Here some links to photos posted on Bob Greer's
Picasa site:

Photos 1
Photos 2
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More photos coming soon.

Report and Results

Reichard Kahle wins his second Nationals

Except for Rick West, who arrived on Monday, most of the skippers began trickling in to registration as scheduled on Wednesday. John Bottensek and Tom Germer set out some marks for folks to practice; and my crew of John and Tom, along with Tom Phillips began checking skippers in, measuring boats and handing out the welcome packets. The packets were filled with discounts to area attractions and restaurants, as well as the embroidered polo shirt. Rick West set up the Class Secretary’s office in the corner of the banquet room and worked with club reps to fill out the 2010 regatta schedule.

After checking in, many of the sailors put their boats in to get a feel for the lake and the conditions. It was overcast and breezy with the wind out of the SW. At 4:00 p.m., it was time to start the rules Q&A with our three US Sailing judges. At first there was just a handful of skippers, but after a few minutes the room was completely full and the lively discussions began. While the argue… I mean discussions continued, I made preparations for the welcome cocktail reception in the next room. After the reception, folks divided up into groups and headed out to various places for dinner and a little taunting.

The forecast for Thursday was clouds, cold and winds in the high teens. That is what we got, 50-60 degrees and blowing. The wind on the water was strong, but many braved A-rigs in the morning. Most changed to B-rigs after lunch. Six seeding races were sailed before lunch. The total of each skippers’ two heats were used to set the fleets for the P&R and their best score was carried over on the score sheet. The wind blew out of the NW, which meant the largest part of the lake could be used and John B set up a long windward/leeward course with three full length upwind legs and two downwinds. The first mark was out a ways in the lake and did cause some issues, especially on the first leg when the fleet was still closely packed. But for the most part, skippers made it around the mark fairly clean.

Besides the 6 seeding heats, we managed to get in 8 more heats after lunch. That was enough for almost everyone to count 3 heats scored on the day, with just the A-fleet left to start the racing on Friday. Danny Thomas won both his seeding heats and took a 4th and a 2nd to begin the day with 7 points. Chuck Luscomb was even with Danny having won the first regular heat of the regatta and getting a 5th in the next. But it was Reichard Kahle who would be at the top of the leader board with two bullets and a 3rd place for 5 points. Dave Ramos, Gerry Cobley, Rick Gerry and Baron Bremer were not far behind. Former champs David Brawner and Mark Rinehart were off to an unusually slow start for them, but never count them out.

For most of the skippers, dinner was on their own for Thursday night, but a large group of about 40 skippers and guests departed the hotel by bus to St. Augustine for a seafood dinner and the Ghost and Gravestones Trolley Tour. We had a blast!

Friday morning arrived with a bright Sun and much warmer temps in the high 60s to low 70s, but higher wind speeds. It was B-rigs all around and for a few, C-rigs came out. Once again, the wind was out of the NW but with a slight left shift which meant the same course as Thursday, but the windward marks were a little closer to shore. We had hoped this would mean cleaner mark roundings, but we were wrong. Being able to see your boat better just meant taking more risks. We saw a lot of attempts to get into the mark on Port tack. Still, there was a lot of clean roundings and some very good sailing all around.

At the end of the day, Danny Thomas worked his way out into an eleven point lead over David Brawner, who was making up for his slow start the day before. Chuck Luscomb was close behind in third with Reichard hot on his heels. The current World Champion, Rick Gerry, was hanging close as was Dave Ramos, with Gerhard Kelter moving up to the 7th spot. Dick Hedderick, Alan Perkins and Baron Bremer rounded out the top 10.

Saturday brought the Chamber of Commerce weather we had been hoping for. Crystal clear blue sky, 5-10 mph wind right down the middle of the course, and temps in the mid 70s. Race Director, John B, set the course and was determined to get in a lot of racing so we could end the day with 16 heats sailed for each skipper and two throw outs. The hotel lent us walkie-talkies which sped up the process of getting the next fleet in the water.

The first couple of heats had light air, so John reduced the course to a lap and a half until the wind came up. By the time the A-fleet put in, the wind was blowing steady at 4-5 mph and the laps were back at two and a half. Right after rounding the windward mark in the lead of his first heat of the day, disaster struck Danny Thomas. His winch stopped working and the sails were stuck in close-hauled position. He did his best to reach the boat down wind in hopes he could hold on to the A-fleet and fix the boat on the shore between heats. But it was too much to ask for and one by one, the fleet passed him by. Danny was relegated to B-fleet and his chances of winning his second Nationals began to fade. His mechanical problems continued in the B-fleet and he was pushed farther down into the C-fleet. But Danny never gave up and fought his way back through both C- and B-fleets to get himself back with the leaders, but the damage was done.

