Southwindsdecember2003

December 2003For Sailors — Free…It’s Priceless

Raider Boat Review

Tall Ship in Charleston: The Spirit of South Carolina

Resins, Glues & Goos for Fiberglass Boats

News & Views for Southern Sailors

THE BEST FOUL WEATHER GEAR, PLUS REBATE SAVINGS ON THE POLARIS VHF & WHAM MIC

BILGE PUMPS & TOOL KITS

GREAT GIFT IDEAS—SPECIAL COUPON SAVINGS

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December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com2

S I N C E 1 9 7 7

FLORIDA’S LARGEST HUNTER, CATALINA, MORGAN, MAINSHIP & CALIBER DEALERSHIP

YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR MEASURE OF SUCCESSwww.masseyyacht.com • E-mail: [email protected]

TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU ON FLORIDA’S WEST COAST – IN THE HEART OF AMERICA’S FINEST CRUISING AREA.

The Massey Team of Yachting Specialists – experienced sailors one and all – are dedicated to helping other sailors make sound, knowledgeable decisions relative to yacht selection, ownership and custom outfitting.

We have a large assortment of Sunsail, Sun Yachtand Stardust phased-out charter yachts availableat favorable prices. Call for details.

Palmetto, FL 941-723-1610 • TOLL-FREE 800-375-0130 St. Pete, FL 727-828-0090 • TOLL-FREE 877-552-0525

Edward MasseyBrad Crabtree Scott Pursell Frank Hamilton Dan Howland Bill Wiard Mary Beth Singh Jack Burke Al Pollak

2004 Catalina 387 NewModel – RF main & genoa, elecsail handling winch, depth/knot/wind,VHF, autopilot, anchor windlass, refrig-eration, elec head and much more.Reg Sailaway Price $177,646. SaveOver $10,000 with Boat Show Savings

2004 Hunter 41 New Model– Loaded with electronics, expandedstereo, Flatscreen TV/DVD, bimini, RFmainsail & jib, elec halyard winch, refrig-erator/freezer, Force 10 stove, Harkenhardware and much, much more.Massey Sailaway Only $199,950.

2004 Hunter 44 Deck SalonNew Model – Loaded with Hunterand Massey options, flatscreen TV/DVD,expanded stereo, bimini, RF mainsail &jib, elec halyard winch, Harken hard-ware and much, much more. MasseySailaway Only $261,238

2004 Mainship 40 Trawler New Model – In stock and ready tocruise, Yanmar 370 diesel, Flag Blue hull, gen, air, bow thruster, electronics, Vac-U-Flushhead, Jenn Air flybridge summer galley, washer/dryer, TV/DVD, stereo and much more.Massey Cruise Away Only $346,151

MONOHULLS45 ft. to 65 ft.

48 Tayana ‘00 . . . . . . . . . $449,000470 Catalina ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote47 CaliberLRC ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote466 Hunter ‘04 . . . Call for TurboQuote46 Beneteau ‘01 . . . . . . . . $260,00046 Beneteau ‘97 . . . . . . . . $199,00046 Bavaria ‘99 . . . . . . . . . $199,000456CC Hunter ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote45 Morgan ‘95 . . . . . . . . . $239,500

40 ft. to 44 ft.

44 Morgan ‘90 . . . . . . . . . $174,90044DS Hunter ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote44 Hunter ‘04. . . . Call for TurboQuote44 Beneteau ‘95 . . . . . . . . $178,00043 Endeavour ‘81 . . . . . . . $139,00042s7 Beneteau ‘96 . . . . . . . $179,00042 Hunter Passage CC ‘92. . . $144,90042CC Hunter ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote

42 Catalina ‘01 . . . . . . . . $189,50042 Catalina ‘96 . . . . . . . . $119,00042 Catalina ‘89 . . . . . . . . $109,00042 Beneteau ‘83. . . . . . . . . $77,50041 Morgan ‘89 . . . . . . . . . $124,90041 Morgan ‘87. . . . . . . . . . $89,50041 Morgan ‘73. . . . . . . . . . $49,90041 Hunter ‘04. . . . Call for TurboQuote40 Jeanneau ‘01 . . . . . . . . $175,50040 Jeanneau ‘00 . . . . . . . . $155,000400 Catalina ‘03 . . Clearance Price-Call40 CaliberLRC ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote40 CaliberLRC ‘97 . . . . . . . $244,900400 Beneteau ‘97 . . . . . . . $134,90040 Beneteau CC ‘97 . . . . . . $120,00040 Beneteau ‘96. . . . . . . . . $98,900

35 ft. to 39 ft.

39 O’Day ‘84 . . . . . . . . . . $83,700387 Catalina ‘04 . . . . . New Model-Call386 Hunter ‘04 . . . Call for TurboQuote383 Morgan ‘82 . . . . . . . . . $64,900

380 Hunter ‘00 . . . . . . . . $120,00038 Shannon Ketch ‘79 . . . . . $124,50038 Morgan CC ‘93 . . . . . . . $137,500380 Island Packet ‘99 . . . . . $245,00038 Hans Christian ‘83 . . . . . $139,00038 Catalina ‘81 . . . . . . . . . $45,00038 Beneteau ‘01 . . . . . . . . $147,000376 Hunter ‘97 . . . . . . . . $121,00037 Hunter ‘98 . . . . . . . . . . $95,00037 Hunter ‘97 . . . . . . . . . . $95,00037 Gulfstar ‘76 . . . . . . . . . $49,90037 Endeavour ‘83. . . . . . . . . $58,0037 Endeavour ‘82 . . . . . . . . $65,000365 Pearson ‘80. . . . . . . . . $56,00036 Tashiba ‘87 . . . . . . . . . $135,00036 Jeanneau ‘98 . . . . . . . . $104,50036 Hunter ‘04. . . . Call for TurboQuote36 Catalina ‘03 . . . Clearance Price-Call36MKII Catalina ‘99 . . . . . . $119,90036 Catalina ‘94 . . . . . . . . . $85,000

36 Catalina ‘94 . . . . . . . . . $84,50036 Catalina ‘94 . . . . . . . . . $79,500351 Beneteau ‘96 . . . . . . . . $77,500350 Catalina ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote35 CaliberLRC ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote

30 ft. to 34 ft.

340 Hunter ‘01 . . . . . . . . . $97,50034 Ericson ‘87. . . . . . . . . . $57,90034 Catalina ‘03 . . . Clearance Price-Call34 Catalina ‘98 . . . . . . . . . $89,50034 Catalina ‘87 . . . . . . . . . $49,50033 Hunter ‘04. . . . Call for TurboQuote33 Hunter ‘95 . . . . . . . . . $64,50033 Hallberg Mistral ‘72 . . . . . $60,500320 Catalina ‘00 . . . . . . . . $89,500320 Catalina ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote320 Catalina’99 . . . . . . . . . $97,500

310 Catalina ‘04 . . . . Call for TurboQuote306 Hunter ‘04 . . . . . Call for TurboQuote30 Hunter ‘88 . . . . . . . . . . . . $38,500

CATAMARANS44 Dean Catamaran ‘99 . . . . . . $285,00037 Prout Snow Goose ‘84 . . . . . $115,00037 Prout Catamaran ‘94 . . . . . . $115,00035 Prout-Catamaran ‘72 . . . . . . . $59,00034 Prout Catamaran ‘90 . . . . . . $99,900

TRAWLERS430 Mainship Trawler ‘04 . Call for TurboQuote40 Mainship Trawler ‘04 . Call for TurboQuote34 Mainship Pilot ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote30 Mainship Pilot ‘04 . . Call for TurboQuote

Pre-Boat Show Open House Sat & Sun Jan 24 & Jan 25, 2004.

Purchase your new Catalina, Hunter, Caliber or Mainship at the Pre-Miami Boat Show Open House and SAVE - SAVE - SAVE!

In Stock - Save Over $20,000In Stock - Save Over $10,000

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FREE Airconditioning System

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 3

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com4

SAILBOATS — NEW AND BROKERAGEBeneteau Sailboats Back CoverBoaters Exchange/Catalina Sailboats 3Carson Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back CoverCortez Yacht Sales 48Eastern Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back CoverFinish Line Multihulls/ F-Boats & Used Multihulls 41Flying Scot Sailboats 51Hunter Sailboats 17Massey Yacht Sales/Catalina/Jeanneau/Hunter/Mainship

7,24,29,35,45,IBCMasthead Yacht Sales/Catalina 3,25,53Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau Back CoverPerformance Sail & Sport/Hunter/Hobie/Windrider 11Sailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District/St. Pete. 27Sarasota Youth Sailing Program donated boats 48Snug Harbor Boats/Compac/Elliot 13St. Barts/Beneteau Back CoverSuncoast Inflatables/ West Florida 31Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 23Ullman Sails/Hunter Sailboats, West Florida 20Windcraft, Trimarans and Catamarans, Sail or Power 8Weathermark Sailing/Catalina/Vanguard/Hobie 15

GEAR, HARDWARE, ACCESSORIESAir Duck Hatch Windscoop 19Bluewater Sailing Supply, www.bluewaterss.com/ 13Boaters Exchange, boats, gear, etc. Rockledge FL 3Bo’sun Supplies/Hrdwre/Rigging www.bosunsupplies.com 44Defender Industries, www.defender.com 52Fujinon binoculars 28Garhauer Hardware/www.garhauermarine.com 10Glacier Bay Refrigeration/ www.glacierbay.com 28Grin Designs/Scully/Dinghy sail & More 34Harken Gear 9Hotwire/Fans & other products 51Island Marine Products/Davits,motorlocks,etc. 46JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 27Masthead Ent. www.mastheadsailinggear.com 3,25,53Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign 38Performance Sail & Sport, www.perfsail.com 11Rparts Refrigeration, www.rparts.com 34Sailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District, St. Pete 27Sailor’s Soap 11,14,39Tackle Shack/Hobie/Sunfish, St. Petersburg 23West Marine IFC,33

SAILS (NEW & USED), RIGGING, SPARS,RIGGING SERVICESBanks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida 52Cruising Direct/sails on-line by North 18Dwyer Mast/spars, hardware, rigging 52Hong Kong Sailmakers 40Masthead/Used Sails and Service 3,25,53National Sail Supply, new&used on-line 42North Sails 14Sabre Sails/ Ft. Walton Beach, FL, & Mandeville, LA 36Sail Exchange/www.sailexchange.com 44Sailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District, St. Pete. 27Schurr Sails, Pensacola FL 42Snoop Sails & Canvas, Sarasota, FL 38SSMR Rigging & Chandlery 46UK Sails, www.uksailmakers.com 19Ullman Sails/West Florida 20

CANVASBanks Sails/new, used, repair & canvas/ West Florida 52Sail Covers & More, buy on-line, www.sailcovers.net 53Snoop Sails & Canvas, Sarasota FL 38

USED SAILING/BOATING SUPPLIESDon’s Salvage, Clearwater FL 45Nautical Trader/buy/sell/consign, West Florida 30Scurvy Dog Marine/Used, Consign, Pensacola FL 43SSMR Rigging/Consignment/St. Pete

46SAILING SCHOOLSCapt. Josie Sailing School for Women 53Sailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District/ St. Pete. 27Sea School/Captain’s License www.seaschool.com 39

MARINE ENGINESBeta Marine 41Fleetside Marine Service 50Sailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District, St. Pete. 27

RESORTS, MARINAS, RESTAURANTS,BOATYARDSBob and Annie’s Boatyard 22Crow’s Nest Restaurant & Marina 3Sailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District/Tampa Bay FL 27

REAL ESTATE/WATERFRONT LOTSReMax Realty/Angie Jones 16

CHARTER COMPANIESSailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District, Sunsail 27Sailtime, Time-Share ownership 51

MARINE SERVICES,MARINE SURVEYORS,MARINE INSURANCE, MISC.Aqua Graphics/Boat Names/Tampa Bay or buy on-line 50Bluewater Insurance/ Florida 12Davis Maritime Surveying 43First Patriot Inc, Insurance Agency, Paul Phaneuf 26

MARINE ELECTRONICSDockside Radio 11JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 27Rolls Batteries/Surrette, www.rollsbattery.com 8Sea Tech/Navigation/Communication 47

BOOKSBubba Stories Book 14Great Outdoors Publishing 20

YACHT CLUBSFt. Pierce YC 49

REGATTA ADVERTISEMENTS, BOAT SHOWSRegata del Sol al Sol 21Subscription Information This PageAlphabetical Advertisers’ List 53

ADVERTISER INDEX BY CATEGORY (See page 53 for alphabetical list)

SUBSCRIBE TO Southwinds

$12/YEAR $20/2 YEARS(3RD CLASS)

(941) 795-8704 • www.southwindssailing.comP.O. Box 1175, Holmes Beach, FL 34218-1175New — Subscribe On-line on our Web site —

a secure site — using your credit card:www.southwindssailing.com

Name _________________________________________

Address ________________________________________

City/St./ZIP ____________________________________

ENCLOSED $ ________ Check ___ Money Order ___

Visa/MC #__________________________________

Name on Card __________________________________

Ex. Date _______ Signature ______________________

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 5

From the Carolinas to Cuba…from Atlanta to the Abacos…Southwinds Covers Southern Sailing

SouthwindsNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

6 From the Helm

11 Letters

16 Bubba Stops One-Design RegattaBy Morgan Stinemetz

18 Racing Calendar

20 Books to Read

22 Tall Ship in Charleston:The Spirit of South Carolina

By Dan Dickison

24 Boatek: Shore Power Variations and AdaptersBy Stephen Sommer

26 Resins, Glues, and Goos for Fiberglass BoatsBy Rebecca Burg

30 Good Samaritan TowingBy Wayne Spivak

32 Raider Boat ReviewBy Dave Ellis

34 Southern Sailing: Tall Tales of the Modern SailorBy Dave Ellis

36 Sailboat Racing: A Question of BalanceBy Morgan Stinemetz

38 Racing and Regattas

46 Short Tacks

49 Classifieds

54 The Flambé Lady of the Dry TortugasBy Morgan Stinemetz

53 Alphabetical Index of Advertisers

4 Advertisers’ List by Category

4 Subscription Form

48 Where to Pick Up Southwinds

COVERBoats sail home to port in Dunedin, FL. Gary Hufford photo.

The Spirit of South Carolina. Photo by Bill Baum. Page 22

Raider Boat Review. Photo by John Drawe. Page 32

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com6

FROM THE HELM

Boat Reviews: Old boats, new boats, large boatsand small boats.

Sailing Experiences: Stories and photos aboutexperiences in places you’ve cruised, anchorages,marinas, or passages made throughout the South-ern cruising waters, including the Caribbean andthe Bahamas.

Race reporting: Generally, we are always look-ing for someone to send us race coveragethroughout the Southern states, the Bahamas, andthe Caribbean. Specifically, we are looking to hiresomeone to coordinate all racing, who is into rac-ing, a good writer and photographer, and willingto work a lot of hours, do some traveling, anddoesn’t need a lot of money to get going with agreat potential for the future.

The Florida Keys: Racing and cruising articlesabout the keys.

Bahamas: Trips, experiences, passages, anchor-ages, provisioning and other stories that are ofinterest.

Hurricane Stories: Hurricanes are a part of own-ing a boat in the Southern waters, and we wouldlike to hear how you and your boat might havebeen affected by a storm or how you prepare your

Charter Stories: Have an interesting Charterstory? In our Southern waters, or perhaps in theBahamas, the Caribbean, or points beyond insome far-off and far-out exotic place?

Miscellaneous Photos: Photographs are alwaysenjoyable, whether for their beauty, their humor,or for many other reasons, and we take themalone.

Cover Photos: Southwinds is always looking fornice cover shots of all types. Cover shots are paidfor, but donations accepted. They generally needto be a vertical shot, but we can sometimes crophorizontal photos for a nice cover picture. Theyneed to be of a good resolution. If digital, theyneed to be taken at a very high resolution (andmany smaller digital cameras are not capable oftaking a large high resolution photo as is on acover). If a photograph, then we need it scannedat high resolution, or if you send it to us, we cando so.

Letters to the Editor: For those of you who arenot as ambitious to write stories, we always wantto hear from you about your experiences andopinions.

Contact [email protected] formore information and questions.

boat for one. Send us letters or articles.

The Politics of Sailing: “Politics begins when twoor more people get together.” Politics affect us alland particularly in the general world of boatingand our waters. We have already heard about an-choring, liveaboards and other topics (like Cuba),but there is always more.

Maintenance and Technical Articles: How youmaintain your boat, or rebuilt a boat, technicalarticles on electronics, repairs, etc.

Individuals in sailing industry: Interesting sto-ries about the world of sailors out there, young,old, and some that are no longer with us but havecontributed to the sport or were just true lovers ofsailing.

Cuba: Of course, there is always Cuba, and re-gardless of how our country’s elected officials tryto keep Americans out of the Caribbean’s largestisland, it will open one day as a cruising ground.Today American sailors can legally go to Cuba andcruise if they follow the proper procedures. If youhave a story about such a trip, let us look at it.

The Caribbean: Stories about the warm tropicalwaters farther south of us.

WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTEDStories and photographs wanted in the following areas:

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU ESTIMATE YOU SPEND ON YOUR SAILBOAT PER YEAR?At Sail Expo St. Pete, this was one of our main questions in our reader survey that we asked visitors to fill out. The range ofanswers was considerable. Among those answers were, “Too much,” “All that I have,” “Husband won’t tell.” In term ofdollars (which was our intention in the question), we received amounts ranging from $1000 to the highest of $50,000. Weassume that person bought a boat or did some major retrofitting! We did have one person answer millions, but we took thatanswer in jest (we apologize if it wasn’t meant to be). Another series of answers included the following, which indicate ourneed to rephrase the question next year, “52 days,” “365 days,” “two weeks.” Totally reasonable answers, and only afterreceiving these responses did we reread our question.

SHOULD SOUTHWINDS COVER TRAWLERS AND THE TRAWLER LIFESTYLE?This was another one of our survey questions, and we also received varied responses. Although we offered a yes or no option,we did leave space for comments (always a dangerous thing to do), and here are some of the answers, “Why not?” “Keep it asailing rag,” “Stay focused on sailing,” “I plan to buy a trawler someday,” “No opinion,” “Won’t offend me,” “How about aseparate trawler magazine?” Most opted to check the yes or no box, and the opinion is pretty much split 50-50, with a few grayareas of comments without checking one of the boxes. We are still considering it and might throw an article or two out there tosee the response we get.

WHAT TYPES OF COVERAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ ABOUT IN THE MAGAZINE?Answers to this question were generally comments in favor of what we do cover with a little bit more emphasis on sailorslooking for articles on boat maintenance and tips, boat reviews, and coverage of local areas for cruisers to visit, like anchor-ages, gunkholing spots, and marinas.

