NAUTICAL NEWS FOR NORTH & CENTRAL FLORIDA SAILORS

PATRICK DANIEL & CREW BEAT TOWARDS THE WEATHER MARK AT THE 2014 LMSA KETTLE CUP REGATTA ON LAKE MONROE

LET’S GET IT STARTED IN 2015!

NEW FEATURE: A PRO’S SURVEY ADVICESJ21 KETTLE CUP CLASS RECAPA LOOK BACK AT 2014 IN PICTURESDEAN’S WEATHER, ADM MUDGEON, CLUB NEWS, AND A LOT MORE

SOME OF WHAT’S INSIDE:A Game On! News Publication

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Nautical NEWS For North & Central florida sailors

P.O. Box 2029 Daytona Beach, FL 32115 Tel. (386) 868-5910

Regatta Results can be emailed toracing@waypointnews.com.Information must be received by 5 PMthe on the 25th of every month.For advertising information call(386) 682-9573 or email toinfo@waypointnews.com. You can alsofind advertising information by visitingwaypointnews.com.

is free and published the firstweek of every month (except for holidayswhen it will be published the first businessday following the holiday). Between 4,000and 5,000 copies are printed monthly anddistributed primarily to marinas, yacht andsailing clubs, restaurants and other retaillocations. No part of this publication maybe reproduced without permission of thepublisher. The publishers are notresponsible for any errors, omissions, etc.Views expressed are not necessarily thoseof the publishers.Advertising and copy appearing in

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This is Volume I- Issue 10

Happy New Year! Hopefully you had agood 2014 on and off the water. We are excitedat what the future holds for sailing in north andcentral Florida. That being said, you may noticethat this issue is a little thinner than usual.Frankly, with the holidays and all, there just wasnot that much happening sailing-wise inDecember to report on. At Waypoint we aredetermined to stick to sailing news and storiesthat are pertinent to Florida sailors and to avoidfluff just to fill pages. There is quite a bit on tapin the coming months as the sailing season getsinto swing so we will be back to full size inFebruary for sure.

One event that did draw a crowd was theLMSA Kettle Cup held in early December inSanford. The regatta had a record number ofentries. We have a report, results and photos onpage 8.

Key West Race Week is this month and wewill cover all north and central Florida boatswho make the trip. If you are planning on goingplease let us know. Closer to home, IRYC willhost the Catalina 22 State Championship onJanuary 24-25 in Cocoa. Waypoint will be onthe water for that one. LESC will host the 7thMC Scow Train Wreck Regatta and the 16thWayfarer Mid-Winter Championship starting onJanuary 30th. We will be in Eustis for that too.

Speaking of Eustis, LESC has two more bigregattas planned with the 45th GeorgeWashington Birthday Regatta on February 14th& 15th and the MC Scow Mid-Winter FestivalMarch 12-14. Just up the road, the Mount DoraYacht Club will host the 61st Annual MountDora Regatta on March 28th and 29th.. Looking out a little bit more, SAYC has bigthings planned for St. Augustine Race Weekscheduled 9-12 April coinciding with the city’s450th year birthday celebration. There will be aJunior Invitational 420 regatta inshore as well asa number of big boat races offshore. There willalso be numerous shore-side events going on allweek for racers and spectators. Also in AprilSYC will be back with what we think is one ofthe best regattas anywhere with the Lipton Cupover the weekend of the 17th through the 19th.If you did not race in New Smyrna last year youreally missed out. At the northern end of Waypoint’s coveragearea, the Rudder Club in Jacksonville will runthe River City Regatta in early March and thenteam up with PYC to host the venerable MugRace which will be run for the 62nd time overthe first weekend in May.

If your resolutions this year did not includemore sailing then you need to get your prioritiesin order. Remember that no one has ever layed

on their death bed and wished that they hadspent less time on the water. If you are a sailorwho does not race you ought to give racing a try.Most clubs have set up friendly cruising classeswhich don’t require you to have a pristinebottom and space-aged sails to be competitive. We sail right on through the winter monthswhen our brethren up north have hauled theirboats out of the water for the season. Sure wecan have some chilly days and have to take someprecautions when we head out, as Dean’sweather column highlights this month, but wecan still head out. That is a cool thing.

