Siesta Key Sailing Club Bulletin Novemenber 26, 2009
Siesta Key Sailing Club Bulletin Novemenber 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Charlie Kilbourne
Commodore, Siesta Key Sailing Club
Siesta Key, FL 941-346-2241 941-346-2241
| Boat | Portsmouth Ratings | SKSC Handicaps | Name |
| Com-Pac 16 | 108.6 | 0 | Nina |
| Freedom 21 | 94.2 | 10 | Friend Ship |
| Freedom 21 | 94.2 | 14 | Neptunita |
| Sovereign 20 | unknown | 14 | Coda |
| Rhodes 22 | 100.2 | 14 | Mz. Manatee |
| MacGregor 25 | 96.0 | 19 | Ace High |
| Precision 21 | 98.5 | 21 | Dad's Therapy |
| Precision 23 | 96.0 | 21 | Second Wind |
| Force 5 | 94.1 | 23 | Great Expectations |
| DATE | RACE | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| --------------- | --------- | ----------- | ----------- | ------------ | ----------- | ----------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------- |
| Oct 28 | 1 | SEC | MAN | FRI | DAD | NIN | ACE | GRE | |
| Wind SW 7 | Times | 51 | 61 | 66 | 61 | 79 | 68 | 55 T | |
| Oct 29 | 2 | FRI | SEC | MAN | DAD | NIN | GRE | ||
| Wind SW 7 | Times | 67 | 57 | 66 | 61 | 87 | 52 T | ||
| Oct 30 | 3 | FRI | MAN | SEC | DAD | NIN | GRE | ||
| Wind W 8 | Times | 63 | 60 | 54 | 58 | 81 | 50 T | ||
| Mov 2 | 4 | FRI | SEC | DAD | MAN | NIN | COD | GRE | |
| Wind NW 11 | Times | 53 | 45 | 47 | 55 | 66 | dnf | dns | |
| Nov 3 | 5 | MAN | SEC | DAD | COD | NIN | FRI | GRE | |
| Wind E 7 | Times | 64 | 57 | 60 | 73 | 82 | dnf | 55 T | |
| Nov 4 | 6 | COD | DAD | NIN | SEC | MAN | ACE | GRE | FRI |
| Wind E 12 | Times | 49 | 44 | 60 | 45 | 52 | dnf | 42 T | dns |
| Season Pts - | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
Click for Daily Reports.
It is a little trophy. You could hide it behind a sheet of paper. But to the people who vie for it, it’s as big as the Statue of Liberty.
This year, the Siesta Key Sailing Club’s 2009 annual championship cup belongs to Frank VonAllmen.
It is not a fluke, either. This is the third time he’s won it. He began sailing with the SKSC in 1996 and won the cup in 1998. He repeated the feat in 2002. And now it’s a three-peat, with Frank joining Dave Farr and Dick Fox as three-time champions.
Fox was second this year, and – my favorite with his Commander Schweps white beard – Bob Miller was third. High winds plagued the sailors in March and early April. The April series ended in a tie between VonAllmen and Milton Thrasher.
Sailing is an ageless sport. It is a contest of seamanship, not strength. Next year’s races begin Oct. 27. Kudos to these ageless gentlemen who bring dignity and honor to the key.
A historical note: Mel Hurwitz is retiring from the competition. He took the cup in 1992, and served as fleet captain. Mel was a founding member of the SKSC and was made a life member of the club.
A personal observation: Professionals and yacht clubs do not keep the sport of sailing alive. The vitality is maintained by volunteer organizations such as the Siesta Key Sailing Club.
Charlie Kilbourne
Commodore, Siesta Key Sailing Club
FL 941-346-2241 MD 301-627-3741
Check out the new SKSC
Web Site from time to time.
Commodore Kilbourne opened the SKSC 2009 Awards Luncheon with 23 skippers, crews and guests present at Turtles Restaurant.
Frank VonAllmen's 3rd Season Championship.
Anna Lenck does the SKSC Website. Mel says, "Farewell".
Click for SKSC Website and 2009 Awards Luncheon Photos and BACK to return.
