The SKSC Members and Crews and Boats and Contact Information are at the bottom of this web site
Counter reset 10-28-2011
Click for Siesta Key Sailing YouTube video from several years ago. It shows a lot of the boats that are still with us.
Click on Sailing Rules. There can be no excuse for not knowing the rules!
Here is another video to study.
The SKSC Meeting was attended by Commodore Charles Kilbourne and Score Keeper Anna Lenck, Frank VonAllmen, Bob Miller, Alberto DiMillio, Hans Wockenfuss, Paul Baehr, Dick Fox, Milton Thrasher (surrogate for Ted Jennings). Absentees were Ted Jennings, Peter Buros, Howard Wurtzel, Dick Wallin. Macgregor 26 owner and Sam Fisher, the Precision 24 owner who has been out at least 2 times.
Several new ideas were introduced for consideration by Bob Miller:
1) Have scores for the first 5 places from 5 to 1 where 5 is the best.
This will be tried out in the November 2012 series.
2) Have flexible starting lines depending on wind to always have a windward first leg. This may be considered again for the November 2012 series.
Hans announced that he will start with Liberty at 145, not his assigned handicap of 138. That is because he wants to race boat for boat against Liberty, being of the same Freedom 21 Class. Some thought he should start at his normal time so as to not get a better handicap. It was stated that he would not be given a better handicap as a result of his later start.
Bob Miller will do the starting signals. It is up to each member to time his own start after Bob leaves the starting line.
It was emphasized that each boat should make a definite turn upon finishing so that Anna can capture their time. They should note their order of finish if in close company with others.
Peter Buros won the February 2012 Series Championship but was not present to receive his award certificate.
Jerry Bilik, a tennis player at Serendipity Tennis Club and Pelican Cove resident may buy a boat join us for the next season. Jerry wrote the music and did the Disney On Ice Show for over 20 years.
The 4th Annual Combined SKSC and Pelican Cove Fleet Barbecue will be held. Please advise Bob Miller of your planned attendance.
The attendance for the annual SKSC Awards Banquet is about 26. Ted Jennings is in charge. It was said that there will be tables for 4 and 6 in the large private room. Frank VonAllmen proposed that we be sure to have a cocktail hour when members and guests can mingle before sitting down.
At the March SKSC Skippers Meeting, there was some discussion of handicaps followed by some phone calls requesting some changes for those who start later due to higher handicaps. This seems to be caused by the fact that the wind more often than not dies in the afternoons more than picking up. Of course, it could be the other way around. It is all a matter of luck.
This may have prompted the Commodore to provide an explanation to the fleet via email.
The new boat that sailed with the SKSC Fleet recently is named "Logan Gale", a Precision 24 Class sloop with roller furling Genoa jib. The owner is Sam Fisher. Welcome him aboard at 717-445-3099. More information is requested about his sailing experience and home port.
Charlie Kilbourne, Commodore
Milton Thrasher Webmaster Site 2
Liberty finished the course 2 minutes quicker than Dad's Therapy who started one minute earlier and finished
one minute later, thus establishing the 2 minutes quicker claim. But, last Thursday, Dad's Therapy only finished
3 minutes ahead of Liberty who started 3 minutes later using the 1st Week's handicaps. We observe that Dad's Therapy and Liberty's handicaps are about right supporting the premise of the handicap system in place.
We are pleased to see how the fleet has sharpened up their tactics. We see frequent tacks
on headers and most are generally on the course leading closest to the marks. The boat speeds seem about
as you would expect given the statistical handicaps based on the last 8 races when compared to the Commodore's
times over the course.
What made the big difference in Liberty's 2nd place finish today was the choice of tacks on the 2nd beat from
East to West. Liberty tacked on two big headers and was able to gain a big lead over Dad's Therapy, Neptunita
and Sudden Comfort on the last tack to the West mark. That was because the others held to the south too long. That has always been a guaranteed trap in my humble opinion.
The West Mark is reported by many to have squirelly currents around it being close to the narrows at Point Crisp.
Many have come to grief while rounding if they don't give it a wide berth.
The big surprise was how well new member, Dick Wallin
did with Sally, his MacGreogor 26. She is big and
can I say, a little boxy, and she has a lot of windage due to high sides. Dick apparently beat our
pre-eminent, frequent seasonal champion Dick Fox after holding on to his 6 minute earlier start than Dick's.
We saw the Commodore part way from the East to West Mark before Liberty started, making us think that Nina would be the eventual winner. Not so when we saw Coda had held south, found stronger winds in the area where they are
not expected, and Coda took off as if by magic and was never challenged by others! Well done to Peter Buros!
Another boat to be commented on is Ace High who easily won in the irratic but strong winds of Friday, only to be
dead last today. Ace High probably was not scored due to the dreaded Rule 13. That is you must finish within 10 minutes of the
first boat. You may recall if you were at the last Skippers' Meeting that some argued for making Rule 13 to be
a finish within 15 minutes. That was argued on the basis that some of the smaller, and thus slower boats, should
be given more time to more fairly reflect their performance. But there were no loss of points due to the 10 minute time limit.
We look forward to more opportunities like today when the wind was generally strong enough to keep the boats
always moving and the shifts were not too irratic. It should be a good day to continue the run of statistics
for analysis of the boat speeds of the fleet.
Once again, Peter Buros took the measure of the entire fleet and and possibly won the Series Champhionship.
Dick Fox inadvertently started 2 minutes early and was disqualified for not restarting. He discovered the error
too late while on the second leg.
Liberty was able to hold off Neptunita who insisted on starting at the same time, perhaps only because Hans was
singlehanded and not able to keep his jib full at all times. He showed good boat speed in all the
close encounters.
Ace High got back on track and finished second after Monday's surprising Rule 13 performance.
We continued to wonder if the Commodore would get to the starting line anywhere near his start time.
We watche him take a very long run to the start. Yesterday he hit the line right on the second
but today, doing the same long run, he was off by about 20 seconds. As a general rule, most sailors
hover around the starting line incase the wind would suddenly drop and leave anyone far away no chance
to start on time.
Sally continues to surprise us with her good performance. Sudden Comfort had a crew and did
not seem to have what we thought might be a case of "Telephonitis" on previous days. For awhile it seemed
that Liberty was going to be beaten by Sudden Comfort but a few good lifts and quick tacks got Liberty
around the West mark and a safe passage home. There was no chance to catch anyone other than the Commoodore who
had a reasonably good day.