Sail Fast! Bob

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North & Central Florida Regatta Report: There was not awhole lot happening on the water over the holidays but LMSAhosted the Annual Kettle Cup on Lake Monroe. We have an onthe water report of what went in in the San Juan 21 fleet, page 8.

Club Scuttlebutt: What is going on at the clubs, page 11.

Marine Surveys: Professional John Gallagher explains thebenefits of a marine survey, page 5.

Admiral Mudgeon: Advice for light air racing, page 3.Weather: Dean talks hypothermia...in Florida? page 10.Photos: A brief look back at 2014, page 2.Classifieds: Have something to buy or sell? Page 7.Schurr Shot: The best of many great shots, back cover.

RACING NEWS

CLUB NEWS

MAINTENANCE

DEPARTMENTS

Publisher/EditorBob Seay

ReportersLeslie Roberts

Ben Seay Gayle WoerningContributingColumnists Willie Blevins Dean Vanderbleek Robert BeringerGraphics Rusty FedsovichDistribution Ben Seay Wendy Waters

Spider Pig sailing fast on Lake Monroe.

Zero Gusting To Three

Dear Admiral Mudgeon

In lake sailing we are often subjected to very light if nearly non-existentwind. Do you have any tricks that will help me go in really light air?

NoGo

Dear NoGo,

There are a lot of necessary procedures for sailing in nothing or nearnothing. Speed is more important than direction, better to go somewherefast than point in the right direction and sit still. Let the sails out, let thesails find the wind. Sitting on the same side of the boat as the sails willallow gravity to help the sails hang properly. Concentrate. If you get theboat moving, keep the boat moving. Concentrate. Often, small head sailsare more effective in light air than large sails. Usually, reducing drag ismore important than getting your sails powered up. So, make the sails flatwith lots of twist, let the puppies breathe. Anything that slows airflowacross the sail, also slows the boat.

Many people used the plastic arrow Windex. I have had terrible luckkeeping or using the Windex. So I use a yarn or ribbon on a vhf antennae atthe mast head because it does not lie. Concentrate. The Windex isinfluenced by spider webs, dirt, being out of balance, and more. Worst ofall, the Windex lies. It always points somewhere even when there is nowind whatsoever. A yarn will not only give you an accurate direction it willalso give you velocity. Concentrate.

Watching for wind on the water, watching for indicators on the shore,smoke, flag motion, etc. may give a clue as to where the wind may becoming from. It is almost always the right choice to sail toward the newwind. Keep the rudder straight as much as possible, move slowly, trimgently, concentrate. Fore and aft trim is critical, reduce the drag,concentrate. Getting the transom out of the water is helpful on most boatsbut I just learned that the Flying Scott seems to want the bow up more, sotalk to the best sailors with your type of boat and see what they do.Concentrate.

Boat prep is more important in light air also. Again, reduce drag. If thebottom is too slick for a fly to land on, it is almost slick enough. Get theweight out. ( get it out anyway) but at this point we are talking aboutstocking the cooler with Michelob Ultra instead of Guinness. New sailsmake a difference in light air as long as they are not too new, smooth is thetrick, no wrinkles, no fold lines, NO DRAG.

Did I mention concentrate? The next step is learning when and howmuch to shift from no drag to more power. Then there is tuning. Think I’mgoing to go sailing, more later maybe…

Admiral Mudgeon

Send your questions to Admmudgeon@waypointnews.com, I’ve got ananswer for everything.

ADVERTISING IN WAYPOINT IS A GREAT WAY TOREACH NORTH & CENTRAL FLORIDA SAILORS.WAYPOINT IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN PRINT ANDONLINE AT WAYPOINTNEWS.COM. YOU WILL FINDWAYPOINT AT SAILING & YACHT CLUBS, MARINESUPPLY STORES, MARINAS, SAIL LOFTS & CANVASSHOPS, REGATTAS AND OTHER SAILOR HANGOUTSFROM JACKSONVILLE TO STUART.