PLEASE LET US KNOW MOREFor those of you who would still like to give us your opinion, please let us know, preferably in e-mails. This is an ongoingsurvey about reader interests, so send us those letters. We would also like to thank those visitors at the show who gave us allthose positive comments about the magazine. We gave away three prizes and 12 subscriptions in the survey/raffle, and wewould like to thank Steve Smith Mobile Marine Rigging for donating the prizes of a lazy jack system and a boom vang. Thanksalso goes to Brian and Brenda of Air Duck who donated their weatherproof wind scoop (put on the market for the first time atthe show) for one of the three prizes. Thanks also to Jo-Jo of Sunrise Sails, who I am sure handed out more than a thousandSouthwinds magazines herself as she greeted at least that many visitors at our booth. An enjoyable show for all.

Steve MorrellEditor

New Hunter 44 Deck Saloon

Mid-Size Cruisers 30'-35'

Center Cockpit Cruisers 42'-45'

Aft Cockpit Cruisers 38'-46'

When it comes to owning a yacht, pre-owned is good. New is better.• New model design and sailing performance• New construction techniques• New electronics, a/c systems and gensets• New flat screen TV’s and DVD’s• Customize your yacht the way you want it• Peace of mind of factory/dealer warranties• On-site and mobile dealer support• Free extensive systems/yacht handling orientation

When you purchase your new Hunter from Massey you get free yachtdécor dollars to finish off your new interior. But the best part of purchasing a new yacht is that it really costs about the same as buying a late model pre-owned yacht.

Call or come by and discover the dollars and sense of owning a new yacht. New is better.

www.masseyyacht.comPalmetto, FL 941-723-1610 • TOLL-FREE 800-375-0130 St. Pete, FL 727-828-0090 • TOLL-FREE 877-552-0525

Edward MasseyBrad Crabtree Scott Pursell Frank Hamilton Dan Howland Bill Wiard Mary Beth Singh Jack Burke Al Pollak

S I N C E 1 9 7 7

Pre-Boat Show Open House Sat & Sun Jan 24 & Jan 25, 2004.Purchase your new Catalina, Hunter, Caliber or Mainship at thePre-Miami Boat Show Open House and SAVE - SAVE - SAVE!

One Call Starts a Team Reaction!

New is Better

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com

SouthwindsNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

Southwinds Media, Inc.P.O. Box 1175, Holmes Beach, Florida, 34218-1175

(941) 795-8704(877) 372-7245

(941) 795-8705 Faxwww.southwindssailing.com

e-mail: [email protected]

VOLUME 11 NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 2003

Copyright 2003, Southwinds Media, Inc.

Publisher/EditorSteve Morrell

[email protected]

Advertising Sales RepresentativesGary Hufford (727) [email protected]

Steve Morrell (941) [email protected]

Design/Graphics ProductionHeather Nicoll, io Graphics

ProofreadingKathy Elliott

Contributing WritersDick Boblenz Rebecca Burg Dan DickinsonDave Ellis Al Humphers Ron NicolStephen Sommer Wayne Spivak Morgan StinemetzLiz Tottenham

Contributing PhotographersBill Baum Rebecca Burg Debra GingrichGary Hufford Bryan Kaminski Kim KaminskiDiane Marsh Charlie Sneed Morgan Stinemetz

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: ARTICLES & PHOTOGRAPHY:Southwinds encourages readers, writers, photographers, cartoon-ists, jokers, magicians, philosophers and whoever else is out there,including sailors, to send in their material. Just make it about thewater world and generally about sailing and about sailing in theSouth, the Bahamas or the Caribbean, or general sailing interest,or sailboats, or sailing in some far-off and far-out place.

Southwinds welcomes contributions in writing and photography. Sto-ries about sailing, racing, cruising, maintenance and other technicalarticles and other sailing-related topics. Please submit all articles elec-tronically by e-mail (mailed-in discs also accepted), and with photo-graphs, if possible. We also accept photographs alone, for cover shots,racing, cruising and just funny entertaining shots. Please take them at ahigh resolution if digital, or scan at 300 dpi if photos, or mail them to usfor scanning. Contact the editor with questions.

Subscriptions to Southwinds are available at $12/year, or $20/2 yearsfor third class, and $24/year for first class. Checks and credit card num-bers may be mailed with name and address to Southwinds Subscrip-tions, PO Box 1175, Holmes Beach FL, 34218-1175, or call (941) 795-8704. Subscriptions are also available with a credit card through a se-cure server on our Web site, www.southwindssailing.com.

Southwinds is distributed to over 500 locations throughout 10 South-ern states. If you would like to distribute Southwinds at your loca-tion, please contact the editor.

Read Southwinds magazine on our Web site,www.southwindssailing.com.

8

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com10

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003

“Freedom of the press is limited to thosewho own one.” H.L. Mencken

In its continuing endeavor to share its press, Southwinds invitesreaders to write in with experiences & opinions.

SHOULD Southwinds COVER TRAWLERS?I’ve just read “From the Helm” in the November 2003 issuein which you discuss the possibility of covering “trawlerboaters” in future issues. Great idea.

I’ve been involved with offshore racing here on the GulfCoast for 35 years and have made the Regatta al Sol (north-ern Gulf Coast to Cozumel and Isla Mujeres) some 12 or 14times round trip, and from that standpoint one would as-sume me to be a dyed-in-the-wool sailor. As I become older,however, the trawler or powerboat option becomes more andmore interesting. The idea of being able to go dead to weatherunder cover with heating and air conditioning a possibilityseems awfully attractive after all those years of sun and rain,to say nothing of the cold discomfort of winter racing, and isnot only interesting, but downright sinfully tempting.

With this in mind, I’ve noticed that while there are allsorts of books, pamphlets, advertisements, how-to videos,and magazines touting sailing, there are NO publicationsserving the average man in a powerboat that does not in-volve either millions of dollars, fishing, or near super-soniccraft that suck up fuel at an astonishing rate. Even the sailingmagazines by and large are aimed at the large, new, and ex-pensive markets. Southwinds and Good Old Boat are the onlypublications that I know of that address the interests of theaverage income boater.

Your magazine has a number of good articles each monththat address common areas of interest and is much appreci-ated. I pick mine up at Pass Christian Yacht Club and lookforward to its appearance. Thank you for good information,good writing, and interesting subjects. Again, I’d appreciatearticles written by (I detest the term) “trawler boaters” thataddress the how-to of day-to-day cruising under power.

Van TannerBay Saint Louis, MS

Van,Thanks for your comments on the magazine. We are trying to be amagazine where we have writers who relate closely to the day-to-day concerns of our readers, the average sailor, although “average”is a difficult term to pin down. As for trawlers, we have gotten a lotof “yes” responses to our query for coverage-both at the boat showin our survey (not 100%, though), and in calls and conversations.We might explore that territory lightly.

I remember bringing my boat down here from South Carolinaand starting the day at 7 a.m. in a storm in pouring rain and cold,standing on the foredeck, trying to make out the next ICW marker.Suddenly, a trawler passes us and I see a couple inside, at the helm,drinking coffee in dry clothing. “There’s something to be said forthat lifestyle,” I said to myself. When I was younger, I wouldn’thave thought about it at all. One isn’t surprised to see more sail-boats with pilothouses these days, either. And yea-we need a bettername than “trawler boaters.” Anyone out there with ideas (and nosarcasm, please)?

Editor

LETTERS

11

See LETTERS continued on page 12

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com12

LETTERS Continued from page 11

WHO DOES OWN THE ANCHORAGE?I enjoyed and benefited from the article “Who Owns the An-chorage,” by Capt J. Michael Shea in the November issue. NowI have a question that I have not seen addressed in Southwinds

or by anyone else. Maybe Capt. Shea could help. Who is re-sponsible for the crab pots? And what liability occurs when aboater snags one?

Passing between Anclote Key and Tarpon Springs acouple of weeks ago, it was nearly impossible to navigatearound the multitude of floats and traps dropped in that area.It was just about sunset, and some of the older floats hadturned black and could not be seen, and we hooked one onthe rudder. The damage was minor to the boat and the trap,but do I owe the crabber for the damage to his trap, or doeshe owe me for the damage to my rudder?

I enjoy sharing the water with the many different users,but it seems to me that placing so many traps so close is notan efficient means of operation. The potential for damage tothe traps and the boats is high.

Please enlighten me.Mike J. Liles

LifestyleMikeCapt. Shea will be answering these questions in a future article.This anchorage article proved how little I know about the issue, andI believe we will learn more in future issues about the subject.

Editor

SAILOR MOVES TO CUBA: A SAMPLING OF LIFEI live on the north coast of Cuba, west of Havana. I have beenvisiting Cuba since 1999, mostly by sailboat, and have spentmost of my time here since I met my wife. I have been mar-ried for a year and a half with a 20-year-old stepson and a 13-year-old stepdaughter. I’ve been here in Cuba for the last 60days, and now it’s time to fly to another country for a newvisa, as I’m required to do so every 60 days. I’ll return in a fewdays after I buy some items for my house that I haven’t beenable to find here and that will fit in my backpack.

These are just a few of the inconveniences that Ameri-cans have here. Some others are: I can’t attend mystepdaughter’s school functions or rent the local hall for mywedding party, and they didn’t want to sell me more thanthree cases of beer for the party when they found out whowas getting married. I’m building a new house here, and mostof the time I can’t ride in the truck to get building suppliesbecause I’m a tourist, and there is a big fine for Cubans whofraternize with tourists or rent their truck to one. This meansthat my wife does most of the buying of material. I must addthat the Cubanos here are very friendly, and the resistanceonly comes from officials. I don’t like them getting any moneyanyway, although almost all money ends up with the govern-ment, as in any country.

Cubans are allowed to receive, per household, up to $300every three months from the United States, via Western Union,from family. This doesn’t sound like much, but that’s a lot ofmoney here for a family of four when a peso is only four cents.The exchange rate is 26 to 1, for the U.S. dollar. I buy lobstersfor 15 and 20 pesos-that’s 80 cents for the big ones. And I getfresh butter at one dollar a pound, but most Cubans can’t af-ford butter. Fresh pork is 64 cents a pound, and whole chick-ens are under $2.00. You have to cut it up yourself, just likethe pork. Rice is 15 cents a pound, black beans are 28 cents,

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 13

eggs at 8 cents each, and fresh fish is less than 40 cents perpound. All of these prices are black market or street prices.Tourists always pay more because they eat in private legaland illegal restaurants and don’t have the luxury of a stoveand wife to cook for them. A meal here runs from $3 to $5 forchicken and up to $12 for lobster. Lobster is highly illegal for aCuban and so is beef. If a Cuban gets caught killing and eat-ing beef, he can get 20 years. A close Canadian friend of minehad two lobsters in his refrigerator when the officials wereinspecting his new house. They took the whole refrigerator. ACuban would have gone to jail.

Even with all the pitfalls here, I wouldn’t change a thingabout my life or how I got here. However, I would like tochange the living conditions of the Cubans, and in the future Iwould like to tell someone more about how I got here and theconditions and problems someone has being here long-term.From my perspective I am able to see Cuba as no tourist can,but I’m an outsider and people won’t talk to me with the easeI would like-even my own wife.

I live here in fear of the government. Not the Cuban gov-ernment, but the United States government. When I travel, Ihave to be careful to whom I talk, and how I go so as not to bedetected. I always travel legally, but the U.S. bureaucracydoesn’t always see it that way, and I don’t want any hassles.As a citizen of the United States, the government can’t tell mewhere I can or can’t go, so they have come up with regula-tions, not laws, enacted through presidential orders. TheUnited States Supreme Court ruled over ten years ago that Ican go where I want. The bureaucrats don’t seem to agree.

There haven’t been any cruisers here for over 90 days, andthe people here are starving for yaties...and I mean starving.The money the cruisers bring here goes through the wholetown and makes jobs for construction, encourages people togrow more vegetables, raises more chicken and pork, putsclothes on kids’ backs and buys school supplies. I don’t wantto encourage anyone to break any laws or have any bureau-cratic hassles, but the Cuban people need the whole world tohelp bring them out of the 1950s and help them be free andindependent as most of the world is. The best thing all of uscan do is make your voice heard, to Congress, the President,and anybody that will listen. Most of all, remember, your loud-est voice is your vote.

Name Withheld

RACE AROUND CUBA POSSIBLY PLANNEDI did the Conch Republic Cup this year and had a great tripother than the return home. All the letters I’ve read have prettymuch hit the nail on the head.

About the race around Cuba: When we were at the re-gatta party in Havana, I spoke with Commodore Escrich ofthe Havana Yacht Club. He had plans of having a race aroundCuba in two years. He was talking about a 20-port race with aparty and awards each night (fully funded by Cuba). The laststop would be Havana and awards given to the overall win-ner. All of this was with his interpreter’s help. He speaks verylittle English and I even less Spanish.

Please leave my name and address off of this, as I had myfill of the welcome home party.

Name WithheldName Withheld,We are getting a lot of letters from people with this name, and Iwonder if there was a fad going on about the time these people were

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com14

LETTERS Continued from page 13

born. Nevertheless, anyone who has heard more about this racearound Cuba, we would like to hear from you.

Editor

HELP IN CROSSING THE GULF OF MEXICO(These letters are in response to a reader who sent in a query aboutgetting more written information or other sources on crossing theGulf of Mexico.)

Nigel Calder published the Cruising Guide to the NorthwestCaribbean a few years ago — 1991 to be exact. His sections onnavigational considerations and route planning contain infor-mation scripted for your questions. Calder is available at WestMarine and most other marine stores. When I purchased it in1991, it was priced at $29.95. Some materials in his book maybe dated, but not much and certainly not his observations onthe aforementioned topics.

Good luck.AB

Treasure Island, FL

The Regata del Sol al Sol (from St. Petersburg to Isla Mujeres)is a great starting point, even if you do not want to race. Thedotted track keeps you within range of shelter, and out of thesea-lanes, and if you would contact the race group in advance,and tell them what you have in mind, you could leave earlyand join up in the Tortugas.

They have had this race for years. There are others.Dan Ahern

Popeye

MARATHON WELCOMES BOATERS:CHANGES BRING SUCCESS FOR ALL

MIRACLE IN MARATHONOver the years much has been written about conditions, bothpro and con, in the city of Marathon in the fabulous FloridaKeys, especially the most controversial spot, Boot Key Harbor.

The heart of Marathon lies at mile marker 50 on US Route1, the Overseas Highway. By cruising boat, it is roughly mid-way between the glitz of Miami and the decadence of KeyWest. It is a perfect cruising destination for anyone consider-ing cruising Florida. Boot Key Harbor is, without doubt, thebest, most protected and most convenient harbor in all of thefabulous Florida Keys and possibly all of South Florida.

For many years, it was not well-represented in the sailingpress. Complaints varied from hostile harbor inhabitants tolack of public landing facilities and tricky anchoring amongsunken and derelict boats. Fortunately, those days are over.There are presently 64 mooring buoys in the harbor. The der-elicts are mostly gone; the bad attitude types are down to acranky handful. The new city marina is fully staffed withfriendly competent people; an operable pumpout vessel ex-ists, and the dinghy docks are first rate. The marinas border-ing the harbor are gracious and caring, and the marine indus-try is the best in the Keys, as is the provisioning, with majorfacilities of every description within easy walking or bicyclingdistance.

Despite an amazing amount of recent development andbuilding of facilities, Marathon is still a quaint small town witha friendly populace. It is an island town roughly fifty milesout in the Atlantic Ocean, thus maintaining the best of the

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 15

SHARE YOUR OPINIONS WITH THE EDITOR:PO Box 1175

Holmes Beach FL 34218Fax: (941) 795-8705

E-mail: [email protected] site: southwindssailing.com

ambiance and lifestyle of the raucous maritime past while ac-commodating the needs of the present and future.

With the homeland security measures generated since 9/11 and the dramatic raise in the entry fee in the Bahamas ($300plus $15 for each person beyond four) the much-improvedBoot Key Harbor and the delightful city of Marathon are cer-tainly viable cruising destinations and the best jump-off spotfor the Panama Canal, Caribbean, Mexico or the Bahamas.

Why do I call this sea change a miracle? This is one placewhere cruisers won the battle for acceptance. Understandingthe limitations imposed on anchoring, both by federal andFlorida state governments, the city of Marathon has actuallygone out of its way to create a cruiser-friendly environment.This includes the ability for people to live aboard and work intown legally and economically by simply picking up a city-owned mooring at the very nominal fee of $150 monthly. (Plusdinghy dockage either at the city marina or other facility oftheir choice.)

Sail on down and see for yourself.Charles E. Kanter,

Chairman, Near Shore Waters CommitteeMarathon, FL (In the heart of the fabulous Florida Keys)

TOWING AND SALVAGE, AND HOW ABOUTA QUESTION AND ANSWER MARITIMELEGAL COLUMN?I enjoyed Capt. Shea’s article on towing and salvage. How-ever, there is recourse for people under admiralty law. I wouldlike to know what the recourse is. Also, I would like to see aquestion-answer column for admiralty law and what the lawspecifically says.

What I would like to know is who defines “in peril”?Can the boat owner challenge the tower/salvor’s definitionof “peril”? Also, if the tower tries to declare the boat “inperil,” doesn’t the owner have the right to release the towand refuse it?

Also, can’t the elderly man claim the dinghy was not inperil? If the salvage was on the dinghy, I would have just giventhe man the dinghy. There must be some recourse.

Regarding anchoring rights, there was a group in a NorthPalm Beach anchorage that sued the municipality and won.One of the attorneys keeps his boat in the anchorage. I don’thave the number to call, but there was a number at the din-ghy beach. If anyone knows, you may want to have the per-son send you the information. These municipalities can befought and we can win.

Sarah SmithSt. Augustine, FL

Sarah,We are working on establishing a question and answer column if weget enough questions from readers (and we are getting more andmore all the time). Anyone who has questions directed to such acolumn, please send them to [email protected]. We willalso work on answering your above questions.

Editor

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com16

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com18

RACING CALENDAR

We’d like to encourage all sailing associations, yacht clubs and regatta sponsors to notify us of upcoming events in your area.Simply fax or e-mail us by the 10th of each month to ensure that your racing and regatta schedule will be included.

Send to [email protected] or fax to 941-795-8704Southwinds Magazine also offers reduced advertising rates for regattas.

Yacht Clubs and Sailing Associations: Please update your phone numbers by e-mailing [email protected] and give us your Web site address also.

