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SOUTHWINDSNews & Views for Southern Sailors

May 2007For Sailors FreeIts Priceless

Reinventing the wheel is one thing that makes Beneteau such an exceptional sailboat manufacturer.For over a century, weve been leading the industry with innovations like our patented pivoting wheelon the Beneteau 323.Youll also find many other features and options on the Beneteau 323, including a retractable keel that allows you to sail into the most shallow gunkholing spots. Experience theexceptional. Visit your nearest Beneteau dealer to view the new sailing yachts for 2007.

2 May 2007 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com

News & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS May 2007 3

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SOUTHWINDSNEWS & VIEWS FOR SOUTHERN SAILORS

From the Carolinas to Cubafrom Atlanta to the AbacosSOUTHWINDS Covers Southern Sailing

South Seas Resort Marina. Photo by MorganStinemetz. Page 36

Small Craft Festival. Photo by Steve Morrell. Page 34.

6 From the Helm: SorceryBy Steve Morrell

10 Letters

17 Southern Regional Monthly Weather and Water Temperatures

18 Bubba To Install PA System On Right GuardBy Morgan Stinemetz

20 Short Tacks: Sailing News and Events Around the South

29 Our Waterways: Boardings in Boot Key Harbor

34 Gulf Coast Small Craft Festival By Steve Morrell

35 Anchoring: How Close to Your Neighbor?By Kent Trompeter

36 South Seas Resort MarinaBy Morgan Stinemetz

38 Travels with Angel: Coastal hopping Southeast Floridas Palm Beaches

By Rebecca Burg

40 A Skipper Learns Some Lessons in the Move Up to Spinnaker Class in a Womens Regatta

By Dawn Narramore

42 Southern Racing: Southern Race Reports and Upcoming Races, Southern Regional Race Calendars

70 Flea Market Blues: A Post-Dania DownerBy Kevon Andersen

32-33 Marine Market Place46-47 Regional Sailing Services Directory

Local boat services in your area. 50 Boat Brokerage Section 60 Alphabetical Index of Advertisers61 Advertisers List by Category61 Subscription Form

Cover:A Norseboat sails at the 2nd Annual Great Florida Gulf CoastSmall Craft Festival in Sarasota. Photo by Steve Morrell

About a month ago, I read that JakeWood, owner of a well-knownocean racer called Sorcery, had passedaway. There was a lot of reminiscingabout him on the Internet. Back in the70s, I crewed on a delivery of Sorcery.

I cant remember the exact year,but I was in Baja California at the time.I used to do a lot of backpacking backthen, and two friends and I had flowndown to San Jose del Cabo in BajaCalifornia and hiked along the coast toCabo San Lucas. We walked along thebeach and camped along the way,spearing a fish here and there, takingseveral days to make the 30-plus-miletrek. My friends were heading back toCalifornia, but I planned to cross theSea of Cortez to mainland Mexico andwander around a bit. We were hangingout on the beach in Cabo when I heardabout a boat that was looking for crew.I swam out to the boat and signed on. Itwas Sorcery, a C&C 61, owned by a guynamed Jake Wood. The boat was head-ing north after doing the winter racesof the Mexican circuit, and her hiredfull-time captain was taking her back.

Before Sorcery, the biggest boat Ihad ever sailed on was a Rhodes 19,and I had never been offshore in a sail-boat, so I jumped at the chance, leavinga few days later on a weeklong trip. Itwas to weather the whole time, and thewind on our nose never seemed to letup. Going up the coast of BajaCalifornia was beautiful. We made one

stop in Bahia de Magdalena to get a restfrom the constant pounding of the boatgoing to weather. It was a whalesbreeding ground, and Ill never forgetjumping in the cold water and seeing amillion baby shrimpa good reasonfor a whale to hang out in the place,and we saw a lot of them in the bay.

I didnt know that Sorcery was afamous ocean racer, but learned a lotabout the boat on the trip. The boathad nine lives. She was built backsomewhere around 1970 and was thebiggest production sailboat at thetime. The boat made its first win in arace from St. Petersburg to Venice andeventually made its way to the PacificOcean and into the hands of JakeWood, who campaigned it heavily formany years in the Mexican winterraces, usually starting with the annualrace from California to Mexico. Once itwas beached on its way south andended up with its keel buried in thesand in Baja.

He also sailed it in the Transpacfor years, winning the race severaltimes. One race took him across thePacific to Japan, and when Jake andcrew were returning the boat toNorth America, they ran into a majorstorm that rolled the boat overlike akayak rollin the North Pacific whenit met a rogue wave. The rolloverhappened so fast that one crewman,who was thrown overboard on theside that it rolled to, was scooped up

and on deck when it came back up onthe other side. When it came up, themast was broken off and pointingstraight down into the water, stillsecured on by rigging. Some of thecrew were injured and laid up, but afew managed to survive well enoughto eventually cut the rigging, losingthe mast. They were rescued by near-by ships and eventually a CoastGuard cutter. A few years later, I hap-pened to run into a slide show (therewas a camera onboard) and lecturethat one of the crewmembers puttogether on the rollover. Ill neverforget it. I remember when theywould take turns going out in thestorm to slowly cut the rigging tofree the mast. Tethered, a crewmem-ber could only take about five min-utes in the storm conditions as hetried to cut the wire, but they eventu-ally succeeded.

Jake made it rich by founding andowning a factory that sold a ton oflocking aircraft nuts in the growingaerospace industry in the 60s. He heldon to Sorcery for a few more years andthen sold it and purchased a Mull 84that he also named Sorcery, whichwent on to become famous in its ownright until Jake eventually sold it.

His passing brought back somememories from long ago, andalthough I never met Jake Wood, itsaddened me.

Steve Morrell, Editor

FROM THE HELM


Sorcery


See LETTERS continued on page 10


SOUTHWINDSNews & Views For Southern Sailors

SOUTHWINDS Media, Inc.

P.O. Box 1175, Holmes Beach, Florida 34218-1175(941) 795-8704 (877) 372-7245 (941) 795-8705 Fax

www.southwindsmagazine.co

e-mail: [email protected]

Volume 15 Number 4 May 2007

Copyright 2007, Southwinds Media, Inc.

Founded in 1993 Doran Cushing, 1993-2002

Publisher/EditorSteve Morrell [email protected] (941) 795-8704

AdvertisingGo to www.southwindsmagazine.com for information about

the magazine, distribution and advertising rates.

Steve Morrell [email protected] (941) 795-8704

Regional Editors

EAST FLORIDARoy Laughlin [email protected] (321) 690-0137\

Production Proofreading ArtworkHeather Nicoll Kathy Elliott Rebecca Burg

[email protected]

Contributing Writers Letters from our readers Willie Blevins Rebecca BurgDan Dickison Bill Dixon Dave EllisTroy Gilbert Kim Kaminski Roy LaughlinDody Nollman Art Perez Hone ScunookPeggy St. James Capt. Steve Stevens Morgan Stinemetz

Contributing Photographers/ArtJerry Banton Photography Rebecca Burg (and Artwork)Gary Hufford Kim Kaminski Mary KnowlesRoy Laughlin Jonathan Reiss PhotographyLarry Wissing Dody Nollman

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: ARTICLES & PHOTOGRAPHY:SOUTHWINDS encourages readers, writers, photographers, cartoonists, jok-ers, magicians, philosophers and whoever else is out there, includingsailors, to send in their material. Just make it about the water world andgenerally about sailing and about sailing in the South, the Bahamas or theCaribbean, or general sailing interest, or sailboats, or sailing in some far-off and far-out place.

SOUTHWINDS welcomes contributions in writing and photography, sto-ries about sailing, racing, cruising, maintenance and other technical arti-cles and other sailing-related topics. Please submit all articles electronical-ly by e-mail (mailed-in discs also accepted), and with photographs, if pos-sible. We also accept photographs alone, for cover shots, racing, cruisingand just funny entertaining shots. Please take them at a high resolution ifdigital, or scan at 300 dpi if photos, or mail them to us for scanning.Contact the editor with questions.