Light air sailing is what you make of it. Seasoned crews welcome thechallenge of making the boat go in in calm conditions. Patience and focus aretwo key ingredients to successful light air racing.

Light Air

by Willie Blevins

 Be Quiet, don’t move or the cat’s paw will pass

you by unattended

Whistle, rub the backstay, the sailors equivalent of

“spare change?”

When the water looks like a freshly cleaned mirror,

light a cigar, blow some bubbles,

Adjust the helm for maximum shade

Pretend twelve knots of wild-flower fresh breeze is

coming in over the quarter

and

Make the sails believe it.

The following is a new feature column from contributing author John Gallagher.John is a professional marine surveyor who will be highlighting important boatmaintenance areas that are often overlooked.

Why Do You Need A Marine Survey?

Often I am asked “Why do I need a marine survey?” Marine surveysare needed for a variety of reasons, Condition and Value inspections of avessel when considering a purchase, Insurance surveys are often requiredby insurance companies before underwriting the policy, and vesseldonations require a Value survey to determine the value of the donation.

One often overlooked reason that a survey can be extremely valuable issimply to assess the current condition of your vessel. The simple truth isthat sometimes boat owners become complacent and neglect somenecessary maintenance and safety items on their boat, items that canbecome expensive if not handled properly. Or the dreaded “I did all thework myself” or “My buddy knows a lot about boats” when it comes torepairs or upgrades. Quite often a simple evaluation survey of a vessel willuncover items that boat owners would never think to check on. Marinesurveyors undergo constant training and are exposed to a variety of vesselsproviding an enormous amount of experience. This experience allowsthem to quickly identify and inform you, the boat owner, of items you maynot even take into consideration but are very important. Coast Guardregulations, possible trouble areas on the vessel to keep an eye on, or mostimportantly – safety deficiencies that can become catastrophic are just afew reasons to hire a surveyor.

Surveys are important, financially, functionally and from a safetystandpoint. In the coming months we will discuss the particulars ofspecific survey types, tips on making sure that your survey goes well,along with suggestions for general items found during a survey thattypically come as a surprise to boat owners.

Smooth sailing to all,John

John Gallagher is a Surveyor Associate member of SAMS (Society ofAccredited Marine Surveyors) and a member of ABYC (American Boatand Yacht Council). You can learn more about Marine Surveys atBlueSquaredMaritime.com

The author climbs a sailboat mast and checks the rigging forpotential trouble spots..

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The 2014 Kettle Cup hosted by the LakeMonroe Sailing Association onDacember 6 & 7 in Sanford was wellattended with 52 boats racing in sixdiffernt classes. Waypoint was fortunateto have contributing writer WillieBlevins racing his own boat in theregatta. Below is his account of whathappened on the water in the San Juan21 class.SJ21 Racing at the 2014Kettle Cup By Willie Blevins

Somewhat typical of racingon the first weekend inDecember, the wind waspredictably unpredictable.Saturday, was vacuous, savedonly by a great party at the

Riverwalk Pizzeria. Sunday thewind was 10 knots plus andforecast to build and veeraround noon. Four San Juans

made it to the starting area. Our course had the open displacement classand the open planing class.

The first race was discouraging. Bill Holstein’s Black Jack walkedaway from Randy Pawlowski’s Justice, my boat Juan Too Many and RossMartin’s Pivot. We had some fun trying to keep Justice covered but did notmanage to pass. Black Jack was scored incorrectly with a DNF, but thescores went unchallenged. The second race was better. Juan Too Many hada good start, good speed, height, stayed in phase, a clean spinnaker set andsince it was single windward leeward course, it was a quick easy win.