Milton Thrasher and Frank VonAllmen tied for April Series 1st. Dick Fox was 2nd for the 2009 Season
She posts the order of finish and the time over the course on the SKSC website for each of us that can be used to maintain our handicaps.
Mel Hurvitz has sold his Martin 16 to Jack Wayne. Jack's phone is 416-531-5882 and his cell is 284-6779. E-mail him at Jack.Wayne@cspi.org. We welcome him to the SKSC racing.
Siesta Key Sailing Club Bulletin of 4-10-2009
In my case, my outboard was repaired at Turtle Beach Marina, and when Nina poked her head out from the confines of the marina, I could see how severe the gusts were without raising sail.
Our Awards Luncheon is next, on Monday, 4-13, at 11:30 AM at Turtles Restaurant on the second floor. The gentlemen are requested to wear jackets. We hope for a good turnout.
On our regular web site we now have a prominent link to Skipper Milton Thrasher's lively SKSC web site. You will see it as Viewpoints at the base of the crowded home page - just click on it for some great photos and SKSC information.
Charlie Kilbourne, Commodore
4/8 ACE HIGH, SECOND WIND, CLASSY LADY, FRIEND SHIP, NEPTUNITA, CODA, THERAPY, NINA
4/9 CLASSY LADY, NEPTUNITA, ACE HIGH, MZ. MANATEE, SECOND WIND, NINA, CODA, FRIEND SHIP (DSQ)
Nina, Mz. Manatee and Friendship before the 4-9-9 race
Coda, Mz. Manatee, Nina and Second Wind before the 4-9-9 race
The last leg of the 4/9/2009 race
Venice airport was contacted for actual winds at the present time, and the reading is 17 basic with 27 mph gusts. SRQ/Bradenton airport reports 19 basic with 29 gusts. Again, after talking with Fleet Captain Dave Farr, and with no surprise, we are going to cancel the race today.
On the bright side, the rest of the week looks reasonably good. Hopefully, we should be able to sail the remaining 3 days in fair winds. No "no race" calls will be made unless a race is canceled.
Please check for possible morning bulletins regarding any handicap changes. A response to this cancellation notice with an "ok" would be appreciated to avoid phone calls.
Charlie Kilbourne, Commodore, SKSC
Commodore Kilbourne received his half model
at the SKSC Skippers' Meeting.
Free models for all SKSC boats are offered to those who provide plans or detailed photos.
Consistant mark placements are important for establishing good handicaps.
"We had to move our joint picnic to Monday April 6, 2009 at the Pelican Cove Harbor ..."
Vern Amundson, Commodore, Pelican Cove Yacht Club
There will be more details regarding our joint venture at our
SKSC pre-series meeting at the BOA Bank on Sunday. 3-29 at 4 PM.
Charlie Kilbourne
Commodore, Siesta Key Sailing Club
We thank webmaster, Anna Lenck, for her fine work here. Web sites can have a mind of their own so changes are not always easy. Anna's daily web site entries during series races are also much appreciated.
Please check Milt Thrasher's SKSC web site as well for fine photos, events and back newsletter publications.
Charlie Kilbourne
Commodore, Siesta Key Sailing Club
941-346-2241
The February races started on February 17 which would be our normal day if the skippers meeting had been held on the 16th. The following pictures were taken from Carrol Esry's dock where many of our earlier photos were taken. These are in the sequence taken so you can see who overtook whom as the race progressed. The start was to the south so the boats rounded the East Mark to port. Winds were light and variable of 7 average. The official report is posted on the SKSC web site with SV7 indicating that the races did not count for handicapping purposes. Winner was Dick Cox. The sequence was Dad's Therapy - Dick Cox, Mz. Manatee - Bob Miller, Second Wind - Dave Farr, Neptunita - Hans Wockenfus, Nina - Charles Kilbourne, Therapy (without his jib) - Mel Hurwitz, Friendship - Bill Hoffman, Ace High - Frank VonAllman, Coda - Pete Buros sailing a test race that did not count for handicapping.
We have news that Ace High has two inches of barnacles which accounts for her lack of performance. Frank VonAllman will have her bottom cleaned and then we should all look out. This boat has been a season championing before!
