14-15 Deep South Regatta. Lightnings. Southern YC 14-15 SAYRA 420 Regatta. 420 Lake Norman YC 14-15 Atlanta Cup Regatta. J/24-J/22- M24-Sov33. Lake Lanier, SC 21 Rules Seminar. Beaufort Yacht and SC 21 Super Saturday. Laser. Atlanta YC 21-22 Keelboat Midwinters. Keelboats. Lake Norman YC 21-22 St Patrick’s Regatta. NORs, Registration, PHRF. Geechee SC 22 2009-12 Racing Rules Seminar. North U/David Dellenbaugh. Charleston YC/CORA 28-29 Tommy Whitesides Regatta. Catamarans and PHRF. Carolina SC-SC 27-29 J/World Racing Clinic. J/80. Bald Head Island SC Charleston Ocean Racing Association. www.charlestonoceanracing.org Winter weekend club racing - Frostbite Series.

7 Sailing For The Future Regatta.

13 Spring Harbor Race 20 Spring Harbor Race 30-Apr 3 Ft. Lauderdale to Charleston Neuse Yacht Racing Association www.nyra.org Winter weekend club racing Lake Lanier. www.saillanier.com See web site for club race schedule 6-7 Lake Lanier SC. Laser Southerns.

13 University YC. Spring #4 13 Southern SC. Nippert #2 13-14 Lake Lanier SC. Atlanta Cup. 14 Barefoot SC. Winter Gale #1 20 Southern SC. Nippert #3.

21 Barefoot SC. Winter Gale #2.

26-28 Atlanta Inland SC Dogwood Regatta Long Bay Sailing. www.longbaysailing.com See Web site for local club races

FEBRUARY 6 Frostbite Regatta #3. Rudder Club 6 Women’s Race #2. East Coast SA 6-14 Laser Masters Week. US Sailing Center (Martin County) 7 Small Boat Sunday. Melbourne YC

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SOUTHERN RACING 5-7

11th Annual Wayfarer Midwinter Championship Regatta.

Lake Eustis SA and Annual MC Scow George Washington Regatta.

10-11 Laser Midweek Madness. Palm Beach SC 13 USO Benefit Regatta. Navy Jax YC 13-14 Laser Florida Masters. Palm Beach SC 13-14 Club Races. Lake Eustis SA 14,28 Spring Rum Race #1,#2. Melbourne YC 20 Spring River Race. North Florida Cruising Club 20 Club Race. Lake Monroe SA 20-21 40th George Washington Birthday Regatta. Lake Eustis SA 20-22 Catalina 22 Mid Winters. Indian River YC 21 Spring Series #1. Titusville Sailing Center 21 Frostbite #4. Rudder Club 21 Small Boat Sunday. Melbourne YC 27 Club Races. Lake Eustis SA MARCH 6 Spring/Summer Series #1. East Coast SA 7,21 Spring Series #2, #3. Titusville SC 7,21 Small Boat Sunday. Melbourne YC 6-7 Trans-Monroe Regatta. Lake Monroe SA 6-7 Club Races. Lake Eustis SA 11 M-17 & Scow Zenda U Practice. Lake Eustis SA 13 Women’s Race #3. East Coast SA 12-14 11th Annual C Scow Midwinter Championship Regatta 12-14 5th Annual M-17 Midwinter Championship Regatta 12-14 1st Annual E Scow Midwinter Regatta 13-14 Dixie Crossroads Cruise. East Coast SA 13-14 Catalina 22 Regatta. Rudder Club 17,24,31 Rum Race. Lake Monroe SA 16-17 MC ZendA U 18-20 38th Annual MC Midwinter Championship Regatta. Lake Eustis SA 19-21 Sunfish International Master’s Championship. Melbourne YC 20 Club Race. Lake Monroe SA 21,26 Spring Rum Race #3, #4. Melbourne YC 21 Winter/Spring Sunday Series #3. Indian River YC 27-18 Club Races. Lake Eustis SA 27-28 Distance Race. Port Canaveral YC 27-28 Club Races. Lake Eustis SA 31 Wed Night Spring Series #1. Indian River YC

Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association. www.bbyra.net Go to the Web site for local club races BBYC Biscayne Bay YC BBYRA Biscayne Bay Yacht Racing Association. www.bbyra.net CGSC Coconut Grove SC. www.cgsc.org CRYC Coral Reef YC. www.coralreefyachtclub.org.

KBYC Key Biscayne YC. www.kbyc.org.

LYC Lauderdale YC. www.lyc.org.

MYC Miami YC. www.miamiyachtclub.net.

PBSC Palm Beach SC. www.pbsail.org SCF Sailfish Club of Florida. www.sailfishclub.com FEBRUARY 1 Sonar Midwinters Flat Earth Racing 6 Masters Regatta Stars. CRYC 6 Comodoro Rasco Snipes. CGSC 6 The Leukemia Cup Regatta. MYC (Youth and Adult classes) 20 Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series #2. CGSC 20 MYC Annual BBYRA PHRF #3 21 MYC Annual BBYRA OD #3 74

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27 Florida State Championships. Etchells. BBYC MARCH 4 Miami Grand Prix Race Week. Premiere Racing.

6 J/24 Flat Earth Spring #1 6 Bacardi Cup. Stars 11 Audi Melges 20. Miami Winter Series #3. Coconut Grove 12 Key Biscayne YC Race to Bimini 14 Snipe Midwinters. TPA 16 Lightning Southern Circuit. Coral Reef YC 19 Etchells Mid-Winter’s. Biscayne Bays YC 19 Don Q Snipe Regatta. Coconut Grove SC 23 Snipe Nassau Midwinters 27 BBYRA PHRF #4. Key Biscayne YC

Key West Jan. 18-22 Premier Racing Key West Race Week. www.premiereracing.com Key West Sailing Club. Every Saturday – Open House at the Key West Sailing Club. 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (305) 292-5993. www.keywestsailingclub.org. Sailboat Lane off Palm Avenue in Key West. Come by the club to sail. Non-members and members welcome. Wednesday night racing has begun for the summer season. Skippers meet at the clubhouse by 5:00 p.m. and boats start racing at 6:00 p.m. in the seaplane basin near the mooring field.

Dinner and drinks afterward.

Upper Keys Sailing Club (UKSC). www.upperkeyssailingclub.com. Go to the Web site for regular club racing open to all.

FEBRUARY 6-7 Commodore’s Regatta. Portsmouth and PHRF. 9 Racers’ Meeting. Upwind tactics and ladder effect.

13 Portsmouth Winter Series.

19-21 JY-15 Midwinters.

25-27 Force 5 Midwinters.

MARCH 6 Portsmouth Winter Series #4 and Race to Rodriguez Key 13-14 Marlin Cup 20-21 Glander Cup

Southwinds Annual Online West Florida Race Calendar Posted Sept. 1 Southwinds magazine posts the annual race schedule/calendar (9/1— 8/31) on its Web site for all racing in the central west Florida area from just north of Tampa Bay south to Marco Island. The calendar includes all scheduled races of the West Florida PHRF organization (www.westfloridaphrf.org), plus club races in the area and any others that boaters in the area would like to post. The Boat of the Year races are listed for all the areas of the West Florida PHRF organization.

The race calendar can be accessed through the racing pages link at www.southwindsmagazine.com. It is also the race calendar link at the West Florida PHRF organization and other sailing assowww.southwindsmagazine.com

ciations and yacht clubs in the area.

Contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com to list your race, or changes. Sorry, but we cannot list every single weekly club race.

Club Racing Boca Ciega YC. Gulfport. Every Sunday following the third Friday of each month. Skippers meeting at 10 a.m., PHRF racing, spin and non-spin. (727) 423.6002 or www.sailbcyc.org. One-design, dinghy racing every Tuesday at 5:30 pm. March through September (727) 458-7274. Guests welcome for all races.

Bradenton YC. Races November thru March. Sunday races at 1:30 p.m. PHRF racing on Manatee River. For info, call Susan Tibbits at (941) 723-6560.

Clearwater Community Sailing Center. The center holds regular weekend club races. For dates and more information, go to www.clearwatercommunitysailing.org.

Dunedin Boat Club. Monthly club racing. For more information, contact saraherb@aol.com.

Edison Sailing Center, Fort Myers. Sunfish and dinghy racing once a month, year-round john@johnkremski.com Port Charlotte. Third Saturday of month, year-round. pbgvtrax@aol.com.

Punta Gorda Sailing Club. Charlotte Harbor. Fall Series Sunday afternoon racing begins Sept. 13 through Nov. 22. www.pgscweb.com.

Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Friday evening races start in April. www.sarasotasailingsquad.com.

St. Pete Yacht Club. Friday evenings (except April 3) through Aug. 28. 16:30 starts off The Pier. www.spyc.org.

