Key Biscayne Double Distance Race
September 24, 2005

The superlatives describing the day’s sailing were flying. I heard such things as; “the perfect day,” “it couldn’t be better,” “a great day for sailing.” It was indeed an ideal day for a sailboat race. The winds were 10 to 15 out of the east. The temperature was in the high eighties, and the water was warm. The sky was South Florida blue and dotted with puffy white clouds. And, “our” beach was not crowded at all. What more could you ask for? It was the perfect day!

Seven teams showed up to enjoy the day’s events. They were handsomely rewarded for their efforts. Bert Pascual also showed up with his Hobie 20 to do some sailing, but he didn’t have time to do the races. The Key Biscayne Double Distance Race encompasses a race to the tropical island, and a leisurely break for lunch, and a race back. We use this venue a couple times a year, and we always generate a lot of interest on the island beach. It is quite a sight to see the colorful cats pull up on the beach. People stop and ask what we are doing and take pictures. Again this year we had the obligatory radio toting condo cop show up on the beach. He was on his walkie-talkie, and it looked like he was calling for backup. But no one else showed up, and he left without even talking to us. He must be new on the job. Somebody at “headquarters” must have told him to leave us be.

We had such a nice sail coming out into the ocean, we decided to lengthen the course for the return race. Carla Schiefer and Steve Lohmayer on the M-20 only took 37 minutes to complete the first race. So we added “Bug Light” as a turning mark for our return race to give us a longer course. This worked out well since it gave us more time to play in the ocean swells. And it gave the spinnaker boats a longer run with their chutes up. It is always a rush to surf the face of the waves going downwind. As the Beach Boy’s refrain goes, “catch a wave and you are sitting on top of the world.”

In the 16 foot class, Dave and Andrea Tardif sailed very well and took first place in both races on their Hobie 16. We had a new Hobie 16 show up for the sailing. Longtime South Florida catamaran sailor, Marion Lohmayer, sailed with her husband, Wally Sullivan. They took turns and each skippered one race. They recently acquired their late model H-16 from New York. It was a fresh water boat, and it is in excellent condition. They said they thoroughly enjoyed the day and plan on participating in future CABB events. The other 16 foot participant was a Prindle 16 sailed by Peck Sukphisit and Dave Schulman. Peck said he has been sailing on large mono-hulls. I guess we can forgive him if he repents and promises to stick to two hulls. Peck and Dave are also sailboarders. It was good to have a 16 class. Where are all you other 16 foot owners? Come out and play!

In the 20 foot class, in the first race, Oriol and I were able to prevail with my sloop rigged Hobie 20. The other three 20 foot boats were spinnaker equipped, but they were unable to fly their chutes due to wind direction. All three beat us boat for boat, but they were handicapped by their Portsmouth rating number. The Sonnenklars are now a two Inter-20 family. Jared Sonnenklar is now sailing his own Inter 20. Jay sails the white one, and Jared sails the orange one which was formally the team Tybee boat. Jared had an excellent crew in Jamie Livingston. They took second place in each of the races, and if we combine the two races scores, they are the overall winners of the regatta. That’s not bad for a high school aged youth out for his first race with a new boat. Proud papa, Jay, was sailing with Terry Greene on the other I-20. They sailed very well but couldn’t keep up with young son and Jamie. The Jedi master has taught his son well.

It was a day of superlatives. The weather was ideal, the competition was keen, and we had two new boats join the fleet. Life is good…. sheet in, max out. See you next time.


Crew------------------Boat---------Rating----Race 1---Race 2

20 Foot Class

Jared Sonnenklar-----I-20---------59.3-------2----------2
Jamie Livingston

Carla Schiefer---------M-20---------56.0-----4----------1
Steve Lohmayer

John McKnight--------H-20----------65.0----1----------4
Oriol Cruzeta

Jay Sonnenklar---------I-20-----------59.3----3----------3
Terry Greene

16 Foot Class

Dave Tardif-------------H-16-----------76.1----1---------1
Andrea Tardif

Peck Sukphisit----------P-16-----------77.5-----3--------2
Dave Schulman

Marion Lohmayer------H-16-----------76.1----2---------3
Wally Sullivan

John McKnight