Subscriptions to SOUTHWINDS are available at $19.95/year, or $37/2years for third class, and $24/year for first class. Checks and credit card num-bers may be mailed with name and address to SOUTHWINDS Subscriptions,PO Box 1175, Holmes Beach FL, 34218-1175, or call (941) 795-8704.Subscriptions are also available with a credit card through a secure server onour Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.com. SOUTHWINDS is distributed toover 500 locations throughout 10 Southern states. If you would like to dis-tribute SOUTHWINDS at your location, please contact the editor.

Read SOUTHWINDS on our Web sitewww.southwindsmagazine.com.


LETTERS

To Our Readers:We have received a lot of letters in recent months and havenot been able to print them all. We are asking our readers toplease keep your letters brief so that more of them can beprinted, or please send money so that we can pay for a larg-er magazine and print them all. Otherwise, we will have toedit them down.

We try to print our letters in the order that we receivethem, but also strive to print letters on a diversity of topics,so some get printed sooner than others.

Editor

If I had had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.Attributed to Pascal, T.S. Elliot, Mark Twain,

Igor Google and others.

WEST FLORIDA ANCHORAGES WEB SITEYour article in the January issue on the west coast anchor-ages in Florida was EXTREMELY helpful and useful. Atfirst, I had difficulty with the Web address, but your staffeducated me and sent me a link. (Those underscores in aWeb address dont come across well in print articles.) Thatinformation is better than any cruising guide out there!! Sowhen might someone do the same on the east coast ofFlorida? What are wechopped liver??? Seriously, yourmagazine is a great source of information for Florida sailorsand cruisers. This is just another example of great informa-tion out there in cyberspace that might go unnoticed with-out your publication.

Russell W. BoleyMiami, FL

Russell,Glad we could help. That was put together a few years ago byFlorida Sea Grant and boaters input. It is a great service, but Ithink the likelihood of that happening again is small. Too bad.

Editor

Boat Insurance: Owner Gets Canceled for No Good ReasonI have also experienced problems obtaining boat insurancerecently. I have owned sailboats off and on since the late 70sand have always cared and maintained them in top condi-tion and carried full coverage insurance. I have also fol-lowed the most prudent techniques of storm preparationavailable to me.

Several years ago upon the approach of a tropicalstorm, I removed the canvas and sails from my 1984 ODay30 and moved her from her slip at the Sarasota SailingSquadron to a mooring that I had recently rebuilt. Extralines and chafing gear were added, all seacocks closed andeverything removable of any value was taken off the boatthe exact same preparations I have made several times overrecent years (the exact same preparations suggested by theinsurance company). Each time, the boat survived the storms

Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.H.L. Mencken

In its continuing endeavor to share its press, SOUTHWINDSinvites readers to write in with experiences & opinions.E-mail your letters to [email protected]


with no problem.You can imagine my joy at return-

ing after the storm had passed to seemy boat bobbing about normally onher mooring. However, something wasnot quite right to the eye from shore,and upon closer examination, I foundthat she had been hit by another boat,and approximately $7000 of damagewas done to the bow rail, stanchions,toe rails and deck. The offending vessel

had left a broken piece of rub rail lyingon the deck. Although I had some rubrail damage to my boat, all my railswere present and accounted for.

So we followed the downwindcourse under the Ringling CausewayBridge and over to Selby Gardens tofind a 34-foot sailboat on the beach.This boat was missing from an upwindmooring at our club, and the brokenpiece of rub rail was an exact match to

a missing piece of rub rail of hers. Nowcomes the interesting part. Both boatswere insured by the same company(BoatU.S.). They paid my claimpromptly, and then, at renewal time,advised me that they would not renewmy insurance coverage due to my claim.They did offer, however, to considerinsuring me again after two years ofaccident-free (claim-free) boating. (Whywould I do that? I wondered.)

The condition of my mooring tack-le and lines was perfect. There was nodirect damage to the boat from wind,water or waves. How can any fault beplaced on me or my boating practices?Even though I feel the other boat wasnot attached to her mooring properly,her breaking loose and hitting my boatis not the issue here. I believe the issueis actually that insurance companiesare in a very calculated way avoidingas much risk exposure as possible andparticipating in cherry picking prac-tices in a more subtle way than thehomeowners insurance industry is.

Following are my suggestions forimproving the availability of insur-ance in Florida and other coastal areas.1) State regulations must be changedto require insurance companies doingbusiness in these areas to maintainhigher loss reserves for the payment ofclaims, and 2) These insurance compa-nies accounting practices need tochange so as to prevent all the premi-um revenue from a low loss year beingtaken as profit for that year. The basicidea of insurance is to spread thepotential for loss among a wide base ofsubscribers, which is basically bettingthat they wont all need relief at thesame time. However, when many ofthem need relief at the same time, thenthe funding for payment needs to bespread over a broader time span. Thisconcept can be likened to having aweekly income of $1000 (and spendingit all) and a monthly mortgage pay-ment of $2000 and not setting any-thing aside weekly for the payment.When the payment comes due, thereisnt enough money.

I believe requiring insurance com-panies doing business in this state toreturn to fundamentals instead of cre-ative accounting practices would go along way toward restoring the avail-ability of coverage.

Mike BurwellSarasota, FL


Mike,I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. I can understand aninsurance company dropping someone who does not diligentlytake the precautions on his boat for an approaching storm. But foran insurance company to discontinue a policy merely because it isa claim and not take into account the reason for the claimespe-cially when you were the one that took proper action to protectyour boat, which is also protecting the insurance companyispretty poor behavior. The insurance company is obviously notrewarding for good behavior.

I believe that insurance companies are really taking advan-tage of boaters in our region. Before 2004, there were very fewinsurance claims for the last 30 yearsand longerin this hurri-cane region. There was Hugo and David, but there was a long peri-od of no claims before that. Either the insurance companies werestriking it rich, or didnt know how to plan ahead, as they had theirchance after David hit in 93.

Whats changed? Why all of a sudden now? Did they not planfor a rainy day? What happened to all the profit from back then? Iremember in the early 80s when hurricane forecasters forecast,every single year, that the big hurricane could hit. When severalhit in 2004, insurance companies should have been well-preparedfor that after several decades of good income. They either werentplanning or theyre taking advantage of the situation now. What Idont understand is why, when you have car insurance and a goodrecordand a good record means you didnt cause a lot of acci-dentsyour insurance company and others will give you a goodrate. But for boaters, it appears that no matter what actions theytake, good or bad, the insurance company will treat any claim as anegative. If auto insurance operated this way, there would be amajor uproar from the public. I believe a big difference is the num-ber of auto insurance companies is huge and there is more compe-tition, but not so in the boat insurance world, at least for the larg-er non-trailerable boats. There just arent that many choices forbigger boats. Im afraid the boat insurance companies are doingthis for only one reason, and that is that they can. Price quotes Ihave heard from people have not gone up just a bit recently, butdrasticallymany quotes going from $1500 a year to $5000andmany not being able to get it at allno matter how good andresponsible a boat owner they are.

Somethings wrong here.Isnt insurance supposed to be set up over a long period of

time and a lot of people? Didnt we already have a long period oftime with few claims? Was that period just not counted?

We are going to need some major changes in the boat insur-ance industry in the near future, and perhaps this will have to beinstigated by boat manufacturers, boat dealers, boat owners andothers as it doesnt appear that the insurance companies are goingto do anything on their own except raise the rates.

Editor

Boat Insurance Problems Solved by One OwnerThis is in reference to your article on marine insurance. Oursailboat has not moved and has been tied to our dock for thepast 4 1/2 years. We quit insuring it in 2002, when the insur-ance company wanted to double our premium from $1800to $3600. Rather than be held hostage by them financially,we told them to take a hike.

We recently looked into getting an umbrella policyadded onto our homeowners policy. We discussed it withour insurance underwriter, ITT Hartford, and they said thatas part of our umbrella policy, we could insure our 41

LETTERS




Morgan O/I, hull value of $65,000, for $995 with a 1 per-cent deductible and no survey required.