SAILING CLUB DIRECTORY IS NOW ON THE INTERNETFor a list of yacht clubs and sailing associations in Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippiand Tennessee, visit our Web site southwindssailing.com. Their addresses and Web sites will also be listed. We are asking allthese organizations to e-mail us your Web site address and we will put a link to it.

FLORIDA EAST COAST

DECEMBER 6 - 7Star Commodore’s CupCoral Reef Yacht Clubcoralreefyachtclub.org

DECEMBER 26 - 29Orange Bowl RegattaLasers and LighningsOptimists and 420sCGSC/CRYCcoralreefyachtclub.org

JANUARY 10 - 11SAC Etchells Champ’sBBYC(305) 858-6303

JANUARY 10 - 11Bob Levin Star RegattaCRYC(305) 858-1733

JANUARY 14 - 16Ft. Lauderdale - Key WestLYC((954) 527-2223

JANUARY 19 - 23Terra Nova TradingKey WestPremiere racing, [email protected]

JANUARY 27 - 30Rolex Olympic Class Regattaussailing.org

JANUARY 31 - 2/1FSC Etchells Champ’sBBYC(305) 858-6303

FLORIDA WEST COAST& INLAND

DECEMBER 6 - 7Laser District 13 OpenSt. Petersburg Yacht ClubSpyc.org

DECEMBER 5 - 7Tornado Catamaran ChampsClearwater Community SA727-462-6368

DECEMBER 6J-24 & Melges 24Davis Island Yacht ClubDiyc.org

DECEMBER 6Cmcs Sunfish RegattaEdison Sailing CenterFort Myers239-277-9352

DECEMBER 27PHRF Couple’s RaceDavis Island Yacht Club Diyc.org

JANUARY 9 - 11505 MidwintersGulfport, Florida, [email protected]

JANUARY 10 - 11Davis Island Commodor’s CupPHRFDiyc.org

JANUARY 30 - 2/1Moth, Windmill, Snipe, Jet 14, Fly-ing Dutchman, H-18 CatSpyc.org

NORTHERN GULF(AL, FL,LA,MS,TX)

DECEMBER 6GMAC Bowl RegattaPHRF/PortsmouthFairhope Yacht Club(251) 928-8888

DECEMBER 27 - 28Sugar Bowl RegattaPHRF - Southern YCOne Design - NOYC & SYCSyc.org

SOUTHERN STATES(AK, GA, NC, SC,TN)

DECEMBER 71064 RegattaLake Lanier Sailing ClubLlsc.com

JANUARY 1New Year’s Day RaceBarefoot Sailing Clubllsc.com

CARIBBEAN

JANUARY 13Commodore’s RaceBVI

JANUARY 16 - 18St. Lucia Sailing Club Regatta

JANUARY 31 - 2/3LaSource Grenada sailing Festival

JUNIOR REGATTAS

DECEMBER 6 - 7Junior OlympicsJensen Beach, Floridaussailing.org

DECEMBER 26 - 30Orange Bowl RegattaCoral Reef Yacht Clubcoralreefyachtclub.org

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December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com20

BOOKS TO READ

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$12/YEAR $20/2 YEARS SEE PAGE 4Subscribe online at a secure site for your credit card

www.southwindssailing.com

MAXIMUM SAIL POWER:The Complete Guide to Sails,Sail Technology and PerformanceBy Brian HancockDescribed by the publisher as the“first comprehensive guide to sailsand sailmaking in 25 years,” Maxi-mum Sail Power covers just abouteverything that has to do withtoday’s sails.

Although really aimed at thesailor, professional sailmakers willalso find this book full of usableinformation. For the sailor,whether looking to buy sails orbecame a better sailor, everything is covered, and in a lan-guage which the layman can easily follow. This truly is a “com-prehensive” guide. The author states that the book can be readin sections, or each chapter as it is laid out, depending on theneeds and knowledge of the reader. The book starts with atrip visiting your sailmaker, then takes you through how sailsare made, the material used, and the latest technology. Afterthat, the book goes into different types of sails-spinnakers,storm sails, cruising sails, racing sails-the list goes on. Thebook finishes with several chapters on sail trim, sail handling,sail care, and finally a discussion of the theory behind how aboat sails. With all the changes in sail technology and materi-als in the last decade, many sailors will find this book a use-ful guide to not only learning about what’s out there, but in-creasing their knowledge of sail trim and handling. NomadPress. www.nomadpress.com. $44.95

CRUISING GUIDE TO THENORTHERN GULF COASTFLORIDA, ALABAMA,MISSISSIPPPI, LOUISIANAFourth EditionBy Claiborne S. YoungClaiborne Young, along with Peli-can Publications, seems to have thecruising grounds from the Caroli-nas to Louisiana pretty much cov-ered. (Although, Florida’s Big Bendwas not written by Claiborne, Peli-can did cover that one section in another guide.) Keeping thisarea updated-covering the coastal cruising grounds of theSoutheastern United States-must be a full-time job, and onewonders how it can be done unless Claiborne and others areout there cruising constantly. Perhaps they are. He does gethelp and thanks his research assistant, Andy Lightbourne, forhis help. This book is 566 pages long, and a lot of marinas,waterways, anchorages and restaurants, to name only a smallpart of the book, are covered with updated information. Forthe first time, approximate latitudes and longitudes of manyof these are given in the book. Cross referencing is also donewith Coastal Charts for Cruising Guide to the Northern Gulf Coast.A simple comment from the introduction gives one an idea ofthe cruising waters: “Where else can captain and crew cruisefor a single day and pass from the gin-clear, emerald greenwaters of the Florida Panhandle to the mud-rich brine ofMobile Bay?” Sounds like lots of great seafood, too. PelicanPublishing. www.pelicanpub.com.

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 21

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com22

“If you build it,” goes the hack-neyed refrain from KevinCostner’s 1989 blockbuster film

Field of Dreams, “they will come.” Thefounders of the South Carolina Mari-time Heritage Foundation in Charles-ton, SC, adopted that same notionroughly three years ago when they de-cided to build a classic wooden tall ship.After fewer than six months of actualconstruction-in which 23 sets of live oakframes have been attached to a keelscarfed together with enormousAngelique timbers, indeed “they” havecome. They’ve come in the form of morethan 200 dedicated volunteers and a handful of committed boardmembers. They’ve come in the form of crucial in-kind dona-tions from the city of Charleston, Makita Tools, and numerousother entities. But the “they” that the organization’s founderstruly had in mind at the outset of this ambitious project weredonors — big donors — the kind who can cut substantial checks.And “they” haven’t made their way out of the cornfield just yet.

“We hope that’s about to change,” says Charlie Sneed, theexecutive director of the SCMHF and one of several woodenboat enthusiasts who dreamt up this idea. “We’re in the processof launching a statewide capital campaign that we think willassist us in connecting with and attracting the kind of contribu-tors who can truly make a difference for this project.” Aside fromnearly completing the skeleton of a classic, 90-foot tall ship, theorganization has also erected a boatyard, established a small dis-

TALL SHIPS

Tall Ship in Charleston:Spirit of South CarolinaBy Dan Dickinson

play of maritime artifacts, and man-aged a maritime festival as well as arace to Bermuda, all of that on littlemore than nominal contributions. Now,says Sneed, “it’s time to get serious.”

The Spirit of South Carolina — thename given this classic vessel despiteits unfinished state-was envisionedwith two purposes in mind: to serveas a platform for sail training, target-ing the youth of South Carolina, andas a floating goodwill ambassador forthe Palmetto State. Despite the publicnature of those roles, the SCMHF isn’tpursuing public funds to build and

operate the ship. “We’ve always envisioned making this hap-pen via private and corporate backing,” explains Sneed. “Notthat public support isn’t welcome, but we’re trying hard to avoidgetting the ship or this organization entangled in the politicsthat so often accompany such support.”

The realities of a tight economy coupled with a less thanformal approach to fundraising have made it difficult for theSCMHF — a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit corporation-to maintainits build schedule. Sneed says the organization had initiallyplanned to launch Spirit in the fall of 2004. Unless constructionresumes soon (it’s been in hiatus since May), that date will haveto be pushed back. All of this, says Sneed, hinges on a success-ful capital campaign. “We’ve got a realistic budget, and we’vemanaged to do quite a bit thus far,” he said, “but you can’t buildand operate a wooden tall ship on credit; we’re hoping to se-

Charlie Sneed and the Spirit of South Carolina. Photo byBill Baum.

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 23

cure significant fundingthat will see this projectthrough.” Sneed said theprecise goals of the cam-paign remain proprietaryfor the moment.

The ship itself isclosely patterned after apilot schooner that was coincidentally built just 200 yards fromwhere the Spirit now sits. In 1872, a young shipwright and entre-preneur, Samuel J. Pregnall, built and launched a 65-foot schoo-ner he christened after his wife the Frances Elizabeth. That vesselserved harbor pilots in Charleston for 24 years before being soldto pilots in northern Florida. Sneed and his SCMHF colleagueshave uncovered information that links the design of the FrancesElizabeth to the schooner America, famous for begetting the America’sCup. That, says Sneed, is just one of a number of interesting discov-eries that his organization has unearthed regarding the region’smaritime history through its work with this tall ship. He says it’sindicative of something else he and his colleagues hope will “come”once the ship is built-a maritime heritage center.

Though the organization’s initial mission is to build this clas-sic schooner to represent the state and augment the educationalexperience of South Carolina youth, Sneed says: “Eventually, wehope this ship will spark renewed interest in the region’s mari-time history, and we plan to accommodate that interest by wayof a maritime heritage center.” He hopes the efforts of his groupwill provide South Carolinians an opportunity to reconnect witha portion of their history that has been largely overlooked. “Most

historians and preservationists in this state can recite chapterand verse about the significant buildings and homes in ourcoastal communities, but few can tell you about the develop-ment of the waterfront in places like Charleston, or about theships that serviced our harbors for almost two centuries. That’sbecause we really haven’t paid much attention to our maritimehistory here, which is something our efforts can help to rectify.”

On December 5th at the boatyard, organizers are hoping toput in place the final frame of the vessel’s skeletal structure.Once funds begin to roll in, shipwright Mark Bayne and hiscrew will commence planking the ship with the hope of speed-ing the project toward completion sometime later next fall. Foradditional information, or to make donations, on either the Spiritof South Carolina or the South Carolina Maritime Heritage Foun-dation, call (843) 722-1030 or log on to www.scmaritime.org.

Photo by Charlie Sneed

Photo by Debra Gingrich

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LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 25

Stephen Sommer is a degreed electricalengineer with extensive experience inelectrical, mechanical, refrigeration andair-conditioning systems and holds aUSCG Masters license. He consults inall areas of yacht systems, which includeall the equipment on board yachts be-yond a basic hull and motor or sails.Have a systems problem or question?Ask Stephen Sommer:[email protected].

By Stephen Sommer

2. A white return or common wire,which has little or no voltage on itcompared to ground and is used toreturn the current to the power sourcethat is supplied by the source.

3. A black hot wire that carries up to 50amps and measurable voltage of 120volts compared to the return andground wires.

4. A red, hot wire that also carries 50amps at 120 volts compared toground and return. This is not thesame as the black wire because it isout-of-phase with the black wires.That means that as the current alter-nates, this wire is at negative 120 voltsat the same instant as when the blackwire is positive 120 volts. This meansthat if you measure from the red tothe black wire, you will measure 240volts. This is just like when you con-nect two 6 volt batteries in series tomake a 12 volt battery.

The 120/240 volt, 50 amp power sourcecan provide 12,000 watts of power be-cause it is actually two separate 120 volt,50 amp power sources in one connector.

Once you understand what makesup each source, you can work out the

limitations of each adapter:

120 volt, 30 amp to 120/240 volt, 50 ampadapter: In this case, there is only one “hot”wire from the source, so the adapters gen-erally connect the one input hot wire toboth of the output hot wires. This makesall the 120 volt appliances work, but the240 volt air-conditioners, which are con-nected across the two hot wires, get zerovolts because the two inputs are not “outof phase.” The other limitation is that the to-tal load on the output wires is limited to 30amps before the shore power breaker “pops.”

120/240 volt, 50 amp to two 120 volt, 30amp adapter. This adapter works almosttoo well. Most of these provide one hotwire to each output connector and connecttwo ground outputs to the ground inputand two return outputs to the return in-put. The result is that you have two 120volt, 30 amp outputs that are limited to 50amps by the shore breaker. This really isn’tsafe because the 30 amp connector andwire can be overheated by 50 amps.

120 volt, 15 amp to 120 volt, 30 ampadapter: The wiring on this is straight-

forward and works just fine with the cur-rent limited by the shore breaker.

Two 120 volt, 30 amp to 240/120 ampadapter: This one can be a little scary, be-cause it makes a lot of assumptions aboutthe dock power, unless it is one of thehigh tech and expensive “smart Y” de-vices. If it’s just a cable, connect theadapter with the shore power breakersoff and then turn on the shore power. Thesparks can be blinding if the dock poweris miss-wired. It’s also possible to get anoutput that has two identical phases,with no 240 volt power available, like thefirst adapter. It that happens, try differ-ent shore power sockets.

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com26

MAINTENANCE

Pulled from her natural element, dripping and vulnerable,Angel seemed to lose her last shred of dignity. She wasgawked at, her exposed nether regions poked at, prod-

ded and sprayed with a hose. The weary 1978 Bayfield 29 wasthen unceremoniously propped high and dry on the stands.My new baby. Previously a neglected orphan, Angel requiredserious surgery, and her life was in my hands. Her restorationand seaworthiness depended on the proper application of themany marine materials on today’s market. Initially confusedby the puzzling array of new items at the local chandler, I con-ducted extensive research and relied on a background in engi-neering to become familiar with everything that could possi-bly benefit Angel’s restoration. The knowledge is invaluablefor any self-reliant boat owner.

The most common materials used for restoration, repair,and as a foundation for cosmetic work, are fiberglass and res-ins, fillers and additives, sealants, adhesives and various spe-cialty items. Knowing what’s available and understanding amaterial’s application and proper use allows a boat owner tomake educated choices. As a result, your boat’s long and pro-ductive life rewards you with safe travel and unforgettableescapes.

FIBERGLASS RESINSThe most commonly used fiberglass resins are polyester andepoxy. Many boats today and all older fiberglass boats are laidup with polyester resins. Most off-the-shelf polyester resins to-day simply require the addition of a catalyst to initiate curing.Sensitive, they cure between 70 - 80 degrees F and will cure

RESINS, GLUES & GOOS: PART IThe Basic Foundation for Renewing &Maintaining Your Fiberglass SailboatBy Rebecca Burg

Angel

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 27

faster when in direct sun-light. Epoxy resin is morecostly than polyester, butis preferred by many boatowners today. A two-partsystem, epoxy is stronger,extremely versatile andhas a longer shelf life thanpolyester. Most impor-tant, epoxy is perfectlycompatible on an existingpolyester hull. Likewise,polyester resin is compat-ible with a hardened ep-oxy surface. However,avoid mixing epoxy andpolyester resins whenboth are wet.

Because of its avail-ability in my locale, I usedthe West System brand ep-oxy products for Angel’srestoration. This system conveniently includes user-friendly dis-pensers for the accurate mixing of resin to hardener and a vari-ety of resin fillers, additives and tools. Easy to follow charts andlabels explain the finer details for proper application of eachavailable product. The major epoxy systems provide differenttypes of hardeners that allow the epoxy to cure at specific rates.Slow-curing hardeners are best for penetrating and sealing and

when working in hot, humid conditions. Fast-cure hardenersare preferable for use in cooler ambient temperatures or forsmall, fast repairs. Avoid adding more than the recommendedhardener or the epoxy mixture will set too soon or deteriorate,compromising the strength of the repair.

Curing epoxy resin will create heat, and the wet mixturemust be spread out in a wide container or it will set prema-turely. Avoid clumping epoxy-saturated rags, which can easilycreate a fire hazard. Cured epoxy resin often leaves a greasyblush (amino acids), which must be cleaned with mild soapand warm water. Most important is your safety when workingwith these various, often volatile substances. Shield the skinwith nitrile gloves, and protect the lungs from vapors and sand-ing residue. It is known that over time, skin exposure to epoxycan cause serious allergic reactions and blistering.

A major use for resin is fiberglass lay-up. The most com-mon glass cloth, called E-glass, is compatible with both epoxyand polyester resins. Different weights and weaves of E-glasscloth are used in repair and structural reinforcement. Choppedstrand mat is applied as a first layer to create a secure bond toan existing fiberglass hull. Woven roving is a heavy and strongcloth used in the middle layers of a repair. For high strengthand stiffness, a new cloth with a biaxial direction is available.It’s composed of two non-woven layers of cloth stitched to-gether at a 45-degree angle. Regular fiberglass cloth, a thin andsturdy weave, comes in different weights and is used as a toplayer in a repair due to its smooth surface.

Since fiberglass is relatively brittle, avoid creating sharp

Angel’s interior looking forward beforeretrofitting.

Angel’s interior looking forward after retrofitting.

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com28

FIBERGLASS

angles during structural work. Partially cured fiberglass is eas-ily trimmed with a sharp blade but is difficult to cut once cured.Tools can be cleaned with acetone. Avoid adding acetone to un-cured resin or to fiberglass surfaces as it will interfere with cur-ing and will soften hardened fiberglass. Acetone must be storedin an airtight metal container. A fellow cruiser had learned thisthe hard way when acetone stored in a plastic container eventu-ally ate through it and proceeded to dissolve a hole through hisboat’s fiberglass topsides.

The West System and products like it also offer a range offillers and additives to be stirred into a batch of wet epoxymixture. Detailed label instructions help the boat owner todetermine what would most suit his or her needs. For example,the West System’s white flour-like high density filler is usedto create a range of consistencies for working against gravity,bonding and for extremely strong repairs. When cured, thisparticular filler is difficult to sand. The low density filler isuseful for fairing and filling small dings in a fiberglass hull,and it is easy to sand. Usually, the harder the cured material isto sand, the stronger it is.

OTHER RESINS AND FILLERSVinylester resin, a relative newcomer, is more costly than ep-oxy. It provides excellent water resistance and is used as a bar-rier after a boat’s gelcoat has been removed for major blisterrepair.

A vinylester based filler, such as 3M’s Marine PremiumFiller, is a readily available and valuable resource when in theyard. A convenient two-part mixture, this thick substance waseasy to work with for filling small dings and for creative re-pairs in both fiberglass and wood. Used above and below thewaterline, the strong cured resin can be sanded and paintedover. Workable against gravity, the vinylester filler curesquickly and when in direct sunlight, one must work fast.