Will Dad's Therapy be able to regain her previously strong lead or will Pete Buros continue to give the fleet
a lesson?
Liberty suffered by being overpowered near the end of the last lap. This was apparent when Sally sailed about 5 degrees closer to the wind on the last beat from East to South. She beat Liberty to the south mark very easily.
That is especially surprising because she did not heel very much and did not lose much speed while tacking. She
must be a very light boat. Since Coda placed second, she cinched the Series Championship.
I talked to Bill Watt, Coda's owner at Serendipity Tennis Thursday morning. I asked how he
accounts for Peter Buros doing so well with Coda lately. He attributed to Peter being very careful about the
wind areas and his sharp tactics in taking advantage of the shifts. He is always aware of what the other boats
are encountering and their apparent strategies.
Bill also revealed the Peter Buros' daughter may be an even better sailor. She sailed with them and was asked "What could we do to make Coda
perform better?" Should they get a bigger rudder, better sails, change the position of the mast, lighten the
boat or what? She simply said, "Know your boat!" That is good advice for all of us. Each boat has its own
characteristics which should be taken into consideration as you plan your racing strategy.
Today, leading the sheets outboard played out better than ever. We had a strong reaching wind from South to East on the second lap. We observed our boat speed compared to most of the fleet that were clustered on that leg. We very quckly caught up to Sally and Ace High and sailed over top of them. Then, we had Dad's Therapy and Coda to contend with as we got near the East mark. We were able to round outside of both of them about the same time and drove through Dad's Therapy's lee! We continued in the lee of Coda toward the north shore. I contend that is
always more favorable than tacking and going out into the middle. When Coda's shadow slowed us enough to tack
under her stern, we saw that the rest of the fleet had taken the tack to the south. That was our great break!
That gave us the chance to be more north and in our own wind which true to our experience gave us more pressure.
We sailed close to the green channel marker at point crisp and found slants that almost took us directly
to the west mark. Once around the west mark, there was no way anyone could catch us. It was a great feeling
to finally be looking back at the entire fleet. We knew there was no way Dad's Therapy could undue our lead
as she has so often done throughout this Series.
You may not have noticed but it was Burr Jennings at the helm today. Ted elected to stay home as he was
not feeling up to racing today. What a shame because, after Ted forgot what day it was
on the Tuesday after the meeting, he missed that race. He worked very hard in every race thereafter
until when he was bed ridden for part of today.
I called Ted as soon as I got home after our 2:34 finish. He was delighted to know that Liberty still can
perform when the conditions are right! Of course, we know that our handicap will reflect today's performance.
I assure asure everyone we did nothing to slow our speed when we saw we had the race in the bag!
This Series had the best weather that I can remember since being part of the SKSC fleet for 4 years
or more. It has been a great ride!
Now we can all attend the SKSC Awards Banquet at the Waterfront Restuarant Monday April 9th starting at
4:00 with cocktails. The ladies are invited and no business will be discussed.
Peter Buros will be awarded his second consecutive Series Championship. And, he may have shared one before. A lot of comments are expectd to be made of the 2011 - 2012 Season which may be the 26th with our Commodore serving us so well!
The SKSC Heavies: Commodore, Fleet Captain and Ted Jennings with Anna Lenck, Hans Wockenfuss and Paul Baehr
The SKSC meeting at 4 PM on Sunday, February 12 was attended by Charles Kilbourne, Bob Miller, Ted Jennings, Anna Lenck, Hans wackenfuss, Paul Baehr and Milton Thrasher. Frank VanAllmen called in with regreats that he has a bad back and probably will miss some days in the February Series. Peter Buros was unaccounted for.
Welcome new member Ricard Wallin with his white 26' MacGregor water ballasted sailboat named Sally. He keeps it at
Pelican Cove. He has a 50 hp motor and can attain speeds as high as 26 mph. She was out in December
with the fleet on a blustery day but it did not count for trail races. He will start at 137.
After some discussion about the handicaps, it was decided to do two race trials with the 3 Freedom 21's starting at 148 which is Ted Jennings normal handicap. Hans Wockenfuss said he did not want to have the 8 minute earlier start and wanted to start at the same time with Ted. Wally had a 136 start for his trial races.
The results were not very productive and the trial will not be continued.
Hans wanted to see how his boat Neptunita preforms versus Liberty boat for boat without handicaps. On Tuesday,
2-21-2012, Liberty was the clear winner, probablby because it had a cleaner bottom.
February Series Races started Wednesday February 15 after the Tuesday race was cancelled due to high winds.
The Friday race was cancelled for fear of the predicted rain. ision
The second week started without Liberty due to Burr Jennings taking Presidents' Day off to take his son sailing. Burr had a very close finish against Hans in Neptunita. Burr being on starboard tack was able
to cross ahead of Hans.
PPaul Baehr suggested another web site for MOAA weather that includes wind predictions hour by hour. That is in
hopes of salvaging some race days that SRQ Weather and other sites might discourage us from sailing. It is at
See this YouTube
Sailing Trailer that has some good sailing tips!
November Series Races started Tuesday - October 25.
Charlie Kilbourne, Commodore
See the YouTube video of this neat little speed demon at
They are trailerable and frequently used by offshore fishermen who are interested in a reliable way to get back
to shore in case the motor fails.
Learn about these unusual boats at www.macgregor26.com and see the
video of the MacGregor 26 in rough sea and high winds! Not as seen on Lower Sarasota Bay below Point Crisp! No way!
Click for the MacGregor 26 motor installation photo.
Week 2 has started off with three days cancelled.
Bill Hoffman sold his Precision 23 Second Wind and is available for crewing as is Milton Thrasher when not
sailing with Ted Jennings.
Pete Buros will bring Coda to the area either Monday or early Tuesday from the Sailing Squadron where he reports
that the Yahama motor started on the 2nd pull. Commodore Kilbourne reports his outboard is a little shakey. Milton Thrasher suggested that he consider mooring his boat at the dock opposite the Siesta Bungalos where he
kept the Classy Lady. In that way, he can be assured of being able to get to the SKSC course in time for the
starts each day.
The October-Novermber Series Handicaps were distributed. Ted Jennings will be the Starter initially.