In race three, the challenges of racing a hundred dollar San Juanbecame evident. On the first leg, the starboard jib block shackle desertedinducing significant unnecessary twist in the jib. Angle and speed suffered,so the windward rounding was not crowded by anyone else in the fleet.After hoisting the kite we lashed the jib block to the car on the downwindleg. The wind began to shift as predicted. At the leeward mark we dousedthe chute on the starboard side and I made a poor decision, went to the

wrong side through the leeward gate. The lashing came apart halfway upthe leg so we were low and slow again. In addition, it was distractingenough to keep us from repacking the chute for a port side launch. Thesecond downwind to the finish line was leisurely without the spinnaker andlong enough to have time to be really self deprecating. We finished DFL.The forecast shift was complete and pressure was at least 15 knots withhigher gusts. Race committee adjusted the course which gave us enoughtime to repack the chute and make a better repair to the jib block/carconnection. After a close start, we were hiked to our max, with the leewardrail in the water. Juan Too Many shuddered as we pounded about everythird wave. Compared to the competition we made great time to thewindward mark and rounded in the lead. Justice rounded second andstruggle with the chute but did get it to fly. I went wing and wing, thinkingI had enough wind to stay ahead. Justice got past us and rounded a coupleof lengths ahead. Black Jack gained but we stayed in front.

At the leeward gate we followed Justice around the starboard gate end.Black Jack went to the port end. Up wind we spanked Justice with betterspeed and height. Black Jack did well by taking the other side and werounded nearly together. I don’t remember whether we rounded ahead ofBlack Jack but because we had not used the kite in the first leg it was readyfor a clean set and it worked well. The leg was a nail biter and we finishedoverlapped, edging out Black Jack by a second, for a second place trophy,with two wins a third and a DFL. It was very competitive, fun and exciting.So much so I may spend another hundred bucks on Juan Too Many.

LMSA 2014 Kettle Cup Overall Results (First 4 Places)San Juan 21 (5 entries)1. Justice Randy Pawlowsi 1-2-1-2 72. Juan Too Many Willie Blevins 2-1-4-1 83. Pivot Ross Martin 3-4-2-4 134. Black Jack Bill Holstein 6-3-3-2 14Open Planing (8 entries)1. Dream Chaser Herb Maguire 1-1-1-3 62. Raider X Dave Ellis 6-5-3-2 163. Radio Flyer Jim Davis 2-3-5-9 194. No Not Yet Terry Warren 9-8-2-1 20Open Displacement (11 entries)1. Spider Pig Patrick Gudat 2-1-1-2 62. Mercury Rising Brad Ruff 1-2-3-1 73. Point Blank Ed Sims 3-3-4-5 154. Show Me Andy Forrest 12-4-2-3 21Lightning (7 entries)1. Something Good Bill Mauk 1-1-2-2-1 72. No Name William Faude 3-3-1-1-2 103. Rather Be Lucky Laura Jeffers 2-2-3-3-3 134. No Name Fisk Hayden 4-4-4-5-5 22Sunfish (17 entries)1. Gail Heausler DIYC 3-1-7-1-1 132. Joe Blouin DIYC 1-2-14-2-3 223. Jim Richter GL 7-3-6-7-4 274. Branden Nathe HSA 4-9-2-6-7 28Windmill (4 entries)1. Pig Headed Lon Ethington 1-3-1-3-1 92. Bella Colin Browning 2-2-2-2-3 113. Go Blue Ralph Sponar III 3-4-3-1-2 134. Elvis Lisa Fath 4-1-4-4-4 17

The author & crew dousing the chuteduring action at the 2014 Kettle Cup.

Randy Pawlowski’s Justice leads Ross Martin’s Pivot to the windward mark asthe breeze builds during racing on Sunday.