I had even used the tough vinylester filler to restore a tornthree-inch section of teak on Angel’s decorative trail board.The ragged void was cleaned and filled with several succes-sive layers of the mixture. Craft-store Popsicle sticks helpedto sculpt the filler and blend it with the existing wood. Whenfully cured, the vinylester was sanded and painted with craft-store acrylic paint to match the teak’s color. The creative re-pair looked as good as new and spared me a costly customreplacement.

Marine Tex, a two-part epoxy-based material, also becamean invaluable tool in the yard. Activated by a catalyst, MarineTex mixes to a thick peanut butter-like consistency and cures

hard and waterproof. The gray-colored mixture was used torepair a small crack in Angel’s bronze stern tube, again savingme a costly custom replacement. The gray can even be used torepair exhaust manifolds, tanks, engine blocks and piping.White Marine Tex has served well in an emergency repair to agouged fiberglass dinghy. It is also safe on most plastics. Mostimportant, only marine specific fillers and materials shouldbe used on your boat.

Auto body fillers, though convenient, do not hold up tothe marine environment. Some automotive fillers actually ab-sorb water over time and are weaker than marine fillers. Yourboat deserves the best. Your and her safety depend on it.

NEXT MONTH IN PART II:Sealants and Soft Adhesives: Older Boat Repair Miscellany

BOOK RESOURCES:Buchanan, George. The Boat Repair Manual, 1985.

Arco Publishing Inc., NY.Ettlinger, Steve. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold

in Marine Supply Stores. 1995.William Morrow and Company, Inc., NY.

Modern Boat Maintenance. 1989 Sheridan House,Adlard Coles, Nautical.

Spurr, Daniel. Spurr’s Boatbook: Upgrading the Cruising Sailboat.1993. McGraw-Hill/International Marine

Vigor, John. Boatowner’s Handbook: Reference Data forMaintenance, Repair, Navigation and Seamanship. 2000.International Marine/McGraw-Hill.

Palmetto, FL 941-723-1610 • TOLL-FREE 800-375-0130 St. Pete, FL 727-828-0090 • TOLL-FREE 877-552-0525

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December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com30

This summer, my wife and I went toone of our favorite haunts for dinner.

It’s a pleasant place to eat, and whatmakes it even more delightful is that theynot only have a mean coconut shrimpdish, but they are right on the water.

Sometimes we go by boat, othertimes by car, but in either case, one of ourpastimes when we eat at this restaurantis watching the boaters passing by theeatery. We always get a good laugh whilewatching people try to dock their boatsat the restaurant. This is in part a resultof the rather strong current that ebbs andflows by the restaurant and the strongwinds that tend to blow.

If only people understood the phys-ics involved in docking a boat, and thatspeed, or rather the lack of it, is a crucialfactor in easy docking, we wouldn’tlaugh as much. But this article is not aboutdocking. Maybe another article will coverthe techniques needed for an easy dockingmaneuver. This article is about towing.

So what do my culinary tastes andentertainment values have to do withtowing? Well, while watching the boatsand the waterfowl playing in the estuary,I noticed a boat being towed by a GoodSamaritan. What I saw vís a vís, the towsituation caused those little hairs on theback of my neck to rise.

GOOD SAMARITANSLet me start by saying I applaud peoplewho are willing to be Good Samaritans. Ireally do; otherwise why would I be in-volved with America’s VolunteerLifesavers(tm), with the United StatesCoast Guard Auxiliary? But there is a dif-ference between being a good and good-hearted neighbor and taking unnecessaryrisks because of sheer ignorance.

This country is based on neighborshelping neighbors. It is the indomitablespirit of volunteerism that drives manyof our social organizations, our educa-tional institutions and to some extent,government service. It is for this reasonthat many states have enacted legislationthat protects the Good Samaritan fromacts of negligence.

Hippocrates gave some sage advicefor medical emergencies, and it works for

all Good Samaritans: Primum non nocere.“First of all, do no damage.”

The English incorporated this adviceinto common law, now called tort law.Today, we have two legal terms that ap-ply to the Good Samaritan: negligenceand gross negligence. Negligence can bedefined as: “... a duty to ensure that aperson’s actions do not cause harm to oth-ers.” (Hippocrates code) (Duhaime.org)Gross negligence is “any action or anomission in reckless disregard of the con-sequences to the safety or property ofanother. This is sometimes referred to asvery great negligence, and it is more thanjust neglect of ordinary care toward othersor just inadvertence.” (Duhaime.org)

So, by definition, it becomes impera-tive that if you are to offer assistance, of-fer only the assistance which you are ca-pable of providing safely.

TOWINGTowing is not a simple procedure! Thereis a tremendous amount of stress in-volved, and it affects both boats and thetowline you are using. I’m talking aboutstress, as in forces-the types of forces youlearned about in physics class. Andwe’re talking some major forces; enoughthat a miscalculation could causesomeone’s death.

What follows is meant to give thereader a basic understanding why tow-ing is dangerous. This article is insuffi-cient to make the reader prepared to towany vessel of any size.

The Coast Guard and Coast GuardAuxiliary provide their members with sev-eral different boat handling courses. Mostof these courses contain sections on towing.

As an auxiliarist in the boat crew pro-gram, you first learn about towing in themission oriented operations chapters.Here you begin to learn the methodologybehind a tow, but very little of the theory.We’re talking the “how-to” under guid-ance of a coxswain.

Auxiliary members would then re-fine the process of towing in the coxswainprogram. Here more emphasis is placedon theory, so that the coxswain, who isin charge of the auxiliary vessel (calleda facility) can make informed decisions

on whether to initiate the tow, and if thecoxswain feels confident that the towcan be safely handled, what type of towto undertake.

In the auxiliary operations courseAUXSAR (Auxiliary Search and Rescue),a sizeable portion of this course is abouttowing. This course provides all the theo-retical information about towing. Thecourse material states, “Almost every-thing done during a tow is potentiallyhazardous; a successful tow is one dur-ing which no damage is done to theengine(s) of the towing vessel, no dam-age is sustained by either vessel, and noone sustains an injury.”

Essentially, there are four factors thatimpact a towing situation: the hull char-acteristics of a boat doing the towing, thehull characteristics of the boat beingtowed, the construction and diameter ofthe line used to tow the disabled vessel,and the sea state (waves, wind, and cur-rent). With all the different makes andmodels of vessels, as well as different linetypes, you can see that every tow isunique, making towing as much an artas it is a science.

I mentioned stress before, as one ofthe many reasons why you really needto learn how to tow a vessel before youactually just do it. There are three typesof forces that a towboat, the towed boatand the lines that connect them, undergo.These are acceleration forces, steadyforces and shock forces.

A brief definition will help you un-derstand the dangers involved. Accelera-tion forces is the stress placed on the ves-sels and the towline during the time thetowed and towing vessels are dead-in-the-water, to the time they reach theirmaximum (constant) towing speed.

Steady forces is the stress placed onthe vessels and the towline during thephase after maximum (constant) speed isreached. These forces are just involved inpulling the towed vessel through smoothwater at a constant speed.

Shock forces occur because of the seastate. Towing in calm, smooth waterwould produce little or no shock forces.Towing a vessel where there are five-footwaves, at 30-second intervals would pro-

Towing a vessel - it’s more involved then you think!Good Samaritan towing: “First of all, do no damage.”By Wayne SpivakUnited States Coast Guard Auxiliary

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 31

duce considerable shock forces. Just pic-ture your boat slowing down and speed-ing up as it goes up and down waves.The towed boat is doing the exact samething. But it probably is not in synch, sothe towline is being stretched and thengoes slack, and then gets pulled tightlyagain and stretches.

An average size vessel towing a ves-sel of equal size will, at a minimum, in-cur several hundred pounds of force, de-pending on the type of line used, sea state,etc. While many lines may contain rat-ings for several thousand pounds of force,those statistics are for brand-new line.Lines that are well-used, or that areweathered, are probably capable of sus-taining loads much smaller than whatthey are rated for.

DEAL BREAKERS – WHAT CANGO WRONG USUALLY WILLSo great, now you know the factors thatinfluence a tow and some basics on whatthe forces are. So what? Without doingall the math and physics involved, all youneed to understand is: Recreational ves-sels are often ill-equipped to handle thestresses of towing for a variety of reasons:

• While every piece of equipment hasdifferent breaking characteristics, givenenough stress, any part of this towingsystem could break, and often with cata-strophic results. If you must tow anothervessel, examine its hardware (cleats, bits,etc,) as well as your own to make sure itis bolted through. Never attempt to towanother vessel using a “ski rope” or otherlightweight line incapable of sustainingthe stresses outlined above. Under no cir-cumstance should anyone stand directlyin line with the towline, because if it wereto break, it would “snap back” like a rub-ber band, wreaking havoc with every-thing in its path.

• The cleats and deck fittings on mostboats can only accommodate smallerlines,which limits the amount of forcethey can take, and thus the size of thevessel you can tow. How fast you tow an-other vessel can impact the forces exerted.

• The pitch of most propellers on youraverage recreational vessel is geared to-ward maximizing speed of the vessel, nottorque. Using the average propeller witha pitch of 19 or 21 inches results in a greatdeal of slip (inefficient movement of wa-ter through the propeller), making towinginefficient and stressful on an engine.

• The amount of power it takes to towa vessel, if done improperly, could causeserious damage to one of the most expen-

sive pieces of equipment in your vessel -your engine(s)!

• The average recreational vessel does notcarry lines of the length that may be neces-sary to minimize the shock forces by keep-ing the vessels “in step” with one another.It is important to adjust the length of thetowline to minimize the shock forces causedby wind, waves, and/or current.

• If the boat doing the towing is an out-board or an inboard/outboard, you haveanother potential disaster — getting thetowline caught in the prop of the tow ves-sel. At the very least, this usually meanscutting the towline free from the prop,possibly totally disabling the towboat, re-sulting in the need for another potential tow.

Given the information above, I hopeyou can see that there are a myriad num-ber of things that can go wrong whentowing another vessel. In any case, if I wasa professional gambler who was askedto bet on whether the average recreationalboater could tow another boat withoutincident, I would pass, as the odds favorthe house. The “house” here is the factthat you’ll likely experience damage toeither the towed boat, the towing boat,or that someone on either vessel would

sustain an injury.

BEING THE GOOD SAMARITANI hope I’ve shown you that part of beingthe Good Samaritan is learning when tojust stand by and when to act, at leastwhen it comes to towing. Under most cir-cumstances, towing should be left to pro-fessionals especially if you want to avoidthe label of appearing grossly negligent.

Standing by, and waiting with theother vessel, is still considered offering as-sistance, since should the situationworsen, you would be able to providehelp in sheltering the occupants of theother vessel. You can also provide protec-tion from other vessels and help commu-nicate with the Coast Guard.

If you want to learn how to tow avessel, why not join the Coast Guard orthe Coast Guard Auxiliary? We’d be morethan happy to teach you the skills youneed to be not only a better boater, but atrained lifesaver.

To find out how to join, contact your lo-cal Coast Guard (visit www.uscg.mil for de-tails), or visit the Coast Guard Auxiliary Website at www.cgaux.org and click on the Flo-tilla Finder link on the right side of the page.

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com32

BOAT REVIEW

The Raider Sport is a boat that turns heads. This is acraft that would look very much at home in a StarWars movie. Darth Vader would sail this boat. Darth

Raider?Designer John Drawe enjoys a good lightweight plan-

ing dinghy. Most of the genre, however, are difficult tosail, tip over readily and have nowhere to put the cooler.Drawe dreamed, planned and consulted with kindredspirits like Paul Keller, Kenny Allen and sailmaker JoeWatters to come up with a fresh approach.

It is not quite true that the boat is designed around atwelve-quart cooler. But there it is, in its own fitted welljust behind the mast, ready for use.

The lines flow around a dinghy hull as pleasing tothe eye as to the sailor’s butt.This is simply the most com-fortable small performanceboat you will find.

I sailed the boat on twooccasions during the SailExpo St. Pete Boat Show inNovember. The first timewas with the boat in theoriginal Raider version, al-though with the carbon spar.There was a breeze where aLaser sailor was hikingmuch of the time upwind.My 185 pounds kept the Raider quite flat simply by sitting onthe “wing” of the deck. It was almost embarrassing to be socomfortable.

It took a while to dial in the sail since the carbon mast isquite bendy and de-powers the sail quickly. The stiffer alumi-num mast that is on the standard Raider may have been a betterchoice. After getting the combination with the vang, travelerand sheet, there seemed to be little speed or height differenceupwind between a Laser with a coach behind it in a powerboatand my first attempt at the Raider. In puffs the Raider was faster.

On a run, the Raider quickly passed the Laser, but only if theboat is sailed upright. When using the common practice of heel-ing to weather, the boat was the same speed as the Laser.

On reaches the Raider comes into its own, planing and surf-ing readily in winds not usually associated with that kind offun. When the wind pipes up, the rudder does not load up withweather helm as so many cat-rigged dinghies do.

When I next sailed the boat, it was rigged as the Sport ver-sion with the larger mainsail and asymmetrical spinnaker. Thespeed difference off the wind was significant. The sail is riggedwith the usual modern pull up-pull down continuous halyardand worked very well. I managed to get a hockle in the lineright in front of the boat show spectator dock and shrimped thenylon sail. But it went back up flawlessly to jibe through theanchored fleet in spectacular fashion.

It was not until dousing the asymmetrical without incident

this time that I realized that I’d reachedover to the low side of the boat andscooped the shrimped sail into the boat,waterlogged and all. Try that in anotherdinghy.

This boat just refuses to capsize. Twomen can stand on the low side deckwith the sail aback and it does not cap-

size. The only way to get the thing to go over is to go forwardof the mast and reach far up and pull it over. Hang on becauseit will try to pop up. Pull the boat all the way over until themast tip touches the water and let go. It will right itself with nocrew help. This is a true self-righting boat. No, there is noweighted keel. Just the lightweight daggerboard and rudderand a clever hull/deck design.

The crew capacity is 400 pounds, so you and a crew cangain weight and still sail the boat.

Two versions of rig are available. The Raider has 108 squarefeet and the Sport 123 plus the asymmetrical spinnaker thatattaches about 7/8 up the mast. The Sport version replaces thealuminum mast with a carbon spar and has controls leading toeach side of the boat.

Construction is by Johannsen Boat Works, the same folkswho make the Trinka. Fit and finish are better than dinghy sail-ors have come to expect. The hull must be quite strong as thereare confirmed stories of major collisions resulting in little dam-age. E-Glass and epoxy are used in the molds for the hull.

The Sunfish was a breakthrough boat in its day. The Lasercontinues to be sailed by thousands of sailors. In the new cen-tury, perhaps it is time to go faster without the bruises and hik-ing pain.

And for some of us, perhaps time to have a performanceboat with a built-in cooler.

Go on line to www.raidersailboats.com for more information.

LOA 16’2"LWL 15’11"Beam 7’4"Draft Board up 6.5"

Board down 41"Hull Displacement 200 lbsCapacity 3 adults or 400 lb.Sail Area Sport 123 sq. ft. Raider: 108 sq. ft.Mast Sport :carbon Raider: aluminumDaggerboard Sport: carbon Raider: hollow aluminumCooler 12 quartPortsmouth rating 91.5

Raider SportDave Ellis

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 33

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com34

SOUTHERN SAILING By David Ellis

A MIGHTY WHACKHe was a big man with a bigboat. The Royal Gaboon wasa race unlike any other. In the1950s and ’60s anything wasallowed, except engines, onthe 40-mile dash to Sarasota.Paddles, swimming the boat,carrying it across points ofland, capsizing under bridgesand even occasional skulldug-gery were allowed or tolerated.

The start was “Le Mans,”where all the skippers lined upin front of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club until a cannon wentoff at around 8:00 a.m. Boats had to be docked or anchorednear the dock out front. One boat had a long fishing line at-tached to the dock while the boat was clear across the basin.But the big guy had another plan.

The wind was blowing pretty hard from the west. Sincethe entrance to the Municipal Marina on the St. Petersburgwaterfront was to the east, why not tie the stern of the E-Scowto the dock, set all sails, including the spinnaker, and be strain-ing at the leash.

All worked to perfection. While not particularly fast tothe boat on the dash across the street, at least somebody didn’tlock the gate at the last minute this year.

“Here I come! Get the ax ready,” said Big Guy.“Crash!” Down into the back deck he jumped, and with a

quick handoff of the ax and a mighty whack with the blade on

the line over the edge of thedock, the mighty boat was free.

Well, it worked. The 28-footer with nearly 500 squarefeet of sail straining took offlike a shot, heading for the en-trance of the harbor with thecrew hanging on.

All, that is, except for BigGuy.

Judges may have givenhim a “6,” as he did a halfgainer over the stern as thedeck took off without him.

Took a while to get that big E-Scow back to Big Guy.

CAN’T FIND GOOD CREW NOWADAYSThe Thistle sailor always won the races in his fleet. Every-

body else tried for second.One day the fast guy was leading the fleet on his lake, as

usual, when he noticed to his dismay that he had long agopassed the windward mark. If he turned around to go back toit, his lead would suddenly make him the tail-ender in the fleetas others noticed and turned around to go back.

What to do?“Quick, drop the main,” he whispered to his crew.“Say what,” was the reply.“Just do it,” he retorted.

Tall Tales of the Modern Sailor

Sailors have been known to have a story or two to tell. A ‘gam’was a group of sailors, originally whalers, sitting around havingconversation and telling tall tales.

There are stories to tell of our era of sailing, too. Maybe youhave one or two you’d like to share. By all means write them upand send them to Southwinds ([email protected]).Or just phone and get in touch with me, and I’ll write them upand credit you with the story.

All of these stories are true, although not all are first-handaccounts. The names are NOT included. I know them in mostcases, but it doesn’t matter who they are. The stories stand bythemselves in sailing lore.

See SOUTHERN SAILOR continued on page 47

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December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com36

SAILBOAT RACING

Over the years, I have had some successes racing. Itwas just plain good luck at times. Other times the suc-cess came because we out-sailed or out-smarted the

other guys.Short of hiring some hotshots, getting titanium blocks,

tracks and rigging, a carbon fiber spar and a suit of racing sails,there are some simple things which a sailor can do to make hisboat perform better.

One of those things that take a little time and effort, but nomoney, is getting the boat to sit on its lines. This is just a matterof looking carefully at the boat while it is at rest. You want toget off the boat to do this. The farther away you are, the betterperspective (within obvious limits) you’ll have. If you can usea known perfectly vertical object to compare your boat’s sparwith, then you’ll be able to get it right rather easily.

In the marina where I keep my boat, I have put a verticallevel on a support beam from a building to make sure it is

plumb. I can sight from that vertical beam to my boat and seeif a little adjustment is needed. Usually, it is not. That’s be-cause I can use the same level in the companionway of myboat to check for port and starboard balance. The bubble showsme what to do.