Learn more about our Freedom 21s
Yes, he owns two Shark 24's!
Shark 24 #1092 Sudden Impulse
and
Shark 24 #307 Sudden Penury
This first newsletter of the season is in email format with hard copy mailings being sent to members who do not have the availability of a computer. Newsletters to follow should be hardcopy mailings.
Welcome to a new season and our 26th year as a sailing club. As the chart above shows, our fleet
is fairly well intact. There are always some changes.
Veteran skipper Paul Baehr joined us last season, and he should be with us in mid-November with his Shark, Sudden Penury. Over the summer, this Canadian-based sailor was the Regatta Chairman for the
46th Shark World Championship which was held at his home club (Beaconsfield YC). He finished about in the middle of the Shark fleet. A few weeks later, he finished 3rd in his own Beaconsfield YC Annual Regatta.
Paul finished 2nd at the Ishkoodah Cup, the longest continuously run race in Canada. More races followed, and, In all, he had a very successful summer.
Pete Buros was active sailing with 3 offshore trips including BVI-Cheseapeke, NYC-Maine, and East-to West on L. Ontario. He sailed with Bob Miller on Bob's Pearson 32 on L. Ontario. He had buoy races on L.
Sunapee in NH as well.
Bill Hoffman may be leaving Pelican Cove, and he is concerned about finding a berth for his Second Wind.
Ted and Burr Jennings have moved Liberty from Siesta Key Marina. She now has a slip at the same dock area as Dick Fox and his Dad's Therapy.
Fleet Captain Bob Miller is having a fine summer, saying "It has been an excellent sailing season here on Lake Ontario. Sailing almost daily and have had two cruises so far this season." Due to travel, Bob and his Mz. Manatee will miss the Nov. Series Races..
Fleet Recorder Anna Lenck has recently returned from a cruise to Nova Scotia. Along with her record keeping for the club, she shares Webmaster entries duty for our Web Site 1 and is the Webmaster for the Bay Front Community Assoc. As crew for Nina, she helps with lay lines and with keeping Charlie K. off the bay's sand bars.
Alberto DiMillo has been on the West Coast. He spent a day sailing a 37' J47 on San Francisco Bay.
Milton Thrasher has gotten active again with the Sarasota Model Yacht Club that races Soling One Meter
r/c models at the Meadows Community pond near their new Community Center.
He committed to crew on Liberty on a space available basis. He will be available for crew on days he is not sailing with Liberty. We look forward to his SKSC racing comments on his SKSC Website 2.
Frank VonAllmen is ready for the season, saying: "Ace High is in ship shape and ready to take on all- comers!"
Hans Wockenfuss is in the process of acquiring new sails for his Freedom, Neptunita.
Click on the ClockVideo.mp4 image to see the Genesis Wood Clock in operation.
See my latest project - Genesis Wood Clock laser cut parts - as shown on
Genesis Wood Clock my new PhotoShow.
The full instructions and ordering information for the Genesis Wood Clock are in the Spring 2011 issue
of Scroll Saw Magazine which sells for only $6.99 plus shipping for about $10 total.
I sell the laser cut parts for the Genesis Wood Clock and others by Clayton Boyer. See his blog on
www.lisaboyer.com for "Clocksters'" comments.
See how to build the Simplicity Wood Clock step by step.
Commodore Kilbourne had outboard motor problems which caused him to not be entered on April 7th.
The astounding time of 35 minutes by Liberty on April 8th was attributed to it being an all reaches race
that was started in the wrong direction for the wind.
This is a perfect case to make the argument that an other coourse option could be with a Green over Red
flag indicating a start to the north with all marks to port.
Conversey, a Red over Green signal could indict a start to the south with all marks to starboard. That
should not be confusing because Red is the color for the port side lights and Green is the color for
the starboard lights. This would give us 4 choices of courses with the same handicaps.
The record for the 4.2 mile course was set by Dave Farr in Second Wind of only 32 minutes.
That will be a tough time to beat unless the wind is above 15 mph.
It was at this time (between 11 and 1130 AM) calls were made to advise skippers of these conditions and to recommend individual cancellation. Some who were about to race changed their minds, and the race, of course,was eventually canceled.
Commodore Charles Kilbourne
Charlie Kilbourne, Commodore
It is as though April First was living up to its name when we sailed this race yesterday. The finish line was crossed by 8 of our fleet boats within 5 min. of each other. This is a good sign our HC system is working well, but almost too well to be able to determine time and order of finish easily.
One boat was unsighted (Second Wind between Ace High and the east shore) and two boats had incidents on the course resulting in DQs. As a result, several sailors made phone calls to clarify the various situations.
PLEASE -- contact the Fleet Captain or Commodore IMMEDIATELY after the race to report any marker violations, collisions, etc., as they may affect the outcome of a race. Fortunately, yesterday's incidents did not involve awarding of points.
Charlie Kilbourne Commodore
We saw Friend Ship pass the Commodore just at the end. Coda sailed close to the Commodore for most of the race
but lost out near the end to about 3 boats that kept their momentum in the very light zephers.
More on the races later.
Ted Jennings will turn his Liberty over to Milton Thrasher for Friday's, April 1st,
race. Is this an April Fool's joke? He will be sailing with his crew, Dr. Peter Fegen from the Classy Lady
days.
Paul Baehr - Sudden Penury's skipper will be with us for the 1st week but will ship his boat
to Canada or possibly France for a Shark 24 Class event per Fleet Captain Bob Miller. We hope to give him a good tune up series of races.
Pete Buros proposed a change to Rule 13 so that slow boats will have their time recorded if later than 10 minutes after the last boat to finish. This was not adopted on the assumption that it would not change the handicaps. But, some thought it would give the slower boats a better chance.
A discussion about some different race courses to accomodate different conditions such as light air or very little air was held. Fleet Captain Bob Miller may propose some course options after a committee meeting composed of Bob Miller, Dick Fox, Alberto DiMillio and Paul Baehr. Did I leave some one out? Different course lengths will require different handicaps! Our current long standing handicap system is predicated on a constant 4.2 mile course. I do not recall any time when a "Shortened Course Signal" was ever flown. Some members advised that "we should leave 'Well Enough' alone!"
Besides that, PHRF and other handicap systems require calculations after the race to determine the placements.
Our system allows you to know instantly where you place.