I thought that you might want to pass this off to yourreaders as a possible solution to their marine insurancedilemma.

Capt. Richard PurcellUSCG Master 100 ton.

Richard,I have heard of others who have done the same and have good rateson their boat insurance. I think it will be a bit different and per-haps a little more difficult if you have a claim as you wont bedealing with an insurance company that knows boat insurancelike one that specializes in it. But then again, a savings of $2600a year goes a long ways. And I dont think you have to have yourboat in your back yard to add it to your homeowners policy.

Editor

Marco Island Visitors Get HarassedOn November 13, six boats (five sail and one motor) fromthe Cape Coral Sailing Club, planned five days of cruising,destination Marco Island. When we arrived at Factory Bay,Marco Island, five boats were approached by members ofthe local police marine patrol. They suggested we move toanother location, mainly because a certain homeowner didnot want boaters anchoring in his view. We were told if wedid not move within 24 hours, we may be boarded. Theirreason was to check the boat for compliance to boating reg-ulations. We were also informed they could board us asoften as every 15 minutes if they wanted to. This is plainharassment. Four of our boats did not want the hassle andmoved from the area. Two of us stayed overnight but leftfor home the next day due to bad weather predictions.Unfortunately, we were not there to see what would hap-pen after 24 hours. Two boats had scratches along their hullfrom the marine police boat. The police were notified of theboat damage. Two questions: 1) Do we need to endure thisharassment in an anchorage? 2) What rights do the localpolice have in boarding boats?

Thank you all for your continued interest in this problem.Ginny Holland

Past Commodore of the Cape Coral Sailing ClubSSCA, BoatU.S. Member

Ginny,Boarded every 15 minutes? Scratch the side of your boat? Whatkind of police are these? They should be arrested and charged witha crime. Again, power corrupts and give some people a gun, a badgeand a siren and they will be corrupted. Why dont the good onesstand up and stop the bad ones from giving the police a bad name?

By the time you read this, a possible test case of this problemwill have gone to court (April 18) and hopefully be resolved, butthen again, the courts have often ruled in favor of those who pay themost taxeslike the homeowner who doesnt want you in hisviewso well see. It will be posted on our home page. Stay tuned.

Editor

We (Cruisers) are Not the EnemyAfter reading the Southwinds reports of police misbehaviorin Marco Island and Marathon, its clear some local policeand most Florida Waterway Commission (FWC) officershave lost all credibility with the cruising public. Like the

vast majority of world-class sailors, full-time cruisers inFlorida are law-abiding people. Instead of enlisting our helpin carrying out their mission, which full-time cruisers sup-port, they harass us because they can get away with it, notbecause we are law breakers, but we are simply easy targets.

We are not their enemy, but they are making us so.When I visited with FWC Associate General Counsel Capt.Alan Richard in February, he seemed to be an entirely rea-sonable individual trying to work out waterway problemsand trying to convince local authorities to abide by statelaw. He claimed he did not endorse the Marathon midnightraids on cruising boats, so it must be local police and localbranches of the FWC who are misbehaving.

As far as police educating the cruiser using safetychecks, I count a dozen USCG licensed masters at anchorin Marathon. Tell me who has the most boating safety expe-riencea young police officer driving an outboard or aLicensed USCG Master in a world cruiser?

Capt. Richard de GrasseU.S. S/Y Endeavour

Richard,Yes, some marine patrol officers are getting out of hand, but readthe Our Waterways section this month. The FWC officer who ranthose raids is now working more with the boaters in Boot KeyHarbor after a recent meeting they all had together. More power tohim if he continues in this mannerfiguratively speaking, of course.

Editor

Boat Inspection HelpI read the editorial on the boat inspections in the March issue.Here is maybe a solution to prevent citations to boaters.

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offers FREE vessel safe-ty checks to boaters. Members will look at the MSDs, life-saving and fire-fighting equipment, navigation lights andalso provide an education exchange. This is called a VesselSafety Check. It is not an inspection. If anything is found notto be in compliance, then the owner is told about it. It stopsthere and no report is given to any law enforcement agency.If the vessel is in compliance, then a decal will be affixed tothe vessel. This decal will not prevent a law enforcementinspection, but at the mention of a VSC, most officers willperform an abbreviated exam. The examiner will educatethe boat owner and answer any questions they may have.

As mentioned in your article, a list will be provided to theboat owner as to their equipment requirements. This list is alsoFREE. These pamphlets are given out at boat shows, andmarine dealers usually carry them. This is another program bythe auxiliary, the Marine Dealer Visitor, where aux membersprovide dealers with boating safety literature and information.

If the vessel is boarded by law enforcement and has theproper equipment onboard, the owner will have a much bet-ter experience. The examiner will also provide information onboating safety classes. If more boat owners took this class(most are one day), then they will be more aware of federal,local and state laws, such as marine sanitation device use.

To schedule a VSC, call (800) 368-5647, or go towww.VesselSafetyCheck.org. To schedule where the cours-es are given, call (866) BoatABC, (866) 262-8222 or go towww.AmericasBoatingCourse.com.

Marc Lang USCG Auxiliary, Division 14


E-mail your letters to the Editor: [email protected]

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SOUTHWINDSMARINE STORE

To order, call (941) 795-8704, or (877) 372-7245 with a credit card (orconfirm to mail a check in), or e-mail

[email protected].

To all items and books shipped to Floridalocations, add applicable state and county sales tax. All items can also be picked up in Bradenton, Florida

TO ORDER CALL 877-372-7245

LETTERS


NORTHERN GULF COAST Pensacola, FL 58 lo 76 hiGulfport, MS 59 lo 77 hiWater Temperature 71

WEST FLORIDA St. Petersburg 65 lo 80 hiNaples 62 lo 83 hiWater TemperatureSt. Petersburg 74Naples 77

FLORIDA KEYS Key West 72 lo 82 hiWater Temperature Key West 79Gulfstream Current 1.9

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA Miami Beach 70 lo 79 hiStuart 64 lo 81 hiWater TemperatureMiami Beach 78Stuart 73Gulfstream Current 3 knots

EAST FLORIDA Daytona Beach - 58 lo 80 hiJacksonville Beach - 59 lo 76 hiWater Temperature Daytona Beach 72Jacksonville Beach 70Gulfstream Current 3 knots

CAROLINAS AND GEORGIACape Hatteras, NC 54 lo 67 hiSavannah, GA 53 lo 78 hiWater Temperature Cape Hatteras, NC 59Savannah Beach, GA 67

Southeastern U.S. Air & Water Temperaturesand Gulf Stream Currents AprilWeather Web Sites:Carolinas & Georgia www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southeast.shtmlFlorida East Coast www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtmlFlorida West Coast & Keys http://comps.marine.usf.eduNorthern Gulf Coast www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/

WIND ROSES: Each wind rose shows the strength and direc-tion of the prevailing winds in the area and month. Thesehave been recorded over a long period of time. In general,the lengths of the arrows indicate how often the winds camefrom that direction. The longer the arrow, the more often thewinds came from that direction. When the arrow is too longto be printed in a practical manner, a number is indicated.

The number in the center of the circle shows the percentageof the time that the winds were calm. The lengths of thearrows plus the calms number in the center add up to 100percent. The number of feathers on the arrow indicates thestrength of the wind on the Beaufort scale (one feather isForce 1, etc.). Wind Roses are taken from Pilot Charts.



Weather Web Sites:Carolinas & Georgia www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southeast.shtmlFlorida East Coast www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtmlFlorida West Coast & Keys http://comps.marine.usf.eduNorthern Gulf Coast www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/

WIND ROSES: Each wind rose shows the strength and direc-tion of the prevailing winds in the area and month. Thesehave been recorded over a long period of time. In general,the lengths of the arrows indicate how often the winds camefrom that direction. The longer the arrow, the more often thewinds came from that direction. When the arrow is too longto be printed in a practical manner, a number is indicated.