Because the gas tank in the lazerette and the boat’s galleyare on the port side, there was a port list. I have had to bal-ance the boat by taking the heavier items in the lockers on theport side and moving them to starboard. It took some workand a lot of checking the horizontal level and the vertical con-figuration, but I eventually got it done. The boat sailed betterright away.

Next up was the problem of fore and aft trim. My boat hasan 18-horse outboard hung on the back of it, which makes itstern-heavy. The class I race in requires that the outboard re-main in place while racing, which is okay with me. An 18-horseoutboard is not fun to take off the back of the boat and storebelow and then put back on after the race. Couple the outboard’sweight with a gasoline that weighs six pounds to the gallonand you will understand the stern-heavy predicament. Besides,the boat I own, an Ericson, traditionally has had some prob-lems with its stern squatting. It is a persistent complaint I haveheard from other Ericson owners.

What to do? Move as much weight forward as you possi-bly can. If that means stowing sails in the forepeak to getweight forward, then do it. Assuming that you have a watertank forward, keeping it full is another way to put weightwhere it’s needed.

Adding weight to a racing sailboat is generally a no-no,but if a little extra weight-not a lot-will make your boat trimout like it was meant to, then I think you can get by withsome extra pounds.

To help me gauge what kind of trim my boat has at anytime, I have mounted an inclinometer inside the companion-way to see what kind of horizontal trim we are getting. Addi-tionally, I have a fore and aft reading inclinometer to tell meabout bow-down trim. It, too, resides in the companionway,but its orientation is 90 degrees from the first one. That meansthat it must be attached to a surface that runs parallel to thekeel. It needs to read in one-degree increments, too. Fore andaft trim is far more subtle than horizontal trim.

The point of this exercise is to have your boat flat when itis at the dock and where you can do something about correct-ing any ambient list. When you are going for the gold-or, asthe case may be, bronze-is a bad time to start thinking aboutboat trim.

Work on the problem early. You can’t fix it late. Then, inorder to win, do what Buddy Melges has suggested for yearsnow. “Start first and steadily increase your lead until the fin-ish.” Works every time.

A Question of BalanceBy Morgan Stinemetz

I have been sailing the same sailboat for 27 years. It has been a learning experience for me from the get-go.It still is. And maybe the simple truth that makes sailing such an enchanting sport for us is its mystery and diversity.Sailing is never the same, day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute.

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 37

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com38

RACING & REGATTAS

WEST FLORIDAROLEX 2003 OSPREY CUPST. PETERSBURG, FL,OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 2By Morgan StinemetzStarting out one race downfrom Saturday’s beginning ofthe final series in the RolexOsprey Cup-a women’s matchracing round robin sailed inTampa Bay off St. Petersburg-Hannah Swett of Jamestown,RI, sailed well enough in thefirst two races on Sunday towin them both. In the fourthrace, Swett had a leeward startand a slower one than ClaireLeroy of France and was neverable to dig herself out of thehole she found herself in. Leroywon race four, which evened itall up 2-2.

The match racing champi-onship came down to one race.Winds were 13 knots from 045as the two teams jockeyed forposition before the final show-down. Racing in 26-foot Sonarone-design keelboats, the boats each had a crew of four. Theladies sailed them like dinghies, roll tacking and spinning themaround in pre-start maneuvers like toys. It was a concert ofcoordination and precise movement as technical as ballet.

The last race was a stem-winder. Leroy made an unex-pected hitch right before the start. Swett took the start whilegoing fast and in clear air. Inexplicably, Swett tacked over tocover Leroy right off the bow of the committee boat. Sheslowed down. The boats split tacks up the weather leg, butSwett was in the lead, albeit by not as much of a lead had shenot tacked right after the start.

At the first leeward mark, Swett had 10 seconds on Leroy,a lifetime in match racing. However, at the top of the finalwindward leg, after a tacking duel that made the sails looklike scissors, that lead was just three seconds. The boats camedown the final run glued together, chutes filling and collaps-

Hannah Swett and crew deal with spinnaker wrap. Rolex 2003 Osprey Cup. Morgan Stinemetz photo.

ing again. Within 50 feet of the finish, Swett fouled Leroy. Andan on-the-course umpire boat raised a yellow flag. Swett wouldhave to do a penalty turn. During the penalty turn, Swett againfouled Leroy, and this time an umpire raised a black flag. Dis-qualified! Mort!

Winner: Claire Leroy from St. Quay, France. Crew mem-bers were Julie Gerecht of Brest, Julie Bossard from Brest andIngrid Cerrato from St. Quay. They won the Osprey Cup byearning it the hard way, coming from behind to sail as well asboats can be sailed.

“We felt very, very good,” said a soaked Leroy in heavilyaccented English after putting her boat away. She and her team-mates went for an impromptu swim when the other competi-tors gave them a congratulatory push into the water.

Bossard, a member of the French navy, added: “All theway around the course during the last race we said, ‘Don’t

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lose. Don’t lose.”Carol Cronin of Jamestown, RI, finished third by dusting

off Christine Briand of France in the final race of three.

2003 STILETTO NATIONALS, SARASOTA, FL,OCTOBER 29-31By Ron NicolThe 25th Annual Stiletto National Championship Regatta wasthe dream that came true for the sailors that participated inthis silver anniversary event. For many years, we have beensaddled with light winds and summer-like conditions, but thisyear Mother Nature dished up some “fair winds and goodsailing.”

This event has been held traditionally in Sarasota since1980, the first being sailed in Annapolis, MD, in 1979. Mostthought it too cold and blustery, so Larry and John decided tohold it in Stiletto’s hometown of Sarasota at the Hyatt-a mostimpressive pre-quay lagoon filled with 28-plus Stilettos. Re-minds me of the days gone by. The Nationals were held at theSarasota Sailing Squadron for several years until we went overto Lucaya, Bahamas, in ’87. Then we sailed from Regatta Pointin Palmetto in ’88 and dove down to the keys in 89 at Hawk’sCay resort on Duck Key. Since 1990 Sarasota Sailing Squad-ron has been home to this event, and hopefully it will con-tinue there with the great support of Stiletto Fleet 1 and theSquadron.

Race day one on Sarasota Bay was a windward/leewardcourse, twice around, with 10-15 knots of wind. Swim Marttook first in all three races.

On Thursday, day two, was the long-distance race in theGulf. This race is weighted and counted for two races in theoverall standings. Team Stiletto won on corrected time.

The final two around-the-buoy races were held on day threewith 20-25 knots in Sarasota Bay and Swim Mart winning.

I would like to commemorate this regatta to TJ Johnson,a friend and sailor who will not be forgotten. Fair winds, Ron.

Results:Modified Class; 1-Mike Speth Swim Mart 6.25; 2- Ron Nicol Team Stiletto 11.50 ; 3- SteveSteakley Strider 18.00 ; 4- Bob Buzzelli Fetish 19.00 ; 5- Jon Dowd Iguana 19.00; StockClass; 1- Bill Pardue Sea Traveler ; 2- Dave Ehlers Yin Yang; 3- Archie Kerr No Worries

BRISK WINDS AND HOT COMPETITION MARKCLEARWATER CHALLENGEBy Al Humphers, principal race officerThis year’s Clearwater Challenge on Nov. 1-2 was absolutelyspectacular, with five fast races sailed in two days in the Gulf

of Mexico. Hosted annually by Clearwater Yacht Club, thisyear’s event, sailed in 12- to 20-knot breezes, featured twocourses. Sport Boat and Spinnaker A and B divisions saileda windward-leeward course north of Clearwater Pass whileNon-spinnaker A and B and True Cruisers sailed a trianglecourse south of the pass.

The Spinnaker course challenged the racers with fivelegs around a one-mile course. With brisk winds, three wind-ward and two leeward legs in each of five races broughtplenty of action, not to mention exercise and bruises. TheSport Boat division, won by Mike Carroll’s Henderson 30,New Wave, saw a lot of excitement when a crewmember fromTack Tick went overboard when a hiking outrigger malfunc-tioned in the second race. Fortunately the individual wassafely retrieved by another quick-to-the-rescue competitor.Taking first place in Spinnaker A was Robert Hobb’s B-32,Abbey Normal. Spinnaker B was won by Ray Mannix’s J-29,Semper Fi.

The Non-Spinnaker course proved challenging as well,when in the first race, all but one of the Non-Spinnaker Aboats missed a rounding mark and received DSQ’s for thatrace. That race became the throwout for many. First placeNon-Spinnaker A went to Mark Wesson’s Catalina 42, Esca-pade; Non-Spinnaker B to Hall Palmer in Lucky Duck, aWyliecat 30. True Cruising honors went to the Creekmore 40Coconut, sailed by Allen Lindsey.

This year’s regatta also introduced what hopefully forlocal sailors will become a tradition for future years. Theweek prior to the Challenge was the Davis Island Yacht ClubClassic, a 65/100-mile distance race (non-spinnaker had the65-mile course) from upper Hillsboro Bay to Clearwater Pass.The Classic provided Tampa Bay sailors a great venue forbringing their boats to Clearwater, leaving their boats atClearwater Yacht Club during the week and returning thefollowing weekend for Clearwater Challenge’s around-the-buoy format and after-race partying.

ResultsSport Boat: 1, New Wave Michael Carroll CYC; 2, Wings Bob Reaves TITYC; 3, Tack TickMike Siedlecki SPYC. Spinnaker A: 1, Abbey Normal Robert Hobbs DIYC; 2, Pocket RocketGeorge Wolf; 3, Rocket Jamie Myers DIYC; 4, Time Bandit George Haynie DIYC; 5, DaringRobert DeMoss DIYC; 6, Fire & Ice George Cussins DIYC; 7, Mariah Jose V Suarez-HoyosDIYC; 8, Stampede Geoff Burdge; 9, Orangutan Bob Glaser DIYC; 10, Hot Tub WM TerryDIYC; Spnnaker B: 1, Semper Fi Ray Mannix Windjammers; 2,Riva Dick Crowl CYC; 3, FatBottom Girl Richard Gress Bird Key; 4, Marisol J.A. Booker; 5, Full Bore Donald Fritz HarborView YC; 6, Desperado Ron Augustine CYC; 7, Instant Karma Ken Friedman Windjammers;8, Jackal Allen Davidson SPSA; 9, WildKat Harvey Ford SPYC;10, Mystic Jay Myers CYC.Non-spinnaker A: 1, Escapade Mark Wesson BYC; 2, Prime Plus Frank Hanna ABYC; 3,

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Baroscious Jim Mallory DIYC; 4, Addiction Richard Booth. Non-spinnaker B: 1, Lucky DuckHall Palmer SPYC; 2, Tango III Rafael Paris TITYC; 3, Island Hopper Carol Elwood; 4, Xta SeaRichard Pearson SPSA. True Cruising: 1, Coconut Allen Lindsey DIYC; 2, Shady Lady SteveHonour SPSA; 3, Ooh La La Victor Gandoff Windjammers; 4, Easyout John Hamm SPYC; 5,Little Feat Bob Fox CYC; 6, Sonia-Cate Donald Miller Windjammers; 7, Sundance Dan WallaceFOMA; 8, Chesapeake Tom Ferrara Windjammers.

SINGLE-HANDED OFFSHORE RACE,CLEARWATER YACHT CLUBNOVEMBER 3By Dick BoblenzOn November 3rd the Clearwater Yacht Club sponsored the1st Annual Single-Handed Offshore Race from Clearwater toTampa Bay via Southwest Channel to finish at Green (#3), adistance of 29 miles. Conditions were heavy starting in a 20-to 25-knot northeast breeze, which built as it switched to thesoutheast and gusted to 50 knots in storms that lowered vis-ibility to 100 yards. The fleet was paced by the race committeein Mermaid, a 41-foot Hatteras, which took frequent water overthe flybridge.

Honors were taken by Frank Hannah of ABYC in hisBeneteau 44, Prime Plus. In second was Hall Palmer of SPYCin his Wyliecat 30, Lucky Ducky, and third was the race orga-nizer Bill Baker of CYC in his Irwin 41, Mariah.

ST. PETERSBURG SUN COAST CLASSICWINDSURF REGATTANOVEMBER 1-2Eighty windsurfers traveled from places as far away asCanada, Texas, and California and competed for two days onTampa Bay. At stake was bragging rights for the 2003 Sun CoastClassic, which included the North American Mistral ProdigyClass Championship, and the National Seniors Championship.Their ages ranged from 15 to 81, and they competed in 17 dif-ferent classes. The weather was beautiful with temperaturesin the 80s and wind gusting up to 18 mph. This allowed theracers to complete nine races in two days.

Results (Division followed by first place winner):1st start PRODIGY Grand Master; Lelbach, Bill; Prodigy Junior; Boersma, Mark; Prodigy Master;Hawes, Sean; Prodigy Men; Rhodes, Randy; Prodigy Seniors; Simmons, Al; Prodigy Women;Simmons, Susan M; Sport Fleet; Grand master; Colcord, Ned; Clysdale 190 Lb + and up to9.5 Sail; Dewolf, Henry; Seniors; Quigley, Mike; Women; Adair, Anne; Senior Nationals 65years +; Hope, Christopher; Senior National 70 +; Nugent, Pat; Senior Nationals 55+;Bogan, Steve; Formula Grand Master; Miller, Guy; Formula Masters; Aguilo, Joan-Pere; For-mula Juniors; Willis, Bob; Formula Women; Faller, Ellen; Formula Men; Barre, Vincent; For-mula Seniors; Sylvester, Steve; Sport Open 7.5 masters; Kaszuba, Robert; Open Men; Money,Erik; Open Women; Mazanek, Tina; Open Unlimited(no divisions); Meitzen, Marlin

EAST FLORIDAMELBOURNE YACHT CLUB FALL REGATTA ANDRACE WEEK, MELBOURNE, FLOCTOBER 18-19 AND OCTOBER 23-26By Liz TottenhamThe Melbourne Yacht Club Fall Regatta and Race Week wasa great success by all accounts, in part due to winds that werereportedly gusting to nearly 30 knots.

The action kicked off on Saturday with the smaller boats,including Flying Scots, Raiders, Sunfish, multihulls, Ports-mouth class and Lasers, whose crews battled 15-knot winds.The following weekend featured Optimist prams, a reversehandicap Rum Race, and PHRF spinnaker and non-spinna-ker classes, Catalina 22, and the bigger multihulls, Melges24s, and the Sunfish Invitational, hosted by Sunfish Fleet 669.

“We are very excited about the interest that has beenshown in the club’s regatta and race week,” said Dave Noble,regatta chair and owner of Noble Awards and Engraving.“We hope to continue this growth in interest for sailboat rac-ing in the area. We’ve shown that it’s a great sport and awonderful way to enjoy Brevard’s great natural resource.”

The event started well with 35 boats, some from as faraway as North Carolina, participating in six classes.

The next day the winds were out of the north rangingfrom 5 to 12 knots, the skies very grey and wet. The rain fellall day.

As the last Friday night “Rum Race” of the year for theOctober 24 Rebel Rally, racers were told to bring flashlightsin order to find the marks and finish line. Good advice, itturned out, as light winds kept the racers out on the river tillwell after sunset. The winners were: cruiser class, Jim Miller,Sea Turtle, Satellite Beach; racer class, Gary Smith, Five Speed,Indiatlantic.

Saturday’s strong breeze of more than 13 knots was punc-tuated with gusts of 20 knots (some reported much strongergusts), giving the racers the kind of competition they livefor. The winds created some problems for spinnaker boats,with more than a few blowing out sails and having to relyon patches and standby equipment.

Sunday was kinder on sails and equipment, with windsdropping to less than 10 knots by the end of the two races.Amy Lacy, on the Melges 24, Animation, was philosophicalabout the strong winds and the strain on the equipment.“There wasn’t a boat out there that didn’t have to overcome

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something (breaking or tearing) on Saturday,” said Lacy. “To-day, the wind was lighter, but still, the competition was ter-rific.”

The Flying Scots were also competing for the Florida Sail-ing Association’s State Championships during the first week-end. Sunfish competed for that championship on the 25th and26th. Results are listed below.

Jim Miller, winner of the PHRF Non-Spinnaker class andBoat of the Week award, was impressed by the quality of rac-ing throughout the two weekends.

“It was a great competition and great for sailing,” he said.“We were sailing against some good competition. I’ve beendoing this for many years, but this was just great fun.”

Melbourne Yacht Club expressed its thanks and gratitudeto other area yacht clubs for pitching in to make this one of themost successful race weeks in Melbourne Yacht Club history.

For more information on the Melbourne sailboat racingcommunity, contact regatta chair Dave Noble, 779-5222 or e-mail at [email protected], or contact the MelbourneYacht Club fleet captain Gary Smith, 674-0886, or e-mail himat [email protected], or visit www.sail-race.com/.Oct. 18-19 ResultsRaider Class: First, Karl Saylor, Georgia; second, John MacNeill, Indialantic; third, Paul Keller,Michigan. Portsmouth Class: First, Tom Clough, Palm Bay, JY 15; second, Mike Barile, Jack-sonville, Day Sailer; third, Marci Butz, Rockledge, Catalina 14.2.Sunfish: First, Dave Silverman,Indian Harbour Beach; second, Bill Haberland, Satellite Beach; third, Jim Edwards, SatelliteBeach. Laser: First, James Liebl, Titusville; second, Paul Henderson, Merritt Island; third,Chris Wiecks, Ft. Pierce. Multihull: First, Chuck Hernden, Satellite Bech; second, Scott Hubel,Melbourne; third, Matt McDonald, Satellite Beach. FSA Flying Scots Gold Medal: ChuckLeib. Silver: Fred Strommer. Bronze: Matt Wey.

Oct. 25-26 ResultsPHRF Spinnaker “A” Fleet: First place, Duncan MacKenzie, Merritt Island, J29 DirtyDog;second place, Sherry Beckett, Satellite Beach, Lindenberg 28 Fast Lane; third place, GarySmith, Indialantic, Lindenberg 28 Five Speed. PHRF Spinnaker “B” Fleet:First place, FrankZiolko, Melbourne Beach, Tug; second place, Greg Kowalski, Melbourne, Slot Machine;third place, Larry Etheridge, Melbourne, Purr-fect.PHRF Non-Spinnaker: First place, Jim Miller, Satellite Beach, Sea Turtle; second place, JerryRoss, Melbourne, Sleighride; third place, Del Wiese, Indian Harbour Beach, ChasingRainbows.Catalina 22: First place, Alan Jepsen, Palm Bay, Lil Flash; second place, Brad Ruffe,Titusville, Mercury Rising; third place, Albert Pivonka, Maitlant, Bang-a-rang.Sunfish: Firstplace, Paul Strauley, Sanford; second place, John Meyer, Virginia; Charlie Rahn, Plantation.FSA Sunfish Gold Medal: Paul Strauley, Sanford, FL; Silver: Charlie Rahn, Plantation, FL;Bronze: Tony Elliott, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Melges 24: First place, Brian Harrison, Atlanta, GA,Satisfaction; second place, Alex Shafer, Eustis, FL, Tommy Bahama; third place, Doug Kessler,Atlanta, GA, Liberty 3.