One suggestion was to award points based on the number of boats you beat. That in effect is to award
points for simply participating. It was decided to stay with only giving points for the first, second and
third places. This has worked well for low the 28 years that SKSC has been in existence.
Bob Miller took reservations for members who live outside of Pelican Cove for the SKSC and Pelican Cove Annual Picnic.
Anna Lenck recorded the guests for the end of season luncheon at Turtles Restuarant.
There were some discussions about the advisability of using a spinnaker on Freedom 21's.
Howard Wurtzel advised that he and his skipper, Alberto DiMillio, have decided to not use
their spinnaker although permission had been granted at the previous meeting. Ted Jennings,
having raced in a number of Olympic Class boats, advised that the number of lines required
would cause too much entanglement to be worthwhile.
2011 April Series Handicaps were distributed to Skippers for Week 1 by the Commodore.
The start was to the south and just barely a beat as most layed the mark from the start. The fleet got strung out nicely per the handicaps. That made a great sight. Very early on we saw that Dad's Therapy was going to be hot again. Sure enough, she took a 1st for the second day in a
row. We saw how long the course times would be when it took the Commodore in Nina 7.5 minutes to get to the East Mark. He and a few others held on to the North which I contend is the way to play the south wind. Those who took a starboard tack to the middle were at great risk of finding the soft spots. That is the usual pattern. I was on Liberty again. We started 20 minutes after Nina. We watched her rather quickly be overcome by Mz. Manatee, then Neptunita, and then
Dad's Therpy. That was on the first lap!
The race was a challenge to your patience as the usual tack was immediately followed by a header which made you
think you should have held on to the knock you were trying to escape! We had our eyes on Sudden Penury. We were
surprised that we could hold her off after her 2 minute later start until the last turning mark! It seems we are a little faster on reaches and runs due to more sail area but she is significantly faster to windward.
I can only tell about the last 5 boats to finish as we were so far back that we only knew that Dad's
Therapy had taken her 1st place in two days! And, Neptunita had her second 2nd in two days!
On Friday, Burr Jennings and his father Ted will be racing Liberty. I will be at the Sarasota Sailing
Squadron getting the Classy Lady ready for our son and his two sons and wife who arrive Sunday for a week.
We hope to sail a few days before she might be sold. I have a potential buyer coming over from New Orleans who wants
to take her to Lake Ponchatrain to day sail her! We keep our fingers crossed.
This was a perfect opportunity to make the point that the
high handicap boats suffer heavily when the winds are light! Pardon my taking a lot of ink while telling an interesting tactics case.
Due to the breeze going soft, our fastest boats - Sudden Penury (SUD) and Liberty (LIB) -
were not able to catch what I call the early starters. But, they had a great race within the race. Here
is how it played out:
LIB and ACE were both ahead of SUD and overlapped at the South Mark when turning for home. ACE had done a great reach and built an inside overlap as they rounded close together. They both hardened up and
proceeded west until they could possibly lay the finish line which was badly skewed with the west end closest. ACE peeled off first and LIB held on a little longer to be sure to not have to
make any tacks to finish. SUD was coming on strong. She had proven faster and closer winded. This shaped up to be a great three boat race to the finish!
The wind was possibly the strongest it had been giving LIB and ACE some hopes that they
could hold off SUD to the end. That was not to be! Because the line was so skewed, ACE did not have
a chance as SUD started her move as expected.
LIB had a difficult choice as we neared the finish. She could luff up SUD before getting within two
lengths to the finish. That would be to prevent her from passing to windward and finish first or simply sail fast
to be sure to beat out ACE. Quick thinking LIB Skipper Jennings realized that SUD was sailing
a trial race and elected to beat out Ace High instead. Sud managed to put her bow over the line first by
a nose taking LIB and ACE!
At the earlier end of the race, Dad's Thearpy found the groove and passed about 4 boats before getting to the East Mark. Neptunita was also getting hot and moved up fast. Coda was sailing well and looked good for most of the
race. Friend Ship was holding back as she does before doing something amazing the next day. We have to watch her closely.
I sailed on Liberty again and saw the fleet divide up. Four came in fairly closely and
five came in later, more strung out.
The excitement for the day was the presence of a new boat - the Shark 24 307 from the Beaconsfield Yacht Club near Montreal, Canada. She is named Sudden Penury is reported as SUD in the results. SUD means South in French. You can find photos of her in races at the Beaconsfield Y C. She is shown with spinnaker and a large genoa against other Sharks and larger boats.
Sudden Penury has a low freeboard and a small cabin. She has a fin and bulb
keel and a fin rudder. Needless to
say this boat is a rocket compared to our typical mini-cruiser. She finished at 2:24. Naturally, she sailed a trial race so she cannot be counted in
the standings.
Per SKSC Website 1, Dad's Therapy sailed an excellent race and came in 1st followed closely by Mz. Manatee, then Netunita by 1 minute followed by Liberty at 2:31. It was the first time that Neptunita completed the course
in less time than Liberty proving the advantages of a clean bottom.
Specifications:
The Shark 24 has earned itself a reputation of extraordinary reliability and longevity among sailors both in North America and Central Europe. Having been designed by George Hinterhoeller back in 1959 to cope well even with the harshest conditions found in the Great Lakes region, the vessel has proven to be well suited for extended leisure trips as well as for tough racing.
Because the Shark has not lost any of its popularity over the decades, and there is a large international racing community carrying out countless regattas every year, the Shark has recently been awarded the title "Classic Yacht" by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).
Liberty's mainsail roach appears to have a much larger arc and the hoist may be about 1' shorter to compensate.
The Liberty roller reefing Genoa is new and looks very good to my eyes. Those two points may make a big
difference.
Neptunita's bottom has reportedly been cleaned recently. We think she was faster today as she came in behind Dad's Therapy less than a minute later as the wind was softening late in race.
In checking the handicap charts, you can see that thay are arrived at strictly by taking the average of the
times over the course compared to Nina's.
There are a few adjustments in the times over the course having to do with penalties. For instance, Friend Ship
had 2 minutes subtracted for not observing the right of way of a starboard tack boat in one race.
The boats with higher masts have been known to do better in some winds when the breeze is stronger aloft. This
may be mostly in days when the water is warmer than other days.