Hypothermia, Florida Winter’s Subtle DangerBy Dean Vanderbleek

“It is impossible to get hypothermic in cold water unless you are wearingflotation, because without flotation – you won’t live long enough tobecome hypothermic.”-Mario Vittone, Maritime Risk Consultant

Hypothermia, a rapid and progressive mental and physical collapse thataccompanies the lowering of body temperature, occurs when one’s bodyloses heat faster than it can produce it. Cold water is usually defined aswater less than 70F. Central Florida’s inland and coastal watertemperatures average in the low 60’s from late December, through Januaryinto early February, however, during extended periods of extreme cold,estuarine water temperatures in the 40’s have been observed as far south asTitusville. Hypothermia, a serious condition that affects major organs suchas the brain, heart and lungs, can lead to permanent damage or even death.It is a very real threat during the winter in Florida in a man overboardsituation, even on a warm and sunny day. Immersion in 60F water for aslittle as one hour can lead to exhaustion, followed by unconsciousness anddeath.Hypothermia Facts

A person’s body temperature needs to only fall 3F (from 98.6F to95.6F) to induce conditions favoring hypothermia. The rate of heat losswhen immersed in cold water varies greatly from person to person.Metabolism rate, body type, and overall health all factor in how long onecan survive.

Water conducts body heat away 26 times faster than air of the sametemperature. The cold water rapidly causes extremities to become numb,weakening the ability of muscles to work effectively.

When the water is extremely cold in Florida (under 50 degrees F) thereare significant physiological reactions that occur. First, you can’t breathe.The body responds quickly to cold water immersion with cold shockresponse by increasing heart rate and blood pressure, uncontrolled gasping,and sometimes uncontrolled movement. Lasting anywhere from 30seconds to a couple of minutes depending on a number of factors, the coldshock response can be deadly. In fact, of the people who die in cold water,it is estimated that 20% die in the first two minutes. They inhale ice coldwater in that first uncontrolled gasp, panic and drown, or if they have heartproblems the cold shock may trigger a heart attack.

The lack of ability to swim, called cold incapacitation, is the secondstage of cold water immersion. In approximately 10 minutes, Theeffective use of fingers, arms and legs for any meaningful movement islost. Concentration on self-rescue during this time is imperative. Swimfailure inevitably occurs within these critical minutes, and if in the waterwithout a life jacket, drowning will likely occur. Lacking adequateinsulation, the body will attempt to make its own. Long before coretemperature drops a degree, the veins in extremities will constrict,resulting in loss of ability to control hands, and the muscles in the armsand legs will quit working well enough to stay above water. Without someform of flotation, in 30 minutes or less the even the best swimmer willdrown. Without experiencing the drop in core temperature, that bydefinition is hypothermic death, over 50% of the people who die in coldwater die from drowning perpetuated by cold incapacitation.Symptoms of Hypothermia and Treatment

If a victim has hypothermia when pulled from the water, he has an 80percent chance of surviving. Recognition of the symptoms ofhypothermia, which can range from mild to severe, will help initiatecritical treatment quickly. Continual shivering, shallow breathing, poorcoordination, increasingly numb hands and feet, dazed and confused

behavior- including memory loss, slurred and slow speech,hallucinations, decreased attention span, and change in personality.

Rescuers can lessen the effect by handling the body as gently aspossible. Get the victim inside, out of the elements, and remove wetclothing. Dry victim and carefully wrap in warm/dry blankets or clothing.Warm the trunk first, not the extremities. Warming the hands and feet firstcan lead to shock. While the heart will work hard as cold blood from thearms and legs moves back into the warmer core of the body, gradualwarming is best. Never immerse the victim in warm water or apply dryheat directly to skin. Give the victim a warm drink, if conscious. Avoidcaffeine or alcohol. Keep the body temperature up. Once the bodytemperature begins to rise, keep the person dry and wrapped in a warmblanket. Wrap the person's head and neck, as well. Follow up at thehospital. Health care providers will continue warming efforts, includingproviding intravenous fluids and warm, moist oxygen.Hypothermia Statistics

Approximately 600 people die each year in the U.S. from hypothermiadue to cold water immersion and temperature exposure. Deaths inrelatively warm Florida averaged 6 per year during the same period.

Immersion hypothermia occurs faster than standard hypothermia as waterconducts heat away from the body much faster than air.