Other awards presented Sunday afternoon: Boat of theWeek: Sea Turtle, Jim Miller, Satellite Beach; Sailor of the Week:Jim Edwards, Satellite Beach; King of the Prams: Hasty Miller,

Palm Bay; Bert McAllister Trophy (for overall corrected time):Duncan MacKenzie, Satellite Beach, Dirty Dog.

UPPER GULF COASTFISH CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA, BUCCANEERYACHT CLUB, MOBILE, AL, OCTOBER 18-19By Kim KaminskiThe Gulf Yachting Association’s (GYA) Fish ChampionshipRegatta was held at the Buccaneer Yacht Club in Mobile, AL,on October 18-19. Eleven member clubs were invited to par-ticipate in this fourth annual two-day racing event sponsoredby the Fish Class Association.

The Fish class boat was the original inter-club vessel usedfor racing competition between the GYA member clubs. Itsdesign incorporated features of the New England Sharpie(straight lines and chine) and some of the Biloxi Cat (widebeam and low freeboard) to which was added a V-bottom foreasy entrance and smooth wake. The boat has a gaff rig, whichis more difficult to sail since the angle of the gaff rig is animportant factor in securing the best speed under varyingwind pressures. The name “Fish” was adopted for each namedfish in the coastal Gulf waters, but over time the numbers onthe sails were easier to use to identify the various competi-tors and so the fish names on the transom were abandoned.The racing teams from the Pensacola Yacht Club (PYC) earnedthe overall first place honors at this year’s regatta. Two clubs(Buccaneer and Fairhope) tied for third place, with three yacht

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clubs, The Point, BayWaveland, and FortWalton ending up in atied position for fifthplace.

Results, (place, club and points):1- Pensacola Yacht Club (3); 2-NewOrleans Yacht Club (5); 3-BuccaneerYacht Club (7); 4-Fairhope YachtClub (7); 5-Mobile Yacht Club (10);6-Point Yacht Club (15); 7-BayWaveland Yacht Club (15); 8-FortWalton Yacht Club (15); 9-GulfportYacht Club (16); 10-Navy YachtClub Pensacola (18); 11-OceanSprings Yacht Club (21)

THIRD ANNUALPREEMIE CUPREGATTA,OCTOBER 25,PENSACOLA BEACHYACHT CLUBBy Kim KaminskiThe third Annual Preemie Cup Sailboat Regatta was held onOctober 25, by the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club in Pensacola,FL. Twenty-nine sailboats registered for this popular charitysailboat event, which helps to raise funds for the neo-natalunit for pre-mature babies located at the Sacred Heart Hospi-tal in Pensacola.

The fall weather conditions for the charity race were idealand perfect for any sailor. The partly cloudy skies, warm tem-peratures, and moderate breezes (12 to 14 knots out of thesoutheast) encouraged the participants as they began theirquest - to help raise funds for premature babies by compet-ing in a sailboat race with only a two-person crew. Thisdouble-handed race enticed sailors to try their hand at racingagainst other boats and teams and to display their skills athandling their boat with only two people on board. This isnot a simple task, especially when the majority of the boatsthat were racing measured in at over 30 plus feet! Even theboats that were under 30 feet had their hands full maneuver-ing around the racecourse dodging the bigger vessels. As theafternoon progressed, their challenges during the race in-creased due to the intensifying winds out on the racecourse,which built to up to 15 to 17 knots. Luckily, as the afternoon

Dan Owczarczak and Kim Kaminski earned 1st place in their class and in the Overall Spin-naker Fleet during the double-handed charity sailboat race - the Preemie Cup Regattawhich helped to raise funds for the Sacred Heart Hospital’s premature babies neo-natalunit. Dan and Kim won on a 36-foot Hunter sailboat. Photo by Diane Marsh.

sun became more in-tense, the winds beganto decrease back to amore manageablemoderate breeze of 12knots.

Many of the com-petitors were well-sea-soned at handling asailing vessel, makingtheir efforts on the wa-ter look easy. The Non-Spinnaker and Cruiserclass (with a total of 18boats) had the firstrace start and sailed a14.86-mile coursearound Pensacola Baywith the Spinnakerclass (total of 11 boats)starting five minuteslater and sailing aslightly larger courseof 15.32 miles.

Last year the sailing vessel Windward Spirit earned thehonor of having the highest elapsed time out on the racecoursewith a finish time of 3:58:40. This year, that honor went toDare II who earned the highest elapsed time of 3:57:19. Wind-ward Spirit earned the honor at this year’s event of being the

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most improvedcompetitor by earn-ing a finish time of2:19:06. The tophonors for a hus-band and wife teamin the Non-Spinna-ker and Cruiserclass went to Boband Karen Kriegelon their boat Carib-bean Soul with thetrophy for the besthusband and wifeteam in the Spinna-ker class going toHal and LeAnnPickering on theirboat We Be Jammin.The Amanda WernerSpirit of SailingAward went to thesailing team onSundance which ar-rived late to the rac-ing area but still competed in the race.

Beautiful hand-made dinnerware trophies (specially cre-ated by artist Cissy Martin) were given to the first, secondand third place finishers in each class. The big winners of theday, Terry Kreitzberg and his teammate on Big Sky, earnedfirst place overall in the Non-Spinnaker and Cruiser classwhile the “dynamic duo” of Dan Owczarczak and KimKaminski (yours truly) on Applejack earned first place overallin the Spinnaker class.

Results:SPINNAKER - 15.32 milesClass A - 1st - Phaedra - Bob Patroni / Rick Zern 2:08:35; 2nd - We Be Jammin - Hal andLeAnn Pickering 2:09:00; 3rd - Road Tripp - Mark Braxton / David Kellen 2:10:56; 4th -Sirocco - Bruce Lee /2:13:22; 5th - Awesome - Paul Barrett /2:18:13; Class B - 1st - Apple-jack - Dan Owczarczak / Kim Kaminski 2:04:51; 2nd - Achushi - Jessie Mayo / 2:08:43; 3rd- Forever Mind - Pee Wee / 2:09:36; 4th - For Sale - John Burgess /2:09:48; 5th - Dare II -Mike Kirk / 3:57:19; 6th - Roka Dobi - Ron Bray / Roger DNF; NON-SPINNAKER - 14.86miles Class C -1st - Big Sky - Terry Kreitzberg / 1:40:14; 2nd - Carribean Soul - Bob andKaren Kriegel,1:42:05; 3rd - Kanaloa - Mike Beard / 1:48:35; 4th - White Lightning - BobWolfe / 1:51:08; 5th - Aurora - Dick Dunbar / 1:53:11; 6th - Windward Spirit - BuddyTippin / 2:19:06; 7th - Moby - Robert Falkner 2:28:36; 8th - Sundance - Bob Dean; Class D- 1st - Delphina - Jim Pantano / Debbie Stockwell 1:43:42; 2nd - Caddy Wampus - John

Bozeman / 1:48:38 ; 3rd - De Ja Vu - Bill Kraft / 1:57:06; 4th - SAPO - Ryan Lynch / 2:17:33;5th - Parrot Head - Al Greene /DNF; Class E - 1st - Ez-Duz-It - Kim and Julie Connerley1:44:17; 2nd - Land’s End - Jeff Schroeder / 1:57:16; 3rd - Blown Away - Bob Buker /1:58:34; 4th - Don’t Worry - Dave Oerting / Julie Denton 1:58:44; 5th - Corsair - Kelly Rysula/ DNF; Most Improved - Windward Spirit - Buddy Tippin; Amanda Werner Spirit of SailingAward - Sundance - Bob Dean; Husband and Wife Team - Non Spinnaker - Caribbean Soul- Bob and Karen Kriegel; Husband and Wife Team - Spinnaker - We Be Jammin - Hal andLeAnn Pickering; 1st in Fleet Non-Spinnaker - Big Sky - Terry Kreitzberg; 1st in Fleet Spinna-ker - Applejack - Dan Owczarczak and Kim Kaminski

PENSACOLA YACHT CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPSAILBOAT RACING SERIES, PENSACOLA, FL,NOVEMBER 1-2By Kim KaminskiThe Pensacola Yacht Club held the first two races in theirChampionship Sailboat Racing Series on November 1-2. A to-tal of 19 sailboats of various sizes (from the smaller sailingvessels like John Burgess’s For Sale, or Be Gobeli’s Jes-Be-N-Me, to the monster sailboat of Crawford Rainwater’s knownas God Speed) had managed to escape from the shoreline andmake their way out on the waters of Pensacola Bay for a week-end of sailing competition.

Spinnaker class competitors try to capture a light breeze on the the first leg of race number 1 during the Pensacola Yacht ClubChampionship held in Pensacola on November 1. Photo By Kim Kaminski.

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RACING & REGATTAS

The PYC Championship offers sailboat racing competi-tors one more opportunity for a chance to race against theirfellow enthusiasts in the last series regatta of the year in thePensacola area. The race competitors sailed in two classes -Spinnaker (13 boats) and Non-Spinnaker (6 boats). This raceseries welcomes sailors from the different area yacht clubs torace in a total of at least four races over a two weekend pe-riod (November 1-2 and November 15-16). Boats may enterin one or compete in all of the races where trophies will begiven to the top three finishers of the day in each class. How-ever, the overall championship trophy can only be earned bythe top finishing member of the Pensacola Yacht Club.

For the first day of competition, the racers were facedwith an interesting day for sailing. Light winds (3 to 5 knots),a heavy outgoing current, and Indian summer temperatures(up to 82 degrees) greeted the sailors as they made they wayout onto the waters. The race start for the steeplechase coursethat was scheduled for the first day of the series looked like aslow-motion movie of “Let’s go Sailboat Racing .” At one pointin the race both the A and B Spinnaker classes were driftingbackwards towards the starting area, and the Non-Spinna-ker class had to delay its race start. Even a few clever sailorsdropped their anchors to prevent the backwards drift but soonstruggled to get their anchors on board when the very lightbreeze filled in from behind and spinnaker sails started pop-ping up all over the racecourse. The winds were spotty atfirst and slowly began to fill in from the southeast, endingthe day with a steady breeze of 8 to 10 knots. Due to the in-consistent and light breezes the original long distance steeple-chase course was shortened to a six-mile race.

On Sunday, the racers were scheduled to compete in tworaces (both a double windward/leeward course). However,Mother Nature was even more inconsistent with the windsthan the day before. The race committee had to postpone thestart of the first race as they chased the wind around the bay,finally setting the race course up in the southern end ofPensacola Bay where light breezes were more consistent, butthe cross currents were strong. The light breezes slowly diedoff as the afternoon began to wane, and the decision was madeto only complete one race for the day.

Results:Pensacola Yacht Club Championship Race 1 StandingsSPINNAKER - 6.06 miles Class A; 1st - Atlantic Union - Doug Sansom ; 2nd - Latex SolarBeef - Doc Bellows ; 3rd - We Be Jammin - Hal Pickering; 4th - Phaedra - Bob Patroni;5th - God Speed - Crawford Rainwater; 7th - Patriot - Mark Taylor DNC; Class B; 1st -Applejack - Dan Owczarczak; 2nd - For Sale - John Burgess; 3rd - Waz - Ben Myars; 4th -

Roka Dobi - Ron Bray; 5th - Antares - We B DeGuys; 6th - Emotional Rescue - Tom Flaherty;7th - Halcyon - Bob Baxley; NON-SPINNAKER - 6.06 miles; 1st - Sundance - Bob Dean; 2nd- Mariah - Ed Markham; 3rd - Jes Be-N-Me - Be Gobeli; 4th - Carpe Diem - Tom Elliot; 5th- Blown Away - Bob Buker; 6th - White Lightning - Bob Wolfe; Pensacola Yacht Club Cham-pionship Race 2 Standings; SPINNAKER - 4.4 miles; Class A; 1st - Patriot - Mark Taylor; 2nd- Atlantic Union - Doug Sansom; 3rd - We Be Jammin - Hal Pickering; 4th - Latex Solar Beef- Doc Bellows; 5th - Phaedra - Bob Patroni; 6th - God Speed - Crawford Rainwater; Class B;1st - Roka Dobi - Ron Bray; 2nd - Emotional Rescue - Tom Flaherty; 3rd - Waz - Ben Myars;4th - Antares - We B. De Guys; 5th - For Sale - John Burgess; 6th - Applejack - Dan Owczarczak;8th - Halcyon - Bob Baxley, DNC; NON-SPINNAKER - 4.4 miles; 1st - Sundance - Bob Dean;2nd - Carpe Diem - Tom Elliot; 3rd - Mariah - Ed Markham; 4th - Jes-Be-N-Me - Be Gobeli;7th - Blown Away - Bob Buker DNF; 7th - White Lightning - Bob Wolfe DNC

Watch for the final results of the Pensacola Yacht Club Cham-pionship, held Nov. 16., in next month’s issue.

KEY WESTFANTASY FEST REGATTA, SUNDAY OCT. 19KEY WEST, FLBy Rebecca BurgThe once rowdy Wild West resembled a ghost town. Key Westthat is...

In lieu of tumbleweed, clumps of brown Sargasso bobbledin the glassy harbor. Smothered in a hot, dusty tropical haze,the island was silent. Anchored sailboats were scattered about,disorderly and confused by a limp tide and lack of wind. Bowspointed every which way while unseen fin keels and spaderudders toyed with slack rodes. Single-handed cruisers, Defi-ant and Angel, were rafted up, lazily sharing one anchor. Fora few windless weeks, the two sailboats had clung togetherlike lovers in a remote mangrove cove. They had nothing elseto do. It would take cool winds and a loud party to coax thislanguid little island back to life. Near the end of October, that’sprecisely what happened. A mild cold front breezed throughand Key West erupted in glittering color, crowds, costumesand revelry. Fantasy Fest, celebrating its 25th year, is a play-ful, adult-oriented, weeklong party. The festivities extendedover the water as boats hoisted sail for the yearly FantasyFest Regatta. Organized by the local sailing club and the ef-forts of sailors Ivy Gray and Matt Blomberg, the race wel-comed any sailboat over 20 feet in length.

Eager to play, sailboats shook themselves loose, a coolnew wind teasing their sails. Sizing each other up, they con-vened over the aqua harbor. About fifteen knots of northeast-erly breeze and clear subtropical sunshine made the day. Near

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 45

a massive cruise ship engaging in a lifeboat exercise, race par-ticipants timed themselves and shuffled for advantageous po-sitions behind the start. The smaller racers, edgy and swift, pir-ouetted within inches of each other and dashed between beamycruisers. Schooner Dream Catcher, the largest boat in the race,gently shouldered past her much smaller sisters. Defiant, un-usually hyper and over-caffeinated, was obviously compen-sating for weeks of lost sailing time. To assure that her crewwas just as alert, she luffed and flogged me with a jib sheet.

Anticipating the start, boats began to tightly cluster be-hind the line. Ed, alone on the committee boat, gave the signal.The race was on. Like greyhounds released from the gates, sail-boats poured past the start in a mad dash for the first buoy. Onthe cruiser’s course, Moonspinner led the way with Blue Ice tighton her heels. Defiant, pulpit festooned with Fantasy Fest beads,slid behind Blue Ice. Blow Me and Nina scurried into positionbehind the group. Dream Catcher suddenly recovered from aslow start and approached Moonspinner.

The spinnaker-flying racers followed a different course farnorthwest of the cruisers. Some of the racers seemed to clingtogether while Rage, a tall, dark and handsome visitor, foughtto recover a late start. Sassy Lil Rascal worked to maintain herground in the midst of notorious speedsters BlaBlaBla, Thin Iceand Class Act.

On the cruiser’s downwind leg, sailboats were wing-on-wing, slowed and rolling over the pale luminous blue. DreamCatcher lost her valuable ground. The stately schooner sails thedance. Moonspinner and Blue Ice still battled for the lead. BlowMe stealthily crept up to Defiant, who slowed after her tele-scoping whisker pole collapsed a few times. Bouncing overungainly waves, affable little Nina remained near the rear. Witha significant handicap, the classic sailboat’s position was de-ceptive. The racers slipped over the finish while the cruisersfollowed. A few boats had tight schedules to adhere to and sailedoff course, unable to finish.

Sailors met that evening at scenic Schooner Wharf for food,spirits and awards. As the electric orange Key West sun fellinto the Gulf of Mexico, Ed announced the Fantasy Fest racewinners. Enthused sailors remained after sunset, recalling theday’s adventures. Enjoying the nighttime view, I watched schoo-

ner America materialize out of the darkness. Absolute elegance,she calmly slid bowsprit first into her slip. Content but tired tour-ists clunked down the gangway and stumbled onto solid groundwhile the schooner’s crew tucked her in for the night.

Heard before she was seen, wooden schooner Western Unioneased stern first into her slip. A small pusher dinghy aided thebeautiful schooner like a tiny worker ant tending to her royalqueen. A sailor could never tire of watching the tall ships andclassic boats that sailed local waters. Soon it was time to jumpinto the dinghy and go home. A long Fantasy Fest week awaited.

Results:Spinnaker: 1st - Thin Ice, 2nd - BlaBlaBla, 3rd - Class Act, 4th - Sassy Lil Rascal, dnf - Rage;Cruising: (non-spinnaker): 1st - Moonspinner, 2nd - Nina, 3rd - Defiant, 4th - Blue Ice, 5th -Blow Me, dnf - Dream Catcher

WEST MARINE SEMINARS(Call your local West Marine store for other seminars)

Fort Lauderdale Store2300 So. Federal Highway (954) 527-5540

What: Tuesday Nights 7:00 p.m. All Tuesday night semi-nars are FREE at our FlagShip Store - 2300 South FederalHighway in Fort Lauderdale. Please feel welcome to callus for more information and seminar subjects anytime at(954) 527-5540.

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com46

SHORT TACKS

REEF WORLD TO OPEN AT REEF RELIEFBy Joel Biddle, Reef Relief educational directorReef Relief is planning a new educational experience for Key West.It’s called Reef World. Reef Relief’s gift store will move just aroundthe corner to Reef Relief’s Environmental Center on the board-walk of the Historic Seaport. Reef World will open where thestore used to be at the foot of William Street. A video-viewingarea, an interactive computer station, a children’s activity area,an information and reference library for adults, and a classroomarea for presentations-all these elements-will be combined to-gether to make Reef World a powerful and very enjoyable edu-cational experience for residents and visitors of all ages who areinterested in discovering the wonders of our magical underwa-ter world.