The number in the center of the circle shows the percentageof the time that the winds were calm. The lengths of thearrows plus the calms number in the center add up to 100percent. The number of feathers on the arrow indicates thestrength of the wind on the Beaufort scale (one feather isForce 1, etc.). Wind Roses are taken from Pilot Charts.

Southeastern U.S. Air & Water Temperaturesand Gulf Stream Currents May


SouthwindsBubbaSouthwinds does not have the electronic rights to the Bubba stories


EDUCATIONAL/TRAININGOngoing Boating Skills and Seamanship Programs.

St. Petersburg, FLTuesday nights, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Satisfies

the Florida boater safety education requirements.Eleven lessons, every Tuesday. Boating Skills and

Seamanship Programs, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 1300 BeachDrive SE, St. Petersburg. Lessons include:which boat for you, equipment, trailering, lines

and knots, boat handling, signs, weather, rules,introduction to navigation, inland boating and

radio. (727) 823-3753. Dont wait until next summer tohave your children qualify for a State of Florida boater safety ID,possibly lower your boaters insurance premium or justhone your safe boating skills.

Boating Safety Courses, St. Petersburg, FLSt. Petersburg Sail and Power Squadron. Six-week publicboating course begins every Monday. Includes safety infor-mation plus basic piloting; charts, course plotting, lati-tude/longitude and dead reckoning. Satisfies Floridasunder age 21 boater requirements. (727) 867-3088. Othercourses continuously offered. (727) 565-4453. www.boating-stpete.org.

Clearwater Coast Guard Auxiliary (Flotilla 11-1) PublicBoating ProgramsBasic Coastal Navigation Program (includes charting tools):

Hurricane Articles and Information WantedSOUTHWINDS is looking for ideas and real stories onhurricane experiences to pass on to others for ourupcoming hurricane section during the 2007 hurricaneseason. We are also looking for ideas and stories on pro-tecting docks during storms. Should boats be forced toleave a marina during a hurricane? Should boat ownersbe required to keep their boats from destroying a dockduring a storm? Should insurance companies give dis-counts to those who protect their boats during a storm?Send stories, letters and/or photos to [email protected]. Visit our hurricane pages atwww.southwindsmagazine.com.

RACING EVENTSFor racing schedules, news and events see the racingsection.

UPCOMING SOUTHERN EVENTSGo to the SOUTHWINDS Web site for our list ofyouth sailing programs in the Southern coastalstates, www.southwindsmagazine.com. The list wasprinted in the April 2006 issue.

EVENTS & NEWS OF INTEREST TO SOUTHERN SAILORSTo have your news or event in this section, contact [email protected].

Send us information by the 5th of the month preceding publication. Contact us if later.Changes in Events Listed on SOUTHWINDS Web site

Go to www.southwindsmagazine.com for changes and notices on upcoming events. Contact us to post event changes.

8 lessons. April 2- 26. Sailing course: May 7,8,10, evenings.Americas Boating Course: May 19-20.

For more information on upcoming education pro-grams or to request a free vessel safety check, call (727)469-8895 or visit www.a0701101.uscgaux.info.

Ruskin, FL, Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 75Offers Home Study Safe Boating CourseThe Ruskin flotilla each month offers a boatingsafety course in Ruskin but has found that manyboaters do not have the time to attend the courses,so they are now also offering a home study courseat $30. Additional family members will be charged$10 each for testing and certificates. Tests will be held bi-monthly. Entry into the course will also allow participantsto attend the classes. To apply, call (813) 677-2354.

Jacksonville, FL, Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla. AmericasBoating Course. May 12, June 2, June 23, July 21. 7:30 a.m.to 5 p.m. $25.00, including books and materials. MeetsFlorida legal requirements for boater education, and mostinsurance companies offer discounts to program graduates.To register, or for more information, call John Enea at (904)223-3107, or Mike Christnacht at (904) 502-9154.

North Carolina Maritime Museum, Beaufort, NCOngoing adults sailing programs. Family Sailing. 2-6 peo-ple; 2-6 hours. Traditional skiffs or 30 keelboat. $50-$240.www.ncmm-friends.org, [email protected], (252) 728-7317. Reservations/information: call The Friends office(252) 728-1638

SSCA Medical Emergency Training for Cruisers, May 5-6;Basic Marine Weather Forecasting, May 26-27, Dania, FLBy Roy LaughlinThe Seven Seas Cruising Association, SSCA, will offerhands-on First Aid Training for Medical Emergencies at Seaas part of its continuing education program. Dr. LauraSudarsky, M.D., the course instructor, will focus on first aid,CPR and wound management. Dummies will be used asteaching aids. Exercises will teach participants how to dress

burns, splint fractures, skin stapling techniques andadult CPR. Participants will also learn how to recog-nize routine medical emergencies, including second-degree burns, corneal abrasions, diabetic emergen-cies, head trauma, hand injuries and routine lacera-tions. Participants desiring a Red Cross certificationin CPR and first aid may obtain it by paying anadditional $5 (each) to cover processing fees.

The course will be conducted May 5-6 at theSTAR Center in Dania, FL. The cost is $300 for

SSCA members and $350 for non-SSCA members.The fee includes continental breakfast and lunch both

days. (SSCA notes it is cheaper to join than obtain themembers rate for the workshop.).

On May 26-27, Lee Chesneau will offer Basic MarineWeather Forecasting. Lee has offered this course for severalyears through SSCA, and it has been a big success. It, too, willbe at the STAR Center in Dania, with similar logistical sup-port that includes continental lunch and breakfast on-site.

For more information on both these and other upcomingcourses programs, or to register online, go to www.ssca.org,and click on the Workshops & Calendar page.

BOAT SHOWS

Regatta Pointe Marina Boat Show, Palmetto, FL, May 18-20 Over 75 yachts worth more than $25-million. New and pre-owned yachts. Special boat show incentives for yacht pur-chases made at the show. Booth displays for financing,insurance, gear, yacht services and more. Food and drinkavailable. $500 West Marine door prize. Doral, Hunter,Catalina, Albin, Nordic Tug, Beneteau, Manta, and manymore. Free. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regatta Pointe Marina on theManatee River, 1005 Riverside Drive, Palmetto.

EXHIBITOR INFORMATION: Show display costs.Wet Slips: $395 + tax (all sizes), electric and water included.Trailer Space: $150 + tax (all sizes). Booth Space: $200 + tax(includes 10x10 tent). Mark Hayes-Harbour Master (941)729-6021. [email protected]



OTHER EVENTS

2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season Begins, June 1-November 30SOUTHWINDS will begin its annual hurricane sectionwhich will run during this season. Topics will includearticles and techniques on saving your boat, on land,on the water, at the dock, at anchor and underway.Our Web site, www.southwindsmagazine.comalready has an extensive hurricane information pagewith past articles, links to other sites to help saveyour boat, and weather links to learn about the current andpast storms. We are looking for stories and articles from ourreaders. The more we can learn about past successes andfailures, the more we can save our boats in the future.Contact [email protected].

33rd Annual Wooden Boat Show, South CarolinaMaritime Museum, Beaufort, NC, April 29-May 5Workshops, demonstrations, races, and other educationalprograms will be held. Craftsmen will demonstrate tradi-tional trades and skills at the museum. Go sailing on someof the museums traditional watercraft each afternoon. Over50 boats displayed on land and in the water.

For information, go towww.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/maritime. (252) 728-7317.

Second Annual SBC Classic Boat Rally, South Carolina, May 3-10The second annual SBC Classic Boat Rally is open tonon-planing sailboats of classic design from 15 to 22feet. Hosted by four yacht clubs. SBC stands forSavannah, Beaufort, and Charleston, as these are thethree major towns where the rally takes place.Starting at the Savannah Yacht Club, the boats willsail to the South Carolina Yacht Club on HiltonHead Island, the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club,

Edisto Island, Bohicket Marina on Seabrook Island andthen to the Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston.

For more information, go to www.ClassicBoatRally.com .

