1970 Pearson 33; Warwick, RI

DesTopNews Sailing Updates #20

There Can Be Only One!

I remember when I first heard the words. It was several years back. I was racing and battling my old Pearson 26, Mental Floss, against good friend Frank Atkinson and his Santana 20, Shameless. We were in the middle of the Southern Sailing Club's singlehanded event, the Lormand Cup Open, and the only person between him and victory was me. We were at it for some time and after a long fought skirmish, he overtook me to grab the lead. As he passed, in a friendly but triumphant manner he declared, "There can be only one!"

Several years later, Frank's celebratory comment remains fitting, serving as the perfect slogan for the annual event held on the club's home waters of Lake Lanier, GA. This year's race was held this past Saturday, May 12, 2012. Eleven boats showed up to the line for the one man, one fleet, one race, winner take all event. The skippers had the choice of racing under spinnaker or taking a 15 second credit on their rating for sailing non-spin. Most opted for the non-spin option.

The race is conducted under pursuit start rules. The course is declared onshore at the skipper's meeting and each boat is given a predetermined start time using noon as the base. Slower boats get a head start on the faster ones and the first boat to finish the course wins. An incredibly diverse group of boats made up the fleet seeing a rating spread that ranged from 285 for a Catalina 22 to a -81 for the big Reynolds 33 catamaran. Boats playing catch-up had their work cut out for them.

A forecasted easterly breeze is pretty unpredictable on Lake Lanier, but that is what the fleets had to deal with. And for once, what we were told to expect pretty much rang true. Things started a little light, which never favors the slower boats, but the breeze did fill in to a manageable 8-10 knots of pressure and proved perfect to get the boats around the eight mile course.

Top honors went to John McCarthy sailing Iniki, his Soverel 33. Second place went to David Pope sailing Orbit, his Ultimate 20. And rounding out the top three was Mike Krantz on Wimbledon, the Reynolds 33. Congratulations to everybody that came out to help make this a successful event. Final results can be found at the Southern Sailing Club Website, or by clicking here.

1979 CSY 44 Cutter; Ft Pierce, FL

1985 Yorktown 35; Winchester Bay, OR

DesTopNews Sailing Update #19

It's PUMA Mar Monstro in Miami

A True Classic!
Cal 40 For Sale; Rockport, TX

1995 Laser with double trailer For Sale;
Lake Lanier

1974 Gulfstar MS53 Pilothouse For Sale;
Cape Canaveral, FL

2002 Catalina Capri 22 For Sale;
Nashville, TN

VOR crawls up the islands

O'Day 272 For Sale; Lake Lanier, GA

Decisions, Decisions approaching Islands

DesTopNews Sailing Update #18

J/29 For Sale, New Price, New Instruments; Lake Lanier, GA

OMG!

Irwin 28 MkII For Sale; Cheboygn, MI

CS 30 For Sale; Lake Lanier, GA

Things are warming up now...

Slow going in the VOR

Com-Pac Sun Cat For Sale; Brick, NJ

KWSC's I Love Sailing

Hunter 25 For Sale; Lake Weiss, AL

Patiently Waiting

DesTopNews Sailing Updates #17

Goodbye Brazil ... Go Fast to Miami

Then things slow down ...

Playing Catch-Up ...

The idea was that while being off location racing the Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week I could keep up with at least some of my Strictly Sailing editing duties. Well, after racing hard all day, the parties, great food, and more than my fair share of Dark n' Stormys, I discovered I just couldn't pull it off with this equipment. There will be plenty of time for commentary on the week's experience. Until then, I have plenty of catching up to do. So let's get started.

S2 9.2 For Sale; Brooklyn, NY

New Price on the Hunter 34

Commodore T-26