“Reef World offers the opportunity for our children to havea dedicated area to learn about coral reefs and the need to pro-tect them,” says Joel Biddle, Reef Relief’s educational director.“It will also provide a forum for the general public with cuttingedge ideas about coral reef ecosystems and efforts under way tosave them. Reef Relief will provide specialized sessions for teach-ers as well as students, hotel staff and their guests, civic organi-zations, and let’s not forget our day visitors who are planningon-the-water activities.”

At Reef World, no visitor will go away empty-handed. Fish-ing and boating information, Reef Relief teacher kits, Coral Reefguides for students, and more, will be readily available. In addi-tion to videos, slide shows, and DVDs already available at ReefRelief, new multi-media projects will enhance the activities atReef World.

The opening date for Reef World is expected by year’s endin December. Sponsors and volunteers are needed to help reno-vate the new facility, set up media stations, and to host visitorsonce the center is open.

Reef Relief is a non-profit membership organization dedi-cated to preserve and protect living coral reef ecosystems throughlocal, regional and global efforts. All contributions are tax-de-ductible to the fullest extent of the law. Gift memberships areavailable, and the on-line store features eco-friendly gifts for theholidays. For further information, contact Reef Relief atwww.reefrelief.org, [email protected], or (305) 294-3100.

TYBEE ISLAND BEACH CATS MARATHONSThe Tybee Island Sailing Association, organizers of the success-ful Tybee 500 that debuted last May, has teamed up with theOuter Banks Catamaran Club to produce two back-to-back five-

hundred-mile races starting next year. The contests will form anew 1000-mile annual challenge called the Atlantic 1000. Ac-cording to race organizers, these two events, the Tybee 500 andthe Outer Banks 500, will culminate in a third award honoringthe sailors with the best-combined time for both.

Race registration will begin on January 1, 2004, with surfsailors given the choice of entering either or both events. TheTybee 500 will run the same course as last year from Islamorada,FL, to Tybee Island, GA, May 10-15. The Outer Banks 500 willstart on May 17 where the Tybee leaves off, ending at Kill DevilHills, NC, on May 22.

Each race will have five mandatory checkpoints betweenstart and finish classes and will consist of 18- and 20-foot pro-duction catamarans, factory spinnaker-rigged with beams of nomore than 8.5 feet, including Inter 20, Nacra 6.0, Hobie 20, andthe NAF 18. Web site addresses are:www.tybee500.com, www.obx500.com, www.atlantic1000.com.

2004 USEPPA ISLAND CATBOAT RENDEZVOUS The Fifth Biennial Useppa Island, FL, Catboat Rendezvous willtake place over the weekend of January 30-February 1, 2004.Withcatboating as a common denominator, it should be a fantasticweekend.

The 15-foot Marshall Sandpiper World Championships willtake place again this year. Most likely the 22-foot Marshall WorldChampionships will be held, too; and maybe the 18-footMarshall Sanderling Midwinters, if we have enough catboats.

You don’t need to have a Sandpiper or even be fromFlorida to attend this event. Bring your catboat if you can. Ifnot, just come and savor the tranquility of a real island off thesouthwest Florida coast. You will be able to crew with some-one as the boats sail around Pine Island Sound, be part of therace committee, maybe crew in the races, or watch from a spec-tator boat. Racing will take place most of the day Saturdayand Sunday morning.

In addition there will be a Friday night pot luck beach party,a Saturday morning guided tour of Useppa, finishing up at theUseppa Museum, a Saturday night fish fry dinner at Useppa’shistoric Tarpon Bar, and brunch after the races on Sunday. Itwill be a time to renew old friendships and make new ones.

You do not have to be a member of the Catboat Associationto attend this rendezvous, though you are encouraged to joinby mailing the Catboat Association, P.O. Box 246, Cataumet,MA 02534 (Initiation fee $30.00, yearly membership $20.00). Orvisit the Web site at www.catboats.org.

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003 47

SOUTHERN SAILOR (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34)

people stopped by just to look at Pat and talk with the womanwho had lifted two modern-day castaways from the depths ofdespair to the heights of happiness with courtesy, friendliness,skill, imagination and generosity.

At the Crow’s Nest Regatta in Venice at the start of Octoberof this year I ran into one of the guys who had been down therein the Dry Tortugas 25 years ago. He may have been on theIrwin. He may not have. I can’t recall. He reminded me of theincident. He had not forgotten.

Neither had he forgotten what Pat was known as the rest ofthe time we were all there...The Flambé Lady of the Dry Tortugas,a legend in her own time. If people wonder why some peoplelike sailing so much, this story exemplifies one of the reasons.

FLAMBÉ LADY (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 54)

So down came the mainsail, all over the heads of the threesailors on the lead Thistle.

“You idiots!” loudly shouted the Thistler. Flailing around,rocking the boat and generally pretending to get the sail backup, they acknowledged the rest of the fleet as they sailed bygleefully.

Whereupon, of course, the champ pulled his mainsail upand turned back to the mark to win yet again.

THE DEEP WATER MARKIn some areas, racing marks have to be placed in really deep

water. Lake Lanier has some deep spots. Marks are usuallyplanned for the tops of old hills. Sometimes at low water thoseshallow spots become a parking lot of grounded boats when anRC doesn’t do its homework. Don’t ask how I know.

How do you set a mark in 300 feet of water or more? It isno problem unless you need to move the mark during a race.Tough to find volunteers for that job.

So the technique was developed to use normal inflatedmarks attached to heavy monofilament fishing line. Small leadsinkers were attached every 50 feet or so. If the mark needed tobe reset, they would simply cut the fishing line and let it sink tothe ooze far below, move the mark and set another cheap con-crete home-made “anchor” with new fishing line.

One popular race the lead boat got to the windward mark,only to cut it too close and snag the mark with its rudder as itturned off the wind.

Try as they may, they couldn’t shake that mark with thenearly invisible line around the rudder shaft. However, as theyheaded off the wind, the very long line in several hundred feetof water allowed the mark to come right along with them.

The second-place boat easily made that moving mark.Then the third and fourth boat cut the corner and started forthe moving mark. Finally other boats had to reach well off tomake it. Then the middle of the fleet boats that were not pre-viously laying the mark at all said, “All right!” and could nowlay the mark.

Suddenly the mark sank below the surface and broke loosefrom the rudder. The stretched fishing line then hurled the markback upwind with dispatch.

All those boats that were reaching off for the mark, all ofthose skippers who were gleefully looking at serendipity, now,to their vocal dismay, found the mark well to windward again,in its original position.

The lead boat did its obligatory circle and sailed on.How would you like to be on that protest committee?

A FINN SAILOR’S SAGAThe Finn is an Olympic one-person boat that is not for the

faint of heart. It is heavy by today’s standards with one big sail.It has been said that if a Finn sailor is not bruised and bleedingby the end of a race, he is not sailing well enough.

While there are doubtless some very bright Finn sailors, asa group they are not known for their attention to cerebral mat-ters.

Before the Savannah Olympics there was SPORT, St. Pe-tersburg Olympic Regatta Training. A then-new trapezoid racecourse was introduced. The Finn fleet all started together andthen independently wandered around several race courses ran-domly rounding marks. It is not known whether any of themactually finished the prescribed course.

One sailor melted lead to pour into his hull so that it would

measure in. However, it was noticed that he used a St. Pete Sail-ing Center pot to boil the lead in and then dutifully put it backup on the shelf. We tossed it, of course.

One Finn sailor of note drove in from California but wasnot able to sail. His boat and trailer were all bashed in. How didit happen? It seems that he had driven as far as the middle ofArizona when the trailer’s bearings gave up. He needed parts.The next town was on up the interstate several miles, so he un-hitched the trailer and boat off the side of the highway and tooledon up to get the needed parts. Finn sailors are used to fixingthings, including themselves.

By the time he started back up the highway to retrieve thetrailer, it was dark. On the map he noticed that there were noexits for a considerable distance beyond where the trailer wasstashed. If he drove west to that exit and then back east to theboat, he would be traveling perhaps 50 miles extra distance, so,being an innovative Finn sailor, he simply drove the wrong wayup the interstate. There wasn’t much traffic. When he wouldsee another car coming he simply went off into the grass, turnedthe headlights off and kept on going.

This worked pretty well. He was making progress back tothe trailer, occasionally having to pull over and flip off the lights.

Once there were several cars and trucks in a clump comingat him, so he did the usual thing over into the grass.

Suddenly there was a mighty CRASH.You guessed it. He had run into his own boat.

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com48

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003

CLASSIFIED ADS for $5 PER MONTHALL ADS UNDER 30 WORDS FOR PRIVATELY-OWNED BOATS, GEAR AND PRIVATELY-OWNED DOCK/SLIPS FOR RENT.THREE MONTH MINIMUM, $15 whether ad canceled or not. Add $5 per month for photos, same minimum policy.

Check or credit cards accepted. Mail or e-mail ads by the 10th of the month.All photos must be sent electronically or the actual photo — no photocopies.

Photos must be horizontal, not vertical, otherwise add $10. All ad text e-mailed must be in upper and lower case, not caps.Ad is cancelled after 3 months unless renewed. Sailboats and trawlers only please.

The last month your ad runs is in parentheses at the end of the ad. You must call by the 10th of that month to renew for another 3 months.Call (941) 795-8704, e-mail to [email protected], or mail to PO Box 1175 Holmes Beach FL 34218-1175.

ALL ADS GO ON THE INTERNET, AND YOUR WEB SITE OR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE AD WILL BE LINKED BY CLICKING ON IT.

“In August, you began running an advertisement to sell my diesel engine in your classifieds section. I am pleased to advise you thatI have a buyer as a result of the advertisement. Please discontinue it. FYI, I have also had inquiries from West Africa and France asa result of the Internet ad you made available. I’m MAJOR impressed!! Thank you very much.” Capt C.T., St. Petersburg, FL

C L A S S I F I E D A D S

DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDSAdvertise your businessin a displayad inthe classifieds section. Sold by

the column inch. 2 inches minimum.(3 column inches is 1/8 page)

Monthly Cost Minimum TotalAds Per Inch Inches Cost

12 $17 2" $346 $20 2" $403 $23 2" $461 $27 2" $54

BOATS & DINGHIES

8' Thunderbird yacht dinghy. For sailors and row-ers. Aluminum mast and boom. Dacron Sail. Xlnt.Condition. $800. (352) 563-0022 (2/04)

1978 15' Mutineer Centerboard, daysailer. 1-Mainsail, 1- Working jib, reconditioned trailer.Ready to go sailing. $950. (601)[email protected] (1/04)

For Sale 17' O’Day Sailor (type II) $2,195 orOBO. Modified for single handed sailing withRoller Furling, Tiller Tender, Electric Trollingmotor, and topping lift. Custom cockpit cush-ions, custom cockpit cover, main sail cover.Depth sounder / fish finder. Two sets of sails.Two head stays. EZ load Trailer. Call Glenn at(813) 949 0341 (1/04)

FLYING SCOT 19’ Very attractively priced newboats used only for the Adams Cup finals. Race-rigged and professionally tuned. Includes NorthSails main, jib,spinnaker, and galvanized trailerAvailable in late October at Lake Norman, NC.For details Call (800)-864-7208 (12/03)

Buccaneer 18' daysailor/racer. Two mains & jibs,one chute, 2HP OB, trailer, all new top notch run-ning rigging, Harken hardware, great condition. Afast, fun, and easy boat to sail. $2,900. Dan (941)758-7276 or [email protected] (2/04)

19' Lightning 1975 Allen - 12612 New mast 5/03,new rudder, all new lines, lots of new rigging withNorth sails. Pictures available, $2900. Firm. 813-818-4596 or [email protected] (2/04)

1980 Skipper 20' Shallow-draft sloop and trailer.3 sails, self-bailing with motor well, displacement2,000 lbs. Adult v-berths, opening ports, andquarter berths. $2100 OBO. Stuart FL (772) 878-4721 (1/04)

1973 21' Reynolds Catamaran Great Beach cat.Good Condition. Needs a little TLC. Call for de-tails. Includes continental trailer. $2200 OBO.Must Sell. (239) 765-4433. Ft. Myers Beach (1/04)

Catalina 22 10hp, autohelm, gps, ladder, ff, com-pass, kt meter,vhf, am/fm, potty, bilge pump, so-lar, boom kicker, vang, trailer, new main, bimini,covers, hull paint, companionway, $4500 850-678-4478 (2/04)

Hunter 212 (2000) 21' centerboard mini-cruiser or greatdaysailor with large cockpit. Bimini, 5 hp outboard,compass, front hatch, cockpit cushions, porta-potti,cooler and more! $ 7,800. obo 941-721-4452 (2/04)

86 SEAWARD 22, 8’4" Beam, 1’11" Draft, WingKeel, Fully Battened Main, Furling Head Sails, 8hpHonda 2001 Four Stroke, Autopilot, Depth Gauge,VHF, AM/FM, Trailer, $8,995. Titusville,[email protected], (321) 264-0101 (2/04)

1981 Hunter 22' w/1997 Honda 8hp OB, cabinsleeps 4, porta-potty, 3 sails, boat is in great condi-tion and ready to sail! $4500 negotiable. PanamaCity, FL 850-769-0427 (2/04)

23' Tempest Oday Excellent Condition, four sails,9.9 Johnson Sailmaster Outboard, Head, GPS,VHF, Depth Finder, Trailer, Too many extras tolist. $4,000. Located Long Beach MS (1/04)

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December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com

23' Hunter sloop w/15hp electric-start Evinrude andtrailer. Draft board. Interior needs a little work. Ill-ness forces sale. Sacrifice $3000 (352) 563-0022 (2/04)

23' Ranger, Gary Mull ultralight, centerboard flyer,with full battens in as-new mainsail. 4-wheel galv.trailer. $4,000. Will take day-sailer as down-pay-ment. 941-330-0685 (2/04)

Glass Bottom Boat 25’ tour vessel. Built 1997 inNova Scotia. ’99 Honda 130hp OB. Eight 2' X 2'glass windows w/steel safety hatches. Shallowdraft. Pristine condition. $45,000 USD. (902)354-3610 (12/03)

O’Day 25 - 7 sails, roller furler, (4) cockpit winches,(2) halyard winches, VHF, D/S, compass,knotmeter, autopilot, 1993 9.9-hp Yamaha 4-stroke, two-axle easy load trailer, $8,800(941)575-7839 (1/04)

1983 Horizon 26 Sloop 9.9 Yamaha, 6’1" head-room, full galley, enclosed head, 4 berths, shoaldraft, teak interior, fast, seaworthy, new bottompaint, bimini, top shape. $6500.00. (727) 585-6681 (1/04)

1973 Catalina 27, tall mast, extra heavy duty rig-ging, internal halyards, 5 winches,2 opening ports,sleeps 6, good cushions, main, jib, and spinnaker,head has holding tank, atomic 4 removed and setup for outboard, clean bottom and boat, sell for bestcash offer (361) 442-9351 [email protected] (2/04)

J-27 (1985) Joe Cool Excellent condition. NewNorth 3DL Genoa. Quantum sails in great condi-tion. New bottom. Many extras. Very clean. Wellmaintained. Located in Coconut Grove. $15,000.Lionel Baugh at (917) 821-3308/(305) 969-8107or email at [email protected] (1/04)

28' RANGER, IMMACULATE, FRESHWATERMAINTAINED RACER CRUISER WITH $16,000 INRECENT IMPROVEMENTS, 12 SAILS, NEWYANMAR CALL 770-619-4002 [email protected] (1/04)

28' Lindenberg, 1983. Excellent all around raceboat. Refurbished in 2000. New mast, rigging,main & #2. 5 Sails, Tuff Luff, Cushions, Potti. AllRace Equipment Included. Faired bottom. Drysailed. Trailer included. $13,500. Call Paul (727)327-5361 or (727) 576-2424 (12/03)

28' Coronado 1975, Sailmaster 9.9 motor, greatshape, new bottom, sail cover and bimini, largeinterior, separate head, sleeps 6. ready to sail. Ask-ing $10,000. Apollo Beach (813) 649-1811

C L A S S I F I E D A D S

50

7' Hunter, Yanmar diesel runs well, shore power,aircond, bow & stern pulpits, dbl lifelines, $5,900Miss. Coast [email protected] (12/03)

1984 Hunter 27 well maintained sailboat, wheelsteering, roller furling and inboard diesel engine.9’3' beam and 6’1' headroom. Second ownerfrom new. Moored at St. Pete Marina. Asking$12,950 - call 813-817-0104 (12/03)

27’ Catalina, roller furling jib, 8hp Honda, newerinterior, new Bimini, depth/fish finder, VHF Ra-dio, auto and manual bilge pumps, dinette model,in water, $6500 Call Ken 727-327-1813 (12/03)

Newport 27 Sailboat - 1976 Great Condition.Sail the Coast and the Caribbean in style. NewSails, Radar, DGPS, Autohelm, Windpilot, ColorSounder, Atomic 4. Pensacola, FL 850 393-7009http://www.net5.com/newport27 (12/03)

1973 Albin Vega 27, 3’ 10” draft. Volvo 10 hpdiesel. R.F. Jib, full batten main w/lazy jacks.dodger, UHF, GPS, DF, knotmeter, excellent condi-tion. Great sailer. $10,500, (239) 337-4977 (1/04)

27' Catalina Sailboat ’84 Diesel Wheel, bimini, en-closure, autopilot, radar, pressure water, propane stove,wind generator, refrig, dinghy, davits, fantastic up-grades, just back from 4 mo. in Bahamas. specs pic-tures at www.geocities.com/catalina_5477, WPB FL561-547-0500, eve 561-281-2689, $15,800 OBO (1/04)

For Classified Ad InfoSee page 49

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003

C L A S S I F I E D A D S

1984 J29 Masthead/Inboard diesel. New bottom,new sails plus delivery sails. VHF, CD, Auto pilot,battery charger, knotmeter, depth, sailcomp, allsafety gear and much more.$24,500 call Jeff (251) 533-7906. (12/03)

Farr 30 Updated & Harkenized. New Paint,Graphs, Rigging, Sails, Bottom. Includes Trailer.Pictures: www.rushteam.com. $17,000. 615-371-4700 (2/04)

2001 Maine Cat 30 (www.mecat.com)Screecher, spinnaker, davits, radar, map GPSlinked to autopilot, solar panels on hardtop, fullplastic or screen enclosure, 2' draft. lying CC, TX$155,000. (361) 215-4340 (1/04)

