CABB NEWS
1. The August CABB race will be the annual Black Ledge Race. This race originated in 1970 and has been a popular beach cat race for the last 35 years. The 36th running of this fun bay race will be Saturday, August 19. Mark your calendars, if you want to participate. Save the date.
2. The Wild Thing Buoy Races were held yesterday, July 29. The weather was very good. It was a typical summer day in Miami. There were a few showers around, but we never got rained on. There was good wind all day; it fluctuated from 7 to 13 knots. The winds varied from ENE to ESE all day. It was a perfect day for beach cat racing.
Five teams showed up for the event. They were as follows:
John Esquivel----------------Tornado
Michele Sumptom
John McKnight--------------Hobie 20
Oriol Cruzeta
Wilder Robles---------------Blade 16
Mandi Prats------------------Hobie 18
Dailon Hernandez
Wally Sullivan---------------Hobie 16
Mike Rafidi
We ran a total of five buoy races just south of the Rickenbacker Causeway. The shortest race was only 10 minutes, and the longest race lasted about 30 minutes. We ran two races. Then it looked like a rain storm was headed our way, so I called everyone to the beach to wait out the weather. The storm passed well to the south of us and after a short lunch break, we headed back out for some more sailing. We got in three more races. We normally just run four races, but the conditions were so good, we decided to run a fifth race.
Ivan Loya also wanted to race his Tornado, but it was down for repairs. He did bring out his cruiser and anchored by the start/finish line. He took pictures of the participants as they whizzed by. Maybe Ivan got a good picture when Wilder flipped his Blade right at the finish line with his spinnaker flying.
John Esquivel and Michele took 3 firsts and 2 seconds for the day. They won the regatta with a total of 7 points. Oriol and I had 2 firsts and 3 seconds for a total of 8 points for second place. Wilder took third place with 17 points. It was good to see Mandi Prats out sailing. He used to be a regular fixture at the beach until about 5 years ago when the demands of fatherhood began to take precedence in his life. He is back. He was skippering his friend, Dailon's, Hobie 18. Mandi was doing great. He was getting good starts and beating the faster rated boats on many of the windward legs. Wally Sullivan was out with first time sailor, Mike Rafidi. They were doing very well. Wally is learning his Hobie 16 and improving every time he sails. He had loaned his boat out for the US Sailing Youth Multihull Championships a couple of weeks ago, and he was rewarded with a brand new set of sails. They looked great on his boat. He says he is willing to part with his regular sails if anyone needs a very good set of used Hobie 16 sails.
As a bonus for the day, the beach was not crowded at all. There were very few people enjoying the day at the beach. It has been that way all summer. I am not sure why, but it has been a welcome relief from some previous summers when the beach became very crowded in the afternoons. I think it might be because the police have been cracking down on glass containers on the beach. Glass containers are not allowed on the beach for safety reasons. It may also be because we have been sailing on Saturdays instead of Sundays. I think Sundays are more popular. I will be scheduling the CABB races on Saturdays as much as possible.
It turned out to be a very nice day for a sail. The conditions were most favorable. Congratulations to John and Michele for their win. Nice job! If you would like to join the fun, make plans to join us for the race next month. The Black Ledge Race is a fun run down the bay. See you then!
3. The Miami Yacht Club will be holding two races in October. The first will be the Fall Harvest Regatta. The second will be the Conch Cup Distance Race. They are working on the exact dates for the races. I will let you know when I hear the final dates. I think it will be the last two weekends in October.
John McKnight
Commodore, Catamaran Association of Biscayne Bay
(305) 251-7600
CABB Forum:
http://www.catsailor.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=CABB
