Sarasota One Design Regatta Regatta

 

Report #1 --
We had over 120 sailboats for this year’s One Design Regatta that grows in size and prestige, especially when there are Arctic blasts up north.  Our club is sailor friendly, built by sailors for sailors.  We encourage E-Scow racers to put it on their calendar in 2020.  We are open to a series of E Scow racing weekends that have become popular with other fleets like the VX and Vipers.  They race three weekends, fly in to our local airport and enjoy the warm waters and usually reliable breezes.  We keep the costs down for land storage and Charleston is a good stop and regatta on the way back norht.

 

This year, we had 12 E Scows participate in our One Design Regatta on March 15 to 17. Cliff Russell from Augusta, Georgia won with a first and 5 seconds. Richard Elsishans finished second with 3 firsts and Mark Grinder, third. Four boats had at least one first.

 

Winds on Friday were about 10 to 14 knots from the north with a chop, but no Saturday race due to lack of wind.  No wind is a rarity with a usual sea breeze every afternoon.  The final two races were held on Sunday in very shifty and difficult northerly wind conditions. On the final race, there was a 30 degree shift and Jim Barr, the founder of our E-Scow fleet and long time leader, finished first by going right.  He held off Cliff Russell who finished second.  Cliff showed consistency throughout the event, but three boats vied for the leads including Richard Elsishans, Mark Grinder and Jeff Nicholas.  The key to success on Friday was good starts and boat speed in the choppy waters.  Generally, going left paid off on the first race on Friday, and right on the second race on Sunday.

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Report #2 --

Sarasota One Design Open Regatta was sailed over three days in beautiful Sarasota Bay on March 15-17th 2019. Visiting the Sarasota Sailing Squadron is very unique experience, the grounds harken to old pirate trails and buried treasure. The location is great for families and racers of many classes with space around the club to camp and cook out.  

 

Racing on Day 1 began in 12-15 knots with 3 races completed. The majority of the fleet would find the right side of the race course favorable as the new wind was delivered from the gulf. Cliff Russell would lead day one with a 2-2-2 with local Richard Elsishans following closely with a 1-1-5 and Mark Grinder in 3rd with a 4-3-3. 

 

Day 2 would see rain early clearing around 11am but a lack of any developing breeze causes a postponement on the racecourse that would not be lifted. 

 

Day 3 would see light to medium breeze and a shifting from the west / north-west. Cliff Russell took Race 4 win with Richard Elsishans coming in third behind Mark Grinder. Richard would take Race 5 bullet placing him only one point behind Cliff leading into the final race of the weekend. A collision with GA-87 while tacking through to starboard on the start line, would not only put Richard in a difficult starting position, but would require him to complete a penalty turn to avoid protest. Cliff would score a 2nd and Richard a 5th in the final race. With a throwout of a 2nd for Cliff and a 5th for Richard, Cliff Russell and the Savage team would take the overall win. 

 

A very big thanks to Richard Elsishans, the Sarasota E Scow Fleet, and Race Committee for hosting a great regatta. If you are freezing in your socks in late March, just remember that you could be sailing in Sarasota. 

 

Results: http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/18024#_newsroom+results

 

Photos by Sara Wilkinson: https://www.facebook.com/pg/escowsouth/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1009604242558480

 

 

2019 One Design Midwinter Regatta,Finn National Championship,Windmill Midwinters Sarasota Sailing Squadron | March 15-18, 2019

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E Scow(12 boats) (top)
Series Standing - 6 races scored

 

Pos	Sail	Boat	Skipper	Yacht Club		1	2	3	4	5	6		Total	Pos
1	Ga27	E Scow	Cliff Russell	Augusta Sailing Club		[2]	2	2	1	2	2		9	1
2	SF3		Richard Elsishans	Sarasota Sailing Sq		1	1	[5]	3	1	5		11	2
3	SF-5	Sweet Thing	Mark Grinder	Sarasota Sailing Squadron		4	3	3	2	[5]	4		16	3
4	SF-33		Jeff Nicholas	Sarasota Sailiong Squadron		3	[13/OCS]	1	4	6	6		20	4
5	SL 22	Hang Ten	John Gallick	Sarasota Sailing		[6]	5	4	5	4	3		21	5
6	sf 4	newbie	David atkinson	Sarasota Sailing		5	4	6	[7]	7	7		29	6
7	GA 87		Markus Kraemer	Augusta Sailing Club		8	8	8	6	3	[13/DNF]		33	7
8	SF2	Picardy	Ted Weihe	Sarasota Sailing Squadron		7	7	10	8	8	[11]		40	8
9	Sf 1	A 1	Jim Barr	Sarasota Sailing		9	9	[13/DNF]	13/DNS	9	1		41T	9
10	WA 1		Bill Phil Kimbell Maiese	Sarasota Sailing		10	6	7	10	[11]	8		41T	10
11	NO-1	Wilder	Mont Echols	South Yatch Club		[11]	10	9	9	10	9		47	11
12	HO-35	Andygator	Andrew Kuryluk	New Orleans Yacht Club		[12]	11	11/TLE	11	12	10		55	12