Annual Wooden Boat Festival, Pirates Cove Marina,Josephine, AL, May 5-6Presented by the Perdido Wood Boat Association.www.piratescoveriffraff.com $3 Adults. Free to children 12and under. (251) 987-1224.

Catalina 22 Northern Gulf Coast Cruise, Fort WaltonBeach, FL, May 12-18The Catalina 22 National Sailing Associations Fleet 77 of FortWalton Beach, FL, hosts its tenth annual Northern Gulf CoastCruise the week of May 12-18. This is a one-design event,open to all Catalina 22 sailors, that attracts participants fromacross the country and Canada. The cruise starts at the FortWalton Yacht Club, sails the protected waterways of the ICW,crossing Choctawhatchee Bay, Pensacola Bay, Perdido Bay,and Wolf Bay to arrive at Wolf Bay Lodge, AL, and return. Goto http://members.cox.net/c22fleet77/ for more information.

Charleston Maritime Festival and Tall Ships Charleston 2007, Charleston, SC, May 17-20Over a dozen tall ships will be at the festival this year. Paradeof sail visitors will be allowed to tour the ships. The FREECharleston Maritime Festival on land will include piratecamps, classic wooden boat displays, sailing, rowing, chil-drens village, family boat-building, maritime art, music,food and more. Key features also include a launch celebrationof The Spirit of South Carolina tall ship and the start of theCharleston to Bermuda yacht race. Free family fun in theheart of Charleston! www.charlestonmaritimefestival.com. May 19-25, National Safe Boating Week

Seventh Annual Summer Sailstice, Planet Earth, June 23-24The Seventh Annual Summer Sailstice, a sailing celebrationof the summer solstice, will be held June 23-24. There is nospecific location of the Summer Sailstice except that itoccurs on the planet Earth, in this solar system, wheresailors can spend the dayor two dayssailing as a tributeto the solstice, whichastronomicallyoccurs on June 21.

The Summer Sailstice sailing holiday allows all sailorsto sail locally and celebrate globally with other members oftheir club, class, fleet or family while connecting with thou-sands of sailors worldwide. This years Summer Sailsticecelebration takes place on June 23-24 on the weekend clos-est to the summer solstice with more daylight than anyother weekend of the year.

In 2006, sailors from across the Northern Hemisphereparticipated in this growing celebration of sailing. In additionto creating a global connection between sailors on the longestsailing days of the year, an added bonus for signing up as aparticipant in Summer Sailstice is the chance to win prizessupplied from many of the worlds top sailing businesses.Sign-up for all participants is free on the Summer SailsticeWeb site, www.SummerSailstice.com, where sailors can alsopost their sailing plans, create and host a Summer Sailsticeparty or event and find crew for their boats.

Summer Sailstice was founded in 2001. It is a globalholiday celebrating sailing annually on the summer solstice.The goal of Summer Sailstice is to encourage all sailors andsailing organizations in the Northern Hemisphere to partic-ipate by sailing and celebrating wherever they are on thelongest sailing day of the year.

NEWS

Gulfstream Sailing Club Celebrates50th YearThe Gulfstream Sailing Club of Fort Lauderdale is celebrat-ing its 50th anniversary this year. The club is the largest andoldest sailing club in Broward County and offers youth,teen and adult sailing classes to members and non-mem-bers. Classes run all year and are held at Sailors Point in

Hollywood, FL. For details and sailing class information, goto www.SailorsPoint.org.

As of May 8, the monthly meetings will be held in theMaxwell Room of the historic Downtowner Saloon, 408South Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. Meetingsare held on the second Tuesday of every month beginning at6:30 p.m.

For information on the club, go to www.gulfstreamsail-ingclub.org.

Web Site Established to EnhanceCruisers Great Loop ExperienceAmericas Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) isrolling out new Web-based services for its 1,800 membersworldwide. AGLCA provides maps, travel information andnetworking opportunities to boaters who cruise the GreatLoop, a circumnavigation of eastern North America alongthe Atlantic Seaboard, across the Great Lakes, through theinland rivers, along the Gulf of Mexico and around Florida.

Starting in April, members can renew memberships andpurchase products directly through the AGLCA Web site.Other Web features will include a searchable member direc-tory and archived database of newsletters. Eventually, mem-bers cruising the Loop will be able to enter their current

CONTRIBUTE TO SOUTHWINDSWRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTED

SOUTHWINDS is always looking for articles and photoson various subjects about sailing (cruising and racing),our Southern waters, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.For more information, go to our Web site, www.south-windsmagazine.com, and see the Writers Guidelinespage, or e-mail [email protected].

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location on the Web site and view a map show-ing other members, sponsors, and vendors inthe area.

Our goal is to be the primary sourceof information for people planning oractively cruising the Great Loop, saysAGLCAs e-mail coordinator Stephen Kromer.

Stephen Kromer is one of the founders ofKFR Services, the company that will nowmanage operations of the association, startedin 1999 by Ron and Eva Stob, of Greenback, TN. Aftercruising the Great Loop themselves, the Stobs formedAGLCA as a way for other Great Loop cruisers to sharespecialized navigational information and helpful advice,like bridge heights, locking techniques, boating bookreviews, taking care of pets onboard or where to get thebest price on fuel.

For more information, contact Krista Flasch at (843)873-9200, ext 7109, or at [email protected], or visitthe AGLCA Web site at www.greatloop.org.

Low Water Levels Force RestrictedLock Schedules on the OkeechobeeWaterwayOn April 15, the Corps of Engineers Web site posted thenavigational depths of the Okeechobee Waterway to 4.07feet for Route 1, and 1.48 feet for Route 2, which is closed.Bridge clearance at the Mayaca railroad bridge was at 53.23feet. Lake level was at 10.13 feet. The recommended maxdraft was a bit below four feet, plus the Corps warns thatstrong winds can affect the depth by as much as 1.1 feet.Because of shoaling outside the Mayaca Bridge, maximumdraft is lower than available depth.

The Franklin Lock, westernmost of the waterways fivelocks, has been on a restricted schedule since Feb. 15. TheSt. Lucie Lock, easternmost of the locks, has been on arestricted schedule since April 13.

Frequency of lock operation is based on water salinity,lake levels and rainfall. Consequently the lock openingshave been cut back. For more information, go to

www.saj.usace.army.mil/conops/structures/navbulln.htm to see any new postings. Call theCorps of Engineers office number, (904) 232-2539, for more information on closures. TheClewiston Operations Office number is (863)983-8101.

More information is also available atwww.CruisersNet.net, by clicking on theOkeechobee link on the left side of the page.This forum and posted cruisers news has

information about crossings from other cruisers.

Atlantic Sail Traders in SarasotaAdds Two Veteran SailmakersAtlantic Sail Traders recently added two first-class sailmak-ers, Fred Vining and Scott Purcell, to their team. Fred hasbeen a sailmaker for over 20 years and brings a level ofexperience that can only be matched by his devotion to theindustry. Also joining the company, with over 12 years ofexperience in the field, is Scott Purcell who worked atAtlantic previously and is stepping in as the general man-ager. Scott has a passion for sailing that is only rivaled byhis enthusiasm to talk with sailors about their boats andhelp them learn to maximize their use.

Scuba Clean of St. Petersburg Expands,Merges With Tropical Canvas andOpens Yacht Brokerage DivisionPhil Secord, owner of Scuba Clean, Inc. recently announcedhis company merged with Tropical Canvas Plus, Inc. AudieHarding, former owner of Tropical Canvas will run ScubaCleans canvas division. Also joining the company is JimmyCorley, a long time canvas specialist in the Tampa Bay area.Harding and Corley bring a combined 50 years of marinecanvas experience to the company. The canvas division willoffer a full line of services in all canvas and cushion workfor both sail and power.

Scuba Clean has also expanded into the yacht broker-age business with the formation of SCI Yacht SalesInternational, Inc. Jacek Wierzbicki will run the brokeragedivision of the company. Wierzbicki has been selling boatsin the Tampa Bay area for over 24 years and will be servingthe greater Tampa Bay area and west Florida.