John B kept the races moving and Tom Germer was quick at rescuing boats. Four-time champion, Mark Rinehart was making a move now. He put together a couple of bullets and some other good finishes to move back up in the standings. But it was Reichard who really made a mark on the fleet with three bullets and two 2nds in his last 6 heats of the regatta. He finished the day nearly 20 points ahead of his closest competitors. After the throw outs he was 14 points in front of 2nd place Dave Ramos at 71 points, who beat out Rick Gerry on the tie breaker.

Saturday’s sailing was exciting and close. There were great contests through the fleets with lots of lead changes, tight tacking duels, and challenging mark roundings. All 43 skippers deserve a pat on the back for some really terrific racing and good sportsmanship.

Scorekeeper, Angie Bottensek and I worked to compile the scores so Rick West could post them on the Web. Then we got cleaned up for the awards banquet that evening. The hotel catered a fantastic dinner of carved roast beef, chicken cordon bleu, and the best desserts you have ever seen. The Keylime pie was my request and I got there just in time for the last slice.

When it came time to hand out the awards and door prizes, I got a little choked up. Everything about this regatta came together so well and I was ecstatic my crew and I were able to give the skippers and guest the best event we could. We did not do all this work to give ourselves a pat on the back. I thanked my wife, Janet, for supporting me all these years. I also thanked the wonderful judges who volunteered their time. Ken Morrison and Barb and Dave Shaffer did a great job. Thank you.

I also thanked my crew for their hard work. Trish and Martin Gray helped clean up the lake shore and prune the trees so the skippers and spectators would have a clear view. Bill Gale came up from Orlando to help out and called the start line with John B. Baron Bremer also helped clean up the lake and built some of the docks the skippers used to launch and retrieve their boats. Tom Phillips went above and beyond to bring together all the coupons, maps, gift cards and items that went into the welcome packets. He also worked hard putting all the packets together, and helped with registration and measuring. Brenda Pardee was without a doubt the best scorekeeper’s assistant and all around go-for. She kept track of everything at the windward end of the course and made sure we never forgot which lap we were on. Without Angie Bottensek at the score table, we wouldn’t have known who won. She sat at her post, alone for most of the regatta, faithfully logging scores. Over 2,300 individual scores that had to be recorded and totaled.

Tom Germer built most of the docks, helped make the heat board, ran the chase boat to set marks and rescue boats, including having to swim the boat back in after the motor broke. He hauled all the gear to and from the lake and spent a lot of time helping skippers with breakdowns to get back in the water. Last, but not least, John Bottensek did a fantastic job as Race Director. From start to finish, John ran a great regatta. He kept the heats moving and set a course that was challenging and fair. I could not have done any of this without the help of these great folks. Months ago I decided to make unique trophies for the event. I carved the regatta logo in 3-D relief out of plaster of Paris and then made a silicon mold for making multiple copies. I painted them gold and had them mounted on mahogany plaques with brass name plates. The rest I decided to hand paint for my staff as a way of saying thanks for all they did. I only wish I could have made them out of real gold.

In the door prize drawings, Jack Wubbe won a set of sails from John B Sails and Chris Kakavas took home the beautiful Robin Yachts hull, rudder and cradle provided by Skip Allen. Rick West held the drawing for the Short kit raffle from Blue Crab. The proceeds will help a skipper who has faced a series of tragedies.

John B stepped up to read the scores of all the skippers and hand out the awards to the top six. Danny Thomas was shocked to see he had managed to hang on to take home the 6th place trophy. Reichard, Dave, Ricky, Chuck, David and Danny posed with John B for a memorable photo then everyone headed out to the parking lot to close out the night at Margarita Mike’s tailgate party. Mike Mulroy is required to attend all Nationals from now on.

Again, thank you to all the skippers, wives, guests, crew and hotel staff who helped make this event the best.

See you all at the lake.