Venice Sailing Squadron. Saturdays. First Saturday of each month, PHRF racing. Start at mouth of Venice Inlet. www.venicesailing-squadron.org FEBRUARY 4-7 Charlotte Harbor Regatta. Invited classes www.charlotteharbor.com 5-7 505 Midwinters & A-Cats. Fort Desoto, Tampa Bay. ethan.bixby@northsails.com 5-10 Davis Island YC J/24 Midwinters 5-7 Lake Eustis Sailing Club. Wayfarer Nationals & MC Scow Regatta 6 St. Petersburg YC. Crown Cars Regatta, PHRF. 6-7 St. Petersburg YC. Valentines Youth Regatta. Opti & Laser 8-11 Davis Island YC. J/24 Midwinters 10 Davis Island YC Fun race to SPYC/NOOD venue 11-14 St. Petersburg YC, Sailing World NOOD Regatta 13 Valentines Massacre, Sunfish. Port Charlotte, bdselah1@bdsailing.com 13 Cortez YC. St. Valentines Day Race, PHRF 13 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Cherry Pie Regatta (SBBOTY) 14 Sarasota Bay Yachting Association Motley Fleet Race (MBOTY) 18-21 Clearwater YC. Laser Midwinters East 19-20 Marco Island YC. Winter Cup. (SWFBOTY) 19-21 St. Petersburg YC. Disabled Sailor Midwinters, Paralympic Classes 20 Tampa Sailing Squadron. Gasparilla Regatta, PHRF 21 Tampa Sailing Squadron. Gasparilla Women’s PHRF 20-21 Lake Eustis Sailing Club. George Washington’s Birthday Open Regatta 27 Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society..Edison Gulf, Ft. Myers Beach, (CBOTY) 27-28 Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Island Style Classic Windsurfing Regatta 27-28 Davis Island YC. Commodore’s Cup. 28 St. Pete Sailing Assoc. Full Moon Pursuit Race MARCH TBD Regatta Pointe Marina, River Race, (SBBOTY) 1-5 St. Petersburg YC. Thistle Midwinters 6-7 St. Petersburg YC. Allison Jolly Girl’s Regatta, Opti & Lasers News & Views for Southern Sailors

6-8 6-7 12 12-14 12-14 13 13 13-14 13-14 13-15 13-15 14 14 14-17 18-20 18-21 19-21 20 20-21 21 20-22 19-21 21 24-27 25 27-29 27 27-28 27-28

Davis Island YC. Melges-24 Suncoast Championship Punta Gorda SC Conquistadore Cup (CHBOTY) (CBOTY) Naples Sailing & YC. Spring Regatta. (SWFBOTY) Lake Eustis SC. Melges 17, E & C Scow Midwinters Davis Island YC. Fireball & Friends. Fireball, Windmill Midwinters, Interlake, Flying Scot, 110, Hampton One design Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society Shrimp Festival Race. (CBOTY) Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Pot O Gold, PHRF St. Petersburg YC. Michelob Cup/SPSA. Rich Gahn Memorial Race.

Sarasota Sailing Squadron. High School South Points regatta Dunedin Boat Club. Ensign Midwinters (Tentative) Lake Eustis SC. C-Scow, M-17, M-16 Regatta St. Pete Sailing Assoc. Rich Gahn Memorial, PHRF Sarasota Bay Yachting Association Motley Fleet Race (MBOTY) Clearwater YC. Snipe Midwinters Lake Eustis SC. MC Scow Midwinters Clearwater YC. Sunfish Midwinters St. Petersburg YC. Lightning Midwinters Davis Island YC. J/24 Pot O’ Gold Regatta Clearwater YC. Clark Mills Youth Regatta, Optimist State Championships St. Petersburg Sailing Center Snipe Fleet 801 Racing Davis Island YC. Flying Scot Warm-up Sarasota Sailing Squadron. One Design Midwinters Cortez YC. Diane Parker Memorial “Lady at the Helm” Regatta St. Petersburg YC. Flying Scot Midwinters Davis Island YC. Thursday evening races begin, All classes registration Gulf Coast SC. 34th Southwest Florida GCSC Regatta, PHRF (SWFBOTY) (CBOTY) Caloosahatchee Marching & Chowder Society Santweenie Race Isles Yacht Club. Leukemia Cup. (CHBOTY) Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Sarasota Youth Sailing Program PHRF. Sailfest. (SBBOTY)

For northern Gulf coast race calendars and more information, go the Gulf Yachting Association Web site, at www.gya.org.

LEGEND ABYC Apalachee Bay Yacht Club, Tallahassee, FL BucYCBuccaneer Yacht Club, Mobile, AL CSA Corinthian Sailing Association, New Orleans, LA FWYC Fort Walton Yacht Club, Fort Walton Beach, FL FYC Fairhope Yacht Club, Fairhope, AL GYC Gulfport Yacht Club, Gulfport, MS JYC Jackson Yacht Club, Jackson, MS LBYC Long Beach Yacht Club, Long Beach, MS NOYC New Orleans Yacht Club, New Orleans,LA NYCP Navy Yacht Club of Pensacola, Pensacola, FL PYC Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL PBYC Pensacola Beach Yacht Club, Pensacola Beach, FL PontYC Pontchartrain Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA SSYC South Shore Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA StABYC St. Andrew’s Bay Yacht Club, Panama City, FL SYC Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA See RACING CALENDAR continued on page 84 SOUTHWINDS

February 2010 75

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Linda Reynolds

South Florida Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Florida Keys

47 Catalina 470 2007 Warranty .Massey 47 Vagabond Ketch 1987 . . .Scott P. 47 Vagabond Ketch 1980 . . . . . .Alan 46 Island Packet 2009 Warranty .Massey 46 Hunter 466 2004 . . . . . . . . .Brad 46 Hunter 466 2004 . . . . . . . . .Brad 46 Hunter 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joe 46 Hunter 460 2000 . . . . . . .Scott P 46 Hunter 460 2000 . . . . . . . . . . .Al 46 Hunter 460 2000 . . . . . . . .Kelly 46 Custom Baraka Sloop 1993 . . .Linda 45 Hunter CC 2008 Warranty .Massey 45 Hunter Deck Salon 2008 . . . . .Bill 45 Hunter 450 1997 . . . . . . . .Doug 45 Island Packet Cutter 1997 . .Alan 45 Morgan Nelson/Marek 1983 .Kelly 44 Catalina/Morgan 440 2007 . . .Bill 44 Hunter AC 2006 REDUCED . . . .Al 44 Mason 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . .Kelly 44 Brewer 1988 Trade . . . . . .Massey 43 Menorquin 130 2004 . . . . . .Alan 43 Hunter 1992 . . . . . . . . .Scott H. 43 Hans Christian 1989 . . . .Scott H. 42 Catalina MKII 2006 . . . . . . .Brad 42 Hunter Passage 2001 . . . . . .Brad 42 Hunter Passage 1994 . . . .John B. 42 Catalina MKII 1997 . . . . . . .Brad 42 Hunter Passage 1991 . . . . .Linda 42 Endeavour Center Cockpit 1987 .Alan 41DS Hunter 2008 Warranty .Massey 41 IP SP Cruiser 2007 Warranty .Massey 41 Morgan Classic 1988 . . . .Scott P. 41 Kings Legend 1981 . . . . .Scott H. 40 Catalina 400 2006 REDUCED . . .Al 40 Island Packet 1995 . . . . .John M. 40 Dean Catamaran 1994 . . . .Susan

. .$369,900 . . . . .SOLD . .$199,900 . .Clearance . .$245,000 . .$229,000 . .$224,900 . .$219,000 . .$199,000 . .$169,000 .$$375,000 . .Clearance . .$285,000 . .$135,000 . .$199,900 . .$135,000 . .$295,000 . .$229,900 . .$229,000 . .$169,900 . .$299,900 . . .$89,500 . .$209,000 . .$259,500 . .$159,000 . .$120,000 . .$139,500 . .$119,900 . .$129,900 . .Clearance . .Clearance . .$109,500 . .$109,000 . .$219,900 . .$229,000 . .$165,000

38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 38 37 37 37 37 36

Hunter 2009 Warranty . . .Massey Hunter 386 2003 . . . . . . . . .Alan Island Packet 380 2003 . . . . .Bill Catalina 387 2005 . . . . . . . . .Bill Catalina 387 2004 . . . . . . . . . .Al Hunter 2001 . . . . . . . . . . .Linda Hunter 2001 . . . . . . . . . . .Linda Island Packet Cutter 1990 . .Alan Jeanneau 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . .Al Ericson 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bill Island Packet 2008 Warranty .Massey Island Packet 2007 . . . . . . . . .Al Island Packet 2005 . . . . . . . .Joe Bavaria 2001 REDUCED . .Scott P. Hunter 2009 Warranty . . .Massey

Pre-Owned Island Packets for Sale.

