NATIONAL CLASS E SCOW ASSOCIATION

2008 One Design Midwinter's - Sarasota Sailing Squadron

The 2008 One Design Midwinter’s was hosted by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron this past week in the picturesque tropical conditions of southern Florida’s gulf coast. Although the start was delayed on Saturday, sailors were soon greeted with a late mourning sea breeze in the 8-12 knot range. Chris Creighton, joining the fleet from NY truly had it all – warm gulf winds, bright sunshine and the crystal clear waters of Sarasota Bay!

When the points were tallied, Richard Elsishans at the helm on “Rev It Up” seized the regatta title with scores of 2-1-1-1-3. Also onboard with Elsishans was Jim Egan and Doug Dearden. "The key point of the regatta for us was the second race on day one. We rounded the weather mark mid fleet, but our team managed to shift into afterburner on the downwind run and battle into first place. Egan trimmed the kite to perfection and Dearden kept the boat in good pressure while skillfully managing the fleet.” The sprint to the finish ended in a tacking duel between Elsishans and Jim Barr, a perennial powerhouse in the E-Scow fleet. Elsishans hung on to the lead, edging out Barr by a boat length.

Elsishans continued, “It was a really good race for us. Our teamwork fell into place, and we knew we had the boat speed to compete with Barr. It just got better from there.” Competition was characterized by very close racing, multiple lead changes, and every team taking the lead at some point in the battle. Day One ended with Elsishans and Barr tied for the lead. There was also a tie for second between Bill Cattsworth and Bruce Hilton.

Going into Day Two, sailors were met with an easterly breeze in the 7 – 10 knot range. With tension high for the first race, the boats jockeyed for position and everyone got off to a great start. Minutes after the start, the wind backed 40 degrees, and the fleet tacked onto port for a classic E-Scow drag race to the weather mark. Barr played the puffs perfectly and was able to work “E-Ticket” onto the lee bow of Elsishans. The two boats raced side by side for the top half of the beat, with Barr breaking the overlap and rounding ahead by a boat length. Elsishans and team went to work on the downwind and captured the lead and the victory. In the end, the three bullets scored by Elsishans were hard to beat. Barr finished second by one point, Cattsworth finished third, and Creighton finished fourth.

If you are looking for a winter racing venue, Sarasota is definitely the place to go! Jim Barr hosts E-Scow racing every Wednesday afternoon throughout the winter and the Sailing Squadron has a very active racing program. For more information, contact Jim at 941-366-1972.

NCESA OFFICE: P.O. Box 3022, Madison, WI 53704-0022, 608-347-1480, lon@E-Scow.org