I propose that the starting time be advanced to 1:15 to take advantage of the sea breeze and the possibility
of the breeze lasting long enough for the late starters to have enough wind to catch the early starters.
This is based on my observations for several years that the sea breeze, when it comes, most often fills
in by 1:15 in sufficent strength to know the direction for the start and give the ealier starters
a jump on the later starters. I believe it would be fairer for all concerned.
Today, with the new handicaps, we will be watching closely how the new starting sequence works out.
Your observations are welcome for this discussion.
Be sure to check the new Handicap Charts shown below. Week 2 and Week 1 Handicaps are shown for comparison.
Friend Ship and Mz. Manatee now start ahead of Ace High. Second Wind now starts ahead of Dad's Therapy.
Ace High and Liberty earned their 5 minute higher handicaps by excellent sailing!
We saw many boats had troubles at the West mark. We worried a lot about Ace High and Neptunita as they moved up fast on the East to South Mark leg. Fortunately, the wind held on the final leg and Coda got the win with Ace High and Neptunita coming on very strong.
Consider that Coda started at 1:35 followed 1 minute later by Ace High and three minutes later by Neptunita! Given that Ace High and Neptunita came in within several minutes, the handicap system did a good job!
Wednesday 2/16 It continues to amaze how Alberto can be hot one day and the next will be the opposite!
Thursday 2/17
See the write up below the photos from the Wednesday races.
Friday 2/18
See the write up below the photos from the Thursday race day.
Liberty started last at 1:45 on the north bound course. Ace High started 9 minutes earlier, with Leaf Wanless at the helm. He took off on all of us
and flew up to the West Mark in a flash!. He was almost able to lay the mark while those of us who came along later had to tack to make it.
I think he rounded the West Mark first and probably was to the East Mark before any others rounded the West Mark!
On Liberty we thought we could cut off the remainder of the fleet as we tacked for the West Mark on starboard tack. Unfortunately, we took a big header while Second Wind, Mz. Manatee and Neptunita were enjoying a big lift with some real punch in it. We rounded a little behind Second Wind and by then, Neptunita and Mz. Manatee were about 150 yards ahead. As we approached the East Mark, we saw that Neptunita had an inside overlap before two boat lengths from the mark. That required Mz. Manatee to round on the outside of the "wheel".
Ted Jennings knows the vagaries of the East Mark. Upon rounding, he hardened up to get away from that shore. It did not take long to pass Neptunita and Mz. Manatee by being further out in the stream. We saw that Ace High had already rounded the South Mark! Ace High was
too far ahead to catch on the second round. So we settled in and watched the struggles of the remaining seven boats.
My assessment is that the wind was stronger higher up so the boats with taller rigs benefited. Ace High, having the tallest rig may have had a lot
of air that the smaller boats did not receive. And Second Wind with a taller mast lead Dad's Therapy for some of the time, probably due to her higher mast.
We noted that Ace High has an asterisk, meaning her handicap can change daily. We wished it was a T
for Trial Race to establish a new handicap with her lighter keel. That would have given us a three point first instead of a two point second place.
Unfortunately, I did not have the camera set up properly today. So, I only have three photos even though I snapped quite a few. They show how light the breeze was as we prepared to start.
Friday 2-18
Even though she went south after rounding the East mark, she had enough lead to not be really challenged by others.The fleet was lined up nicely on the close reach from the south with about 30 - 40 yard between each boat. It was a great sight.
Unfortunately, I was not able to take photos again because the card was full. It stored 8 new photos on it the
internal memory stored. But,I don't know how to transfer from internal memory to a card. So, I won't be able to post them unless Peter Buros can tell me a way to do that.
There appeared to be some strong puffs for those who then port tacked for the West Mark.
But, Commodore Kilbourne, Second Wind and possibly two others held on to the North at the East Mark which is what I advise. The breeze to the north of the East - West
course seems to be a little stonger when the wind is from the south even though it must lift over the houses.
I saw that Liberty was easily over taking boat after boat. She almost caught Ace High on the last leg. Alberto in Friend Ship did a fine job again and came in
3rd followed by Neptunita. Dad's Therapy overtook Neptunita and Mz. Manatee.
Ace High appears to be sailing much better with her new steel centerboard that is about 150 lbs lighter. Liberty is clearly the fastest boat of the fleet. Alberto continues
to amaze with his ability to come in strong after each set back. Coda needs winds over 10 to keep up as does Nina.
It was a great week for racing with decent winds, no rain and not too hot. Getting 4 races in during the first week takes the pressure off trying to get all 4 races in next week. Let's hope for stronger winds so that the smaller boats get a break!
After watching the racing for several seasons, I have the audacity to offer the Course Chart with comments.
Feel free to offer your views as it is intended to tighten up the racing by letting the new comers get the
benefit of your experience and not have to learn the hard way.
Ace High Skipper, Frank VonAllmen's response:
Dear Milton,
Skippers Bob Miller and Alberto DiMillo received 1st Place Award Certificates for being tied in the
December 2010 Series. It is quite remarkable that Skipper DiMillo was able to finish first twice in a new boat
for him.
Alberto asked if it was acceptable to hoist a spinnaker. Commodore Kilbourne said that it is permissible and your handicap will suffer in the future based on your finishing time as always. So, over time, it will change your handicap significantly if you use your spinnaker often. Hans addvised that the legs of the course are so
short that you don't have much time for the spinnaker to be effective.
Frank VanAllmen reported that his lost centerboard has been replaced by a custom made steel plate one.
The new handicaps were distributed by Commodore Kilbourne. Weather for the remainder of the week looks
good for the entire week. Tuesday will have a high of 74 and winds NE 11. That will be just right for Nina and Coda.
Peter Fegen, Milton's Crew on the Classy Lady may be available during the 2nd week of the February Series. His cell phone number is 440 781-5693.
Fleet Captain Miller took a poll to see if the SKSC Fleet Members would like to participate in
a Picnic Type Gathering with The Pelican Cove Fleet Members in April this year. The vote was unanimusly for it!
The Siesta Key Sailing Club is a small group of retired sailors who, for 22 years,
Click
SKSC for our main web site maintained by Anna Lenck and SKSC Viewpoints photos and 
The handicaps for the second week of the April Series have already been posted. How they were determined is explained if you click on "Statistics" on the left side of Web Site 1 home page. Points to date are listed as well.