 
Pos.
Sail No.
Skipper
Seed
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
TOTAL
1
67
Kahle, R
1
3
1
15
3
7
3
12
9
2
14
2
2
1
1
9
1
57
2
105
Ramos, D
2
2
11
2
17
5
5
13
4
1
9
1
5
9
6
7
2
71
3
763
Gerry, R
3
10
3
5
9
8
2
2
7
9
2
4
4
2
15
6
5
71
4
84
Luscomb, C
1
1
5
12
5
13
1
9
5
3
11
6
3
3
9
4
9
75
5
53
Brawner, D
2
11
9
1
2
3
7
1
11
6
12
8
10
17
5
1
4
81
6
1405
Thomas, D
1
4
2
3
1
10
11
4
2
4
15
31*
39
7
10
11
18*
103
7
81
Bremer, B
1
8
8
14
11
6
8
14
24
7
3
12
7
5
12
10
3
115
8
66
Rinehart, M
2
13
12
8
13
14
23
22
10
11
1
11
1
8
4
8
8
124
9
14
Perkins, A
9
25
21
7
6
1
4
5
1
10
4
14
19
21
14
3
6
124
10
18
Kelter, G
4
5
13
4
7
12
6
6
3
16
21
7
12
16
11
13
11
130
11
38
Hedderick, R
2
7
15
10
14
4
12
7
8
8
7
3
8
11
16
23
21
132
12
94
West, R
4
18
10
16
8
2
17
23
22
5
5
5
15
13
13
2
7
140
13
611
Brown, B
2
15
26
21
4
9
9
11
14
19
13
10
6
4
3
14
10
143
14
52
Greer, R
4
12
14
6
12
11
14
10
15
14
8
13
11
14
21
25
26
179
15
95
Dudinsky, R
4
24
4
9
10
15
21
24
18
20
27
24
13
6
8
12
15
203
16
236
Kakavas, C
3
27.4
30
20
27
32
28
18*
16
18
20
9
9
12
2
5
16
230.4
17
31
Raishbrook, M
6
20
7
11
15
22
13
15
20
25
26
19
20
23
22
28
12
250
18
123
Wubbe, J
7
22
19
26
18
16
20
18
23
15
22
18
24
10
7
15
22
252
19
45
Luscomb, J
8
23
16
19
21
23
18
8
17
31*
16
22
18
19
31*
26
14
268
20
10
Pfeil. F
4
14
27
40
24
26
31*
3
6
17
23
17
23
15
19
20
31*
269
21
74
Dion, A
6
27
24
22
20
21
15
26
13
13
10
16
21
26
17
24
28
274
22
25
Cobley, G
1
9
6
13
16
31*
44*
20
19
25.8
32
29
34
24
18
16
18
277.8
23
72
Pardee, J
5
19
20
18
19
17
16
19
12
12
17
27
32
41
24
29
32
286
24
06
Freeland, E
3
16
22
27
33
18
26
21
28
35
34
26
28.8
30
26
17
27
348.8
25
02
Gray, M
11
21
28
23
23
20
24
31*
34
22
18
21
17
27
39
33
37
353
26
04
Ward, J
10
31
23
29
34
31*
34
31
32
32.4
6
15
25
22
25
30
20
362.4
27
80
Vernon, S
9
31*
44*
44*
22
25
10
18*
26
23
31*
44*
44*
18
23
22
24
370
28
65
Phillips, T
3
17
18
30
44*
38
31
37
29
33
35
28
14
20
29
19
29
372
29
13
Elder, B
8
26
29
34
25
24
19
28
35
24
19
25
28
35
35
27
23
374
30
43
Vella, F
11
29
34
38
41
19
25
25
30
32
25
20
16
29
31
31
36
393
31
36
Reinke, D
5
28
31
36
37
34
36
32
21
26
24
23
22
25
28
35
39
406
32
59
Hale, J
9
41
33
35
32
36
22
29
25
21
28
31
26
28
34
32
25
410
33
96
Gerry, D
10
34
38
31
31
44*
29
33
38
27
36
32
31*
32
20
18
13
415
34
55
Mulroy, M
5
39
39
25
26
27
32
27
44*
31*
37
39
35
33
32
21
19
428
35
69
Edwards, M
9
33
32
24
29
31
39
34
36
34
33
36
31
34
27
39
34
457
36
2081
Smith, M
14
36
25
28
42
39
35
40
33
39
31
34
37
37
44*
40
31
499
37
60
Garver, J
11
37
36
39
36
33
27
41
31
37
38
33
40
31
36
36
41
501
38
79
Stall, A
12
32
35
33
38
37
33
36
40
36.8
29
37
38
38
33
38
40
505.8
39
12
Allen, S
2
6
17
17
28
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
510
40
47
Atkinson, E
14
35
37
37
44*
44*
37
38
27
31
39
38
33
36
40
44*
33
519
41
32
Fernald, G
10
40
41
42
39
40
38
35
37
38
40
35
36
40
38
37
35
538
42
706
Donohoe, J
13
42
40
41
40
41.6
44*
39
39
36
41
40
27
39
37
34
38
545.6
43
75
VanCleef, D
10
44*
44*
32
31*
31*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
44*
588

Yellow indicates throw outs. * indicates DNF, DNS, DSQ, RAF or Withdrew