Examining the time period from 1979 through 1999, 124 deaths wereobserved from excessive cold. The number of temperature-related deathsduring this period in Florida is greater than those from hurricanes,tornadoes, and even lightning.

While the distribution of heat-related deaths from year to year isrelatively uniform, cold deaths are more concentrated in certain years. Ifthe cold deaths are classified by winter seasons that have significant freezeevents rather than by year (Figure 4), the distribution of cold deaths is evenmore concentrated. The winters of 1983-84, 1984-85, and 1989-90accounted for 65 of the 124 cold deaths. Severe freezes occurred in Floridaduring each of these winters.

Cold deaths occurred in the months from November through February,with December recording the most deaths with 53. The coldest month ofthe year in Florida is normally January, but during the period from 1979-1999 cold snaps often occurred in December, with abrupt change frommilder fall weather possibly contributing to victims being caughtunprepared for the cold.

Cold-related deaths show opposite correlation to age, with the majorityof cold-related deaths occurring in those older than 60.Hypothermia Takeaways

Remember the steps to survive cold water immersion: Don’t panic inthe first minute. The average person has 10 minutes of physical ability tosave himself, followed by 1 hour of consciousness to be rescued.Surviving the first stage of cold water immersion is about getting breathingunder control, realizing that the stage will pass, and staying calm untilrescue.A flotation device increases the survival time in cold water by decreasingthe amount of movement necessary to stay afloat as well as helping toinsulate against heat loss. One of the primary reasons given byrecreational boaters when asked why they don’t wear a life jacket is thatthey can swim. When the water is cold, wearing a PFD can mean thedifference between rescue and death. Not even the best swimmers canswim for very long in cold water.

In conclusion, while it is always good practice to wear flotation whenboating for a variety of reasons, it is a life and death matter when the wateris cold.January AveragesDaily high/low temperatures: 68-71F / 46-49FAverage rainfall: 3.1”Average wind speed/direction: NNW/N/NNE 7-9 mphNotable January Weather EventsJanuary 11-12, 1982 - Statewide - Arctic airmass behind a strong coldfront brought a Severe Freeze to south central Florida. Temperaturesdropped to 14 degrees at Tallahassee, 18 at Gainesville, 23 at Orlando, 17at Ocala and 19 at Avon Park on the morning of the 12th.January 12 1886 - Statewide - Severe Freeze with low temperatures of 12degrees at Tallahassee, 16 at Gainesville, 18 at Ocala and 19 at Orlandoreported.January 18-21 1977 - Statewide - Severe Cold Outbreak of Arctic air,climaxing one of the coldest winters ever recorded in the eastern UnitedStates, swept into Florida. Snow fell at Miami Beach and Palm Beach andwas reported as far south as Homestead- the most southerly point toreceive snow in Florida history. A severe freeze affected all of the State'scitrus and vegetable crops.

In south Florida agricultural areas, the freeze was one of the mostsevere of this century. On the night of January 19-20, temperaturesdropped to 27 degrees at the Florida Agricultural Experiment station inHomestead, but some farmers in this area reported temperatures near 20degrees. Temperatures were below freezing for 10 to 14 hours, and 28degrees or colder for 4 to 8 hours. An unusually heavy frost accompaniedthese freezing temperatures and extended to the immediate coast. BothWest Palm Beach and Miami Beach recorded all-time lows of 27 degrees

and 32 degrees, respectively. Over North and Central Florida temperatureswere even lower, but not all areas had all-time record lows. Temperaturesreached modern day record lows of 10 degrees at Pensacola and 20degrees at Orlando.

A U. S. Department of Agriculture report said the following crop loss:Citrus 35%, Vegetables 95-100%, Commercial Flowers 50-75%,Permanent Pasture Land 50%, Sugar Cane 40% In addition, there was asevere loss to the tropical fish industry. It is estimated the freeze cost theFlorida economy $2 billion (1977) dollars.January 20 1983 – Windstorm - A strong low pressure system developedin the western Gulf of Mexico and moved rapidly eastward during thenight of the 19th and the early morning of the 20th. As the Gulf lowdeepened and moved east, a very strong pressure gradient developedbetween high pressure to the north.

