Jeff​ ​Penfield​ ​Memorial​ ​Regatta Nov.​ ​11-12,​ ​2017 by Dave Thinel

The​ ​Sarasota​ ​Sailing​ ​Squadron​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Flying​ ​Scot​ ​Fleet​ ​36​ ​hosted​ ​the​ ​seventh​ ​annual​ ​Jeff Penfield​ ​Regatta,​ ​Nov.11​ ​and​ ​12,​ ​2017.​ ​The​ ​regatta​ ​is​ ​also​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​stops​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Flying​ ​Scot Florida​ ​District​ ​traveling​ ​series.

We​ ​had​ ​24​ ​teams​ ​of​ ​Scot​ ​racers​ ​ready​ ​to​ ​tackle​ ​Sarasota​ ​Bay​ ​Saturday​ ​morning.​ ​A​ ​passing cold​ ​front​ ​to​ ​our​ ​north​ ​brought​ ​a​ ​brisk​ ​easterly​ ​breeze,​ ​temperatures​ ​in​ ​the​ ​seventies​ ​and​ ​sunny! Racing​ ​started​ ​promptly​ ​at​ ​12:30​ ​on​ ​a​ ​windward​ ​leeward​ ​course​ ​about​ ​1.5​ ​miles​ ​north​ ​of​ ​the club.​ ​Zeke​ ​Horowitz​ ​and​ ​his​ ​dad,​ ​Jay,​ ​took​ ​the​ ​first​ ​bullet​ ​with​ ​their​ ​new-ish​ ​FS​ ​6138,​ ​JaMing-O. The​ ​Lintons​ ​also​ ​in​ ​a​ ​new-ish​ ​boat​ ​FS​ ​6133,​ ​The​ ​Scuppernong,​ ​finished​ ​second.​ ​The​ ​excellent RC​ ​had​ ​the​ ​second​ ​race​ ​going​ ​promptly​ ​in​ ​a​ ​building​ ​breeze.​ ​Some​ ​40​ ​minutes​ ​later​ ​the​ ​top​ ​two finishers​ ​from​ ​the​ ​first​ ​race,​ ​finished​ ​1​ ​and​ ​2​ ​again.​ ​There​ ​was​ ​plenty​ ​of​ ​hiking​ ​and​ ​some​ ​planing downwind​ ​so​ ​things​ ​were​ ​getting​ ​fun!​ ​Race​ ​3​ ​had​ ​Jim​ ​and​ ​Cheryl​ ​Signor​ ​blasting​ ​out​ ​ahead​ ​in​ ​a new-to-them​ ​FS​ ​5982,​ ​earning​ ​a​ ​nice​ ​win.​ ​In​ ​second​ ​place​ ​was​ ​Tyler​ ​Andrews​ ​and​ ​Eric​ ​Bussell FS​ ​6135​ ​who​ ​traveled​ ​from​ ​Deep​ ​Creek,​ ​MD​ ​and​ ​Illinois​ ​respectively.​ ​That’s​ ​some​ ​dedication!

