WIND AND BIG CHOP - FINAL DAYS ON SOUTHERN CIRCUIT

Day Eight & Nine, St. Pete – Wind and big chop

Saturday night St. Pete put on good food and a banquet for the fleet. SPYC is 100 this year and this is the 62nd annual Winter Championship hosted by SPYC. Lucky for us St Pete and Lightnings are securely connected. Junior sailors and the under 30 sailors are strong, close to half of the fleet. An all girl junior team from Canada received the award for best new female sailor.

Had our last drink in the bar for this year, hope to be back soon.

Sunday started out in 16/17k with lots of chop, a little colder too. 5 legs at 1.1 miles. One general recall with a zee flag on the second start. We started better but still could not hold our lane. We did tack out on port in clear air and were 11 or 12 at the weather mark. We finished 29^th so over all a pretty depressing race. Second race, 3 legs at 1.1 miles. Our start was the worst yet, Oxygen mask were about to deploy before we could get underway, and we round the weather mark not last but close. Worked back into the fleet downwind and on the third leg finishing 38^th. We actually felt better about this race but obviously need help on starts.

For more complete results go to www.lightningclass.org

John Sawyer, Lightning 14318

RESULTS

Katie Takes Charge

Day Eight, St. Pete – Katie takes charge

Friday night the Lightning posse struts purposefully to dinner, Sawyer in the lead, with his rag tag team of misfits straggling behind. After dinner a regae concert awaits – the original Wailers, as in “Bob Marley and the Wailers.” Our team arrives at the venue and is disappointed to learn that tickets are $22 a pop. No way we’re paying that. It’s already damn near 9:00 pm - pretty close to our bed time. We’ll never stay long enough to justify the cost. Then a new leader emerges. Katie Elmer pulls out a giant wad of cash and starts paying cover charges all around and commands, “we’re going in!” Sheepishly the Lightning posse complies. Inside, cold beer and Margaritas await. Some hours, beers and margaritas later the band plays its last and our team shuffles back to the Ponce de Leon, having closed down the bar. Our leader for the night had made an excellent call – but how will we feel about it in the morning?

Flash forward to Saturday morning. Team Wilmington now shuffles down to the St. Pete Sailing Center. That excellent call didn’t seem as great at 7:00 am as it did the night before. Even so, the Lightning posse boldly perseveres.

Three races, starting 13-14 knots and diminishing throughout the day. Despite the diminishing winds, the weather is excellent. Plenty of sunshine and good racing conditions throughout. Team Sawyer finishes 29, 38, and 31 in a fleet of 55. Small errors really take a toll in this fleet – like mistaking the four minute warning for the five minute warning. “Why are these boats lining up on the line so soon – they’ll never hold those positions for a minute and a half. Oh, Sh#*!” Team Waldkirch struggles as well – they seem to be off their game even more than team Sawyer – seems like they just can’t roll with the big dogs. Maybe they should have gotten their beauty rest after all.

John Sawyer, Lightning 14318

RESULTS

Drifters and Rum Drinks

Day Six, Miami to St Pete

A simple slow day, took the less traveled route through the everglades, crossed Tampa Bay from the South via the suspension bridge, arrived in St Pete at about 3pm. Richard Waldkirch, Mickey Southerland and Katy Ellmer, soon to be Sherwood, are here for this leg and we collect Dan Morton tonight at the airport. St Pete is very friendly to sailors, the bar is great. Ordered a few rum drinks prior to the competitors meeting and class association meeting. We don’t remember much from these meetings, hopefully I did not accept a class job. I did get stuck with the fleet dues again this year because they had not been paid. Fleet 511 owes me $25.00

Day Seven; St Pete

58 boats are registered, 10 am start today with 3 races scheduled. Wind was workable going out but faded and was too light and shifty. We were postponed on the water and after and hour towed in. Hug out in the shade at the sailing center. Wind looked OK at around 2:30 and we tried again and again were towed back in. Rum party tonight, and probably 4 races tomorrow starting at 10 am. Meeting a lot of sailors.