Scuba Clean has been in the boat maintenance businessfor many years in the Tampa Bay area and serves boatersthroughout the greater Tampa Bay region, going as farsouth as Manatee and Sarasota counties. Its bottom clean-ing/maintenance business is the largest in the region. Italso has an extensive service department with severaltrucks. The company also offers services in sail cleaningand repair, boat detailing and general boat maintenance.

Scuba Clean and SCI Yacht Sales International arelocated at 2133 2nd Ave. South, St. Petersburg, FL 33712.(727) 823-7400. For more information on the brokeragebusiness and a list of boats, go to www.sciyachtsalesinter-national.com.



REACH SAILORS IN 8 SOUTHERN STATESOur Distribution:

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ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIESDisplay Advertising: Starting at $95/month for a 1/8 page up to only $535 for a full pageYacht Brokerage Section: 1/4 page ads starting at $95/month, half page ads at $295Marine Marketplace: Ads starting at $38/month

Why spend thousands of dollars in advertising for one month in a nationalmagazine for the price of advertising for more than a year in Southwinds?

With 14,000 copies printed monthly and thousands more downloading the magazineonline, what better value is there for advertising to southern sailors?

Every sailor in the South reads SOUTHWINDSContact us to start your advertising next month:

(941) 795-8704 [email protected]

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PLUS The entire magazine, with all ads and articles is available on our Website and downloaded over 10,000 times each month. We get about 15,000unique visitors to our Web site monthly.

Hunter Marine Reorganizes Sales and Marketing DepartmentHunter Marine Corporation announced recently a reorgani-zation of the sales and marketing department. The changesare related to recent events consolidating all manufacturingoperations in Alachua, FL.

Eric Macklin has been promoted to marketing and trainingmanager. He has been employed at Hunter since 1999, mostrecently as a regional market development manager. He willhave direct responsibility for public relations and assist inmarketing and planning. Additionally, he will providedetailed product training materials to the dealer network.

Jerry Twomey has been retained as market develop-ment manager in the new Sun Belt territory (a revampedterritory, which Eric Macklin had previously covered). Jerryhas experience as a development consultant for Sailtime,Hunters fractional sailing partner. He has experience infranchising and consulting that is backed up by engineer-ing, accounting and MBA degrees. He is originally fromCork, Ireland, and currently resides in Tampa, FL.

Jerry is a member of the oldest yacht club in the world,the Royal Cork Yachting Club, established in 1720, and wasthe chief sailing instructor for the club during college vaca-tions. He has raced over 27,000 miles in many offshoreevents, has represented Ireland at several international con-

ferences on sail training and since 1995 has been a memberof the Royal Ocean Racing Club-London.

Sailing Florida Charters & Sailing SchoolNow Offering Fractional OwnershipSailing Florida Charters and Sailing School, Inc. is proud toannounce the addition of a new Meridian Power Yacht tothe charter fleet. The Meridian is being offered as a charterand fractional-ownership yacht. The fractional ownershipconcept offers the opportunity to purchase or lease equity ina new yacht at very affordable rates.

According to the National Marine ManufacturersAssociation, the average boater spends less than thirty dayson the water per year, but he spends five times that amountcleaning, maintaining and repairing his boat. Thats fivedays of hassle for every one day of enjoyment, said Capt.Dave Amann, owner of Sailing Florida. In addition, with theincreased costs of slips and insurance, fractional ownershipprograms offer a tremendous option for your boating needs.

Sailing Florida currently has 15 sailing yachts in theTampa Bay fleet located at the Harborage Marina in St.Petersburg. Sailing Floridas new fractional ownership pro-grams are available at www.sailingflorida.com or call (866)894-SAIL (7245) to discuss the different programs currentlyoffered.


sion of the evil weed marijuana, prompted the ACLU tohold the forum on the legality of boardings. The ACLU wasinformed by all three governmental organizations at thesame timeabout two weeks before the forum datethatconflict of scheduling would prevent them from attending,so the ACLU canceled it.

The ACLU is still planning to represent the individualwho was arrested for the evil weed during the boarding ofhis vessel.

Boaters Moored in Boot Key HarborMeet With FWC Officers AfterNight Raids Spark Strong BoaterReactionDialogue Opens WithHopes for Better RelationsBy Joe Corey

On April 7, during the daily cruisers net on VHF 68, theboating community at Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, FL,was pleasantly surprised when a newcomers questionsabout where the library was and if there was a sunriseEaster service locally were answered by FWC Officer Dipre.Perhaps more significantly, at the end of the net, Dipreoffered the FWC local phone number and encouragedboaters to call if they had any need for assistance.

According to Dipre, his participation on the net was inresponse to a suggestion made at a meeting with local BootKey boaters held on March 28. This meeting was held as adirect result of the controversy concerning the sweep ofthe harbor conducted earlier in January. Originally suggest-ed by a local boater, the meeting took place due to OfficerDipres persistence. It was held at the harbormasters officeand was attended by Officer Dipre, and Lt. Acton of theFWC, Harbormaster Richard Tanner and Deputy CityManager C.J. Geotis of Marathon, and seven Boot Key live-aboard boaters, one of whom is a member of the Near Shore

OUR WATERWAYS

ACLU Open Forum in Key West on Vessel Boardings Canceled Government Representatives Back OutThe ACLU open forum that was planned in Key West onApril 28 has been canceled. The forum was to be a non-con-frontational open forum, and representatives from theMonroe County Sheriffs Department, the Coast Guard andthe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission(FWC) had all stated that they would send representativesto be on the panel along with members of the boating com-munity, the ACLU and other interested parties. The forumwas set up in response to FWC/Monroe County SheriffsDepartment boat raids that were carried out in January onanchored boats in the Florida Keys. Boater objections to themethods used by law enforcementlike spotlights duringnighttime raidsand an arrest of one individual for posses-


The Future of Florida Waterfronts?

Our Waterways SectionSOUTHWINDS has created this section to inform ourreaders about changes in our waterways. We are all inthe midst of great changethrough the conversion ofmany boating properties to condominiums, restrictionson anchorages, and other economic forces at work.

Our coastal waters and our waterways belong to allof us, and all of us have a right to use them. These watersare not just for those who live on the water, and it is upto us boaters and lovers of these waters to protect thatright. We hope that by helping to inform you of thesechanges, we will contribute to doing just that.

We are looking for news and information onchanges, land sales, anchorages, boaters rights, newmarinas, anchoring rights, disappearing marinas, boat-yards and boat ramps, environmental concerns andother related news. Contact Steve Morrell, [email protected], or call (941) 795-8704


Waters Commission. The overall consensus of the partici-pants was that the meeting was very positive.

Included in the suggestions (made by all involved) were: Limiting the hours for routine boardings to 9-10 p.m. Having an FWC officer specifically assigned to Boot Key

Harbor so as to become a familiar face. Make available a list of Dos and Donts and include

them in the Welcome Packs offered to new arrivals. Participate in the daily cruisers net.

Provide emergency services, such as fire boats. Assume that since the city requires MSDs, boats on city

moorings are compliant. Work on officer demeanor.

These suggestions were noted by the FWC officers andsent up the chain of command for consideration.

Officer Dipre and OfficerJohnson, a fellow FWC officer,stated that, as members of the community, they are moreinterested in safety, compliance, and education than issuingcitations. They both pointed out, however, that they are lawenforcement officers and will enforce the laws and thatprobable-cause boardings will continue regardless of thetime of day. Both officers agreed that the overwhelmingmajority of boaters at Boot Key are good citizens and thatmore open dialogue will help bridge the perceived gapbetween them and us.

National Symposium on WaterAccess, Norfolk, VA, May 9-11Local government officials, coastal management planners,legal scholars and boating industry representatives willgather in Norfolk,VA, next May to explore solutions to theloss of water access that is hindering recreational boaters,commercial fishermen and water-dependent businessesaround the nations coasts.

