March 1, 2014

 By Bob Stevens

Saturday was another perfectly beautiful morning, with, again, little wind.  We hung around the beach for a while, and were finally able to get the racing started, a bit later than planned.  We ran two light air races in the morning, and went back to the beach for lunch, this time, fabulous brats, and salads.

The race committee went out to check the breeze, and found that it had shifted to the west a bit.  So, it could quite happily run two more races in the best breezes we had both race days. to end the regatta with eight races scored for the Sandpipers, and four, one on Friday, for the non-Sandpiper catboats.  The only real problem was the RC forgetting to set the finishing line for the seventh race on time, but it finally was set up at absolutely the last minute.

What a regatta we had!  Our own Jay Taylor and Gary Alderman won three races, but, with only one throwout, and being on the wrong side of the huge wind shift on the first day of racing, finished fourth overall.  The champion was Useppa’s Richard Dimmitt and Barry Cochran, who never finished lower than fifth, and won the seventh race. Jim Gelenitis, representing the Metedenconk Yacht Club on Barnegat Bay NJ, with his wife aboard as his crew finished second, winning the first race and the last race. And, finally, Mike Spark, Commodore of the Mantoloking Yacht Club, also on Barnegat Bay NJ, and his wife finished third overall, with a win in the final race, ahead of Jay and Gary by but one point.

Jay Taylor and Mike Albert were co-chairs of a really great Catboat Rendezvous, the best one yet!  Lots of competition, lots of eats, lots of good times - just a fine regatta.  Memories are vividly left with us all.

Photos by UseppaGin