Back at the yacht club, and I do mean yacht club – posh – open keg, and chicken wings and other stuff – just can’t figure out how to spell horse duevers (sp?). Sorry we went out to the drift fest in the first place. This is where we should have been all day – drinking beer and watching March Madness. The Devils are kicking ass. Started yesterday. There’re not playing today. But there is an air of anticipation. It just can’t be escaped. Talking smack? Maybe we should be. If we are then for good reason. “Just a few more please bar keep. Please don’t kick us out. Do you know who we are? We be the CYC . We been kicked out of better places than this before.” She doesn’t know who she’s messing with. Morton stands up. Starts talkin. Golden honey flows. Everyone stops – listens. Everyone clapping. Young women crowded all around – in adoration. We have to get out of there. The bar keeper who just minutes ago was trying to kick us out is now begging us to stay. Too Late ! Must save it for the race course.

Now we’re off to confront St. Petersburg on our own terms – to be continued ……

John Sawyer, Lightning 14318

Becky Wins Hula Hoop Contest

Day Five, Miami:

Sailed two races today in 15/17k. 0.9 mile legs, we are whipped. Made some bad decisions and finished poorly. Put the bow into a wave up to the mast downwind, pretty sketchy but no damage and we stayed upright. Got some good surfing down wind but we were slow upwind, two 720s in the last race did not help. I think fatigue brought on the fouls.

The bright spot was last night, Becky won the women’s hool-a-hoop contest and has a cool lightning glass with flashing LED lights to show for it.

On to St Pete tomorrow.

John Sawyer, Lightning 14318

RESULTS

John's Adventure moves down I-95 to Miami

Day three, I-95 & Miami:

Lots of driving today, but it is sunny and warm. Coral Reef YC is beside the US sailing center but is a lot nicer. Good outdoor shaded terraces, CRYC has it’s little slice of waterfront. Boat and car parking is very tight but works.

Two trips to different airports today to collect Becky and Toby. Thank god it’s sunny and warm, I am in full compliance with my sailing agreement with Becky.

John Sawyer, Lightning 14318

Day four, Miami

48 boats are registered. We were postponed today for wind. Sailed three races. Race 1 in 5/7k smooth water finished 17^th. Race 2, 6/10 a little chop, finished 25^th. Race 3, 6/10 dying to 3/5 and chop, finished 25^th. This is our first in Biscayne Bay, I don’t think we have the current in mind. Some of the usually top ten are about where we are so it was a long day for everyone.

RESULTS

John's big adventure Lightning Southern Circuit 2009

John Sawyer is doing the Southern Circuit. Check out his reports below from the first leg of the
series in Savannah. See full results at end of report. You go John!

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Day one, Savannah Yacht Club:

42 boats are registered; Bob Cowen and Toby Wells are sailing with me on this leg. The Wilmington and Skidaway river course complete with mud flats, oyster beds and 8 feet + tide is a really unforgiving place. Usually I break something on the boat here but so far all is holding up. We were looking OK in the first race until we missed a wind shift on the downwind finish with 50 yards to go and lost 5 boats finishing 22^nd. Wind was ENE at 8/12. falling tide all day. In this fleet an OK finish for me is anything in the teens. Race two was no better, in a dying wind we finished 27^th. Hopefully we will make better decisions tomorrow and at least get up to mid fleet.

Savannah is gearing up for St. Patrick’s day everything is turning green, fountains, the river, faces, beards. The clubs hospitality is great. They even washed our car windshield, while we were out racing. The Canadians and snowbirds are sailing in shorts, we are layered up in 55 - 60 degree overcast conditions.

John Sawyer , Lightning 14318

Day two, Savannah Yacht Club:

A great finish today for us. The day started in dense fog no breeze and the gnats were having bike week at the Yacht Club. The RC wisely postponed ashore while we all hung out inside. The weather improved and by about 1pm we were ready to start race 3 in sun and 8/10 k. Our starts have been terrible, today we got some practice through 3 general recalls, finally got started with the I flag. We did better on the start and worked the current to our advantage and finished 4^th today. Overall we were 18^th for the regatta.

I started driving to Miami for the winter regatta at Coral Reef YC with a stop in St Augustine tonight. Pulled off the road at 7:45 to watch the space shuttle launch which was many miles away but still an amazing sight. Even from my distance the audacity of the space program and astronauts to ride a rocket into space was right there. It really was a fireball, red exhaust, black soot and smoke arcing into space very fast.

John Sawyer, Lightning 14318

RESULTS