The 2006 TBCSI Hangover Reagtta

By Terry Fondrk

 The 2006 TBCSI Hangover Regatta held on New Years Day started appropriately in the fog. No it was not the result of the drinking the previous night. It was real fog like the kind they get in New England. As the revelers slowly set up their boats one free minded boat decided to sail off  it’s unsecured setting on the beach and take a skipperless ride out into St. Josephs Sound. Steve Greer intercepted the boat on the way to Caladesi Island turned it around and sent it sailing back to Glenn’s beach by itself. We all noticed how well these boats sail by themselves.

 I wasn’t the only one having New Years problems as noted by the sound of the hoots and hollers when everyone noticed that Olli Jason was testing out his spinnaker set on the Tornado upside down. It was a good catch for him to fix before the race.

 The race delay was over at 12:40 to begin the first sequence as Ryan Rager the PRO and Judy Fondrk “regatta everything” raised the flags. Robbie Daniel and Enrique Rodriguez  put the peddle to the metal on the Tornado and showed no mercy as they smoked everyone out the pass. The spinnaker class and the Low Portsmouth boats had a course that took them around Three Rooker Islands to Port then all the way down to the Spider Buoy at the mouth of Clearwater pass and back up through Hurricane Pass to the Dunedin Causeway.

 The High Portsmouth boats left next with Stu Smith taking the pass first. Their course was around Three Rooker twice to port and then back to the Beach. The wind was out of the south at about 4 mph which made for a long downwind to the Rooker but the Temperature was a comfortable seventy something. The winds picked up a bit on the way back (5-10 mph) and a ripping 15 mph into Hurricane Pass for the finish. Everyone on the beach was wondering what was taking the boats so long. Even the big boys took a long time to pass their sight going south. At Glenn’s the wind was in the 20 mph range all afternoon with flat water but out in the gulf the winds were much lower and there was a moderate chop to take on the nose for the little boats.

 Throughout the race there was many meetings and changes of position for the little boats going around Three Rooker Island. I can recall John Hoopes saying at one of our crossings “We have to stop meeting like this”. Then there was Kirke Smith who was talking on his cell phone as we crossed.

 I heard that Rush Bird on his A-Cat and Seth Stern/Kelly Gray on the Taipan got to practice their righting skills when the wind picked up a bit.

 At the end of the day the trophies of decorated Champagne and Wine bottles were handed out to the top three boats in each class. For the small boats in High Portsmouth first went to Dave Parker on his Mystere 5.0, Second to Tom Bird on his Prindle 16 and third to Terry Fondrk on the Dart.

 Woody Cope took first place on his A-Cat, Jennifer Lindsay on her A-Cat second and third went to John Fondrk / Dennis Bedgood on the Nacra 6.0.

 In Spinnaker Class Robbie Daniel / Enrique Rodriguez took a resounding first on the Tornado, Olli Jason / Kellly Jason second on a Tornado and Hans Geissler on his new G-Cat took third.

Thanks to all those who helped like Mike McIntyre on race committee and Tara McDonald who photographed the start and helped on race committee. Glenn and all those at Sail Honeymoon were as usual great hosts. And a big thanks to whomever was in charge of weather. This regatta was a great start for the 2006 sailing season.