J-30 Hull 279 1981 Ready to race, cruise. sleeps6. Mylar Genoa, jib, main, spinnaker, New coredcabin roof, new faired bottom, new compasses,Yanmar diesel. reduced to $19,900. (954) 684-2869, (954) 401-8892 (1/04)

CAL 31 1980 Freshwater since new. Lite use.Many upgrades in 2002. Located near Atlanta,Ga. $27,500 Call (770) 540-9796 (1/04)

32' Pearson Vanguard Classic in great shape andvery well equipped: Yanmar, Harken Furling, NewSails, equipped to cruise see www.dneve.com/sultana or call (305) 772-7218, $24,000 (1/04)

2000 Catalina 320 Excellant condition,davits,new RIB, Cruiseair AC, full description and picsat boattraderonline.com $84,500 call Garry 912-355-5818 or [email protected] (1/04)

1998 PDQ 32' Catamaran. Set up for cruising. Ex-cellent condition. RIB with OB. Asym Spin. LyingBiloxi, MS. $129,500 call (228) 326-9425. (2/04)

Pearson 33 1986 hull #16 Draft 3’10' w/cb, per-fect for racing or cruising the shallow waters ofBahamas & Florida. a/c, davits, refrigerator, manyextras; documented, asking $41,[email protected]; (239) 549 2849 (2/04)

1986 ENDEAVOUR 33’, Yanmar, R/F, A/P,GPS, VFH, Propane, SSB, Davits, Dodger, AC,RIB w/OB, asking $47,300 OBO, see atwww.geocities.com/captaincarrier/ourboat.htmle-mail: [email protected], or call (727)821-3922. (12/03)

Hunter 33 1980,4' draft,sleeps 6,roller furling,diesel, electronics, A/C. New refrigeration,Autohelm, 100 amp alternator, charger, freshpaint.Coast Guard inspected.Pristine! $25,000.(941)235-1890 (12/03)

Tartan 34 1971 Very good condition. Wellequipped for cruising or racing. New inflatable.All included. $14,000. Ken (239) [email protected] (12/03)

1983 C & C 35 Mk III Great Cruiser/Racer,Yanmar, 11 sails, Bunks for 7, Stove with oven,A/C (’00), Refrig (’00), Feathering Prop (’03), SelfTailing Winches, Harken Roller Furler, Bimini, Cov-ers for everything, Autopilot, New Batteries, etc.,etc. This boat needs nothing. $ 62K. (504) 392-0840 or [email protected] (1/04)

1984 Cal 35-MarkII (5' draft) 32hp Diesel, Fullycruise and liveaboard equipped with A/C/heat,microwave, stall shower, etc. Numerous recentupgrades and parts replaced. [email protected] or (941) 505-1558.NO BROKERS PLEASE. (2/04)

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December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com

dwyermast.com • Masts • Booms • Hardware • Rigging

DWYERAluminum Mast Co.203-484-0419

36’ Bruce Roberts Steel Hull Welded to road-ready trailer. An economical beginning for a seri-ous bluewater cruiser. This hull is fair and profes-sionally welded. $5000. (904) 476 3353. (1/04)

36' Catalina, 1988, wing keel, new dodger, can-vas, cushions inside and out, Gunert Refrig. Elec.Windlass, davits, Garmin Chartplotter, LPG Stove,custom A/C, custom bowsprit, excellent condition,$69,000. (941) 330-1222 (2/04)

37' 1989 Hunter 37 Legend Is fast and comfort-able and gives you the perfect weekender orcruiser. Equipment includes: depth, autopilot, 2VHFs, battery charger/inverter, dodger, bimini,and more. $69,000 (727) 363-1124. (1/04)

38' ALUMINUM S&S Design SloopBuilt 1972, by Minnefords. Owned/raced by TedTurner in 1973 Admirals Cup. Converted toliveaboard. (503) [email protected], for pictures, info. (12/03)

Beneteau 38 1990 model new genoa, Icom SSB,compass, inverter & more. Laying Tortola, BVI.$62,000. [email protected] or (305)-310-4653 (1/04)

Ericson 38 1981 Good condition. Recently sur-veyed. Autohelm, refrigeration, dinghy w/ob,dodger, bimini, gps, 2 VHFs, roller furling justrebuilt, Nice interior, very fast comfortable cruiser/racer. West Florida, $53,900/OBO Cortez YachtSales (941) 792-9100 (2/04)

38' 1999 Catalina 380, full electronics, centrala/c, autopilot, dinghy and outboard, many ex-tras, excellent condition, located in Ft. Lauder-dale, $138,000, (954) 475-8460 or email [email protected] (2/04)

Ericson 39 1978 rebuilt 2002, surveyed. Allnew38 hp diesel, electrics, plumbing, windlass, au-topilot, canvas. Plus dinghy, o/board, etc$49,500. Private sale. Andrew (954) 524-4765,e-mail [email protected] (1/04)

Condor 40 Many recent upgrades including newCalvert Main,2000 Genoa, new Bimini, 1999 twinYamaha 9.9’s, new halyards, new Raymarinespeed & depth, Yanmar genset, $72,000. [email protected] or call (281) 218-0026.(1/04)

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C L A S S I F I E D A D S

41' Gulfstar ketch 1973 cruising equipped,ready to go. 2002 - 10 barrier coats andStrataglass enclosed bimini, lived aboard 14years, selling medical reasons, photos, details:$55,000 www.shevard.com (904)284-9986X2040 (12/03)

41' Downeaster Pilot House. 1980 one owner.AC New sail, Main, Liveaboard , propane stove,elect. Refrig. 67hp Ford Leiman Engine. 200 gal.Watertank, GPS, Single SB, 2 cabins. $59,000.Mr. Hall (813) 645-6985 (2/04)

BOOKS & CHARTSOcean Routing – Jenifer Clark’s Gulf Stream BoatRouting/Ocean Charts by the “best in the busi-ness.” (301) 952-0930, fax (301) 574-0289 or www.erols.com/gulfstrm

Pier 17 Charts & PublicationsDMA-NOAA-TOPOS-NTM-Textbooks. South’slargest nautical store at 4619 Roosevelt Blvd.,Jacksonville, FL 32210. (904) 387-4669 (800)332-1072 Fax (904) 389-1161

BUSINESS/INVESTMENTOPPORTUNITIES

Sabre Sails is expanding its dealer network. Ifyou are interested in a rewarding business with afun side, call (850) 244-0001 or [email protected]

Sailtime.com is looking for base operators on theFlorida coast. This may suit existing marine busi-ness owners who wish to add an additional incomestream. Sailtime is a unique business model thatrequires minimal capital and no staff. Tel. (813) 817-0104 or [email protected]

CREW AVAILABLEVisit Southwinds new boat and crewlisting ser-vice at southwindssailing.com

LOCAL NEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS Southwinds December 2003

CREW WANTEDVisit Southwinds new boat and crewlisting ser-vice at southwindssailing.com

ELECTRONICSSeaTech Systems – Computerized navigation &communication. Call for free Cruiser’s Guide tothe Digital Nav Station and CAPN demo disk.(800) 444-2581 or (281) 334-1174,[email protected], www.sea-tech.com

Best Prices – Solar panels,wind generators, chargecontrollers, deep cyclebatteries, solar panel and windgenerator mounting hardware.Authorized dealer for Siemens,Kyocera, Solarex, and Uni-Solar solar panels, AirMarine wind generator, Deka, Trojan, andSurrette deep cycle batteries.™ Toll free (877)432-2221 www.e-marine-inc.com

MISCELLANEOUSBOAT GEAR

NEW & USED

Teak boards, anchors - Fortress FX23, Danforths,Deltas, Bruce, DQR, Aqua Finn Sailboat, Miragesailboard, Dyer Sailing Dinghy, Navico PT 100(new) Tiller Pilot, Autohelm 4000 wheel Pilot,Walker Bay Dinghy. Nautical Trader (941) 488-0766. www.nauticaltrader.net/ (12/03)

Wheels CustomLeathered –Satisfactionguaranteed, 1 yearwarranty. Free turkshead. Over 100satisfied customerslast year. ContactRay Glover atSunrise Sails Plus(941) 721-4471 [email protected]

Dahon Stainless Steel 3-sp Folding Bikes Greatcondition $450 pair, Pur-35 manual watermakernever used new $550, Used Magma propane grill$60, email Jim @[email protected] (1/04)

Excellent 34’7" Aluminum Mast 3’6" spreaders,12' 8" boom, 11’10" whisker pole. Mainsail, 3-reefs, 3 winches, 15 mast steps, rigging, insu-lated backstay, can deliver. Make offer. Call (863)675-4244. (1/04)

Spinnaker Pole 15’x4" with 2 piston ends. Verygood. $350 OBO (772) 878-4721 (1/04)

Dripless PackingProven high-techpropeller and rudderpacking that outlasts allother packings and isvirtually dripless. Easy toinstall. Bilges stay dry.Won’t damage shafts.Economical. Dealerinquiries welcome. TollFree (877) 432-2221 orwww.e-marine-inc.com

Feathering Propeller, Adjustable pitch, two

blades 16"x4", shaft 1 1/8" x 35" + prop. $350OBO, (772) 878-4721 (1/04)

Honda 9.9 HP 4 stroke outboard, 2000, 8" shaft,elect. start , 6 amp alt. output for battery charg-ing. Exc. cond./ low hrs. Only $1550. ($2939new) (941) 505-9772 (1/04)

GPS New Garmin Street Pilot III (deluxe). Por-table GPS w/ auto routing and voice. IncludesCD-Rom, mounts, data card, etc. Great for boatand/or car! $600 obo. 386-426-5978 (1/04)

SSMR INC. Visit our Consignment Shop andChandlery. Of special note: see the AQUA DUTCHinflatable reviewed in October’s Cruising Worldrated “Best quality for the price.” We are the westcoast of Florida’s dealer support network, andhave over 100 boats in stock ready to price andship. Come see us for all your marine needs orempty your locker with us and add to your cruisingfund. Call (727) 823-4800 or Fax (727) 823-3270,“A cruiser friendly shop” [email protected]

Two Maxwell winches, 3 1/4H by 2 1/4D. Bothfor $100. New heavy duty spinnaker car withtrack. $100. (850) 932-6742 (12/03)

OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASEOffice and warehouse space available for leaseto marine related businesses. Great for boat bro-kers or sales representatives. High speed internetaccess. JSI (727) 577-3220

SAILING INSTRUCTION

SAILS & CANVAS

SAILS & CANVAS

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USED SAILS SAVE $$$ 1000s of headsails, mains& spinnakers. We ship everywhere, satisfactionguaranteed. We also buy sails. Sail Exchange.(800) 628-8152. 407 Fullerton Ave. NewportBeach CA 92663 www.sailexchange.com See Dis-play ad in Index of Advertisers

Hong Kong Sail Makers CruisingSail Specialists Top Quality, BestPrice Delivery 2 - 3 WeeksDial international code (011)(852) 2789 1938(852) 2789 3155(FAX) E-mail: [email protected]

C L A S S I F I E D A D S

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Air Duck 19Aqua Graphics 50Atlantic Sails 16Banks Sails 52Beneteau Sailboats BCBeta Marine 41Bluewater Insurance 12Bluewater Sailing Supply 13Boaters Exchange 3BoatUS 37Bob and Annie’s Boatyard 22Bo’sun Supplies 44Bubba Book 14Carson/Beneteau BCCortez Yacht Sales 48Crow’s Nest Restaurant & Marina 3Cruising Direct Sails 18Davis Maritime Surveying 43Defender Industries 52Dockside Radio 11Don’s Salvage 45Dwyer mast 52Eastern/Beneteau BCFinish Line Multihulls 41First Patriot Insurance 26Fleetside Marine Service 50Flying Scot Sailboats 51Ft. Pierce Yacht Club 49Fujinon 28Garhauer Hardware 10Glacier Bay Refrigeration 28Great Outdoors Publishing 20Grin Designs/Scully 34Harken Gear 9Hong Kong Sailmakers 40Hotwire/Fans and other products 51Hunter Sailboats 17Island Marine Products 46JR Overseas/Moisture Meter 27Massey Yacht Sales 7,24,29,35,45,IBCMasthead Enterprises 3,25,53Murray Yacht Sales/Beneteau BCNational Sail Supply 42Nautical Trader 38North Sails 14Pasadena Marina 40Performance Sail & Sport 11Regata del Sol al Sol 21ReMax Real Estate/Angie Jones 16Rparts Refrigeration 34Sabre Sails 36Sail Covers & More 53Sail Exchange/Used Sails 44Sailboat Row/Salt Creek Marine District 27Sailor’s Soap 11,14,39Sailtime 51Sarasota Youth Sailing Program 48Schurr Sails 42Scurvy Dog Marine 43Sea School 39Sea Tech 47Snoop Sails & Canvas 38Snug Harbor Boats 13St. Barts/Beneteau BCSteve Smith Mobile Rigging (SSMR) 46Suncoast Inflatables 31Surrette (Rolls) batteries 8Tackle Shack 23UK Sails 19Ullman sails 20Weathermark sailing 15West Marine IFC, 33Windcraft Catamarans 8

December 2003 Southwinds www.southwindssailing.com54

It was 25 years ago this past Columbus Day, on October 12,1978, when three inexperienced sailors set out for the DryTortugas from Longboat Pass. I was one of those sailors, and

it was upon my boat that the three of us were sailing. The trioincluded Ray Aubrey, who now lives in Palmetto, Patricia (Pat)Clark, whose last name in now Odham, who lives in Fort Lau-derdale, and this writer.

Ray was a nearby neighbor in Bradenton and a close friend.Pat had been my next door neighbor when we both lived inAspen in the 1960s.

With a quarter century more experience now than I hadthen, plus a Coast Guard masters license that I now hold, I cringeat the naiveté I exhibited back in 1978 when the idea of the tripfirst entered my brain. For navigation, we used dead reckoningand a borrowed Vecta, which was a RDF steering device thathad the frequency crystal for the Loggerhead Key light radiobeacon in the Dry Tortugas. You pointed the Vecta in the gen-eral direction you wanted to go, listened to the sound it emit-ted and then took the compass course in the direction wherethe sound was least audible. That direction was called the “null.”

After weathering a squall line on the way down and get-ting the roller furling on my boat jammed so we couldn’t furl itup, we had to sail in the same direction as the wind for hours tokeep the sail from shredding. No one was dumb enough to wantto go onto the foredeck at night to try to fix it. Lucky thing, too.

With the roller furling problem corrected in better condi-tions and the light of day, we meandered our way down to theDry Tortugas in about 56 hours. Our sailing skills were not ex-actly razor sharp. There is an old saying about God protectingfools and drunkards, and I think that came into play in bothcategories. When we got there, we sailed across one of the reefs andmanaged to catch a kingfish with the fishing gear we were trolling.

We had the kingfish for dinner that night. It was delicious.Clueless, I also anchored the boat in a very dangerous place,we found out later, as the first front of the season hit us thatnight and put a lee shore right behind us. The next day, aftermuch deliberation and lots of talking out just what we had todo, we put up the main with a reef in it, used the engine wherewe could and motor-sailed off the two anchors we had put out.It takes but a few words to tell of that here, but it took hours toaccomplish successfully. It was very scary.

Eventually, we found our way into the anchorage at Gar-den Key. Protected from the northwesterly winds we had beengetting by the land mass of Bush Key and the looming pres-ence of Fort Jefferson, the anchorage was rough by Dry Tortugasstandards, but mill pond smooth compared to what we hadjust gotten away from.

We got the anchor down and settled in. The winds howledin the rigging, but we were safe. I offered up a few thanks tothe heavens for any spiritual help, real or imagined, that hadcome our way.

We were not the only boat there. There were probably a

The Flambé Lady ofthe Dry TortugasBy Morgan Stinemetz

Lady Patricia, theflambé lady of the DryTortugas. Photo byMorgan Stinemetz

dozen or so others. One was a commercial shrimper. If a boat thatbig was in there, these guys knew it was real ugly out on thewater. There was a lovely sloop there with some equally lovelywomen on it, watched over by one of the girls’ fathers. Anchoredto our east, kind of off by its lonesome, was an Irwin 32-1/2-footketch with a center cockpit. It was out of Venice.

There were things to do in the Dry Tortugas. We fished withno success. We toured Fort Jefferson, making the trip over fromthe boat in an Eagle inflatable I had bought for a song. It hadRay’s minuscule Sears outboard on the back. I forgot how thefirst night went, but I remember that it was windy enough to flipover the dinghy with Ray’s outboard attached. The next morningRay was faced with cleaning out the saltwater from the engine.He got a break from the park rangers at Fort Jefferson, becausethey gave him some freshwater to use, there being no freshwateravailable for boaters in the Dry Tortugas. (The fort gets what itneeds from cisterns.) He got another break because the father ofone of those pretty girls on the sloop was an engineer. He andRay disassembled the engine, cleaned it up, put it back togetherand had it working. It was an amazing feat.

I think that it was the third day that we were there that Rayand I went to see the people on the shrimper. We were welcomedaboard, given a pair of gloves and set to work “heading” shrimp.We may have worked a couple of hours, but we left with three poundsof fresh shrimp and a few lobster tails. It was a huge haul for us.

Pat, I forgot to mention, is a gourmet cook. I don’t remembereverything about the feast we consumed that night, but it hadwhite wine and all the sautéed shrimp and lobster and wild ricethree people could eat. We were living well.

Things were not so fortunate on that aforementioned Irwinketch out of Venice. Two of the crew from that boat, motoring byin a dinghy, stopped by our boat on the way into Garden Key ontheir way to a supposed impromptu party that was going to takeplace on the dock there that night. Did we want to go? Belchingfrom too much good food and a lot of wine, we demurred.

“What did you guys have for dinner tonight,” the two youngmen asked innocently. “Well, there was the shrimp and the lob-ster and the rice and the wine,” we replied. “What did you guyshave?” The answer was Fig Newtons and warm beer. The skip-per of their boat made them call him “Captain,” too.

Jarred into action by abject adversity staring her in the face,Pat immediately invited the two guys on board for dessert. Dig-ging out a skillet, she sliced several bananas lengthwise, put somebutter on to heat up and then flambéed the bananas in butter andRemy Marten cognac, finishing off the concoction with a dustingof powdered sugar. The two guys thought they had died andgone to heaven. The memories of Fig Newtons and warm beermust have faded as they partook of Pat’s culinary expertise, notto mention admiring her good looks.

We didn’t mind skipping the party. We’d had all the excite-ment and good food we could handle anyway. But the next day,See FLAMBÉ LADY continued on page 47