Choose from over 40 that we have available 36 36 36 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 34 34 34 33 33 33 33 31 31 29 28

Catalina MKII 2000 . . . . . . .Brad Catalina 1994 . . . . . . . . . . .Brad Bayfield Cutter 1988 . . . . . .Alan Shannon Shoalsailer 2006 . . . . .Al Hunter 356 2004 . . . . . . .Scott P. Hunter 356 2003 . . . . . . .Scott P. Beneteau 351 1995 . . . . .John M. Hunter 35.5 1994 . . . . . . . . .Bill Island Packet 1993 . . . . . . . .Alan Hunter Legend 1987 . . . . . .Linda Hunter 2001 . . . . . . . . . .Scott P. J-Boats J-105 2001 . . . . .Scott P. Pacific Seacraft Crealock 1990 . .Al Hunter 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Al Hunter 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Al Hunter 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bill Hunter 2004 . . . . . . . . . . .Linda Catalina 310 2001 . . . . . . . .Brad Island Packet 1986 . . . . . . . .Alan Hunter 290 2000 . . . . . .John M. Precision 2003 . . . . . . . . . . .Alan

. .$107,500 . . .$67,500 . . .$74,900 . .$299,000 . .$115,900 . .$114,999 . . .$69,000 . . .$67,500 . .$159,900 . . .$39,900 . . .$85,000 . . . . .SOLD . .$105,000 . .$123,000 . . .$99,900 . . .$91,900 . . .$79,900 . . .$89,500 . . .$49,900 . .PENDING . . .$49,900

Call Grant Smalling at Lending Associates for the best rate in yacht financing and Free Pre-Purchase Loan Qualification 866-723-3991

772-204-0660 Susan Everhard

www.MasseyYacht.com

Southwest Florida

YachtSales@MasseyYacht.com

Marco Island /Naples

. .Clearance . .$114,900 . .$209,000 . .$169,000 . .$169,000 . .$119,900 . .$129,900 . .$159,900 . . .$49,900 . . .$59,500 . .Clearance . .$348,000 . .$289,900 . . . . .SOLD . .Clearance

239-465-6480 Doug Howard Mobile Broker Center North Florida

904-759-2413

Mobile Broker Center Florida Panhandle COMING SOON

Yacht Model Center St. Pete

727-824-7262 Yacht Model Center Palmetto

772-204-0660 Yacht Model Center Stuart

941-723-1610

Covering Florida Like the Florida Sun

Mobile Broker Center Marco Island/Naples

239-465-6480

772-204-0660 Mobile Broker Center South Florida

Selling your boat?

Selling your boat?

New Catalina Expo 14.2 2010 Compac Legacy 16 2010 Catalina 16.5 2010 Compac Picnic Cat New Compac Suncat-trl New Compac Sunday Cat 2010 Compac Eclipse 1997 Catalina Capri 22fin 2009 Catalina 22 Sport New Catalina 22 MKII-WK 2007 Com-Pac 23 Mk IV 2009 Com-Pac 23 Mk IV New Catalina 250 WB 2007 Catalina 250 WK 1983 S-2 7.9 GrandSlam

$6,085 $11,500 $7019 $10,350 $19,878 $tba $24,582 $9,695 $13,785 Sold $25,995 $38,995 $27,322 $33,000 $10,995

**Brand New In Stock Com-Pac “Sunday” Cat

www.mastheadsailinggear.com

LET US SELL YOUR BOAT FREE Slip Rental at our Marina in Mobile, Alabama, for Qualified Vessels CALL RICK OR JOANNA NOW!

Servicing the Gulf Coast-From Florida to Texas Let our yard ensure your boat is ready to sell!

Bottom paint & repair services on site!

Call Kelly!

Call Kelly!

How he can help sell your $75K to $1M sailboat Kelly has 30+ years sailing experience and the resources to make the sale of your present boat – or purchase of a new one – smooth sailing!

Massey Yacht Sales sells more brokerage sailboats than any firm in the Southeast U.S. Kelly is one of 3% of the yacht brokers in Florida who is an accredited Certified Professional Yacht Broker.

Kelly will take 70-100 hi-def photos of your yacht for use in a variety of marketing campaigns.

Kelly makes “house calls!” If you have a tight schedule, he’ll come to your home, office or boat. Evening hours included!

National Magazine Advertising & Full Web Advertising Services Check out our Web page for Sailboats & Trawlers

Turner Marine Supply, Inc. PROFESSIONAL BROKERAGE SERVICES 5010 Dauphin Island Pkwy., Mobile, AL, 36605

251-476-1444 tmys97@aol.com www.turnermarine.com News & Views for Southern Sailors

Kelly Bickford,CPYB Massey Yacht Sales & Service – Tampa Bay Area

kelly@kellybickfordcpyb.com Cell: 727-599-1718 Toll Free: 877-552-0525 SOUTHWINDS

February 2010 77

Largest Selection of Sailboats &Trawlers in Florida

www.SailboatsInFlorida.com

50' Voyage Mayotte Catamaran, 1997 4 cabins, excellent condition. Great for cruising or charter. $490,000 Bob @ 239-877-4094

46' Durbeck Cutter/Ketch, 1974, Solid Bluewater 47' Garcia Passoa, 2005, Aluminum, twin roller- vessel, Excellent liveaboard! Well equipped. furling, fast blue water quality cruiser, $495,000, Davits, Whaler, $110,000, Butch @ 850-624Call Bob @ 239-877-4094 8893

45' Prout Catamaran, 1996, Twin diesel, Watertight collision bulkheads, washer dryer, $269,000, Harry @ 941-400-7942

43' Northwind CC 2003, Cruising World Boat of the Year, Gorgeous turnkey head-turner has just had her topsides awlgripped - loaded w/quality equipment, $349,000, Tom @ 904-377-9446

42' Fountaine Pajot Catamaran, 1996, This boat is exceptional! Many upgrades! Call Today! $249,000, Harry @ 941-400-7942

40' Kelsall Custom Catamaran, 1995, Rotating mast, daggerboards, Easy to sail and fast! $234,000, Tom @ 904-377-9446

38' Robinson Caine Catamaran, 1999, Loaded!

Windlass, Radar, Plotter, SSB, New on the market, $205,000, Call Wendy @ 941-916-0660

36' Hunter Vision, 1993, Unstayed mast, Extra water tankage, New Upholstery, A/C, Autopilot, $64,000, Call Kevin @ 321-693-1642

35' Freedom Sloop, 1994 Freestanding rig, 2 state rooms, A/C, $89,900, Calvin @ 941-830-1047

28' Catalina Mark II, 2002, Wing Keel, 26 HP Universal, Bimini, Dodger, Clean! $57,000, Call Wendy @ 941-916-0660

33' Hans Christian, 1983, Tan bark sails, Davits, Beautiful blue water cruiser. $119,000, Butch @ 850-624-8893

74’ 65’ 55’ 53’ 50’ 49’ 47’ 47’ 47’ 47’ 46’ 46’ 46’ 46’ 45’ 45’ 44’ 44’ 43’ 43’ 42’ 42’ 42’ 41’ 38’ 38’ 37’ 37’ 36’ 36’ 36’ 36’ 36’ 36’ 35’ 34’ 34’

CUSTOM MOTORSAILOR MACGREGOR TAYANA BRUCE ROBERTS CUSTOM GULFSTAR HINCKLEY KETCH GARCIA PASSOA BENETEAU GULFSTAR SAILMASTER GULFSTAR SAILMASTER HUNTER BENETEAU OCEANIS 461 DURBECK KETCH DURBECK KETCH MORGAN 454 HUNTER LEGEND ISLAND PACKET FREEDOM NORTHWIND CUSTOM PILOTHOUSE WESTSAIL KETCH TAYANA CHEOY LEE CLIPPER HUNTER 410 IRWIN MK II CATALINA 380 TARTAN TAYANA CATALINA HUNTER ISLANDER FREEPORT PEARSON HUNTER VISION MARINER FREEDOM CAL MK III SEIDELMANN

MONOHULL SAILBOATS 1982 $285,000 ST. PETERSBURG 1994 $220,000 FT. LAUDERDALE 1988 $239,000 ST. PETERSBURG 2000 $185,000 NEW HAMPSHIRE 1976 $ 84,999 BRADENTON 1972 $189,000 ST. AUGUSTINE 2005 $495,000 COLUMBIA 2004 $295,000 BAHAMAS 1979 $139,000 WEST PALM BEACH 1979 $154,900 MADEIRA BEACH 2000 $138,900 ST. PETERSBURG 1998 $169,000 BRADENTON 1974 $110,000 PANAMA CITY 1977 $119,900 FT. PIERCE 1983 $120,000 PANAMA CITY 1987 $ 88,900 CRYSTAL RIVER 1992 $259,000 BRADENTON 1982 $ 88,900 FT. LAUDERDALE 2003 $329,000 ST. AUGUSTINE 1997 $139,000 BRADENTON 1975 $ 84,900 CAPE CORAL 1988 $189,900 BRADENTON 1970 $ 95,000 BOKEELIA 1998 $119,000 FT. LAUDERDALE 1989 $ 79,900 NEW PORT RICHEY 1997 $124,900 PUNT GORDA 1976 $ 55,000 MERRITT ISLAND 1981 $ 99,900 ST. PETERSBURG 1983 $ 39,900 PANAMA CITY 1993 $ 64,000 MELBORNE 1983 $ 49,000 INDIAN ROCK BEACH 1975 $ 29,000 MELBORUNE 1980 $ 27,200 ST. AUGUSTINE 1978 $ 87,000 PORT CHARLOTTE 1994 $ 89,000 GOODLAND 1978 $ 21,900 ST. PETERSBURG 1984 $ 23,750 INDIAN ROCKS BEACH