Bob Miller Fleet Captain
Anna Lenck Fleet Recorder
Send photos and news to him at
mthrasher@verizon.net
Comments on the 2nd Week of the March/April 2012 Series
Monday had a continuation of the wonderful warm sunny days of last week. Friday had more wind than usual, but
today was idyllic for those of us lucky enough to pick the right shifts to tack on. Peter Buros obviously did everything right. He had another break-away win even though he has a smaller boat than
most except for Paul Baehr's CL 16 Sudden Comfort. They do not benefit from winds that are higher up as they probably were today. Coda seemed to have
beaten the 2nd place Liberty by at least 4 minutes and Liberty did the course in only 49 minutes. By comparison,
Liberty did the course on Friday in only 36 minutes and Nina did it in only 42. So, Friday had to be one of the
strongest wind days in some time.
Tuesday's Race Was Another Great One in the Final SKSC Series
We were blessed again with a warm and sunny day with wind. The fleet moved constantly with no lulls and no
major shifts or sudden drops in pressure.
Wednesday was another warm and sunny day with fairly steady wind
The wind was below 13 mph with few if any white caps. There were some strong gusts reported as high as 15 but generally steady wind. It is doubtful that we will need a Friday make up race day. Thursday was another warm and sunny day with fairly steady wind
On liberty, we knew that the big Genoa sheeting was too tight for reaches. It had to be adjusted so that
the slot between it and the main was opened up. During the second week of this Series, I discovered that holding
the Genoa sheet outboard of the life lines did the trick!. I simply loosen the Genoa sheet enough to pass it
over and under the life line and hold it by hand. The stanchion provides a place to lead the sheet back into the cockpit. Of course it is very tiring to hold it in the many long
reaching legs. But, I get an excellent feel for how hard the Genoa is pulling and can advise the
skipper if I feel a change in pressure as the winds vary in strength. It gives me an alert that something needs to be checked. Often it turns out the wind may have swung aft causing the Genoa to be blanketed
or sometimes the wind goes forward making the Genoa go soft. The changes must be reported quickly. It often
indicates a sudden header with an opportunity to go onto the other tack. More often, it gives you and indication that the Genoar can be let out further which makes it faster!SKSC Meeting Feb 13, 2012 Recap
Dick Fox won the November Series and Bob Miller won the December Series Championship
Photos of Dick Fox and Bob Miller with their Series Championship Certificates.
Commodore Kilbourne with his new motor. A new boat, "LOGAN GALE", appeared 2-21-2012. She is a Precision 424. The picture of her is near the starting line. She did not reappear aagain.SKSC January 2012 Newsletter
Siesta Key Sailing Club Bulletin
Paul Baehr will bring his CL 16 to race with the SKSC Fleet in the second week
Paul Baehr will bring his new boat, a CL 16 centerboarder for the season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O8iJzTuQVQ
It is a CL 16 in Ontario sailing in a light breeze with 2 aboard.
November 2011 Series Week 1
Dick Lawless's Macgregor 26 is a water ballasted sailboat that can handle a 50 hp motor with ease. He keeps her at Pelican Cove. There have been several of
them at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron over the last several years. This photo is from the MacGregor 26 website that has
videos of one sailing in as much as a 50 mile per hour gale!.
Then, one good race was held before the final day was cancelled. That gave us 3 total races for the November Series.<;>
That is less than typical for this time of year.
October 23rd SKSC Meeting attended by 5 Skippers, Anna Lenck and 2 Crew Members
Commodore Charlie Kilbourne called the meeting to order with Skippers Kilbourne, DiMillo, Fox, Jennings, Wackenfuss and Buros present as well as Anna Lenck, Fleet Recorder, Peter Buros' crew - Wendy, and Milton Thrasher.
Freedom 21 Video
Freedom 21 Review
Click for Paul Baehr's web site "Baehr Sailing" that features his two Shark 24's.
SKSC Fall Newsletter with Fleet and Membership News
The handicap (HC) of a boat is determined by using the average time of a fleet boat over the course in winds at 8 thru 14 mph. This average time is then subtracted from the average time of the first boat to start. Handicap determination can be checked using the HC Determination Chart found on our websites.
Milton Thrasher offers Genesis Wood Clock laser cut parts in addition to model boats
April 2011 Series
The SKSC 2010 - 2011 Series Race Results show a tie
between Nina and Dad's Therapy. It was a season full of surprises with 2 new boats, an exchange of boats
and 2 new skippers with constantly changing race results. The weather allowed more races than most years and did not have
the severe cold we experienced the year before.
Fleet Captain Bob Miller presented 1st place trophies
to Commodore Kilbourne and Dick Fox who tied for 1st Place
and the 3rd place to Hans Wockenfus.
April 7th and 8th Races
I was out of town for these two races and only heard about them.April 6th Race Cancelled Due to High Winds and Gusts over 20
As you know , race cancellation was unusually late this morn. This was because it was felt that with early weather reports, the wind appeared to be acceptable for race conditions. As the aftn. approached, however, wind velocity increased , and SRQ airport was issuing 22 mph peak gust reports.
Fleet Captain Bob Miller
Fleet Recorder Anna Lenck
Siesta Key Sailing Club Bulletin 4-5-2010
Racing is canceled since NOAA has posted a small craft advisory notice until 4 PM. They expect winds to be in the 17 to 25 mph range by this afternoon with possible thunderstorms as this cold front moves in.
Bob Miller, Fleet Captain
April 2011 Races
The April 1st Race was sailed in ideal conditions! Commodore Kilbourne and Fleet Captain Bob Millier's comments:
Bob Miller, Fleet Captain
The March 29th race was started to the south in a light SSW breeze. It had enough punch to allow the Commodore
to reach the south mark in 3.5 minutes. That indicated it would be a difficult race for those starting much later.
That proved to be the case. Sudden Penury and Liberty were not able to do anything in those conditions.
Liberty managed to catch Ace High at the last mark. The wind was so light that Ace High lost momentum while Liberty carried on around
the West Mark. Liberty kept the breeze long enough to hold off Sudden Penury.
The March 27th Skippers' Meeting was attended by all skippers except Alberto DiMillio - Friend Ship and Paul Baehr - Sudden Penury. The weather predictions are for 40% rain for most of the 1st week.