Strong winds hit the western Panhandle at the time of high tide earlyon the 20th, causing widespread coastal flooding that receded rapidly asthe winds subsided. Schools in Gulf and Franklin Counties were closeddue to the high winds and flooding.

A yacht race from Fort Lauderdale to Key West was severely disruptedby winds gusting to 70 knots and seas higher than 20 feet offshore. Manyof the 169 vessels entered in the race turned back to shore, and the CoastGuard helped up to 30 vessels back to harbor, including aerial rescue ofseveral crew members.

A woman was killed when her car was apparently blown into a guardrail on the Florida Turnpike in Broward County and flipped over. Anotherfatality occurred when a car skidded on wet pavement and hit a pedestrian.Most of the reported injuries were minor and were the result of automobileaccidents on rain slick streets. Minor wind damage was reported acrossthe state and was the result of trees crashing into power lines, trailerhomes, windows, etc. High waves and beach erosion also damaged homes,businesses, and piers along beachfront areas.January 27-28 1986 - Statewide - A cold outbreak over Florida waspreceded by strong, gusty winds on the 27th. A three year old girl waskilled on I-95 near Palm Beach Gardens when the wind broke loose a signhurled it into the car on the 27th. Temperatures dipped into the 20s overmuch of north and central Florida on the morning of the 28th. Melbourneand Orlando reported 26 degrees and Daytona Beach 22. Space Shuttle"Challenger" exploded on the morning of the 28th.Additional LinksMy regularly updated surf forecast (Cape Canaveral to Jacksonville)wind/wave forecast page (updated daily), with additional weatherforecasting links: http://surf-station.com/north-florida-surf-forecast/I welcome input! Please feel free to send questions or comments, submitweather quotes, and share your local weather knowledge todean@waypointnews.com

Pets on boats and near the water can suffer from hypothermia too. Takeprecautions during winter months to ensure that your pets stay safe.

Wayfarer Mid-Winters On LakeEustis

The best in onedesign sailboat racing willcome to Central FloridaJanuary 30 to February 1,when the Wayfarer ClassMid-Winter SailboatRegatta is held on LakeEustis.

Called “The Gatheringof Champions” by AlSchonborn of the Canadianonline sailing magazine “The Whiffle”, in addition to sailors from allover the United States and Canada, the participants include the currentU.S. Champions, the 2013 and the 2014 North American Champions, andthe reigning World Champions.

The races will be conducted on Lake Eustis from the Lake EustisSailing Club, 1310 N. County Road 452, Eustis.  Although the races willbe visible from the Eustis City dock and the Sailing Club dock, manyprivate power boats are expected from the Harris Chain of Lakes area.  Aspectator boat will also leave from the Club dock.

HRYC Presents Year End AwardsThe Halifax River Yacht Club 2014 racing year ended with an

awards dinner hosted by HRYC on November 16. Awards werepresented to the top Junior sailors, Commodore’s Cup Series winners andthe Old Timer’s Race. Some of the boats receiving awards wereObsession, skippered by Norm Charlton, Patrick Fischer-Carne’sPerpetual Motion and Brad Opreneau’s YaYa. In addition to the awardspresentation, plans were also made for the upcoming sailing season. Formore information about racing at HRYC contact Dave Huff atsailatlantic@conch-house.com.

St. Augustine Race WeekSt. Augustine Race Week is a brand new Spring sailing event

combining large-boat ocean racing and spectator-friendly small boatracing along the St. Augustine waterfront. The four-day regatta, April9-12, 2015 coincides with St. Augustine’s 450th birthday and celebratesthe first city’s colorful maritime heritage. Sailors from Savannah toDaytona are scheduled to race offshore in yachts from 24 to 50 feet long.The downtown races will feature a fleet of junior sailors in OptimusPrams and 420 dinghies.