Sunday​ ​was​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​cooler,​ ​about​ ​as​ ​breezy​ ​but​ ​much​ ​more​ ​overcast.​ ​The​ ​fleet​ ​beat​ ​out​ ​of​ ​the harbor​ ​for​ ​a​ ​10:30​ ​start,​ ​under​ ​a​ ​few​ ​drops​ ​of​ ​rain.​ ​After​ ​a​ ​general​ ​recall,​ ​we​ ​got​ ​off​ ​clean​ ​in​ ​the breeze​ ​and​ ​chop.​ ​Zeke​ ​and​ ​Jay​ ​wasted​ ​no​ ​time​ ​adding​ ​to​ ​their​ ​lead​ ​from​ ​day​ ​one​ ​with​ ​a​ ​nice win​ ​but​ ​the​ ​Lintons​ ​were​ ​second,​ ​still​ ​close.​ ​The​ ​5th​ ​and​ ​last​ ​race​ ​would​ ​soon​ ​decide​ ​the winner.​ ​Sadly,​ ​Zeke​ ​had​ ​a​ ​slight​ ​mechanical​ ​issue​ ​and​ ​finished​ ​back​ ​in​ ​the​ ​pack,​ ​a​ ​shame​ ​after such​ ​a​ ​good​ ​series.​ ​The​ ​Lintons​ ​seized​ ​the​ ​opportunity​ ​and​ ​won​ ​the​ ​race​ ​and​ ​the​ ​regatta.​ ​David Ames​ ​with​ ​his​ ​dad,​ ​Larry,​ ​crewing​ ​grabbed​ ​second​ ​place​ ​in​ ​a​ ​new-to-them​ ​boat​ ​FS5350.​ ​The new​ ​boat​ ​theme​ ​is​ ​hard​ ​to​ ​miss!
Awards​ ​went​ ​to​ ​the​ ​top​ ​five;​ ​1-​ ​Jeff​ ​and​ ​Amy​ ​Linton,​ ​2-​ ​Jim​ ​and​ ​Cheryl​ ​Signor,​ ​3-​ ​Zeke​ ​and​ ​Jay Horowitz,​ ​4-​ ​Mark​ ​and​ ​Michelle​ ​Taylor​ ​and​ ​5-​ ​Tyler​ ​Andrews​ ​and​ ​Eric​ ​Bussell.​ ​Well​ ​done​ ​to​ ​all!

Kirk​ ​Burnett,​ ​PRO,​ ​the​ ​RC​ ​team​ ​and​ ​volunteers​ ​did​ ​a​ ​great​ ​job​ ​running​ ​the​ ​races​ ​and​ ​providing safety​ ​boat​ ​coverage.​ ​Alan​ ​Staniforth​ ​volunteered​ ​to​ ​take​ ​photos​ ​and​ ​got​ ​many​ ​great​ ​shots which​ ​can​ ​be​ ​viewed​ ​through​ ​the​ ​link​ ​below.​ ​​Thank​ ​You​ ​volunteer​ ​team!!

Each​ ​year​ ​since​ ​Jeff’s​ ​passing​ ​we​ ​present​ ​the​ ​Jeff​ ​Penfield​ ​Leadership​ ​Award​ ​to​ ​the​ ​person who​ ​best​ ​leads​ ​the​ ​Florida​ ​District.​ ​The​ ​previous​ ​year’s​ ​recipient​ ​is​ ​tasked​ ​with​ ​selecting​ ​the new​ ​leader.​ ​Barry​ ​Millbourn​ ​made​ ​an​ ​excellent​ ​choice​ ​in​ ​choosing​ ​John​ ​Pether​ ​for​ ​2017.​ ​John has​ ​been​ ​a​ ​true​ ​leader​ ​at​ ​the​ ​Squadron​ ​and​ ​with​ ​the​ ​Flying​ ​Scot​ ​Fleet​ ​36.​ ​He​ ​has​ ​recently authored​ ​a​ ​book​ ​of​ ​history​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Sarasota​ ​Sailing​ ​Squadron​ ​and​ ​is​ ​serving​ ​as​ ​regatta​ ​chair​ ​for the​ ​2018​ ​FSSA​ ​Midwinter​ ​Championship.​ ​A​ ​truly​ ​excellent​ ​choice,​ ​​congratulations​ ​John!!

Full results are here.  Click here for photos and here to go to Facebook and view the and posts and a video of the awards ceremony.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner for Jeff and Amy Smith Linton.  They must LOVE chicken! (and beer)	2nd Place Jim and Cheryl Signor
3rd Place Son/Father Team Zeke and Jay Horowitz	4th Place - FL District Guv Mark and Michele Taylor
5th Place - Eric Bussell and Ty Andrews - love the spinnaker!	The Signors aboard Cool Change!