PHOTOS: Flame burns competitioin in Fall Regatta at Marco Island Yacht Club

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Cheryl Ferrara Special to the Eagle Flame, so named for its billowing red spinnaker, takes the lead and first place in Marco Island Yacht Club's 2010 Fall Regatta.

Cheryl Ferrara Special to the Eagle Spinnakers blossom on the downwind leg of Marco Island Yacht Club's fall regatta as 34-foot Foreign Exchange edges out 30-foot Shock. Both sailed in the spinnaker B class.

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Cheryl Ferrara Special to the Eagle Often a favorite in Marco Island Yacht Club regattas, the crew of Barefoot Contessa, skippered by Frank Rinker, was forced to limp back to the yacht club for repairs after ripping its mainsail in the first race.

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Cheryl Ferrara Special to the Eagle While examining the course chart for Marco Island Yacht Club's fall regatta, Gunar Rogat (right) throws down a friendly challenge to the other competitors in the spinnaker B class. His rivals are Jason Richards (left), David Huntington and Vic Farmer.

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Cheryl Ferrara Special to the Eagle Early Saturday morning, Ed and Lois Dixon prepared Tri-Power, their Corsair 24 trimaran for two days of racing. Lois Dixon is sailing fleet captain for the Marco Island Yacht Club.

In the end, no rivals could match Flame, a 34-foot sailboat skippered by James Doane.

Flame handily slipped into first place in all spinnaker classes last weekend at Marco Island Yacht Club’s 2010 Fall Regatta. Air Supply, skippered by Steve Roamain, took first in non-spinnaker and true cruising classes.

Conditions were ideal for the two-day, five-race event.

Saturday’s first race began around 10:30 a.m. when 20 competitors passed the starting mark on a course laid west of Keewaydin Island. Winds were 10.5 knots from the NNE under blue skies and with mild temperatures. A slight chop early in the day settled to smooth seas by noon.

The night before, skippers received information on their races’ course and rules. Entries were divided into five classes: the larger spinnaker (A) fleet; a second spinnaker (B) fleet for smaller boats; multi-hulls; non-spinnakers; and true cruising vessels.

In friendly rivalry, the skippers of spinnaker B – Vic Farmer, Gunar Rogat, David Huntington and newcomer, Jason Richards – shared a few words about their competition.

“We’re pretty evenly matched, so it’s a question of who makes the least mistakes,” said Farmer, skipper of Vee Jay.

“Sailing is continuous, extreme concentration,” said Rogat, on 34-foot Foreign Exchange. “You win because the other guy looks away for one moment and misses the right time to adjust a sail, or make a course correction.”

The four skippers chided each other about who would win.

“This kid here (referring to Richards) is all of 37 years old. The rest of us average 70 years a piece,” said Farmer. “That’s why we’ll let him win.”

Richards doubted his elders would use age difference to relinquish the race.

“I have the smallest boat,” Richard explained, “I may end up the fastest, but we all have ratings and that makes the difference.”

Dean Heard, regatta chairman and race organizer, explained the need for ratings as a factor in determining the winner in regatta sailing.

“In a perfect world, all boats in a class would be exactly the same, thereby equalizing the race to the skippers’ skills,” he said.

“But that’s not practical in a regatta. That’s why each boat is rated for size, equipment and custom design.”

Rogat felt ratings alone didn’t determine the winning skipper’s true skills.

“Conditions make the difference,” he said. “Take the whole season; balance it out. That’s what makes a fair equalization.”

On Friday, after a bit of ribbing, Richards remained confident he would win in his class.

By Sunday, he had taken the gold as top skipper in spinnaker B. Throughout the season, additional races will add to the overall total each boat received in the fall regatta to determine best skipper.

The two-day event culminated in an awards dinner at the Marco Island Yacht Club. Ed and Lois Dixon took honors for “Best in Club” sailing their Corsair 24, Tri-Power. A silent auction during the dinner raised funds for MICKYS, the Marco Island City Kids Youth Sailing program.

Final race results:

Spinnaker A: First place – Flame, skippered by Doane; second place – Maria, skippered by Joe Boness; and third place – Tippecanoe skippered by Dan Kendrick.

Spinnaker B: First place – T-Bone, skippered by Richards; second place – Vee Jay, skippered by Farmer; third place – Foreign Exchange, skippered by Rogat; and fourth place – Shock, skippered by Huntington.

Multi-hull: First place – Flight Simulator, skippered by Tom Reese; second place – Tri-Power, skippered by Dixon; and third place – Third Tri, skippered by Larry Geller; fourth place – Proclivity, skippered by Colin Warkman; and fifth place – Vorpal Blade, skippered by Pat Nugent.

Non-spinnaker: First place – Air Supply, skippered by Raomain, and second place – Bentley, skippered by Tom Horner.

True Cruising: First place – Jabu, skippered by Rex Good; second place – Saboutime, skippered by John Harkless; third place – Blown Away, skippered by Jerry Watkins; fourth place – Lily, skippered by James Brown; and fifth place – Barefoot Contessa, skippered by Frank Rinker.

Best in all spinnaker classes: Flame, skippered by Doane.

Best in all non-spinnaker classes: Air Supply, skippered by Raomain.

Best in club: Tri-Power, skippered by Dixon.

Windy City, skippered by Diane Fowler, competed in the true cruising fleet, but as the only catamaran in that category took first as a multi-hull.