Working Waterways & Waterfronts A National Sympos-ium on Water Access, is set for May 9-11 at the SheratonNorfolk Waterside Hotel under the auspices of the VirginiaSea Grant Program. The conference will bring togetherexperts in many fields to delve into issues that surround therapid conversion of working waterfrontsmarinas, boatrepair yards, fish piers and charter fishing docksto otheruses such as private residential developments and non-water-dependent businesses.

Rising real estate taxes tied to highest and best useassessments and escalating property values fueled by thepublics desire to live by the water are driving the conver-sion. Water-dependent businesses, such as haul-out serviceyards, seafood handling facilities and boatbuilders, are los-ing access to the water as well. These losses compound thechallenges that decision-makers at all levels of governmentface in trying to balance population growth, public servicesand economic development with the demand for publicaccess to, and on, the water.

This conference is designed as a forum to educate deci-sion-makers, management agency staff and water-depend-ent business owners to deal with these trends and to fosterconstructive dialogue about the nations changing water-fronts, said Virginia Sea Grant economist, Thomas J.Murray, conference organizer and co-chairman.

The conference is sponsored by the Sport Fishing &Boating Partnership Council, a federally chartered advisorybody, the Coastal States Organization, the Boat OwnersAssociation of The United States (BOATU.S.), the NationalMarine Manufacturers Association, the States Organizationfor Boating Access, and other Sea Grant organizations.

Working Waterways & Waterfronts will examinelocal, state and national-level initiatives to address water-access challenges and support water-dependent indus-tries. Academic research findings and viewpoints from

OUR WATERWAYS

Anchoring Warnings in Florida: Contact Us to Publicize Warnings

Note from the Editor: A new state law that went intoeffect on July 1 limiting communities power to limitanchoring restrictions to non-liveaboard cruisers.Recently, I have received several e-mails and calls fromcruisers who received warnings from local law enforce-ment officials in Marco Island, Miami Beach, andGulfport. In some cases, the officers have been politeand in others, they have not been. Cruisers can contactthe National Marine Manufacturers Association(NMMA) lawyers who will send a letter to these com-munities telling them about the state law. (Go towww.southwindsmagazine.com for a copy of this letterand contact informationor call us at (877-372-7245).This law has not yet been tested in courts and perhapssomeone will, but we at least need to have the letterssent to every community that ignores this law.


industry specialists will also be featured with the aim ofdeveloping new approaches to providing and managingaccess to the water.

Find updated conference information at www.waterac-cess2007.com.

City of Gulfport, FL, PresentsMooring Field Plan On March 22, the city manager of Gulfport, FL, presentedthe mooring-field plan that he put together for the citycouncil. The presentation was done at the council meetingroom. The city council, city manager, city attorney andmembers of the public were present.

This is the third mooring-field plan that the city has puttogether in the last few years, and much of the informationin the new plan was taken from previous plans. The citymanager presented a very well thought-out and organizedplan, showing economic cost and benefits, environmentalconcerns, boater benefits and legal and governmentalissues. Cost benefit analysis showed a substantial profit tothe city if it establishes a mooring field.

After the city manager presented the plan, council mem-bers offered opinions, questions and concerns. Most councilmembers expressed support or wanted more time to take alook at the 269-page proposal. The only council member whostrongly objected to the establishment of the plan was coun-cil member Michele King. With her main objection, she pre-

sented photos of boats washed up ashore in the Davis IslandSeaplane Anchorage, stating that these boats were blownashore during a tropical storm and that the beaches ofGulfport would have the same fate if they put a mooring fieldoff their shore. Apparently, she did know that the DavisIsland anchorage is not a regulated mooring field wheremoorings are secured and screwed into the bottom as wouldbe done in the Gulfport plan, but are just boats anchored.

After council members spoke, the public was invited togive their opinions on the plan. Several citizens ofGulfportand a few who lived in the area outside thecityspoke in support of the mooring field and the benefitsthat the city would enjoy, including income for downtownbusinesses from boaters who visited the area, as part of theplan included many moorings available for transientboaters who wanted to visit the city.

Citizens critical of the plan also spoke, one being theperson who took the photos that council member King hadpresented. He, too, was apparently unaware that the DavisIsland anchorage was not a regulated mooring field.Another citizen spoke that visiting boaters would just bringtheir dinghies ashore at the marina and not go downtownbut go elsewhere in the area. He apparently did not knowthat visiting boaters dont bring their cars with them.

The plan will be discussed several times at future com-munity meetings before a final vote. The plan can be viewedatwwww.ci.gulfport.fl.us/Special_Documents/Gulfport_Proposed_Harbor_Management_Plan.pdf.

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(Black & White)News & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS May 2007 33


2nd Annual Great FloridaGulf Coast Small CraftFestival, Sarasota, April 12-15By Steve Morrell

In only its second year, this festival, sponsored by the Cortez Florida MaritimeMuseum, is already attracting a lot of attention with 72 small craft exhibited.Because of construction at the museums Cortez location, the festival was held thisyear at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Boats exhibited at this festival are all hand-made and/or hand-remade from some older craft.

Boats were brought from near and distant points around Florida and from upthe East Coast. There were kayaks, sailboats, rowboats and powerboats. Some ofthe intricate woodwork was so well-done and beautiful that they appeared asworks of art. One kayak was so well done with inlaid wood that I was afraid toleave a fingerprint on it.

Another well-crafted boat, a Penobscot 14, built by a man in Tampa, took twoyears to finish. I saw another beautiful boat with a canopy, a Howard Chappelle 16-foot Whitehall. With no sail or paddles, I wondered how it moved. The skipper gotin and took off, the boat propelled by a silent, hidden trolling motor run through apipe in the stern.

The festival is a four-day event. Events include a nautical flea market, a nearbygunkholing trip, boatbuilding exhibition, childrens activities and messing abouton the water. A special guest speaker, Kendall Butler of the Bahamas CulturalMinistries Office, gave a talk about traditional boats and the maritime heritage ofthe Bahamas.

Next year, the festival will be back in Cortez. For more information, go tohttp://marinell.server101.com/FGCMM-. The Florida Maritime Museum Web siteis www.clerkofcourts.com/ClerkServices/HisVill/cortez_maritimemuseum.htm.

If thats too long, go to the Southwinds home page for the link, www.south-windsmagazine.com.

Cover photo: A Norseboat under sail at the Small Craft Festival. Photo by Steve Morrell

Penobscot 14

16 Whitehall


No, this isnt about anchors orrope versus chain or scope, itsabout your new next-door neigh-bor in the anchorage.

We are currently anchored inSimpson Bay Lagoon, SaintMaarten, (the Dutch side), along withat least 100 other sailboats rangingfrom 20 to 70 feet. As we swing atanchor in the morning trade winds,the boat in front of us swings as welland passes about six feet from ourbow. In the United States that wouldnormally be cause for rage from the boat owner who wasanchored first. Not so in the Caribbean.

As citizens of the United States, we are very spaceawarebe it personal space, parking space at the local Wal-Mart, shopping space and, of course, anchoring space. Wehave anchored everywhere and with boats of all nationalitiesfrom West End, Bahamas, through the Leewards andWindwards and into Trinidad, and the facts about anchoringin the Caribbean remain true throughout the Islands.

If enough room exists to get your boat anchored with-out crossing the other boats rode, and you wont hit himwhen you swing, then youre good to anchor. The first timethis happened to us was at White Sound in Green TurtleCay, Bahamas. A boat from the UK motored in, dropped thehook and, lo and behold, we had new neighbors. We were abit upset that they had invaded our anchor space but withlimited anchoring space and not wanting to be the UglyAmerican, I held my tongue. Next was Marsh Harborwhere anchoring was a challenge due to all the boats, andwe found ourselves anchoring fairly close to another boatfrom Canada, and we were thinking we might be a bit close,but we would move if they said anything. They just smiled,waved and went about their businessno harsh words.Then comes Georgetown, better known as ChickenHarbor. Anchoring in Georgetown during Family RegattaWeek is taking you and your boat into some of the worstanchoring conditions in the Bahamas, not because of poorholding conditions, but due to the number of boats, andsince they are 90 percent United States boats, they all wanttheir anchor space. We wont go back!

