Once again wind forecasts were incorrect.  All of the “best” websites for forecasting winds on Lake Pontchartrain were wrong.  All had predicted light southerly’s the entire Memorial Day weekend of the Gulf District Trifecta.  And all weekend we wound up with 8-12 knot northerlies for the 5 race series.  But at least there was no rain!

On Memorial Day weekend of 2014 Flying Scot Fleet 96 and Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans hosted the first Gulf District Trifecta.  It was a Trifecta as the Flying Scot Class (also the largest class in the event) sailed for three different perpetual trophies as part of the 2014 Juby Wynne Memorial Regatta: The Commissioner General Trophy, the Charles L Dees Memorial Trophy and the Cock-of-the-Walk Trophy.

What was unique is that each of these trophies had its own individual criteria within the Flying Scot class, although everyone started together and sailed the same course.

The Commissioner General Trophy, is a crystal sailboat that was donated to SYC by member John G. Weinmann, who served as the United States Commissioner General of the 1984 Worlds Fair held in New Orleans that year. This is presented to the overall winner of the Flying Scot Class. The boat and crew must comply with general pertinent FSSA rules, but the sailor does not have to be a member of FSSA, GYA or the Gulf District.

The Charles L. Dees Memorial Trophy, named in memory of past FSSA officer, and Gulf Yachting Association (GYA) and Fairhope Yacht Club Commodore Charlie Dees,is presented to the winner of the FSSA Gulf District Championship. The boat and crew must comply with FSSA sanctioned event rules, must be a member of FSSA and must be a member of a fleet in the Gulf District. The top three teams are also presented the standard FSSA medallions.

The Cock-of-the-Walk Trophy is presented to the winner of the Gulf Yachting Association Flying Scot Championship. The trophy was donated by past FSSA President, and GYA and Pensacola Yacht Club Commodore Buddy Pollak. Entrants (skippers only) must be a member of a GYA Club. There is no limit to the number of entries per club. The same crew shall sail all series races. The minimum crew weight must be 390 pounds live weight. Boats, sails and equipment may be either club owned or privately owned.

This may sound somewhat confusing, so here is an attempt at demystification.  Everyone races together and is scored together. Whoever meets the criteria of the sub-fleets, ie Districts and/or Cock of the Walk (COW), first will be awarded those trophies. For example, let’s say a boat comes in from Dallas (not a GYA member club or in the Gulf District) and wins the regatta. I finish 2nd overall and a Pensacola Yacht Club member finishes third overall.  The Dallas skipper would win the Commissioner General Trophy for winning the regatta overall, but nothing else because he is not a member of the FSSA Gulf District or a GYA club.  I would win the Gulf Districts, but not the COW because my crew and I do not weigh the required 390 pounds, and Pensacola team would win the COW because they met the COW criteria, but were not GYA members.  Clear???!!

All participating crews received the special regatta souvenir regatta beer bottle cooler, and free keg beer at the conclusion of both race days. There was also live music and a seafood boil on Saturday evening.  On Sunday, trophies were presented along with grilled food by the pool.

It turns out that no one skipper met the criteria for all 3 trophies, so the awards were spread out as shown in the below results.  What was nice to see was the 3 father-son combinations racing: Dwight Leblanc IV with father Dwight Leblanc III crewing; Al Rees with son Bernard as crew; and, Ken Wink with son Kenny crewing.

Overall results follow:

1. Dwight LeBlanc IV (and 1^st in the Gulf Districts)
2. David Bolyard (and 1^st in the GYA Championship and 2^nd in the Districts+
3. Eric Aschaffenburg (and 3^rd in the Districts)
4. Larry Taggart
5. Julian Richards (and 2^nd in the GYA Championship)
6. Nancy Claypool
7. Al Rees
8. Kenneth Wink (and 3^rd in the GYA Championship)
9. Miller Goldenberg
10.  Eric Alber

Note: attached photo by Bob Mayer pictures the winners with their trophies along with Gulf District Governor Larry Taggart.