JOE BOB ROY S. BOB TJ TOM BOB BOB TJ ROY S. JOE HARRY BUTCH RICK BUTCH RICK HARRY BRIAN TOM ROY S. HARRY ROY S. JOE BRIAN TJ LEO KEVIN HARRY BUTCH KEVIN RICK KEVIN TOM HARRY CALVIN ROY S. WENDY

34’ 34’ 33’ 33’ 33’ 33’ 32’ 32’ 31’ 31’ 31’ 30’ 30’ 28’ 28’ 27’ 26’

TARTAN B & J CUTTER PEARSON 323 HUNTER 336 HANS CHRISTEN MORGAN OI WESTSAIL PEARSON 323 HUNTER ISLAND PACKET SOUTHERN CROSS CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA MKII SHANNON PEARSON MACGREGOR

60’ CUSTOM CATAMARAN 55’ LAGOON CATAMARAN 51’JEANTOT/PRIVILEDGE CAT 50’ VOYAGE MAYOTTE 50’ PROUT QUASAR 48’ NAUTITECH CATAMARAN 45’ PROUT CATAMARAN 44’ LAGOON CATAMARAN 44’ VOYAGE CATAMARAN 43’ LAGOON POWER CAT 42’ CROWTHER TRIMARAN 42’ FOUNTAINE PAJOT CAT. 40’ KELSAIL CATAMARAN 38’ FOUNTAINE PAJOT 38’ ROBERTSON CAINE 36’ G-CAT POWER CAT 35’ VICTORY CAT 35’ CHARTER CAT. WILDCAT 30’ MC 30 CATAMARAN

1985 $ 49,900 1967 $ 16,000 1974 $ 18,500 1996 $ 55,000 1983 $119,000 1977 $ 27,900 1976 $ 59,900 1980 $ 29,000 1985 $ 16,900 1984 $ 59,900 1985 $ 35,900 1989 $ 28,500 1987 $ 25,900 2002 $ 57,000 1978 $ 47,000 1988 $ 21,900 1996 $ 15,000 MULTI-HULLS 1999 $577,900 1991 $424,900 1994 $530,000 1997 $489,000 1996 $399,000 1998 $369,000 1996 $269,000 2007 $660,000 2002 $315,000 2005 $395,000 1987 $130,000 1996 $249,900 1995 $199,000 1996 $169,900 1999 $205,000 2008 $249,900 1999 $149,000 2000 $139,000 2003 $ 99,000

Edwards Yacht Sales Quality Listings, Professional Brokers Roy Edwards • Clearwater • 727-507-8222 Tom Morton • St. Augustine • 904-377-9446 Bill Mellon • St. Petersburg • 727-421-4848 Roy Stringfellow • Tierra Verde • 305-775-8907

FT. MYERS ST. PETERSBURG PANAMA CITY PUNTA GORDA PANAMA CITY PUNTA GORDA PUNTA GORDA PANAMA CITY PANAMA CITY PANAMA CITY MADEIRA BEACH NAPLES NAPLES SARASOTA ST. AUGUSTINE PUNTA GORDA GULFPORT

JOE TJ BUTCH WENDY BUTCH CALVIN CALVIN BUTCH BUTCH BUTCH ROY S. WENDY BOB WENDY TOM CALVIN ROY S

TARPON SPRINGS PORT ORANGE, FL. FLORIDA VIRGIN ISLANDS MEXICO PUNTA GORDA VENICE COLUMBIA TORTOLA GEORGETOWN, MD SARASOTA BRADENTON ST. AUGUSTINE BRADENTON PUNTA GORDA DADE CITY ST. AUGUSTINE COLUMBIA FT. MYERS

BILL BOB TOM BOB HARRY RICK HARRY BOB TOM RICK HARRY HARRY TOM HARRY WENDY RICK OM RICK BOB

BOAT FROM

LOANS 4.9%

Bob Cook • Naples • 239-877-4094 Rick Hoving • St. Petersburg • 727-422-8229 Leo Thibault • Punta Gorda • 941-504-6754 Joe Weber • Bradenton • 941-224-9661

TJ Johnson • Palmetto • 941-741-5875 Harry Schell • Sarasota • 941-400-7942 Brian Beckham • Ft. Lauderdale • 252-305-4967 Butch Farless • Panama City • 850-624-8893 Wendy Young • Punta Gorda • 941-916-0660 Calvin Cornish • Punta Gorda • 941-830-1047 Kevin Welsh • Melbourne • 321-693-1642

www.EdwardsYachtSales.com • 727-507-8222 • 78

February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

FAX 727-531-9379 •

Yachts@EdwardsYachtSales.com www.southwindsmagazine.com

Your Authorized Dealer for SELECTED LISTINGS Marine Trader 50 1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$199,000 (N) Wellcraft 4600 MY 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$159,000 (P) Marine Trader 44 SD 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$129,000 (P) Hatteras 43 DC 1977 . . . . .price reduced . . .$121,000 (S) Swift Trawler 42 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$350,000 Hinckley Talaria 40 2001 . .price reduced . . .$550,000 (N) Island Pilot 39 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$265,000 (S) Lien Hwa 36 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$69,900 (S) Californian 34LRC 1982 . . .new listing . . . . .$65,000 (N) Mainship Pilot 34 2001 . . . .price reduced . . .$84,900 (S) Knight Bros.Custom 28 2003 new listing . . . . .$85,500 (P) Irwin 52 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . .price reduced . . .$115,000 (S) Gulfstar 50 1979 . . . . . . . . .new listing . . . . .$95,000 (N) Beneteau 46 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Call for Special Beneteau First 47.7 2002 . . .price reduced . . .$289,000 (S) Beneteau M432 1988 . . . . . .price reduced . . .$78,000 (S) Beneteau 42CC 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$179,000 (N) Beneteau First 42 1982 . . . .new listing . . . . .$55,000 (S) J/Boats J 42 2004 . . . . . . . . .new listing . . . . .$319,000 (N) Privilege 42 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$299,000 (N) Tayana 42 VAC 1983 . . . . . .price reduced . . .$115,000 (N) Hunter 41 AC 2005 . . . . . . .new listing . . . . .$185,000 (N) Morgan Classic 41 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$77,900 (N) Hunter 40.5 Legend 1995 . .new listing . . . . .$89,000 (S) Beneteau O393 2003 . . . . . .new listing . . . . .$144,500 (P) C&C110 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$75,000 (P) Hunter 37.5 1994 . . . . . . . . .price reduced . . .$69,000 (S) B&H Sydney 36 1998 . . . . .price reduced . . .$99,000 (P) Pearson 36 Cutter 1982 . . . .new listing . . . . .$52,900 (N) Beneteau O351 1995 . . . . . .price reduced . . .$69,000 (P) Hunter 35.5 1993 . . . . . . . . .new listing . . . . .$58,000 (P) J Boats J/109 2005 . . . . . . . .new listing . . . . .$210,000 (S) Beneteau 34 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Call for Special Beneteau O331 2001 . . . . . .price reduced . . .$75,000 (N) CS 33 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .new listing . . . . .$32,000 (N) Beneteau 311 ‘00 & ‘03 . . . .price reduced . . .$59,000 (P) Catalina 30 ‘88 & ‘90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25,900 (N) Alerion Express 28 2004 . . .price reduced . . . .$83,000 (N) J Boats J/80 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29,900 (N) Beneteau FC 7.5 ‘06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$39,900 (N)

Beneteau (31’ to 58’)

J/Boats (22’ to 43’)

Swift Trawler (34’ to 52’)

Details & Pictures - Go to www.MurrayYachtSales.com

Complete Gulf Coast Coverage New Orleans 504-210-3668 NewOrleans@MurrayYachtSales.com Pensacola 850-261-4129 Pensacola@MurrayYachtSales.com St. Petersburg 727-214-1590 StPete@MurrayYachtSales.com

Eagle Pilothouse (40’ to 53’)

We have IN & OUT of the Water Slips AVAILABLE for our Listings!

www.MurrayYachtSales.com News & Views for Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS

February 2010 79

CLASSIFIED ADS REDUCED RATES SPECIAL $15 FOR A 3-MONTH WORD AD / $25 FOR AD WITH PHOTO

Ads must be emailed by March 10 when this offer ends. E-mail ads only. Mailed in ads, add $5 for words and $5 for photo.