Click on each photo for a larger image. BACK to return.
Three photos of the 2-17-9 race and one of Bill Watt's Coda.
Former Star Class sailor, Pete Buros, will be sailing her.
November Series won by Bob Miller in Mz. Manatee!
Second Place tie - Dad's Therapy and Neptunita!
December Series won by Dave Farr in Second Wind with 5 pts!
Second Place tie - Mz. Manatee and Neptunita - 3 points
Mark Chadwin has donated Starry Night to New College.
Mark is available to crew.
Cmdr Charles Kilbourne models the SKSC warm up shirt!
Click for latest SKSC Homepage updates .
Click the left photo for the /charliekilbourne/">latest
SKSC Homepage update .
SKSC Fleet Roster in December 2008 handicap order| Yacht | Class | HC | Click for Skippers' pages | |
| 1 | Nina | Compac 16 | 0 | Charles Kilbourne, Cmdr. |
| 2 | Ace High | MacGregor 26 | 1 | Frank VonAllmen |
| 3 | Mz. Manatee | Rhodes 22 | 5 | Bob Miller, Regatta Chairman |
| 9 | Therapy | Martin 16 | 6 | Mel Hurwitz |
| 4 | Friend Ship | Freedom 21 | 11 | Bill Hoffman |
| 5 | Neptunita | Freedom 21 | 11 | Hans Wockenfuss, Cruise Chair |
| 6 | Dad's Therapy | Precision 21 | 13 | Dick Fox |
| 7 | Classy Lady | Irwin 23 | 13 | Milton Thrasher |
| 8 | Second Wind | Precision 23 | 14 | Dave Farr, Fleet Captain |
| 10 | Goomar | Raider Sport 16 | x | Ted Jennings |
| 11 | Coda | Sovereign 20 | x | Bill Watt |
| | Peter Buros| | |Dave Gardner | | |Bernie Gerstner | |
| | Cliff Fox | | | Ed Cox | | |Ted Jennings | |
| | Anna Lenck | | | Mark Chadwin | |
Bill Hoffman aboard his Freedom 21 "Friend Ship"
and Anna Lenck and Charlie Kilbourne aboard Nina 10-31-8
Don Pedro Island is only accessible by boat. Click on the map for a larger image, BACK to return.Thanks to Hans Wockenfuss, our cruise committee chairman, for organizing the cruise.
The cruise was arranged by Hans Wockenfuss to go to Don Pedro Island. The group also included Peter Buros, William Hoffman and Dick Fox who had some grandchildren aboard. They went out side from the Venice Jetties to Stump Pass, entering during a serious chop with Hans doing the navigating fearlessly. Hans also found time to do some long distance swimming in the Gulf. Pete said they went ashore and did some jogging and touring around this interesting destination.
See www.floridastateparks.org/donpedroisland/map.cfm for a map and details of what is available there.
We hope the new SKSC web site is able to be downloaded successfully by all members. If there are any recommendations for improvement of the site, please notify us.
The SKSC Newsletter was mailed in the last week of November.
Be sure to check skipper Milton Thrasher's Angelfire web site http://siestakeysailing.angelfire.com for SKSC info. as well as some fine photos.
Click
Charlie Kilbourne, Commodore to send an e-mail to him.
Click
Anna Lenck, Fleet Recorder to send an e-mail to her.
Click
SKSC Web Site Homepage for latest update.
Click for Correct Time
The Pelican Press's Stan Zimmerman's column appeared in their paper and on their website. Thanks to Anna Lenck for the alert.
SIESTA KEY'S 2008 CHAMPION
The feisty Siesta Key Sailing Club has announced that Ted Jennings won the annual championship medallion for his red-hot performance aboard Goomar. Charlie Kilbourne with Nina was second in the annual series, and long-time veteran sailor Dick Fox was third aboard Dad's Therapy.
Ted Jennings won both the December and April series of races to take the annual award. Four new boats joined the SKSC fleet for the 2008 series and were able to establish their handicap ratings.
The association uses the reverse handicap system, with a staggered start, so the first boat across the finish line is the winner. It makes for very exciting races, refocusing on the finish line instead of alleged rule infractions.
