Nostalgia

Happy Day, Mommy!

Boating America’s Cup racing on Ft. Myers Beach?

by boatguy Ed

Can you get excited about sailing? Have you ever watched The America’s Cup on television? If the answer is yes to either of these questions then you might have enjoyed an afternoon on the bright clear water off Ft. Myers Beach last Saturday.

My old “Boating Show” television co-host, Captain Roger Nodruff and I went out on his 24 foot Morgan fishing charter boat in search of our youth. We’d both been smitten with sailboat racing in our younger days and the opportunity to be so close to so many good and great sailors was too much to pass up.

The occasion was the 2004 Fantasy Sail Weekend, Leukemia Cup Regatta hosted by Gary Jobson and Colgate Sailing School to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society trying to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Sailors from across the country that raised over $7,500 attended the weekend of events as a thank you for their fundraising efforts.

Gary Jobson won the America’s Cup with Ted Turner in 1977 and that might be enough for any sailor but he went on to win the infamous Fastnet Race and other world ocean races. Gary is also an author, lecturer, broadcaster/producer, ESPN’s Sailing Analyst and national chairman of the Society’s Leukemia Cup Regatta.

Saturday began with bright blue skies and a mild breeze out of the northeast. Ten identical sailboats, provided by the Steve Colgate Offshore Sailing School awaited 10 skippers and crews. The boat bottoms were new and the sails were gone over so that every Colgate 26 was identical. The only advantage was the knowledge of tides and Gary Jobson as guest skipper.

The course was short with the start about a mile and a half offshore and the turning mark just off the beach at Diamondhead Resort. After an hour and a half of practice almost all the boats participated in the first race with exciting jousting of a short starting line where there are more near misses than any large intersection in Lee County in a whole month. The trick is to be first across the line with boat speed.

Each race lasted a little over a half hour and each skipper had to decide how best to approach the turning mark that lay directly to windward. As you are certainly aware, sailboats cannot sail directly into the wind so they must sail towards the mark in a zigzag fashion. First to 10 o’clock and then tacking to 2 o’clock and so on until the mark can be rounded.

“I haven’t been this excited in a long time,” Captain Roger confided to an employee of the Colgate Sailing School who was working the regatta in a small powerboat. On the surface one might conclude that Roger leads a very boring life but first impressions are usually wrong. The charter fishing Captain was feeling the excitement of yesteryears adrenalin rush of the starting countdown.

He knew of the reality of being over the line early but the need for spit second timing to get a racing sailboat up to speed just as the gun went off. Reliving ones youth can be very exciting. I was to busy videotaping to feel the totality of the moment. And we weren’t disappointed, either one of us! The video report is on the InternetBoatingShow.com.

Once across the line the sailboats split into two groups, some went to 2 o’clock while others went to 10 o’clock. Gary Jobson went towards 2 and kept going. Other boats stayed with him for a while but tacked off towards 10 o’clock hoping to make the mark at 12 o’clock. Jobson understood that the outgoing tide would carry him towards 2 and he made one long run before tacking.

It is hard to tell who is ahead when going up wind. Gary Jobson makes a living explaining this to the television audience and he knows what he’s talking about. Even without his computer demonstrator and GPS tracking software Gary knew where the first boat around the mark had to be and he was there at the close, very close rounding of the old 12 o’clock. Then his crew popped the spinnaker and even though only half the course was completed, we knew it was over.

The red, white and blue spinnakers are so pretty to watch and I’m sure that the guests at Diamondhead were awed at the strange collection of tiny, colorful sailboats so close to shore. But the downwind leg is also exciting because the following boats have the advantage since they are now going towards 6 o’clock. It takes a skillful skipper to get clear air when there are eight to ten boats close behind with the intent of stealing the wind.

It was world class sailing event benefiting a truly needy cause sponsored by many major corporations but especially the world famous Steve Colgate Sailing School, which resides at the Pink Shell Resort where the event centered.

Sorry more of you couldn’t join us. Send questions and comments to boatguiEd@aol.com or this publication.