Deb Aronson, Ben Williams & Don Johnson on the road to St. Pete.
Deb Torgerson and Don Johnson rig "Sunset" at Davis Island.
Davis Island Yacht Club - Ben Williams & Deb Aronson pitched their tent right next to the water.
Before one of the starts at Davis Island.
"Sunset" sailing near the starting line at Davis Island.
Ben Williams has lunch on the water at Davis Island.
Arrival in St. Pete. More than 60 Flying Scots attended.
Ben Williams & Deb Aronson sailing upwind on Day 1 in St. Pete. Plenty of wind!
Photo from photoboat.com
"Sunset" on Day 1 in St. Pete.
Photo from photoboat.com
Time out for a group back rub during the drive back to Illinois.
Deb Aronson shows off her cool plaid converse sneakers.
Don, Ben & their their boats on the drive north.
In the middle of March, with snow flurries and freezing temperatures in central Illinois, Flying Scot skippers Ben Williams (Suzie Q) and Don Johnson (Sunset) caravanned together to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the Flying Scot Midwinters Regatta.
Once in Florida, they sailed in every kind of weather except snow, it seemed. First they raced in a drenching four-hour rainstorm (with their crew, Deb Aronson in Suzie Q and Deb Torgerson of Madison, Wisc., in Sunset) at the Midwinter warm-up regatta at Davis Island yacht club. (A gorgeous club, by the way, if you ever get a chance to go there). The rain, which came at the end of the day’s second race, soaked everyone to the skin through their spray suits, and caused the little wind there was to peter away. The next day there was enough wind to run a decent race, but then the wind died and the second race had to be abandoned.
Then the two skippers headed a little further south with their boats to St. Petersburg for the actual Midwinters. The first day was really windy (25) and gusty with big waves (for us lake sailors). Both Clinton Lake boats did us proud just by staying upright and finishing the races. That is saying a lot because many people retired and six boats capsized. Going downwind was crazy because the boat wanted to nosedive all the time. It got to the point where both Ben and Deb were sitting on the very back of Suzie Q to keep her from diving like a submarine.
Luckily, every day during the regatta there was a “Top Gun School,” an idea the Flying Scot Class stole from the Thistle Class. Every morning and every afternoon the top sailors told the rest of the fleet what they were doing and thinking. Everyone learned an enormous amount. One big thing everyone learned was the importance of bailing. It turns out, with chop like we had you get an enormous amount of water in the boat, which is like having “a crazy fat guy” running around on your boat – and when the boat plows into the back of a big wave, the “fat guy” runs right into the bow. That explained Suzie Q wishing she were a submarine.
The next day the winds were still strong, about 18 knots and the water was still very choppy. This time we bailed going upwind and Suzie Q behaved much better downwind. By the second race winds had dropped to manageable speeds. On the third day winds were light but steady and the race committee got two races in. Then, by the fourth day, no wind at all!! The water was like glass and the boats bobbed for several hours hoping for a seabreeze before the close to 60 boats got towed in. That was quite a parade, and what a change from the first day of racing.
Don and Ben were not the only CLSA members to sail at St. Pete this March. Gerry Christman, who campaigns his Thistle for that fleet’s Midwinters probably has some tales to tell too, so if you run into him, ask him about his trip!
Debby Aronson