Danny Thomas, Earl Mills on top at Gator Regatta

Dateline: THE VILLAGES, DECEMBER 2 – The following interview was with John Rowley, the Regatta Coordinator, Ken Morrison, the Regatta Director, and Sue Rowley, the all important Food Coordinator.

John, what was the general outlook for the Regatta? The weather prediction was north winds, our worst direction, and rain, not a pleasant thought. We weren’t sure anybody would even show up. We ordered 3 extra tents from the Villages Recreation Department and formulated plan B which would be entertaining everybody in case of a washout.

Thankfully, the morning of the regatta found light winds, overcast skies with balmy Florida temperatures in the 70’s. Boats were rigged, donuts and coffee were gulped, the committee got their act together and contemplated the possible courses. The Skippers Meeting commenced on the dot, only Joe Walter was a few steps away, complaining that our watch was fast. After a few words about dinner, racing rules and so forth, Ken Morrison set the first course for the Silver fleet.

Ken, tell us about the racing. Saturday began with a light breeze from the Southwest that became light and variable as the day wore on. As a result of the light winds, the starts were the key to success in every race for both the Gold (A) and Silver (B) Fleets. By the end of the day the Silver fleet had sailed 8 races and the Gold Fleet only 6 races. John Bottensek was leading the Gold Fleet with 26.4 points, just 0.6 points ahead of Danny Thomas with 27 points. Harry Strunk was in third with 30 points followed by Baron Bremer with 33 points and Bob Greer with 35. Surprisingly Reichard Kahle and Joe Walter were both well down in the standings with 46 points and 58 points respectively. The light air starts had taken their toll on them both. In the Silver Fleet John Garver had scored 4 first places in 8 races and was leading the Silver Fleet with 35 points. Earl Mills and Kent Farndell were tied for second place with 38 points while Jack Ward was 4th with 42 points.

Sunday morning started much brighter with a steady Easterly of around 5 knots. This enabled the race committee to get in 4 races for the Gold fleet and 2 for the silver before the winds began to shift. By mid-morning the winds shifted to the south and dropped in strength forcing the race committee to select complicated courses in order to provide some windward work for the fleets. By 1215 the Gold Fleet had sailed an addition 8 races with the Silver fleet sailing 6, putting both fleets at 14 races total. With one throw-out, final standings in the Gold Fleet saw Danny Thomas winning the regatta with 51 points. Reichard Kahle made a strong come-back on Sunday winning three races and scoring a total of 63 points that put him in second place overall. Mike Zellanack was third with 67 points while Harry Stunk slipped to fourth place with 74 points. John Bottensek was unable to hold on to his lead from Saturday and finished in fifth place with 75.4 points. Joe Walter put forth an excellent effort on Sunday winning 2 of the races, but his final score of 79 left him in sixth place overall. In the Silver Fleet Earl Mills continued to sail solidly and finished first with 45 points displacing John Garver who slipped to second with 57 points. Close on John Garver’s heels was Jack Ward who won the last two races of the regatta and moved up to third place with 58 points. Kent Farndell was fourth with 65 points and Tom Phillips captured fifth with 68.6 points

The Ancient Mariner’s Trophy was won by Ed Gelina who also took home the Florida EC-12 Association Most Improved Sailor Award for 2006. Ed bested 7 other sailors competing for the Ancient Mariner Trophy. Ed turned in a solid performance in the Gold Fleet winning the final race each day of the regatta. We will no doubt see more winning finishes by Ed in the future.

Sue, tell us a bit about feeding 27 hungry sailors and a dozen wives. Friday night we enjoyed a sociable dinner party with eleven early arrivals. Saturday breakfast and lunch were provided at the lake with Tess and Mary hostessing while I ran out for donuts, sandwiches, and drinks. I really appreciated their help. Dinner was arranged in the cozy private room at Palmer Legends Country Club. Sunday, we wanted to send everybody off with good memories and full stomachs so we staged our trophy presentation at the Churchill recreation center with pizza and salad before the trip home. I think everybody liked the idea.

Any final thoughts John? Yes, our thanks go to The Villages Recreation Department for their excellent support of the Sumter Landing EC-12 MYC. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year for the Gator Regatta in October of 2007.

Gold-Fleet Results

   
1 Danny Thomas 05 51  
2 Reichard Kahle 67 63  
3 Mike Zellanack 80 67  
4 Harry Strunk 1957 74  
5 John Bottensek 1911 75.4  
6 Joe Walter 1624 79  
7 Baron Bremer 81 90.8  
8 Bob Dudinsky 95 94  
9 Bob Brown 11 95  
9 Robert Greer 36 96  
10 Ed Gelina 87 105.8  
11 Brett Biwer 1639 121  
13 Dick Hitchcock 71 128  
14 Tom Germer 1862 137  

Silver-Fleet Results

   
1 Earl Mills 210 45  
2 John Garver 1560 57  
3 Jack Ward 1804 58  
4 Kent Farndell 27 65  
5 Tom Phillips 265 68.6  
6 Bud Elder 1313 71  
7 Bud Cassidy 1821 81  
8 Dick Reinke 1936 83.8  
9 John Egizi 84 101 Tie Breaker
10 Fred Pfeil 2010 101  
11 Pat Reardon 1760 106  
12 Dave HArrington 1825 113  
13 Ray Boucher 32 165  

For even more photos, click here for a link to a slide show by Bob Greer.