GCSC 34th Annual
Regatta
Porsche of Naples Cup
MARCH 27-29, 2010 |
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Porsche of Naples Recap
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These conditions provided a true
sailor's test of skill, crew coordination and boat condition. An early
afternoon weather warning of 25-30 with peaks above 35 caught the fleet in its
second race. The wind driven waves running over a sea depth of 25 ft exceeded 6
ft. The advisory warned "drivers of high profile vehicles to use caution while
driving." That is just what the sailors did returning back to the Hamilton
Harbor Yacht Club marina.
What turned
out to be a short, fast first day of racing completed the regatta as Sunday saw
a front with serious lighting strikes moving in from the north toward Naples
and forced cancelation of Sunday racing.
This abrupt weekend turn in
weather conditions surprised many because the weather for the prior several
weeks was solid 10-15 kt from the east, flat seas, high 70s to mid 80s, and the
usual predictable sunny Gulf weather.
Dawn Riley, America's Cup and Round the World race veteran, was the regatta's
keynote speaker Saturday night and added perspective to the day's racing. She
related the conditions on Saturday to her round the world racing where the wind
is twice the strength and the waves are long rollers ten times the height.
Nevertheless, Riley urged the sailing
crowd to help grow the sport by taking youngsters sailing and coaching them to
grow into all they can be ... both boys and girls. Sailing is no longer "just
for guys," as it was in her youth prior to cell phones, internet and GPS. One
of Riley's objectives is to support and grow local sailing centers such as the
Naples Community Sailing Center which is geared to pre teen and teen sailing.
The overall winner of the regatta and
the Porsche Cup was Goux Get Mama owned by James Whatmore from Sarasota. Flame,
owned by Jim Doane of Naples was the winner of the Spinnaker Class and Jabu
owned by Rex Good of Naples won the Cruising Non-Spinnaker Class.
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[Note to press: all photos in
the Regatta Shutterfly photo album are available for press use.
Higher resolution copies
available.]
Dawn
Riley Holds
Kids' Sailing Workshop
at GCSC 33rd
Regatta
Naples
Daily NewsCoverage here
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Naples Melges24
Regatta in National
Championship
Series
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All 10 Melges left the dock, with only nine boats
making it out for the first start. With 23 knot sustained winds, the committee
started the fleet on time with a 1.1-mile course set at 175 degrees in 2-4 ft
waves. It didn't take Jeff Duvall long to show everyone why he is always a
contender, as he took the first bullet of the regatta with Goux Get Mama (GGM)
finishing 2nd, Obsession 3rd and BIG SKY 4th.
For the start of the second race, two boats
withdrew due to hardware failure which left the remaining seven boats to battle
the elements. Race 2 saw some incredible boat handling by all the Melges as the
wind was now hitting 25 knot sustained winds and building seas to 5+ft. Gary
Schwarting on Obsession, who has elevated his game this past year, found the
left side on the last beat to pay off and a spectacular downwind run for the
win in race 2 with Scooter, Jeff Duval's Doc Holliday and James Whatmore's, GGM
finishing respectively.
For the start of
Race 3, two more Melges withdrew. This regatta was taking its toll on the Fleet
and with four to five races projected for the day. At this rate of withdrawing
boats, it looked like it would be a last boat standing finish. The race
committee, once again, had another quick start for race 3. It didn't take long
for the remaining fleet to show why the Melges is a fun boat to sail. The first
downwind saw classic wipeouts, and the lead changing. But in the end, Bob
McElwain on Scooter minimized the errors and capitalized for a race 3 win.
Following Scooter was Doc Holiday, GGM and Obsession.
First place was starting to get crowded.
The race committee called for one more race of the day, and with five Melges
24s left, it was going to be a fun ride. The last race saw at least five lead
changes with the conditions now at 28 knots with gusts to 35 and the seas
around 5-7 ft. The weather legs were 30 minutes long with the downwind legs
lasting around 5. BIG SKY reported hitting 18 kts on their last run
downwind.
Maximum speed recorded on
Schwarting's Tacktik was 21.5 kts. What a ride!!!! But the finish belonged to
James Whatmore's, Goux Get Mama, with Obsession, Scooter, Doc Holliday and BIG
SKY close behind. The results for the day had three of the five finishing boats
tied for 1st!
The next day, the teams
awoke not only to threatening wind conditions, but to threatening weather. The
winds were 12 to 15 knots out of the west, but the major concern was a severe
thunderstorm that was projected to hit the racecourse around the time of the
first start.
The race committee
deliberated as long as they could before abandoning racing for the day due to
lightning in the area. The approaching front delivered 40+ knot gusts and over
100 lightning strikes just north of Naples. Goux Get Mama won based on the tie
breaker with Obsession in 2nd and Doc Holliday finishing 3rd. It doesn't get
any better than this.
Thanks to the race
committee for doing a remarkable job with communication and course management
all day Saturday, especially PRO Jeff Butser. The Melges 24 fleet did not wait
more than 15 minutes between each of the races that day.
A special thanks also goes out to Gary
Schwarting for organizing the Melges 24 fleet and to Hamilton Harbor Yacht
Club, for their accommodations and spectacular facility. With a remarkable
facility, great venue, and close access to the ocean, this facility should
think long and hard as this event is definitely going to continue as a Melges
24 hot bed for fast, fun sportboat racing and great competition.
And a tremendous thanks to the main sponsor,
Porsche of Naples, and also, most especially to SLAM. The first through third
finishers - the entire team --received some awesome gear courtesy of SLAM -
title sponsor of the 2009 National Championship Series. Next event on the
circuit is Charleston Race Week, April 16-19 in Charleston, SC. |
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Photos/Text © copyright 2009
Gulf
Coast Sailing Club, P.O Box 2121, Naples, FL 34106-2121
Web Master
webmaster@GULFCOASTSAILINGCLUB.ORG
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