* Subject to daily change
February Series Week 2
Thursday 2-24
Today's race did not have enough umph in the wind to be used for handicaps but points were awarded for the top 3 finishs. Wednesday 2-23
Today's race had 9 mhp spotty and variable winds that would be more appropriately called breezes. It was a north start which guaranteed windward work after the day before had mostly reaches. Sudden Penury returned to
the apprehension of those in contention! She started with Mz. Manatee at 1:40 the day before and decimated the fleet. She obviously needed a start in the back of the pack. She was given a 1:52 handicap having bested Liberty by 2 minutes. She sailed with a smaller jib and still managed
to finish ahead of Liberty but only by a nose.
Tuesday 2-22
February 22 promised to be a light air day and that turned out to be true.
The wind was from the SWS allowing the fleet to almost lay the South Mark in winds of from
6 to 10 mph with lots of lulls and a few stronger puffs with some variability.
Shark 24 Information
The Shark 24' (7.34 m) was first built in 1960 in Canada. It was in continuous production until the early 1990s. It is the largest and most successful Canadian one-design keelboat class with Shark fleets in Canada, USA, and Europe. Although the Shark 24 may not have all the characteristics of the latest go-fast designs, it allows sailors to get involved in serious one-design competition up to the World level for a fraction of the cost of other keelboat designs.
From Wikipedia:
LOA 24 ft (7.3 m), LWL 20 ft (6.1 m), Draft 3 ft 2 in (1.0 m),Beam 6 ft 10 in (2.1 m)
Hull weight (with fittings) 2,100 lb (950 kg), Keel weight 675 lb (306 kg) Cast Iron
Sail area with 100% foretriangle 190 sq ft (17.7 m2) One of the many SKSC mysteries
How can the Liberty, a standard Freedom 21 with class legal sails be so fast? Can it be the sails? They are 20 years old by Shore Sails who is now doing business as Shore Internations and runs sailing camps and other events.
Liberty seems to have about 2x more area in the roach than Neptunita. Friend Ship seems to have two thirds as much
in the roach area. This may account for Liberty's better performance, particularly off the wind.
Do those who start earlier than others have an advantage?
Often the breeze is stronger at the 1:30 start and dies off later. That means that those who are started
earlier may have an advantage over the later starters. We have seen Nina get mid-way from the West to the
East marks before the next boat starts! And, conversely we have seen the wind pick up later in the race when
the bigger boats with more sail area gain significantly.
February 15 - 18, 2011 Race Days
Tuesday 2/15
Commodore Kilbourne missed a great opportunity to continue his string of firsts for this year due to motor troubles. This was Coda's kind of wind! The wind was a good 8 to 10 from the WNW with only a few adverse shifts for Coda. Coda had a spectacular race today, taking 1st in only 50 minutes!
Liberty took 1st while Neptunita and Friend Ship came in tied for second. Hans gratiously asked that Alberto DeMilio
be awarded points for 2nd while he would take pts for 3rd.day
Thursday was a remarkably nice day with another 9 mph breeze but it was very variable. Ace High was terrific.
The smaller boats suffered, possibly because the breezes were up higher. Those with taller masts seemed
to have a distinct advantage.
Friday was another remarkably nice day with an 8 mph brease but not so variable as Thursday. Ace High was
again terrific and took another first.
Click on each photo for a larger image.
Thursday - 2-17
I sailed with Ted Jennings on his Freedom 21 Liberty today. The light breeze was from the NWN allowing the fleet to lay the West mark initially. It shifted more to the north later requiring the playing of the shifts which always separates the men from the boys.
Dad's Therapy and Coda await the start of the Thursday race.
Because the course was started to the south, I had a very good view of the last lap of the race. Ace High was
leading again on the 4th leg from South to East by a big margin. 
The wind appeared to be 8 mph or less with an occasional gust. Most of the boats rounded the East Mark and started off on the starboard tack. That took most of them down toward the west of the finish line where one house juts out.
The Ace High keel is only 150 lbs lighter than the old cast iron keel. It is constructed of steel plate with extra plate welded on the top and bottom. This allows better weight distribution and should have the same righting abilities as the old keel due to more weight on the bottom. The keel is smoother than the old one and has tighter clearance in the well which prevents the keel from flopping as the 35 year old keel did. It was constructed exactly according to the original McGregor specs.
Stanley Abshier sailed with me Friday.
Yours,
Frank
SKSC Skippers Meeting Prior to the February 2011 Series
All skippers were present at the February 2011 Meeting except John Grondahl. Life Member Mel Hurwitz joined us for the meeting.
SKSC Officers and Contact Information
Commodore Charlie Kilbourne - 941 346-2241 - crk14706@aol.com
Fleet Captain Bob Miller - 941 966-7080 - bob2121mpc@aol.com -
Fleet Recorder Anna Lenck - 941 953-5162 - alenck@aol.com SKSC History
SKSC was started in 1986 by Charles Kilbourne, Commodore
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 crk14706@aol.com
SKSC Newsletters with additional details maintained by Milton Thrasher.
Send news,photos and comments to him at mthrasher@verizon.net.
Siesta Key Sailing Club History
From the SKSC Web Site:
Date Event ------------ ------------------------------------------
Jun 11, 1986 Siesta Kay Sailing Club started.
Charter members:
Dick Hidy, Me Hurwitz, Chuck Crawford, Paul Meares, James Kirk,
Bob Peebles, and Charlie Kilbourne
Nov 3, 1986 First Meeting at 9000 Midnight Pass Rd #4, Siesta Key, Sarasota
Jan 1987 The SKSC burgee was designed and made available
Mar 28, 1988 First Club Banquet at Holiday Inn on Manatee River
Member James Kirk played the harp
Mar 20, 1989 Charlie Kilbourne was elected Commodore
Mar 21, 1989 First Seven Mile Race sailed on Little Sarasota Bay and Blackburn Bay Mar 28, 1989 Club Banquet at Bradenton Yacht Club
Feb 8, 1990 First trial SKSC races. First use of time and placement for racing Mar 29, 1990 Chuck Crawford awarded first championship for the North-South Race Course Jun 13, 1990 The first Triangle Course Race winners:
1st WHISPER (Chuck Crawford) 2nd TRUDY II (Bob Peebles) 3rd PINTA (Dick Hidy)Aug 3, 1990 Horn signals used for the first time by Chuck Crawford Feb 11, 1991 A point system was developed to determine placement in racing Feb 17, 1992 Aborted race in which three boats were disabled and SHEARWATER (Paul Meares) capsized Feb 1992 Members must participate in 40% of races to be considered for a certificate Nov 2, 1992 Handicapping determined automatically by past performance statistics Jun 12, 1993 SKSC appeared in Morgan Stinemetz's column in the Sarasota Herald Tribune Dec 11, 1995 The first time a race was canceled due to severe low tide.