FREE ADS - All privately owned gear for sale up to $200 per item For questions, contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com or (941) 795-8704 PRICES: • These prices apply to boats, real estate, gear,

dockage. All others, see Business Ads. • Text up to 30 words with horizontal photo: $50 for 3 months; 40 words @ $60; 50 words @ $65; 60 words@ $70.

• Text only ads up to 30 words: $25 for 3 months; 40 words @ $35; 50 words at $40; 60 words at $45. Contact us for more words.

• Add $15 to above prices for vertical photo.

• All ads go on our Web site classifieds page on the first of the month of publication at no additional cost. Add $10 to place the ad early on the Web site.

• The last month your ad will run will be at the end of the ad: (3/10) means April 2010.

• Add $5 typing charge if ads mailed in or dictated over the phone.

• Add $5 to scan a mailed-in photo.

DEADLINES: 5th of the month preceding publication. IF LATER: Contact editor@southwindsmagazine.com, or (941) 795-8704.

AD RENEWAL: 5th of the month preceding pub-

lication, possibly later (contact us). Take $5 off prices to renew your ad for another 3 months.

SAVE MORE ON RENEWALS: Ask us about automatic renewal (credit card required) to take $10 off above prices on text only ads and $15 for ads with photos. Ads renewed twice for 3-month period unless you cancel.

BUSINESS ADS: Except for real estate and dockage, prices above do not include business services or business products for sale. Business ads are $20/month up to 30 words. $35/month for 30-word ad with photo/graphic. Display ads start at $38/month for a 2-inch ad in black and white with a 12-month agreement. Add 20% for color. Contact editor@ southwindsmagazine.com, or (941) 795-8704.

BOAT BROKERAGE ADS: • For ad with horizontal photo: $20/month for new ad, $15/month to pick up existing ad. No charge for changes in price, phone number or mistakes.

• All ads go on our Web site classifieds page on the first of the month of publication at no additional cost. Add $10 to place the ad early on the Web

site. Unless you are a regular monthly advertiser, credit card must be on file.

TO PLACE AND PAY FOR AN AD: 1. Internet through PayPal at www.southwindsmagazine.com. Applies only to $25 and $50 ads.

(All others contact the editor) Put your ad text in the subject line at the end when you process the Paypal payment, or email it to: editor@southwindsmagazine.com. E-mail ALL photos as separate jpeg attachments to editor.

2. E-mail, phone, credit card or check. E-mail text, and how you intend to pay for the ad to editor@southwindsmagazine.com. E-mail photo as a jpeg attachment. Call with credit card number (941) 795-8704, or mail a check (below).

3. Mail your ad in. Southwinds, PO Box 1175, Holmes Beach, FL 34218, with check or credit card number (with name, expiration, address).

Enclose a SASE if photo wanted back.

4. We will pick up your ad. Send airline ticket, paid hotel reservations and car rental/taxi (or pick us up at the airport) and we will come pick up your ad. Call for more info.

We advise you to list the boat type first followed by the length. For example: Catalina 30. Your boat is more likely to be found by Internet search engines in this format.

Boats Wanted Boats & Dinghies Boat Gear & Supplies

TOO LATE TO CLASSIFY _________________________________________

Donate Your Boat Help Wanted Instruction Lodging for Sailors

Real Estate for Sale or Rent Sails & Canvas Too Late to Classify

BOATS & DINGHIES

_________________________________________

See this section at the end of classifieds for ads that came in too late to place in their appropriate section. Contact us if you have a last-minute ad to place—we still might have time in this section.

BOATS WANTED

_________________________________________ Wanted. Sailboat with trailer. 18-24 feet.

Fixed keel. Cape Dory, Sea Sprite, Seafarer, Compac, Hurley, Precision, etc. (228) 3246504.

(2/10) _________________________________________ Sunfish and Sunfish Rigs Wanted. TSS Youth Sailing, Inc., Tampa Youth Sailing, an organization to which donations are tax deductible, is in great need of sailing rigs for Sunfish sailboats. If you have a Sunfish rig (mast, sail and spars.) which you are not using, please consider a gift to us. Go to www.tssyouthsailing.org and click on Contact Us. _________________________________________ SEA SCOUTS of St. Pete need donated Sunfish and a 26- to 27-ft sailboat to hold youth sailing classes on Boca Ciega Bay in Tampa Bay area. All donations are fully taxdeductible. See our Web site www.seascoutstpete.org, or call (727) 345-9837.

Windrider Rave, includes optional reacher, rudder aileron and Rave trailer, Mylar sails.

Equipped with a 3-point lift for a davit. Can be seen in Port Charlotte, FL. don@pondsiowa.com, or (941) 276-4065 (4/10)

1979 Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 on aluminum trailer with brakes. New 1 GM Yanmar diesel, new Mack headsail roller furler. All lines lead aft. $25,000. Can deliver. (828) 226-6123.

(4/10)

2” DISPLAY ADS STARTING $38/MO. 80

February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

Rob Roy 23 Canoe yawl. Shoal keel w/centerboard, all lines lead to cockpit, roller furling jib, lazy jacks. Settees convert to large double; stove, sink; marine toilet/holding tank. New outboard, standing rigging, rudder. Two spinnakers, lots of gear. Rebuilt trailer. $12,500/offer. Mike Turner, Fairhope AL, (251) 458-4775, nautacop@aol.com (2/10)

1974 Ericson 29’ Universal 18 hp. Diesel (sips fuel), Mermaid central heat/air, sleeps 4/6, lots of extras. A very good boat at a price that’s hard to beat. $11,500. Located Cape Coral. (870) 373-2894. (2/10)

$25 – 3 mo. Ad & Photo 941-795-8704 www.southwindsmagazine.com

CLASSIFIED ADS

1982 John Marples 30’ trimaran. $25,000.

Professionally built. Kick-up rudder, draft less than 30”. Fun and fast. Boomless main, 150% genoa plus lots more. http://home.rr.com/ johnandpeggy. Apollo Beach, FL. (239) 2921234. (2/10)

Hans Christian 33T, 1982. 30hp Yanmar diesel. Cutter-rigged. Roller furling main, headsail and staysail. Solar panel, propane, refrig, Garmin 182C Chartplotter/GPS. SSB Icom. Hard Dodger. True Bluewater cruiser.

New electric windlass. RIB dinghy with 15hp OB. Lots of Gear/spares. No teak decks. No blisters. Very good condition. Cortez, FL. Asking $98,000. (941) 792-9100.

CORTEZ YACHT SALES SAIL

48' Mason 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$69,000 42' Vagabond 1980 - Project . . . .$49,000 40' Bayfield 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . .$109,500 39' Corbin PH 1984 . . . . . . . . . .$110,000 34' Nassau 1983 - Project . . . . . . . .Offers 33' Hans Christian 1982 . . . . . . . .$98,000 33' Cheoy Lee 1977 . . . . . . . . . . .$33,000 30' Tartan 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$18,500 30' Hunter 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$18,900 30' Catalina 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,500 POWER

34' Sea Ray 1983 Twin Diesels . .$49,000 28' Luhrs Twin Gas 1972 . . . . . . .$15,900 28' Sheffield Diesel Charter Biz . .$44,900 26' Pacemaker 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,900 20' Shamrock 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . .$11,900 WE HAVE BUYERS — LISTINGS WANTED

(941) 792-9100 visit www.cortezyachts.com

30’ Hunter Cherubini 1982 with Yanmar diesel, Bimini, dodger, Harken roller furling, new Genoa, Autohelm 3000 autopilot, marine air conditioning, hot and cold pressure water, bow sprit w/anchor roller, Imron green top sides, very well maintained. Asking $18,900. Cortez Yacht Sales. (941) 792-9100.

Hunter 30, 1978.

Very good condition. 3 jibs, spinnaker, asymmetrical—all in great condition.

New cushions, dodger, portlights.

Chartplotter. 4-foot draft, standard rig.

Rebuilt engine.

Extremely wellmaintained. New Bottom Paint. $16,500. Palmetto, FL. (941) 7205750. (2/10)

1977 Cheoy Lee Offshore 33 Ketch with Perkins 4-108. Loaded with new upgraded equipment. Only 3' 8" draft. Recent Awl-Grip, Wind Gen, Solar, Windlass, Refrig, Propane, GPS, H&C Pressure water, Head with Shower and more. A classic beauty asking $33,000. www.CortezYachts.com or (941) 792-9100.

WHARRAM TIKI 30 CATAMARAN FOR SALE Brand-New — Professionally Built Go to www.tiki30.blogspot.com to view an online journal documenting the step-by-step building of this boat.

Built by Boatsmith, Inc., Jupiter, FL www.boatsmithFL.com. (561)744-0855

ATLANTIC CLASS 30’ fiberglass sloop.

