This year’s EC12 Gator Regatta was held Dec. 3 and 4 at Ashland Pond. Twenty-nine skippers registered and 28 hit the starting line on Saturday morning. Skippers were divided into A and B fleets with normal relegation to follow. This was the second Regatta of the Florida 2016/7 EC12 Championship Series.
Saturday turned out to be a spectacular day for sailing. Winds were ENE at about 8kts, gusting to an occasional 14Kts. Sunday started with the same weather, but quickly freshened to about 12Kts with gust to 20kts. It was time for most skippers to reach for their B-rigs. Even with the shortened sail, it was challenging for the skippers.
The Regatta was directed by Alan Perkins who did an outstanding job of setting fair courses, keeping the skippers honest and making it an enjoyable weekend for all – even if you didn’t finish quite as high in the standings as you had hoped. Alan’s goal was to run quality races versus quantity and he achieved that in spades. Sixteen sets of A and B races were run to determine the Regatta winner.
Perkins was assisted with rules violations and protests by internationally known sailing judge, Ken Morrison. The Villages Recreation Department supplied tents, chairs and other accoutrements needed to stage a successful regatta.
On Sunday, the winds became blustery enough to blow over the tents set up to shade skippers and spectators. No injuries were reported, but a couple of boats were damaged to the point where they had to withdraw.
Summary of the 12th Annual EC12 Gator Regatta
Dates: December 3,4
Location: Ashland Pond, The Villages, FL
Entries: 28
Winds: 8-20
Races Completed: 16 sets of A and B fleet races
Scoring System: Low Point with promotion/relegation: 4 up and 4 down; 2 throw-outs
Race Committee: Alan Perkins, RD; Scoring, John and Linda Hall; Rescue, Joe Devine and
Sal Serio; Rules Official, Ken Morrison; Food and Catering, Liz Perkins plus other TVMYS
Members.
2016 EC12 Gator Regatta Results
Place Skipper Points
1 Jon Luscomb 47
2 Jack Ward 48
3 Bob Greer 76
4 Steve Pfeil 77
5 Martin Raishbrook 92
6 Jim Kaighin 92
7 Chuck Millican 96
8 Tom Germer 106
9 Liz Perkins 117
10 John Bottensek 153
Remaining Finishers: Don Hain, John Goldsworthy, Don Ouimette, George Balaschak, Dan Pearce, Dick Reinke, Jim Rutherford, Jim Perdee, John Santoro, Chuck Ellis, Brenda Perdee
Fred Pfeil, Judy Clarke, Lew English, Don Thompson, Frank Ligon, Joe Fanelli, Ken Williams
