Tampa Regatta 2021 (Blue Eyes)

 

A rough day sailing is still better than a good day at the office and a rough regatta weekend in Florida during the winter months is better than a weekend in Illinois.  I thought Eric was crazy when he first suggested we borrow a Flying Scot and race at the Tampa Regatta at Davis Island Yacht Club.  Sarah and I took our first introductory lesson with him and joined the club just this past season.   After taking lessons and earning our US Sailing Certification, we were allowed to borrow Blue Eyes and practice most Wednesday nights on the weekends.  He had invited us to crew for him at the Egyptian Regatta at Carlyle and we continued to develop our sailing skills every week at CLSA.  Our most notable highlight was the day we won the start during the starting clinic against so many experienced racers.  We were getting better, but in no way did we think we were ready to compete by ourselves against top Florida talent.  

Eric assured us there would be a team of CLSA racers looking after us.  We'd have a place to stay for free.  We'd even have the boat provided for us.  Flights to Tampa were very affordable.   Without that support, we would be in waaaay over our heads.  As part of the deal, we had to promise not to get discouraged and to keep things positive by focusing on how much we're learning vs. how much we need to learn.   So, we agreed, "We're in!"

CLSA member and Tampa resident Mark Taylor greeted us at the Tampa airport on Thursday afternoon.  This was our first-time meeting Mark, but we did read that Mark and Michele are reigning Wife Husband Champions.  Eric and Rick Wojnar would be arriving a few hours later a different flight so we enjoyed a mini tour of Tampa and grabbed dinner.   After picking up Eric and Rick later that evening, we went back to Mark and Michele's enjoyed a long evening of rum drinks and sailing discussion with some good sailors.  We enjoyed some exceptional hospitality and plenty of laughs as Michele told us that she doesn't allow her skipper to use words like "port" or "starboard" on their boat.   She insists on words like "right", "left", "front", and "back" and Mark loves sailing with Michele, so we thought it was hilarious how they make it work on their boat.  

On Friday we headed to the club late in the morning to set up our boats.  Davis Island Yacht Club is beautiful, and it was very convenient having our boat set up and basically ready to go. Jeff and Amy Linton hooked us up with a loaner boat and Mark and Rick helped us get it generally rigged and ready to sail.   The winds were stiff that afternoon and white caps were present, so Rick joined us for a sail on the loaner boat on Tampa Bay.  After our shake down sail, we returned to shore where we learned how to tune rigs by watching and asking questions as all the traveling racers arrived and set up their boats.  We met a lot of friendly sailors and learned so much.   We were overwhelmed by the hospitality extended by all the Florida sailors throughout the entire weekend.  We found it fascinating that Florida racers will store boats for travelers in their backyard for free so northern racers can fly back and forth and compete in the Florida regatta circuit.  They'll even transport guest boats from storage to the regatta and back.  We quickly grew to appreciate the family-like atmosphere amongst the traveling racers where travelers go out of their way to take care of other travelers.   They certainly made us feel like we were home and among friends.

After taking it easy on Friday night, we arrived at the club on Saturday to perfect sailing conditions.  Things were looking great, and everything was going perfect until our mainsheet block and cleat ripped clear off the centerboard trunk on our way out to the race course.   We didn't turn back and jerry-rigged a less than perfect solution, but it was good enough to keep sailing.  We made the start but noticed the wind was increasing in strength.  Starting with 20+ boats on the line for the first time as skipper was an exhilarating experience.  By the second leg of the race the winds were gusting over 35.  The leader of the race capsized.  Another experienced racer had lost his crew overboard and had to sail in solo while the safety boat fished her out of the bay.   We watched many other boats struggling to survive so we decided to take down our main and sail in with only the jib.  The safety boats escorted us home and CLSA racers greeted us at the dock with very concerned looks on their faces.  When asked if we were okay, we told them the truth, "WE HAD A BLAST AND CAN'T WAIT TO GO OUT AGAIN!"   The concerned looks turned into laughter with a few "crazy kids" comments.  It was fun listening to all the survival stories while enjoying a cold beverage on the dock.  Sarah and I were glad to hear everyone was okay and in good spirits.  

Saturday evening, we visited Ybor City and dined at the world-famous Columbia Restaurant.  Even though I was far from home, the Cuban cuisine reminded me of home and mom's Ropa Vieja which they had on the menu.  Ropa Vieja translates to "old clothes", but I promise you it tastes better than it sounds.  I come from a Cuban American family and Ybor City has a strong Cuban influence.   Florida racers Scot and Laura Marriott from Lake Monroe joined Team CLSA for dinner and a fun night of great food, drinks, and sailing stories.   It was fun getting to know more sailors and during dinner Scot expressed an interest in coming to Clinton Lake and racing in the June Thistle regatta.  While northerners like sailing in Florida to escape the cold of the winter, Floridians like to come up and race up north to escape the summer humidity.    

We arrived at that lake on Sunday and once again the sailing conditions were perfect, but the winds were projected to die.   We would end up racing two races in very light conditions, the exact opposite of Saturday but still very challenging.  We worked on getting a good start and improving our boat handling as best we could alongside some world-class racers.   It was intimidating sailing against such great sailors, but we learned so much by being out there with them.   We didn't win, but he had a great time.  During the awards presentation we were awarded a bottle of rum as a trophy for the most spontaneous/crazy boat team.  We are told CLSA does something similar by awarding green flags after club races.  We survived Saturday and everyone in our boat returned dry and safely to shore when not all sailors did.  Our boat broke and we didn't give up.  We enjoyed an affordable vacation and made new friends.  We brought home a trophy from our first regatta racing by ourselves. 

It's hard to believe that a year ago at this time we had never been sailing.  Things happen fast at CLSA.  

Richard Alonso with Sarah Robinson
FS#3204 Blue Eyes 

CLSA Members Since 2020