Beautiful classic day sailer or racer, fast responsive. Norths, roller furler, covers, outboard, (941) 366-3812, 284-6785 (cell). rckinme@verizon.net. (3/10)

CORTEZ YACHT SALES

REDUCED RATES SPECIAL $15 FOR A 3-MONTH WORD AD $25 FOR AD WITH PHOTO Ads must be emailed by March 10 when this offer ends. E-mail ads only. Mailed in ads, add $5 for words and $5 for photo.

News & Views for Southern Sailors

$25,000 - 30’ custom built, aft cabin, cutter rigged ketch. The hull & Volvo engine & transmission were completely re-conditioned in 2007. Hand laid up fiberglass hull. Built in Sweden in 1980. Main cabin has 6-foot settee/berths each side and a semi-enclosed forward V-berth. Boat lies in Cortez, FL. Contact Tom O’Brien (941) 518-0613. jtoaia@verizon.net. (3/10)

Nassau 34 by President Marine, 1983. Project boat, fiberglass, diesel, double ended, full keel, aluminum spars, davits, teak decks, refrig, Marine Air, propane. Project – offers taken. www.Cortezyachts.com. (941) 7929100.

1974 Morgan 35 Sloop. $13,000. (305) 5092431. (2/10)

LISTINGS WANTED HAVE BUYERS SAIL · POWER www.CortezYachts.com 941-792-9100 Brokerage Slips Available SOUTHWINDS

February 2010 81

CLASSIFIED ADS Maine Cat 41 Sailing Catamaran. USCG inspected and licensed for 20 passengers and 2 crew. Genset, A/C, Screacher, safety equipment. Turnkey commercial charter vessel.

Lying Florida. Lease option. (732) 546-4103.

(4/10)

Two-ton IOR boat, 44’, carbon fiber hull, rod rigging, hydraulics, much gear, many sails, recent bottom paint. 8’ draft. VW Rabbit diesel. Good dinghy/motor. PHRF 33. Former world champ. Won Admiralty Cup for England in 1981. Designed by Ed Dubois. $80,000. (904) 335-1264. (6/10)

1976 Mason 48. Center Cockpit liveaboard full keel blue water cruiser. 120 HP Perkins, ketch rig with all roller furling and self-tailing winches for shorthanded sailing. Walk-thru aft cabin, two heads, Bimini, dodger, electric anchor, windlass, autopilot. Asking $69K. Owner must sell so bring your offer. www.CortezYachts.com or (941) 792-9100.

Cruiseair Carry-On 5000 Marine Air Conditioner. 115 volts, 4800 BTU. Works great! Located in Bradenton. Asking $400. Email me ... realsail33@gmail.com. (4/10) _________________________________________ ANCHOR. Attention: Bulwagga Owners. Do you want to upgrade? Willing to swap 44pound Bulwagga for next size down. colinbrewer20@gmail.com.

(4/10) _________________________________________ Heart Freedom 1000-watt inverter/charger with 200-amp fuse/fuse block. $175. (239) 530-1140.

(4/10) _________________________________________ Mast and mainsail. Mast 19' 6" complete.

Mainsail 16' luff, 8 1/2' foot. Both excellent condition. Will split. Leesburg, FL. $75 each.

(352) 728-0098. (2/09) _________________________________________ Bruce Anchor, 20kg (44lb), excellent condition. $115. (239) 530-1140. (3/10)

1996 Beneteau 50. Owner additions fresh refit with over $40k spent. Looks brand-new.

Miami area. View more at the Web site http://beneteau50yacht.com.

Only $219,900. Call (480) 948-7053. (3/10) 45 Leopard Cat 2000.Will trade equity (130K) for smaller boat. Excellent condition!

New sails, Genset, canvas. Many other updates. This boat is ready to go! (727) 4123744. ross1920@earthlink.net. (2/10)

BOAT GEAR & SUPPLIES

_________________________________________

FREE ADS Free ads in boat gear for all gear under $200 per item. Privately owned items only. Editor@southwindsmagazine.com.

(941-795-8704)

SEE CLASSIFIED INFORMATION ON PAGE 80 82

February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

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CLASSIFIED ADS Whisker Pole. Telescoping 11'-20'. Very Good Condition. (941) 792-9100. Line controlled. $250. _________________________________________ CQR Anchor 44 lb (20kg), excellent condition. $350. (239) 530-1140. (239) 5301140.

(3/10) _________________________________________ Danforth Anchor, S2000 (formerly 40S), 43lbs, never used. $165. (239) 530-1140. (3/10) _________________________________________ Bruce Anchor, 20kg (44lb), excellent condition. $115. (239) 530-1140. (3/10)

Wanted experienced person in general boat rigging, electronics, a/c installation for a position available at marina/service yard in Mobile, Alabama. E-mail: tmys97@aol.com or call Roger @ (251) 463-5217. (4/10) _________________________________________

DONATE YOUR BOAT

Massey Yacht Sales Mobile Broker Do you prefer to sell yachts from your home office?

If you do and you are a proven, successful yacht sales professional, we have positions open for Florida west and east coast. Take advantage of the Massey sales and marketing support, sales management and administration while working from your home selling brokerage sail and powerboats. Call Frank Hamilton (941) 723-1610 for interview appointment and position details.

_________________________________________ Donate your boat to the Safe Harbor Boys Home, Jacksonville, Fl. Setting young lives on a true path. Please consider donating your working vessel. http://boyshome.com/ or call (904) 757-7918, e-mail harbor@boyshome.com.

HELP WANTED

_________________________________________ Proofreader wanted, SOUTHWINDS Magazine. Must know the basics of good grammar and writing. Must have a good general knowledge in all aspects of sailing; racing, cruising, maintenance, gear, etc. We don’t need an expert in these fields, just good general sailing knowledge through sailing experience. Beginning sailors, don’t apply. We are not looking for someone who is a professional proofreader, but someone who can read an article and tell that it is worth publishing, edit it and know the sailing information in it, improve the writing and prepare it to send to our professional proofreader. Must be really good with computers (have broadband, be on a PC and must know MS Word), communicate extremely well, be totally reliable and available regularly. Work your own hours, own computer, at home—as a subcontractor. E-mail experience to editor@southwindsmagazine.com, subject: Proofreader. Don’t call. _________________________________________ Writer wanted, SOUTHWINDS Magazine.

For subjects on Our Waterways which include all the political and environmental issues that have to do with sailing/boating, like anchoring rights, individual rights, pollution, etc.

Must be somewhat experienced in sailing.

Must know the basics of good grammar and writing, although we send everything to a professional proofreader. Must be real good with computers (have broadband, be on a PC and must know MS Word), communicate extremely well, be totally reliable and available regularly. Research on issues involved, so must be good at internet research. Work your own hours, own computer, at home— as a subcontractor. E-mail experience to editor@southwindsmagazine.com, subject: Writer Wanted. Don’t call. _________________________________________ NORTH SAILS IS HIRING! Experienced sailmakers needed for state-of-the-art 3DL™ mfg facility in Minden, NV. Minimum 2 years sailmaking experience and references a must. Competitive salary, great benefits. Email letters of recommendation and resume to jeffh@3dl.northsails.com. _________________________________________ News & Views for Southern Sailors

Sponsor Wanted. Business to sponsor our Crew Web pages online and get an ad in the magazine and on our Web site in return for regular monthly payment to us to keep the crew Web pages going and regularly updated. Could be ideal for a racing-related company. editor@southwindsmagazine.com.

(941) 795-8704 _________________________________________

R EAL ESTATE FOR SALE OR RENT _________________________________________

Sailor’s Paradise “Old Florida“ Lakefront mobile home cottage with dock on 20K acre Lake Crescent in Crescent City. Small, quiet, adult park with reasonable lot rent. $7500 (386) 698-3648 or www.LakeCrescentFlorida.com. (4/10)

INSTRUCTION

_________________________________________

CAPTAINS LICENSE CLASS Six-pack Captain’s License (OUPV) in two weeks with no exam at the Coast Guard.

USCG-APPROVED COURSE

West Palm Beach Jan. 25 - Feb. 8 Miami/ Coconut Grove Feb. 15-28 www.captainslicenseclass.com 888-937-2458 (toll-free)

LODGING FOR SAILORS

_________________________________________

Income Property For Sale! 4 Villas in Historic Cortez Village! These apartments are 2bd/1ba each, all with their own carports, laundry rooms, screened porches off the kitchen and front sitting porches. These units were renovated in 2005 with new roofs, tiled floors throughout and pergolas under lush landscaping. They are located in the Village, walking distance across the ICW to the Gulf of Mexico sugar sand beaches in Bradenton Beach.