In addition to the sailing events, St. Augustine Race Week includesafter-race parties for racers and guests along the downtown waterfrontand St. Augustine Yacht Club including live music and catered meals.Many of the competitor yachts will be docked at the downtown CityMarina and available for casual inspection by the public.

St. Augustine Race Week is a descendant of the former First CoastOffshore Challenge (2005-2014). The new name reflects the expansion ofsponsorship to include all nine member clubs of the First Coast SailingAssociation and its now-official home base in the Ancient City.Chairman Guy Anderson explains, “It’s a perfect location for this regatta.It has easy access to the ocean, a great fleet of local racers and plenty ofdocking for visiting yachts, not to mention all the great restaurants andattractions of St. Augustine itself. And we’re especially happy to be partof the city’s auspicious 450th birthday year.”

Race Week begins Wednesday, April 8th with a competitors meetingat St. Augustine Yacht Club. Offshore racing begins Thursday April 9thand continues with a series of races ending on Saturday, April 11. Smallboat racing downtown begins Saturday and ends Sunday the 12th. Bigboat sailors wishing to register for the race are invited to contact AdamNorwood at ahnorwood@comcast.net or 904-398-7343. Junior sailorswho wish to participate in Optis or 420’s should contact Jack Feeney atcaptjack@bamvest.com or 904-568-8405.

SYC Sailor’s BanquetEvery November the Smyrna Yacht

Club holds its fun, informal celebrationof the sailing year.

The Old Men of the Sea meet everyWednesday throughout the year withthe intention of going sailing. We arealways full of good intentions, but dooccasionally end up going to breakfastinstead. We try to race every 1stWednesday of the month with resultsall counting towards the Spice Cup.

Phil Cornett and Sailaway has won this cup more times than any othersailor in SYC and is seen here at the 2014 presentation.The SYC Sailors are another group within the club which promote sailingin the club owned Precision 15 boats. We now have 5 boats and competeon two Saturdays per month January through May for the Spring SeriesCup. At least one other Saturday is devoted to just having sailing fun,with relay races, slaloms and Chicken Island roundings.Phil Cornett has dominated this series for a few years now and took the2014 prize yet again.

The Banquet is also an opportunity to just have fun with severalvideo/music presentations which celebrate all of our activities whichincludes the sail training courses for children and members. This year thesailors acted as Race Committee for the Cocktail Boats, hand built,wooden boats, 8ft long with 8 HP motors. This enables us to have evenmore fun with video and present the Navigational Aid Award to pastcommodore Kevin Wilke for attacking channel markers with his boat.

We normally present the Chicken Island awards at this event but dueto the weather the race was not run until November 22nd. We can nowreport that we had a challenging race won by none other than PhilCornett.Smyrna Yacht Club has had a great sailing year taking trophies in theHRYC Commodores Cup and the St Augustine Dash as well asorganizing 3 very successful regattas; The Lipton Cup, The SolsticeRegatta and the .Brewers Cup. Arrangements for the 2015 Lipton Cup onApril 17th – 19th are well in hand.Send Your Club’s News To: clubnews@waypointnews.com

Skipper NormCharlton andthe crew fromhis Morgan 41,Obsession,crew accepttheir award forwinning 1stplace in theCommodore’sCup Series for2014.

Phil Cornett (center) acceptsthe Spice Cup Trophy.

Skipper Jim Davissailing Radio Flyerout of CFYC eyes theweather mark as hiscrew eases theheadsail preparingfor the rounding atthe 2014 LMSAKettle Cup on LakeMonroe. RadioFlyer would go on toa very respectable3rd place finish.

There are more picturesof this regatta and otherson Facebook andwaypointnews.com.

Willie Blevins is a Central Florida basedsailor who has sailed and taught sailingfor a long time on a wide variety of boats.He has a knack for translating what mostof us feel when sailing to words on paper.Currently he races his San Juan 21 withthe LMSA on Lake Monroe. You canread more of his musings on his blog athttp://sailorsboatyard.com.