Regatta Report

2015 East Coast 12-Meter National Championship
November 12-14, 2015, St. Augustine, Florida

Planning for the biggest regatta of the year starts more than a year before the first boat takes to the water. This year’s event was no different. At the time of the venue selection, we did not realize that it was the 45th NCR and the 450th Anniversary of St. Augustine. The happy coincidence made it easy for us to have a theme for the regatta and so a logo was designed based on the year-long celebrations going on in our nation’s oldest city. The website carried the historic look and we started to promote the regatta to the class.

As we neared the entry deadline for the regatta, it looked like we might have a small regatta. We had not even reached 30 boats and I was scratching my head as to where everyone was and why they weren’t coming. But with just a few days left, the entries started pouring in. We reached 50 boats on the last day of the deadline and it was looking really good. Then came a drop out. Not unexpected, things happen. Then a late request to enter. Ok, why not? Then another and another. So I am a pushover when it comes to deadlines. 52 boats on the list. It was an official record for the class, but will they all make it to the water for the first heat?

It was not meant to be. Two others had to drop out and we were back down to 50, just one boat shy of the record, but still a darn good turnout. When everyone started to arrive for check-in and Wednesday practice, we learned that Dave Branning would grace the shoreline but unfortunately would not be able to sail because of his back. So 49 boats would make up the three fleets to sail the Heat Management System, better known as P&R.

Tom Phillips was at the hotel on Wednesday to greet the skippers, check their measurement certificates and hand out their goody bags with shirts, SI, seeding fleet assignments and a small chunk of Coquina from the same quarry where they got the stone to build the old fort and the city walls in St. Augustine.

The weather forecast was looking really good for all four days. Mostly clear skies, warm, but not hot temps and 10 knot winds. The problem was the wind direction would be different each day and setting a good windward/leeward course would be a challenge. We would worry about that on Thursday morning. We had a welcome party to attend first. After some prodding, we finally got the sailors to put their boats up for the evening and join us with their guests in the hotel bar. The first round of drinks were on the Jacksonville Club in the form of drink tickets. A nice spread of party platters were laid out and everyone got to meet new faces and old friends. It was a great start to the event.

Thursday morning we were looking at a westerly wind. The skippers were assigned to one of three seeding fleets based on the National Seeding List. Alpha fleet took to the water first for two heats. The total score of both heats was used to set the starting fleets for the P&R, then the worst seeding score was dropped. We expected the six total seeding heats to carry us through to lunch, but it went faster than we thought and so we started right in to the P&R races. We got in a full series of C, B and A-fleet and then broke for lunch. The St. Augustine hotel offers us a great venue to store our boats fully rigged in the large conference room as well as their large breakfast/bar area to serve lunch. Many of the skippers enjoyed their lunches on the patio deck to soak up the sun.

After lunch, racing continued on the East side of the lake. The course was shifted a few times from along the shore to way off shore as we attempted to chase the wind. Four races were completed on the day. That is 12 heats of the P&R and did not include the six seeding heats for a total of 18 long heats. New comer, Sean Fidler from Michigan, was proving that his win at the Morgan-Black regatta was not a fluke. The six past champions competing this year were all scratching their heads. “Did you measure his boat, Joe?” someone yelled. “Beginner’s luck!” cried another. “It’s just day one, he can’t keep this up!” I said. Boy, we were wrong.

In the evenings, skippers and guests were free to explore the sites of St. Augustine and have dinner on their own. But, to get them started, Kelli Greer opened up her large suite on the 6th floor for happy hour on Thursday and Friday nights. Dave Linville set up a beer station with three homemade brews of a stout, lager and IPA in kegs iced down in trash cans. It was standing room only in the suite, but everyone was having a great time. The word got out that there was a go-kart track near by and it wasn’t long before many of the “children” were off to the track for the evening. After having my fill on Kelli’s wonderful spread of food, I was ready to head home just 15 minutes away. But Kelli would not allow me to go and called my wife to tell her I would be sleeping on the sofa tonight. This was going to be a great week.

Friday morning arrived with more great weather, but a completely different wind. The South West direction meant sailing into the cove. We did our best to avoid the wind shadow at the windward mark. The lighter conditions also meant we only sailed five races or 15 heats on the day. The wind did clock around to the west later in the day, but stayed light. Still, there was some great racing by many of the skippers, and in all the fleets. Staying in clear air and avoiding the crowd at the marks was the challenge. Those who managed it best moved up and those who did not, fell into the clutches of the B and C fleets. Believe me, the skippers in B and C were no pushovers. The EC12 has some of the closest competition of any model class. Moving out of B and C fleet is often a lot harder than trying to stay up in A. You can look at the scores to see how even the best in the class had their struggles. Sean Fidler was again the star of the day, avoiding trouble and finishing all his races in the top 5. David Brawner was chasing him though. It was not a runaway, yet.