Currently, fully rented annually at $975 per month, this would be a great opportunity for the investor looking for rental income. If a pool was added, they could be turned into vacation rentals, asking more than 3 times the current rent. The property is zoned “light manufacturing” as well, making it versatile to boaters wanting to locate their operation in the “boating community” that is Cortez. Asking $549,000 (by owner) Call Brian or Maureen Dahms at 941-778-0542 (home) or (941) 7300587 (cell) for more details. (3/10)

SAILS & CANVAS

_________________________________________ Ponce de Leon Hotel Historic downtown hotel at the bay, across from St. Petersburg YC. 95 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727) 550-9300 www.poncedeleon hotel.com

2” DISPLAY ADS STARTING $38/MO SOUTHWINDS

February 2010 83

CLASSIFIEDS

SLIPS FOR RENT/SALE

_________________________________________ Multihull slip for lease or purchase. Broad Creek, NC, just off ICW near Oriental. 30 feet wide by 40-plus feet long. Previously home to Windswept (Voyage 440). (978) 697-6281. dlipchak@aol.com. (3/10)

TO LATE TO CLASSIFY

_________________________________________ _

31’ 1976 Southern Cross. New 28HP diesel, wind-vane steering, solar panels, wind generator. Dodger, Bimini, Sun Cover, Anchors, GPS Chart Plotter, Radio, Depth Sounder, Compass. Rigging 1999. In Key West. (954) 540-1117

SOUTHERN RACING — NORTHERN GULF COAST continued from page 75 FEBRUARY 7 Zevin Cup, FWYC 14 Billy Goat Regatta, BucYC 14 Frosty Nipple, FWYC 14 Valentine Regatta, PBYC 17-20 Mardi Gras Regatta, NOYC 21 Zevin Cup, FWYC 28 Frosty Nipple Final, FWYC MARCH 6 Mardi Gras Regatta, NOYC 6 Maxine #1/Commodore’s Cup #1, NYCP 6 Southern Nichols Cup Team Race, SYC 7 Zevin Cup, FWYC 12-14 J/22 Mid-Winters, SYC 13 Spring #1, LBYC 13 Leukemia Cup, BucYC 13 Maxine #2, PBYC 13-14 N.O.-Mandevielle&Return, SYC,PontYC,CSA,NOYC 14 Zevin Cup Final, FWYC 20 Maxine #3, PYC 20 Leukemia Cup, SSYC 20 Spring #2, LBYC 20 Peerson Regatta, FWYC 20 Spin & Non Spin 10, StABYC 20-21 Performance Mid-Winters, PBYC 21 Leukemia Cup (J22, R19,FS, Finn), SSYC 21 One Design 7, StABYC 23-26 Flying Scot Mid-Winters, SYC 27 Dogwood Regatta, FYC 27 Spring Fling/Jane England, JYC 27 Spring #3, LBYC 27 Spring into Liquid, FWYC 84

February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

OF

ADVERTISERS

TELL THEM YOU SAW IT IN SOUTHWINDS! SOUTHWINDS provides these lists as a courtesy and asks our readers to support our advertisers. The lists includes all display advertising.

Absolute Tank Cleaning 29 Advanced Boat Repair 19 Advanced Sails 32 All American Boat Storage 29 Allstate Insurance 50 AlpenGlow 67 Annapolis Performance Sailing 69 Antigua Sailing School 23, 35 Aqua Graphics 29 Atlantic Sail Traders 49 Aurinco Solar 30 Bacon Sails 33 Bay Rigging 32 Beach Marine 19 Beneteau Sailboats BC Beta Marine 45 Bimini Bay 16 Bluewater Insurance 24 Bluewater Sailing School 10, 23 Boat Moorings.com 40 Boaters’ Exchange 22 BoatNames.net 29 Boatsmith 20 BoatU.S. Insurance 37 Boca Ciega YC Sailing Class 46 Borel 30 Bo’sun Supplies 60 C2 Rigging 15 Capt. Bill Robinson 30 Capt. Jimmy Hendon 30 Capt. Marti Brown 16, 30 Capt. Rick Meyer 30 Captain’s License Class 83 Catalina Yachts IFC, 22 Catamaran Boatyard 30 Clearwater Municipal Marina 19 Coolnet Hammocks 30 CopperCoat 36 Cortez Yacht Brokerage 81 Couples Sailing School 23 CPT Autopilot 43, 82 Cruising Solutions 16 Dancing With the Wind Video 32 Defender Industries 28 Dockside Radio 62 Doctor LED 12, 31, 82 Doyle/Ploch Sails 33 Dunbar Sales IFC Dwyer mast 82 Eastern Yachts/Beneteau BC Edentown Marina 30 Edwards Yacht Sales 78 Electric Yacht 16 Ellies Sailing Shop 29 E-Marine 31 Fairwinds Boat Repairs 32 First Coast Challenge 41 First Patriot Insurance 29 Fishermen’s Headquarters 46 Flagship Sailing 20 Florida Sailing and Cruising School 23 Florida Yacht Group IBC Flying Scot Sailboats 82 Fort Myers Beach Mooring Field 55 Ft. Pierce City Marina 19 Garhauer Hardware 7 Gourmet Underway 63 Gulfport City Marina 48 Harborage Marina 25 Hobie Cats/Tackle Shack 6 Holland Boatyard 30 Hotwire/Fans & other products 31, 59 Innovative Marine Services 29, 47 International Sailing School 23

Into the Blue Diving Island Packet J/Boats - Murray Yacht Sales Kelly Bickford, Yacht Broker Lanier Sailing Academy/Charter Leather Wheel Mack Sails Marina Town Marine Canvas Marine Fuel Cleaning Massey Yacht Sales Masthead Enterprises 22, 31, Mastmate Miami Boat Show Miami Mooring Field Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau National Sail Supply Nature’s Head North Sails North Sails Direct North Sails Outlet Ocean Rigging Pasadena Marina Patriot Yacht Services Pelican’s Perch Marina Pier 88 Porpoise Used Sails Portlight Covers Press Gang Profurl Wichard Prosperity Point Quality Maritime RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke Regata del Sol al Sol Regatta Pointe Marina Rigging Only Rivers Edge Marina Rparts Refrigeration RS Sailboats Sail America Sail Harbor Sail Repair Sailing Florida Charters Sailing Florida Sailing School Schurr Sails Scuba Clean Sea School Sea Tech Sea Worthy Goods Shadetree Snug Harbor Boats & Co. Spotless Stainless SSB Radio Books SSMR St. Augustine Sailing Enterprises St. Barts/Beneteau St. Petersburg YC Regattas Suncoast Inflatables Sunrise Sails, Plus Tackle Shack Tideminders Trans Marine Pro Treasure Harbor Turner Marine Yacht Sales Ullman sails Wag Bags Waterborn Wichard Windcraft Windrider Trimarans Yacht Authority Yachting Vacations Zarcor

40 76 BC,79 77 23 31 3 19 33 29 IFC,76 33, 77 31 21 13 BC,79 33 31 71 61 83 32 19 64 64 48 33 17 8 11 19 17 26 5 39 32 19 60 51 21 30 33 23 23 68 29 67 82 31 65 22 32 16, 30 32 23 BC 9 18 33 6 65 16 19 IFC,77 29, 33 34 32 11 8 57 29, 44 47 56

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CATEGORY

SAILBOATS – NEW AND BROKERAGE Beneteau ....................................................BC Boaters Exchanges/Catalina ........................22 Boatsmith/Wharram catamarans.................20 Catalina Yachts ....................................IFC, 22 Cortez Yacht Brokerage ..............................81 Dunbar Sales .............................................IFC Edwards Yacht Sales....................................76 Florida Yacht Group...................................IBC Flying Scot Sailboats ...................................82 Hobie Cats/Tackle Shack ...............................6 Island Packet...............................................76 Kelly Bickford Yacht Broker .........................77 Massey Yacht Sales/Catalina/Hunter/Island Packet/Eastern/Mariner.....................IFC,76 Masthead Yacht Sales/Catalina .22, 31, 33, 77 Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau ................BC,79 RS Sailboats ................................................51 Snug Harbor Boats & Co. ...........................22 St. Barts/Beneteau ......................................BC Suncoast Inflatables/ West Florida...............18 Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg...6 Turner Marine.......................................IFC,77 Windcraft Multihulls .....................................8 Windrider Trimarans ...................................57 GEAR, HARDWARE, ACCESSORIES, CLOTHING AlpenGlow..................................................67 Annapolis Performance Sailing....................69 Aurinco Solar ..............................................30 Boat Moorings.com ....................................40 Borel...........................................................30 Bo’sun Supplies/Hardware ..........................60 Coolnet Hammocks ....................................30 CopperCoat................................................36 CPT Autopilot .......................................43, 82 Cruising Solutions.......................................16 Dancing With the Wind Video ....................32 Defender Industries.....................................28 Doctor LED.....................................12, 31, 82 Ellies Sailing Shop .......................................23 E-Marine .....................................................31 Fishermen’s Headquarters ...........................46 Garhauer Hardware ......................................7 Hotwire/Fans & other products ...........31, 59 Leather Wheel ............................................31 Masthead Enterprises ...............22, 31, 33, 77 Mastmate Mast Climber .............................31 Nature’s Head.............................................31 Portlight Covers..........................................17 Profurl Wichard...........................................11 Rparts Refrigeration ....................................60 Seaworthy Goods .......................................31 Shadetree Awning Systems .........................65 Spotless Stainless ........................................32 SSMR..........................................................32 Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, Precision...........6 Tideminders................................................65 Transmarine Pro..........................................16 Wag Bags ...................................................34 Wichard ......................................................11 Zarcor.........................................................56 SAILS (NEW & USED), RIGGING, SPARS, RIGGING SERVICES Advanced Sails............................................32 Atlantic Sail Traders ....................................49 Bacon Sails .................................................33 Bay Rigging ................................................32 C2 Rigging .................................................15 Doyle Ploch ................................................33 Dwyer Mast/spars, hardware, rigging .........82 Innovative Marine Services ...................29, 47 Mack ............................................................3 Masthead/Used Sails and Service .................................22, 31, 33, 77 News & Views for Southern Sailors

TELL THEM YOU SAW IT IN SOUTHWINDS! SOUTHWINDS provides these lists as a courtesy and asks our readers to support our advertisers. The lists includes all display advertising.

