3^rd Annual Bare Bones Regatta

Davis Island, Tampa, FL  - August 17, 2003

By Bill Brooks

 Twenty-two eager cat crews converged upon 'doggie country' at Davis Island  to dig for  the  elusive 'bones' on the  waters of  Hillsborough Bay.  Searing  heat  at 93 degrees and  little wind truly made  this  event one  of  those 'dog  days of summer.'  Yours truly  ably assisted by Judie Johnson, who handled both  the  signal  flags and recording of finishes, managed to squeeze off two floaters on  a gated windward-leeward  course. Mark  boat operator Jill Nickerson  assisted by Commodore Terry Fondrk did a superb job on course layout  Three classes characterized the event with a surprise showing  of  five Hobie Waves.               

 A shortened  course  was  called for both races since it  appeared that none of  the  boats were making much headway. RC opted  to cancel any further racing due to lack of wind.  With the scoring  completed by Judy Fondrk in the comfy air-conditioned  confines of  the yacht  club,   bonafide rawhide bone trophies were awarded 5 deep in all classes at the beach.    

 Many thanks to West Marine who donated airhorns to help us run the race  and to Betty, who provided the delicious  doggie bone style cookies.  Kudos especially to  the racers who  are the ones that highlight our racing events.

Results

Low Portsmouth:   (1) J. Lindsay, T4.9U, (2) R. Bird, N5.5U, (3) M. Ashburn, N5.5U, (4) T. Leobold & K. Bonfield, NI20, (5) J. Fondrk, N6.0NA, (6) G. Isco, A-C, (7) R. Rager, N6.0NA, (8) T. Imlah & D. Vanderipe, H20, (9) R. & K. Bilthouse, N5.5, (10) P. Burger, P182.

High Portsmouth:  (1) P. Kilpatrick, H14,  (2) V. DeKreek, H14T, (3) T. & J.  d'Arcy, H18M,  (4) C. Johnson, H14T,  (5)  B. Johnson, H14T, (6) J. Arden, H14T, (7) L. & G. Changsut, H16.

Hobie Wave:  (1) Stan Woodruff, (2) N. Freeman, (3) Sharon Woodruff, (4) H. Caffee,  (5) J. Caffee.

(See Tbcsi web site  www.tampabaycatsailors,com for detailed scoring results)