Friday night provided another great happy hour (or two) in the Kelli suite. Many were so full from her wonderful dishes, they skipped going out to dinner. This time I did watch what I drank and made it home to sleep in my own bed so I could wake refreshed for the final day of racing.

Saturday’s forecast was for big winds and this time from the favored direction of Northeast. It started out more northerly which meant long port tack beats, but it soon clocked to the right and built to 15 plus knots. The B-rigs come out and the action got hairy. There were dis-mastings, and holes, and boats out of control. It was a perfect way to end a Championship. Who would survive to take home the “Bell?” John Bottensek ran the start line and kept the action going. We were putting in the next fleet at one end while finishing the current race at the other. We needed to get to 16 races so everyone could have a second throw out. Baron was fast in the rescue boat when needed and we managed to get in the last race before the 4-oclock cut off. 16 full races and 6 seeding heats for a total of 54 heats sailed. With many skippers riding the “bubble”, I would say everyone got plenty of racing in over the three days.

It was time now to clean up and get ready for the awards banquet in the great room. Everyone had to clear out their boats and gear earlier in the day so the hotel could set up for the dinner. I set up the awards and raffle prizes, while Trish and Cheryl checked all the scores. They worked into the darkness on the gazebo as the temps started to drop. Every club should be so lucky to have such dedicated and trusted ladies doing the scores. The throw outs and tie breakers had to be sorted before we could name the winner. Well, maybe not the winner. That did turn out to be a runaway. But for many the scores were very close.

The hotel bar next door was open before the awards banquet. I pushed the caterers start time back as much as I could to give everyone extra time at the bar. But once they put the food on the table it was time to move the crowd away from the bar and into the great room. Dinner was served and the awards ceremony would soon begin. But first, my wife surprised me by bringing in a birthday cake and the whole room singing Happy Birthday. It was completely unexpected as my birthday was four days earlier.

I started the ceremony off by thanking my crew and handing out nautical gifts to all of them. For my wife, Janet, I picked out a photo frame with the words, “It’s good to be the Captain!” on it. She later told me she will put HER picture in the frame. Next up was the drawing of names for the door prizes. Picture frames, coat racks, door-knockers and welcome-signs, all in nautical themes. My daughter Mary Michael and her best friend Eva did the honors of drawing the names.

Then came the raffle prizes. A set of sails from John B, a beautiful wood deck from Tom Germer, another Dumas deck with bubble hatch cover from Tom Phillips, a custom boat cover by Dee Dudinsky, two boat lifters from Dave Linville, and a race ready Micro Magic from our club. Again, Mary Michael and Eva drew the winning tickets for the prizes. When Mark Rienhart won both decks, the crowd yelled, “FIXED!”

Finally, it was time to call out all the names of the skippers and hand out the awards. The first awards went to Bill Ewing and John Goldsworthy. They sailed the most heats between C-B and B-A fleets to take home the “Bubble Rider” awards. The hand-made trophies mounted on blocks of coquina stone were awarded to the top eight skippers. Just 10 points separated 3rd place from 8th place. The racing was that close. Well, except for Dave Brawner, who took home second place nearly 30 points ahead of third place Alan Perkins. But still a full 30 points behind regatta winner, Sean Fidler.

This guy is no fluke. He really showed us how it’s done. Of course I don’t think anyone will ever cut him any slack from now on. We hope he will make it to the Champions Regatta in March so everyone can get another crack at him. His new Kensington model club in Michigan is growing fast and we look forward to adding them to the racing schedule. There is also talk of them hosting the Nationals in Detroit in 2017 or 2018.

I had the best time working on this regatta. It is a labor of love, but the enjoyment that all of you hopefully had is what makes it all worth it. The Jacksonville MYC is fortunate to have a super group of people who always step up to support the event. You see them working the regatta, like Baron in the chase boat, or Trish and Cheryl at the scoring table, but they are helping long before the event starts and after it ends. From coordinating with the hotel, to building docks, trimming trees, setting marks, ordering and picking up the food and drinks to feed 70 people each day, making trophies, to working their butts off during the regatta and then coming back on Sunday to pull all the marks, pack up the docks and clean up all the gear.

Thank you Tom Phillips, Trish Gray, Cheryl Bremer, Karen Luscomb, Baron Bremer, Tom Germer, Martin Gray, Jeff Witzle, and Bill Wells. Without their help there could not be a regatta. And a special thank you to David Brawner who helped set marks on Tuesday before anyone else showed up and to Tom Evens who took all the photos in this report and a bunch more.

Finally, thank you to all the skippers and guests for coming to St. Augustine to take part in the regatta. I hope you had as much fun sailing as I did bossing you around.

See you in Oxford, Maryland.