National Sail Supply, new&used online.......33 North Sails Direct/sails online by North ......71 North Sails, new and used....................71, 83 Ocean Rigging............................................32 Porpoise Used Sails .....................................33 Rigging Only .............................................32 Sail Repair...................................................33 Schurr Sails, Pensacola FL ...........................68 SSMR..........................................................32 Sunrise Sails, Plus .......................................33 Ullman Sails ..........................................29, 33 CANVAS Marine Canvas............................................33 Shadetree Awning Systems .........................65 SAILING SCHOOLS/CAPTAIN’S LICENSE INSTRUCTION Antigua Sailing School..........................23, 35 Bimini Bay ..................................................16 Bluewater sailing school .......................10, 23 Boca Ciega YC Sailing Class ........................46 Captain’s License Class ...............................83 Flagship Sailing...........................................20 Florida Sailing & Cruising School................23 International sailing school .........................23 Lanier Sailing Academy/Charter..................23 Quality Maritime Captain Instruction..........17 Sailing Florida Charters & School................23 Sea School/Captain’s License .....................67 St. Augustine Sailing Enterprises .................23 Yachting Vacations......................................47 MARINE ENGINES AND ACCESSORIES Beta Marine ................................................45 Electric Yacht ..............................................16 RB Grove/Universal and Westerbeke ...........26 MARINAS, MOORING FIELDS, BOAT YARDS Advanced Boat Repair.................................19 Thinking .....................................................19 Catamaran Boatyard ...................................30 Clearwater Municipal Marina......................19 Edenton Harbor ..........................................30 Fort Myers Beach Mooring Field .................55 Ft. Pierce City Marina .................................19 Gulfport City Marina...................................48 Harborage Marina ......................................25 Holland Boat Yard.......................................30 Marina Town ..............................................19 Miami Mooring Field ..................................13 Pasadina Marina .........................................19 Pelican’s Perch Marina ................................64

Prosperity Point ..........................................19 Regatta Pointe Marina ................................39 Rivers Edge Marina .....................................19 Sail Harbor..................................................30 Treasure Harbor ..........................................19 CHARTERS, RENTALS, FRACTIONAL .............

Bimini Bay ..................................................16 Flagship Sailing...........................................20 Sailing Florida Charters ...............................23 Yachting Vacations......................................47 MARINE SERVICES, SURVEYORS, INSURANCE, TOWING, BOAT LETTERING, ETC. Absolute Tank Cleaning ..............................29 Advanced Boat Repair.................................19 Allstate Insurance........................................50 Aqua Graphics ............................................29 Bluewater Insurance....................................24 BoatNames.net ...........................................29 BoatU.S. Insurance......................................37 Fairwinds Boat Repairs/Sales .......................32 First Patriot Insurance .................................29 Innovative Marine Services ...................29, 47 Into the Blue Diving....................................40 Marine Fuel Cleaning..................................29 Patriot Yacht Services..................................64 Pier 88 Diving Services ...............................48 Scuba Clean Yacht Services.........................29 CAPTAIN SERVICES Capt. & First Mate Yacht Delivery...................

Capt. Bill Robinson .....................................30 Capt. Jimmy Hendon ..................................30 Capt. Rick Meyer ........................................30 MARINE ELECTRONICS .................................

Dockside Radio ...........................................62 Sea Tech/Navigation/Communication ........82 SAILING WEB SITES, VIDEOS, BOOKS BoatNames.net ...........................................29 Capt. Marti Brown................................16, 30 Dancing With the Wind Video ....................32 Gourmet Underway ....................................63 SSB Radio Books ...................................16, 30 REGATTA ADVERTISEMENTS, BOAT SHOWS First Coast Challenge ..................................41 Miami Boat Show .......................................21 Regata del Sol al Sol .....................................5 Sail America................................................21 St. Pete YC Regattas .....................................9

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February 2010 85

Getting Something for Nothing

By Peggy St. James

T

here is something somewhat unique to boating. It is called the “free table” or “free shelf.” For those of you who have cruised about, you are familiar with this. For those new to cruising or who hope to be cruising someday, let me explain.

In almost every marina, especially those with full-time cruisers (AKA “liveaboards”), there is some area—a shelf, a table, a floor in the corner of a room—where boaters can leave stuff they no longer want or need, and other boaters can take it at no cost or obligation. This goes along with the old saying that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Items left in the “free” area vary greatly—from a cable specific to a computer or phone that probably no one else on Earth has any need for or can even figure out what it is to brand-new, out-of-thepackage or even still-in-thepackage marine supplies that some poor boater bought in desperation only to find the “widget” didn’t fit in his “watcha-macallit,” and he had thrown away the receipt at the last port!

Sometimes there are food items, and your desire to take the item is proportional to your faith in your fellow cruiser to donate to the free table only edible items, not something that has hung around in the bilge since God knows when. Sometimes the food items are spectacular—by free-table standards—such as when charter boats in Boot Key Harbor in the Florida Keys come back from a trip and offload fresh vegetables and bread, still in the wrapper and unopened. Other times a clothing item appears, looks to be brand-new, and you grab for it—before the boater eyeing it from across the room can get to it—to find that only a child, and a malnourished one at that, could ever fit into those tiny, probably shrunk-inthe-dryer shorts.

There is a certain unspoken “etiquette” that one must adhere to when “cruising” the free table. If, for example, there is an entire large box of packets of sugar, it would be rude to take ALL of the packets. One should only 86 February 2010

SOUTHWINDS

take a part of the box. If someone else is looking at an item that you are interested in, even if their hand is not touching the object, it is polite to quietly stand there until they have made the decision to take/not take the object. Of course, it is within guidelines to gently discourage the wouldbe shopper from the item with comments such as, “looks like it would take up too much space,” or “must be something wrong with it; it’s been here for days.” Then, when the discouraged cruiser walks away, it is only right to wait a minute or two or, better yet, until they are out of sight to grab the item for yourself. If you have a bag to conceal it in, all the better.

Some pretty amazing “coincidences” (or are they?) have taken place for my husband Joe and me at free tables and shelves. Here are some examples.

Not too long ago, I “acquired” a half gallon of top-shelf gin from some friends who had been visiting nearby and couldn’t fly it home with them.

The bottle takes up a lot of space on our 36-foot “vintage” Cal, Calcutta. I set it aside. Within days, a large decanter appeared on the free shelf at the Harborage Marina in St. Petersburg where we were living.

Perfect! Much smaller for stowage on the boat.

In one instance, our special, collapsible dish drainer broke. I could find bigger ones, but storage is always a problem. Like magic, within days of the demise of the dish drainer, a small boat-sized strainer appeared.

Not too long ago, I purchased a pair of black pants and a couple of tops for more formal job interviews.

Women readers will understand my “horror” when I realized I had no black purse to match my outfit.

Within days, a black purse appeared on the free shelf.

Those same friends who supplied the gin were invited to go for a Sunday afternoon sail. Since there would be seven of us altogether, we needed a bigger cooler than we had aboard the boat. You guessed it...a Styrofoam cooler was found sitting next to the free shelf! Another time, back in Boot Key Harbor, we had decided to enter Calcutta in a race. We had the crew but not enough life vests.

We were short one vest. You can almost finish this story for me. But instead of one vest on the free table, there were three! One of which we needed, and the others which we gave to passers-by.

But my favorite story is the story of the clippers. Joe keeps his hair clipped really short. He is his own barber, sometimes with questionable results, and so has his own clippers.

No matter what kind of clippers he bought, they seemed short-lived. He had just broken a pair and was desperate for new ones. What appeared on the free table? A pair of clippers—the best he ever used. Just one twist here.

They were dog clippers! And now Joe loves to have his belly scratched.

The examples above are only a few of the many items that magically appear for free when most needed.

There does seem to be a “secret” with the items; they appear when I stop wishing for them, and I resolve to make do with what I have.

Maybe Mick Jagger was right...”You can’t always get what you want, but...you just might get what you need”! www.southwindsmagazine.com