Dick Fox was the decisive winner of the SKSC Little Sarasota Bay Regatta!He is shown here with his brother Cliff while rafted alongside of Classy Lady
Dick Fox was the 4th to start with his 11 minute SKSC assigned handicap at 1311. He finished at 1505, under 1 hour over our 4.2 mile course. He showed us all how to handle the many wild gyrations of the wind. The wind shifts were often as much as 180 degrees. Their strength was from about zero to twenty or even more.
We had 6 boats from the SKSC Fleet. Several that were expected dropped by the wayside for various reasons. That included our Committee Boat owner/driver, Ken Cuneo. He had outboard motor pains as we all have experienced from time to time. This was from the starter motor's Bendix not working and there not being parts stores open on Sunday.
Classy Lady in a puff! : Mz Manatee: Ace High
The weather gave us a big break on Sunday March 9th for our Little Sarasota Bay Regatta. After two days of very severe weather with winds as high as the 60s, we had wonderful weather with good winds, albeit blustery at times.
Our only problem was Ken Cuneo’s committee boat’s outboard motor. It would not start due to a faulty Bendix. So, the Classy Lady served as the committee boat and started the fleet with a mouth horn that seemed to work.
The entries in order of handicaps were Hurwitz - 6 minutes, VonAllmen – 7, Wockenfuss – 10, Fox - 11, Miller - 15, Thrasher – 20.
Our unique SKSC handicap system allowed us to determine the winners immediately. Dick Fox, the first to finish was the winner by 17 minutes. That is like Secretariat’s 26 length victory at the Belmont in 1972! He seemed to be immune from the strange shifts that would come and go and knock you down at times.
The racing was exciting as the faster boats had to catch up to the slower boats. And, we had a short leg after the last turning mark. That is by design so that boats might be clustered tightly on that beat to the finish line. And, that happened!
Dick Fox in his Precision 21 showed the way very early in winds that were as fluky as I have ever seen. Some wind shifts were 180 degrees. The gusts were as high as 20 mph with periods of calms.
It was a game of being in the right place at the right time. Positions changed frequently between boats that were near each other. One would get the wind and the other not see a ripple even though they were only 25 yards apart.
Dick Fox did “a horizon job” on us by finishing in 1 hr 5 minutes. Mine was the next boat 17 minutes later!
I was behind Hans Wockenfuss just before rounding the last mark. Bob Miller was very close by. After rounding, I caught a small breeze and accelerated just enough to squeeze by Hans. I finished at 1 hr 22 minutes. Hans was only a boat length or two behind. Then came Bob Miller in 1 hr 23 minutes! We sailed our usual 4.2 mile triangular course. The close finishes showed that our handicap system worked very well!
Motorboat traffic was very minimal. That was probably because of the strange winds following 2 days of very fierce winds. There might have been as many as 6 motor boats during the entire race. No wakes were noticed to have caused problems for our little fleet.
Carroll Esry provided an excellent collection of 97 photos of the Regatta. They were taken with his telephoto 400 lens. These became a slide show for our end of season Awards Luncheon at Turtle’s Restaurant on Monday April 14th.
I posted the best for each boat and skipper on the http://siestakeysailing.angelfire.com web site. You can link to them by clicking on the skipper's name at the bottom of the home page.
The fleet agreed we should do more regattas like this one with medallion prizes. Some were interested in rafting afterward but the wind made it a little too risky. We will do that in the future.
And, some want to do a short cruise, perhaps to Boca Grande when the weather is a little warmer.
Milton Thrasher
The Siesta Key Sailing Club is a small group of retired sailors who, for 22 years,
have enjoyed camaraderie and competition on the waters of Little Sarasota
Bay. SKSC welcomes new members. If you own a small sailboat 14' or larger and are
interested, please contact Commodore Charlie Kilbourne at www.crk1470@aol.com
Click
SKSC for our main web site maintained by Anna Lenck and SKSC Viewpoints photos and
SKSC Newsletters with additional details maintained by Milton Thrasher.
Send news,photos and comments to him at mthrasher@verizon.net.
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