NINA, the marker flag boat was unable to reach courseDec 12, 1995 A new course speed record of 36 minutes was set by SECOND WIND (Dave Farr) 1996 Fleet Recorder position created - Anna Lenck serves Apr 3, 1997 A record high number of 12 boats sailed an official race Nov 10, 1997 Start/Finish flags set out for the first time. Made and set out by Stan Lowe
Dec 19, 1997 First and only single round race was sailed due to light winds Jan 30, 1998 Certificates for Series Races were issued for the first time Nov 1998 Handicapping is now based on weekly changes in addition to accumulating averages Apr 1, 1999 The Cup Medallion was introduced to honor all past Cup winners. Oct 29, 2001 Dave Farr became Fleet Captain Dec 5, 2005 December race series not held due to inclement weather Jan 2006 First Newsletter in email format. Snail mailed to non-Internet members Feb 2006 Diane Weiner becomes first club female skipper with Spindrift 22 (DIVINA) 2006 - 2007 All 8 races for November and February series were sailed 2009 Mel Hurwitz was made an SKSC Honorary Life Member 2009 - 2010 The Talisman Award was established by Frank VonAllman, Cmdr Kilboune was the 1st recipient 2009 - 2010 Fleet Captain Dave Farr retired after 9 years and received an SKSC Proclamation for his fine service 2008 Bob Miller became Fleet Captain upon Dave Farr's retirement from racing 2010 - 2011 The Talisman Award was presented to Dick Fox as the 2nd recipient by Frank VonAllman
Advertisements below this line are not part of the SKSC website
HISTORY OF PLACEMENTS & BANQUET LOCATIONS
Year Season Championship Second Place Third Place Location 1991 LEE LANI - Paul Meares Crawford Hidy & Kilbourne Bird Key Yacht Club 1992 TRUDY II - Bob Peebles Kilbourne Hurwitz Turtles Restaurant 1993 THERAPY - Mel Hurwitz Kirk Crawford Bay Village 1994 FOLLY - Terry Pritchard Meares Crawford & Hurwitz Bay Village 1995 WHISPER - Charles Crawford Pritchard Wockenfuss Bay Village 1996 SECOND WIND - Dave Farr Hurwitz Lowe Turtles Restaurant 1997 SECOND WIND - Dave Farr Wockenfuss Crawford Turtles Restaurant 1998 ACE HIGH - Frank Von Allmen Kilbourne Lowe Turtles Retaurant 1999 RED DOG - Bill Condos Hurwitz Kilbourne Turtles Restaurant 2000 DAD'S THERAPY - Dick Fox Farr Hurwitz Turtles Restaurant 2001 DAD'S THERAPY - Dick Fox Kilbourne Wockenfuss Turtles Restaurant 2002 ACE HIGH - Frank Von Allmen Fox Wockenfuss Turtles Restaurant 2003 SECOND WIND - Dave Farr Kilbourne Wockenfuss Turtles Restaurant 2004 NEPTUNITA - Hans Wockenfuss Farr Kilbourne Turtles Restaurant 2005 BOBO - Dick Fox Farr Kilbourne Turtles Restaurant 2006 NEPTUNITA - Hans Wockenfuss Kilbourne Von Allmen Turtles Restaurant 2007 NINA - Kilbourne Farr Hurwitz Turtles Restaurant 2008 GOOMAR - Ted Jennings Kilbourne Fox Turtles Restaurant 2009 ACE HIGH - Frank VonAllmen Fox Hoffman Turtles Restaurant 2010 NINA - Charles Kilbourne Bill Hoffman Hans Wockenfuss Turtles Restaurant 2011 NINA - Charles Kilbourne tied for 1st Dad's Therapy - Dick Fox tied for 1st Neptunita - Hans Wockenfuss 3rd Special Mention
2010 NINA - Charles Kilbourne - Won the February 2010 4 Race Series with 3 horizon jobs and a 2nd place!
2010 NINA - Charles Kilbourne - Won the 2009 - 2010 Season Championship, his 2nd one!
2010 NINA - Charles Kilbourne - Won the October/November and November/December 2010 Series
2011 NINA - Charles Kilbourne - Tied for 2010-2011 Season Championship with Dick Fox
Siesta Key Sailing Club Roster
Members Phone Boat Class Email Baehr, Paul 941-323-7551 Sudden Comfort CL 16 paul.baehr@comcast.net
Buros, Pete 941-266 8709 Coda Sovereign 20 pburos@gmail.com
Cox, Ed 922 1716 CREW ecc40@yahoo.com
Dimillo, Albert 941-323-2897 Friend Ship Freedom 21 aldimillo@gmail.com
Fegan, Peter 440-781-5693 CREW 388-1246 Fox, Cliff 924-8323 Crew for Dick Fox appletongrump@aol.com
Fox, Dick 924-2930 Dad's Therapy Precision 21 No Email Gardner, Dave 349-8295 CREW Jennings, Burr 587-576 Liberty Freedom 21 burr@burrjennings.com
Jennings, Ted 927-7773 Liberty Freedom 21 seagatelab@yahoo.com
Kilbourne, Charlie 346-2241 Nina Compac 16 crk14706@aol.com
Lenck, Anna 953-5162 Crew for Nina alenck@aol.com
Miller, Bob 918-1177 Mz. Manatee Rhodes 22 bob2121mpc@aol.com
Thrasher, Milton 323-342 CREW mthrasher@verizon.com
VonAllmen, Frank 346-8057 Ace High Venture 25 alfacontrols@comcast.net
Wallin, Dick Sally MacGregor 26 rkwallin@gmail.com
Wanless, Leaf 349-7343 CREW lewanless@gmail.com Wockenfuss, Hans 925-7643 Neptunita Freedom 21 myrto1@comcast.n
Wurtzel, Howard 404 455-4540 Friend Ship Freedom 21 howardwurtzel@ ??? .com
