South Daytona Regatta Report
Walter Repeats in A-fleet, Allen wins B-fleet!

By Phil Ehlinger

A fleet of 26 assembled early Saturday morning under clear skies and total calm at the newly renovated Reed Canal Park Lake in South Daytona.

Appropriate sacrifices and offerings were made to the wind gods with the devouring of over 3 dozen donuts and several gallons of coffee.

When the boats were ready, and greetings of old friends completed, Commodore Chris Coxe of South Daytona welcomed the competitors, and then introduced the Mayor of South Daytona, Blaine O'Neal. Mayor O'Neal welcomed all and issued an executive order for an appropriate amount of wind. Race Director Phil Ehlinger laid out the schedule and made sure all had a map to the restaurant for dinner.

The breeze finally began to stir and a course was established. Throughout the day, the fickle wind changes made sailing quite challenging with shifts, holes, headers and lifts producing noticeably animated conversation among the sailors. The trials on the racecourse did not dent the appetites for subs, baked beans and macaroni salad however, and the lunch break barely dented the racing.

The day ended after 8 full heats, and the gang headed for showers and a nap, to reconvene at the Inlet Harbor restaurant overlooking the Halifax River. After lively conversation and a great meal, two were honored, Joe Walter on the occasion of his 45th birthday (remember when?) and Chuck Buzek as our new Vice President of AMYA. The perkier crowd then migrated to the outdoor deck to enjoy music, dancing and of course, some additional libation.

Sunday morning brought cool winds from the north, which after some major mark relocation, produced great sailing for both fleets for the rest of the morning.

When the scoring was done, none other than Joe Walter repeated his win in the A fleet and Skip Allen persevered to take top honors in the B fleet. The full list is posted on the website. The Race Committee wishes to thank all the competitors for their outstanding demeanor and camaraderie, and also, its appreciation for the club members' efforts. It all came together to create a great regatta.

A-Fleet Results

  Skipper Sail # Points  
1 Joe Walter 1624 45  
2 Harry Strunk 1957 50  
3 John Bottensek 1911 57  
4 Bob Greer 1467 70  
5 Bob Brown 11 73  
6 Baron Bremer 81 74  
7 Mike Zellanack 80 82  
8 Bob Dudinsky 95 83  
9 Tom Germer 1862 85  
10 Doug Bowe 1759 99  
11 John Rowley 1722 103  
12 Ed Gelina 187 117  
13 Carroll Buress 00 142  

B-Fleet Results

  Skipper Sail # Points  
1 Skip Allen 47 38  
2 Al Dion 74 65  
3 John Garver 1560 69  
4 Bob Sczepanski 663 71 Tie breaker
5 Bud Elder 1313 71  
6 Dick Reinke 1936 74  
7 Tom Phillips 265 78  
8 Bud Cassidy 1821 80  
9 Earl Mills 210 84  
10 John Egizi 84 109  
11 Mark Boucher 1500 110  
12 Pete Kremlick 1920 120  
13 Jim Black 23   Did not sail on Sunday
Click here to see a slide show of the regatta.