Tuesday night we had another great chalk talk with Zeke Horowitz and the race leaders where everyone figured out what they did right and what they did wrong and were ready to do it all again on Wednesday.  The chalk talk was followed by the "Meet the Sailors" party where the Club members brought their goodies and we all sat around and talked for hours!  A really beautiful night to be on the deck at St.Andrews Bay Yacht Club watching the sunset over the bay!

Wednesday morning brought a sunny and sometimes overcast sky with the temperature in the 70's.  But, it  brought some pretty heavy with some gusts to over 25, so at 11:30 AM the postpone flag was raised in the hopes that the wind might subside in time for us to go out and race.  We watched a couple of Laser sailors go out, saw them screaming upwind, capsize a few times, and continue sailing, thinking it was good that it was them and not us!. The Race Committee waited as loing as they could, but unfortunately for us, the wind did nothing but build with gusts over 30, so at 13:30, up went the N over A flags and we had no racing today.  We have the regatta banquet tonight so well all get to enjoy that and try racing again tomorrow.

Sunday night, we had the skippers meeting followed by a welcome party at the club with great food and great people!  We started the day Monday with the a solemn but very nice opening ceremony, including the raising of the American Flag by club officers, accompanied by bagpipes playing.  This was followed by a welcome from the club officers.  The wind did not look too promising first thing in the morning but it looked like the sea breeze came in just before it was time for us to go out around 11:00.

We had a great sail out to the race course, with a nice easy 8-10 MPH wind on a beautiful sunny day on the 70's.  We thought we would start the race in those conditions but about 12:25, just before the scheduled start, the real sea breeze came in and shifted the line 40-50 degrees.  Up went the postpone flag and the Race Committee went to work moving the course around to match the wind.

The first W-L 4-leg race brought us about 10 MPH wind, and the boats that went right made out pretty well, beating out most or all of the boats that went left.  By  the second W-L 4-leg race the wind had picked up a bit and we were taking a little spray over the bow.  Going right this time proved to not be the best way and the boats that went left made out much better.  The Race Committee decided to do a third race to be sure we can get in as many as possible in case the weather doesn't cooperate on the other days.  We did one more W-L 4-leg race, and this time it was a toss up between those who went left and those who went right.  All in all a beautriful day on the water!

After Day 1. the leaders in the Championship Division are Zeke & Jay Horowitz, Mike & Jennifer Faugust, and John Eckart & Roger Sharp.  Challenger Division leaders are  Adophs & Zentmeyer, Andrew & Doug Fox, and Rob Vogul & Patrick Connell.

We had a nice easy downwind sail into the club followed by the traditional keg and a chalk talk given by the experts,  We'll do it all again tomorrow!  Lots of pictures here.  Resutls to date are here.

Boats have been arriving since Friday 4/1 at St. Andrew's Bay Yacht Club in Panama City Florida - juat about ready for the practice races before the actual event.  The folks at the club are happy to have the Flying Scot class back for this event.  We have 40+ boats registered and the weather is very promoisong for this week.  This is great news after weeks of sotrms and nasty weather so we are grateful for the sun and the wind we will have!  Stay tuned to see who wins the practice races today.  Meanwhile, your Executive Committee and Board of Governors will be busy discussing and planning FSSA business behind the scenes.

WOW!  It is fantastic to see that 41 Scots were on the line at the 46th Annual George Washington Birthday Regatta at Lake Eustis Sailing Club in Florida!  I bet you wish you were there!  Lots of folks went to The Oyster Troff where it is reported that the food was great,  And the weather was great for Jeff Linton's talk on boat rigging and tuning.  

Dean Grimes wrote - I want to thank you all for coming to the GWBR! this was one kick-ass weekend, for sure! It started with an awesome sailing clinic by Jeff Linton., (who else!), sponsored by LESC, on Friday. Saturday, there were 41 Flying Scots on the starting line!! From what I have been told, this is an all time high for a Florida District regatta! A record! To add to that, there were 96 boats sailing on two courses in this regatta, making it one of the highest attended regattas at Lake Eustis, EVER! Believe me, we were pushing the limits! Everyone seemed to have a great time, and everyone came home safely. (phew!)

Most of us are hibernating and waiting for the warmer weather, but the Florida District is going stroing with lots of activities.  And the Midwinters are around the corner o sign up now!  Have a look at some of the events that are happening in Florida and look under regatta results to see who's participating and who's winning.

Gator Bowl - 12/5-12/6 2015 t Rudder Club of Jacksonville

WIth 12 boats registered and lots of wind at the Riudder Club, the racing was challenging and competitive. The Race Committee was great and got in 4 races on Saturday.  Race 1 had 10 boats, and Tom McNally won that race.  There werw 8 boats for Race 2 and equipment issues affected the outcomme.  The Taylors got this one!  With 7 boats in race 3 and the Taylors got this one too!.  And then there were onyl 4, and the Taylors take race 4 as well!  With similar conditions on Dunay, there were 2 races, with Tom McNally taking Race 5 and 6.  The overall winners were Mark and Michelle Taylor from Davis Island Yacht Club, second was Lynn Bruss from Provateer and 3rd was Henry Schultz from Hilton Head Island - way to go!  Full results are here.

Florida Districts at Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club - Flying Scot Fleet 198 - 1/9-1/10/2016

There were 18 boats on the line for this regatta, and the lead changed several times over the 2 days.  Dave Thinel won Race 1,  Race 2 went to Tom McNally, Race 3 Mark Taylor, Race 4 Dave Thinel, Race 5 Mark Taylor.  But it was Mike and Jennifer Faugust who were overall winners with 16 points, followed by Tom McNally with 20 points in second, and Marshall Pardy with 21 points in third.  Full Results are here..

Other Florida Dates Below!!!