Sarasota Midwinters

Hosted by Sarasota, FL from 3/19/1999 to 3/21/1999

SARASOTA SAILING SQUADRON MID-WINTER ONE-DESIGN REGATTA

Posted by: Jeff Kirchhoff

In the spring of 1998, John Hayashi and Grant Frautschi graced the waters of Sarasota Bay with the first Inland 20 for sail testing during the Sailing Squadron's annual mid-winter one design regatta and returned to the cold north with tales of warm sun, big wind, blue sea, friendly faces, shrimp-on-the-barbie, free beer and Bud Girls . . . so I was an easy mark to be lured to the 1999 event.

After being assured that the only obstacles I needed to be concerned about were lazy manatees (sure beats rotting logs in Lake Ray Hubbard and mid-lake sand bars in Lake James) that would not damage my precious rudders, I said, "Sign me up!"

Sarasota is located about an hour's drive south of the Tampa airport, half-way down the western coast of Florida. The regatta itself was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, with two tune-up races on Friday afternoon. I flew down from New Hampshire Wednesday morning, played a round of golf (clear skies and temp in low 80s) and went back to the airport that night to pick up Erica Mather and Mimi Hayashi, who were flying in from O'Hare.

The next morning, not exactly early but very bright, we arrived at the Sailing Squadron to find one of the most impressive set-ups one will ever see for dinghy sailing. This club is really into one-design racing and instruction, and it shows.

It did not take long to find the rest of the I20 crowd; I guess Grant's motorhome gave it away. Over a few adult beverages, we heard tales (slightly abridged, I assume) of the adventures of the boys' (Grant, John, Pete Huff and Greg Simon) drive down. Brian Anderson and Christine Eisele arrived later that afternoon. Thursday was mostly light air, so most of us were content to bask in the sunshine, mill about and meet some sailors from other fleets (Day Sailer, Viper 650, San Juan 21, Johnson 18) and visit old friends (MC and E-scows).  Ever helpful, Greg volunteered to take the fold-up motorboat (lent for the excursion by Don Sanford) on a sightseeing tour to check out the local beaches for Spring Break Chicks ( hereinafter referred to as "Chicks"). Only later did he realize that Chicks mostly congregate on the eastern coast of Florida, but that many of their grandmothers were, in fact, sunbathing nearby. . . . this all after being rendered at least partially incapable of proper male function by an unfortunate attack by fire ants. (Something to consider carefully by anyone considering camping at next year's event!) One of the highlights of the day was a visit to the Sea Mammals exhibit a few hundred feet up the road from the club.

Friday dawned bright and light, but the wind filled in nicely and we had 8-14 knot breezes for two practice races in the afternoon.  Although we had separate starts, all 60+ boats were sailing the same course, and after the day's racing Erica and I were wondering if Day Sailers under spinnaker qualify as Obstructions rather than Yachts Racing. If nothing else, Grant and Greg managed to use them effectively as picks to create passing lanes downwind! The crowded racecourse made for some tense boat handling moments and great practice for the two days to come. We felt fortunate to be using our "big-window jib", which gave us an added measure of safety.

Saturday morning was light again, but just like clockwork, right before noon, the wind started picking up, from the same direction as Friday, and we sailed two light/medium races in the afternoon. This time the fleets were assigned two different courses. Ours was further out on the bay, with the E-scows starting first, and the Johnson 18, Viper and I20's starting five minutes later. We learned too late, however, that the most important race of the day was the one back to the dock. While we tuned against each other and maneuvered for sailing pictures, those big mean E-scow sailors were onshore chowing down on our fair share of bar-b-qued shrimp!

On Sunday morning it was blowing from the opposite direction, with perfect scow conditions; probably a steady 12-14 with gusts up to 18-20 and relatively flat seas. We sailed another two races in the morning.

Having won the first three races, Erica and I were concerned about being teamed-up on at the start of the last race, but, after some pre-start shenanigans, managed to get off the line cleanly near the pin. Shortly after the start, the competition tacked to port and we followed. With no-one clearly gaining or willing to tack away from the other two boats, John, Grant & I all sailed a long port tack almost up to the starboard layline. It was amazing how close our three I's were in upwind speed.

This had become a boatspeed race, since there were not as many wind shifts as we are used to having on inland lakes. We finally realized that many of the shifts we had been tacking on were really velocity shifts, not changes in direction, and the premium was on sail shape and shifting gears, not tacking. Continuous traveller, backstay and vang adjustments were mandatory to keep at full speed.

We all rounded the first mark within several lengths of each other. Erica and I were able pull ahead of the others with a great set and by sailing lower downwind, and then held the lead to the second windward mark.  However during the second run, Grant and Greg caught a nice puff halfway down the course that had them closing the gap fast. I foolishly left the 'chute up too long at the bottom mark, and while we were struggling to clean up the spinnaker after rounding, Grant and Greg did a smooth takedown and rounded inside us.  With the intensity of a race, it is easy to forget that the speed gained by having the kite up a few extra seconds is seldom worth the risk of a botched drop and slow rounding.

The final beat consisted of a tacking duel where we took each other in and out of a streak on the left side of the course, with our eyes always open to John and Pete banging the corner and possibly getting ahead of both of us. There were several lead changes, but Grant and Greg prevailed with Erica and I overlapped in an exciting finish. John and Pete would have been closer, but, having the betterment of the Inland 20 Scow class in mind, they took a short break from racing to test the floatation characteristics of their new carbon fiber spar.

I would be remiss to not mention the trophy ceremony; my favorite picture is Erica receiving her trophy from a Bud Girl. As always, there are plenty of "thank-you's" to be handed out after a regatta. Erica did her usual great job up front, provided good information and generally helped me keep my head out of the boat.  The logistics of getting the fleet down to Sarasota for the first time were difficult, and John and Mimi spent a lot of time helping with travel and motel arrangements. Grant, as per usual, provided party central and doesn't always get recognized for his unending hospitality. I really appreciate Brian and Christine's help towing Bushwhacker. And I know all of us want to thank Greg for his informative commentary while we watched ever-exciting NASCAR qualifying on the motorhome tube. 

Jim Barr and the Sailing Squadron put on a great event and I am really looking forward to Sarasota 2000. I have it on good authority that there will be a special trophy for the winner of the first I20 regatta race of the new millennium, a Winston Cap (sic).

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