NAMSA North Americans
&
Tradewinds Midwinter Nationals
 The start of the 2nd fleet consisted of the F18HT, Nacra 6.0, Inter 20, Hobie 20, and Low Portsmouth. (Photo by Tim Dow) |
The first major NAMSA regatta in many decades definitely included all of North America (NAMSA meaning North American Multihull Sailing Assn.) as a Canadian cold front blew through Florida dropping temperatures into the fifties. But with the wind of over 15 knots most of the day the wind chill made it seem as if the regatta was in Alaska. On Sunday the winds were higher, but the sun finally warmed things up more.
Nonetheless, the winds were great and seas were fairly flat. The RC was able to get in four freezing races on Saturday, and two more on Sunday.
Winds on Saturday were ranging between 15-20 knots, but on Sunday they were a steady 19 knots with the highest gusts at 20 knots and there was a very heavy chop to deal with. As the day rolled on, the winds began to drop to around 15 knots for the rest of the regatta. Except for the cold, you could ask for better sailing conditions.
Because of the cold and windy conditions, many of the 68 teams registered opted not to sail and instead enjoyed the many other great things to do in the Florida Keys.
The Classes and How they Fared
Hobie Waves
|
Masters Champ, Stan Woodruff, continued his reign of victories with five bullets and second place to take the overall victory. Hollis Caffee managed an ace in one of the races, but settled for second place overall, followed by his wife, Janet Caffee. Newcomer Wally Sullivan took fourth place.
 Ben Hall dominated the A-Class. Here he Wild Things his boat toward the leeward mark.(Photo by Tim Dow) |
A-Class
Ben Hall did not even have to sail on Sunday, winning every race he started. On Sunday only one A-Class boat made the starting line. Dave Carlson braved the cold winds and raced the last two races by himself. The only problem was that he sailed through the start/finish line during the course and had a DSQ for one of the races. However, in the scoring he still would have been one point behind Hall even if he had taken two bullets instead of a first and DSQ. Carlson took the second spot and Mark Sellnau took third.
 Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston literally fly to victory in the F18HT Class. |
F18HT
When you look at the score sheet, you see a lot of DNC's in each block of the table. The only team that raced and finished all six races was Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston. It started out looking like Matt Struble and WF Oliver would dominate the event -- they won the first three races and then had a second place in the last race on Saturday. Then right at the start of the first race on Sunday, the forestay snapped and the rig fell down. No damage, but missing the last two races took them out of the running -- they had to settle for second place
Ken and Debbie Marshack also were doing a good job of hanging in there until the same start that Struble/Oliver lost their mast. They capsized on the starting line and a pursuing Nacra 6.0 could not avoid running over their sail -- it shredded the top of the mainsail. This put them out of business for the last two races, but they still managed to win third place overall.
 The first start on Sunday brought a calamity to two teams. Ken and Debbie Marshack capsized on the line and a Nacra 6.0 ran over their sail, shredding it. Meanwhile, down the line the mast of Matt Struble and WF Oliver fell down. (Photo by Tim Dow) |
 This is the result of being run over at the starting line. (Photo by Tim Dow) |
 The leeward mark got quite crowded in the heavy air. (Photo by Tim Dow) |
Randy Smyth and Richard Feeney had to rebuild their
transom before getting back out on the second day. Here they blast
their way downwind. |
Randy Smyth and Richard Feeney suffered major damage on the first day when the rudder system ripped out of the stern, taking part of the boat with it. They made repairs and were back out on the water for Sunday's races. Interestingly, Smyth/Feeney were the only ones that reefed the mainsail. They seemed to do pretty well, but as the races progressed, the wind diminished and it was apparent that they needed the extra horsepower. They had a DNF in the first of the two races, but managed a 2nd place in the last race of the series.
The above event happened quite often. Here Matt Struble and WF Oliver roll it over as Oliver breaks loose from the boat. (Photos by Tim Dow)
Nacra 6.0
This was a Bliss blowout. Rick Bliss and Brandy Wood totally dominated the class, taking all bullets except for one second place finish. John Fondrk and Dennis Bedgood stuck in there and took second place overall, followed by Dan Lawrence and his son, Luke.
Hobie 20
Again there was total domination in this class. Connor and Courtney Voehl took all bullets and then opting to use the last race of the day as their throwout, sailed back to the beach. Local CABB Commodore, John McKnight teamed up with Oriol Cruzeta and took 2nd spot, followed by Tim and Al Johnston.
Hobie 16
Has the word "domination" been used before? Sorry, but here it is again -- Paul and Kathryn Garlick totally dominated with six bullets out of six races -- often with no one even in sight when they crossed the finish line. Bill and Colleen Stolberg nosed out Chuck and Becky Pickering for 2nd spot.
 Steve Lohmayer and Kenny Pierce won every race they started, but missed two races and fell to second place in the Inter 20 Class. |
Inter 20
Steve Lohmayer and Kenny Pierce also dominated this class, except for last race on Saturday when they were forced to retire, and then did not make the first race on Sunday. That cost them the championship. John Casey and Tina Pastoor took advantage of their problems and won the regatta with only one bullet. Lohmayer/Pierce had to settle for 2nd place, followed by Mark Herendeen and Matt McDonald.
 Jerry Pattenaude and Joe Lieberman eked out a "Re-Pete" victory by only a few boat lengths to win the coveted Shark Jaws Trophy. |
Shark Class
This event is the Shark Midwinter Nationals and the perpetual is a beautiful plaque with the jaws of a real shark mounted on them. It has been in existance since the 1960's for the this class of boats that just keeps on ticking like the energizer bunny.
There was no donimation in this class with scores all over the place. By Saturday evening Jerry Pattenaude and Joe Lieberman had one point lead over Bryan and Christina Perrin, who had only a two point lead over John Sherry and Richard Cordell.
On Sunday most of the Sharks decided to stay ashore. All, that is, except Ken Putney and Dave Ward. They braved the elements and sailed to an uncontested victory in the first race on Sunday. The others watched from ashore and suddenly realized that if they stayed on shore and Putney/Ward again won the last race, they would lose. So, the whole fleet was shamed into getting back out there and going for it.
Pattenaude/Lieberman inched out the Perrins to win by one point. The Perrins would have won overall had they finished ahead - so close and yet so far away. Sherry/Cordell took third overall.
 From left to right, Joe Lieberman, Jack Shuh (recent inductee to the Hall of Fame) and Jerry Pattenaude show off the great perpetual trophy of the Shark Class. |
Portsmouth, High and Low
There were only eight boats overall in both handicap fleets. The "High DPN" boats consisted of two Darts and a Hobie 14. The 14 did not compoete at all, and the Darts only sailed on Saturday. Terry Fondrk single-handed his Dart to first place, followed by Dwight Chenett and Pat McBride
In the "Low DPN" there were five boats, but only two sailed at all. Kelly Davis on a Hobie 17 easily won over Jerry Kalin and Bruce Binger on a Taipan 4.9 with a spinnaker. A Supercat 17, Inter 18 and Taipan 4.9 with Hooter were registered, but never made a start.
Thanks to Our Sponsors and Helpers
Thanks go out to the many folks that helped in the race and put up with the extremely cold conditions.