Next was in Luperon, Dominican Republic, a great placeto anchor, visit and just enjoy what life has to offer. Of course,you are anchoring right next to each other, and when oneboat swings, they all swing, and boats seem to swing withoutcolliding. Maybe we are getting better at anchoring?

As we headed farther south, the theme remained thesame; good anchoring space is at a premium, and boatsanchor very, very close to each other. In St Georges Bay in

Grenada, we were literally stacked like sardines with otherboatsall doing some provisioning and waiting for a weath-er window to sail to Trinidad to wait out hurricane season.

As we headed north at the end of January 2007, wefound ourselves anchored in Carriacou, and we were theonly boat. In a matter of hours another boat entered theanchorage and anchored right next to us. They did a goodjob of anchoring, and when all was said and done, theybecame our new next-door neighbors for a few days. Wewerent upsetdidnt even give it a second thoughtjustmade sure they had the anchor set. The story continued aswe motored into Bequia, and once again, the harbor wascrowded with boats from every country and everyone wasanchored tight.

Now we sit in Saint Maarten, drinking coffee in thecockpit and enjoying the breeze and are not even concernedabout the boat from the UK, which is six feet off our bow.Weve learned that boaters from Europe are probably muchbetter at anchoring in tight quarters than we are. They dontget upset when you anchor close as long as you set theanchor properly, and they might even invite you over for abeer and tell you why they dont like President Bush.

How close to your neighbor can you anchor? Photo by Dean Barnes.

Anchoring in the Caribbean & Points South:How Close to Your Neighbor?By Kent Trompeters/v Southern Mist II


South Seas Plantation Marina,a Good Place to StopBy Morgan Stinemetz

The day I arrived, by car, at South Seas Plantation on thenorth end of Captiva Island, reminded me of the open-ing of Edgar Allen Poes Fall of the House of Usher: Itwas a dull, dark, dreary day in the autumn of the year. Thecadence of those words falls like a funereal drum beat res-onating the sound of death. It was February, though.

There had been rain in the continual traffic jam ofuncompleted construction that is Fort Myers. There hadbeen more rain on the strangled, constricted two-lane roadthat transits Sanibel. If ever a Florida county chokes todeath on its own growth, it will happen first in Lee County.A municipal Heimlich maneuver cannot save it.

It was the marina at South Seas that I had come to see.Hurricane Charley of 2004 had hit Captiva with a heavypunch before moving on to Punta Gorda and pillaging thatquaint community. The eye of the hurricane passed a milenorth of South Seas Plantation. Maybe it was because theday was gray and damp, with the outside air temperaturehovering at 60, but the marina was virtually deserted, astrange sight. We are most used to seeing it full up withyachts, with no space to be had, no matter how much whin-ing, whimpering and obsequiousness we displayed.

I remember that happening on a charter when I, thecharter captain, didnt make a reservation one sunny springweekend. We arrived after an overnight motor sail downfrom Tampa Bay to find the marina full up. I should havethought ahead.

While at South Seas this time, we had a discussion withCourtland Clark, the dockmaster. He was employed at themarina when Charley came calling in 2004, but he had beenevacuated when the hurricane hit. He showed me some pic-tures of the marina after Charley. The dockmasters office ison the second story of a small building. Underneath theoffice are the fuel pumps for gas or diesel, and fresh wateroutlets. The hurricane blew the windows out of the dock-masters office, but Clark thinks that with the windows

gone, the wind was able to pass through the office, and thatkept the building in place. Antennas and other appurte-nances were stripped away, though.

A month after Charley, South Seas Plantation hadenough of an operation going so that the marina was able tosupply fuel, but that was about the size of it. Since that time,the entire marina has been rebuilt from scratch, Clark said.The docks are new. The pilings are new. All the electricalwiring has been replaced. The water to the slips comesthrough new piping. And the dockmasters office gotreplaced, too. Theres even Wi-Fi in the marina now. Themarina itself reopened for business in March of 2005.

The old South Seas Plantation Marina had some banyantrees in it that were lost. I miss the banyan trees. They pro-vided some welcome shade in the summer, if you knewwhere to put your boat. Shade in the furnace of anotherFlorida summer is a commodity one learns to appreciateand, yes, to cherish.

All of the buildings adjacent to the marina were dam-

South Seas Plantation Marina


aged. Some lost siding. Some lost roofs. Mattresses mysteri-ously appeared in the parking lots. Besides the aforemen-tioned banyan trees, trees all over the property werestripped of foliage and limbs. Some were destroyed. If onedrives in through Sanibel and Captiva its easy to seeremaining debris and what are now shadows of once ver-dant trees. But if one comes into the marina on a boat, thelandscaping losses are far less obvious. Its just thinner.

The marina itself has almost all alongside docking, anoption I prefer because its so easy to get on and off yourboat. The exact number is 2100 lineal feet. And thats howthey determine how full the marina is or will be. There aresome dates in the futurethey are listed on a planningboardwherein the marina is sold out. February 27 toMarch 1 was one, and June 13-16 is another. The number tocall to make a reservation is (888) 777-3625. Reservations areallowed six months in advance and a reservation fee will becharged. Miss the reservation and youll lose the fee. Honorthe reservation and the advance fee is deducted from yourbill. Its a fair arrangement.

Apparently Hurricane Charley deepenedRedfish Pass, just off the north end ofCaptiva Island. Clark said there is eight feetthrough the pass now. It was not always so.Additionally, the channel in from Redfish,the one just off the beach at Captiva, whichleads to the marina, is also eight feet deep.The channel to South Seas from the ICW is5-1/2 to six feet, Clark advises. The channelbranches off the ICW between red daymarks 38 and 40. For most west coast ofFlorida cruising boats, then, the depth issufficient.

Charley also cut a shallow pass rightthrough North Captiva Island, acrossRedfish Pass. It was shallow when it wasmade and shallower now. Its more a

curiosity attraction these days, as it slowly fills back in.The going dockage rates at South Seas are $3.25 a foot.

In the off-season, which begins May 1, its $2.50. For a 30-foot boat, thats $75 a night. The marina is, however, full ofamenities and the resorts restaurant, Harbourside Bar &Grille, is very close at hand. If you get overserved, youcould literally crawl back to your boat.

South Seas had other restaurants, one just off propertythat anyone could go to, and a very nice one on propertynamed Kings Crown. The Kings Crown oozed class, andthe menu was fit for royalty. But neither restaurantreopened after Charley. Maybe they will. Maybe they willnot. At this writing there are no definitive plans.

In a word, South Seas, with its lovely accommodations,its own golf course, its own tennis courts and a large andinviting swimming poolwith a nearby barhas all theamenities that hedonists require. If you tire of staying onyour boat, you can spring for a room. Theyre sensational.Disappointment is not in the lexicon at South Seas, so youcan rest assured. Just bring money.

BAHAMAS

Agull squealed in the distance. Islowly weighed anchor under thepurple blush of dawn. As sailboatsseem to do, Angel, my Bayfield 29, beganto fidget like an excitable canine justbefore a walk. After Id pulled in most ofthe rode and fed it into a deck pipe,Angel impatiently skittered sideways.Coffee spilling, I cussed. Angel boundedaway from the scene, dragging a lengthof chain and an upended plow anchoralong the seafloor. The frisky canine hadstreaked away with the leash. Bill, a fel-low single-handed cruiser sailing his 36-foot Morgan ketch, Defiant, also had arough start. Puzzled, I watched Defiantmotor away from the empty anchoragewith a strange limp. She drifted to astop, brownish-black smoke pouringfrom her exhaust as the diesel enginemomentarily ran away. The oil pressure alarm wailed.

Defiants stroking out! Im stopping, Bill radioed. Theailing sailboat drifted backwards, her engine briefly racingout of control once again. When Defiant was securelyanchored, Angel rafted up to her. Oil pressures droppedand the crankcase level is a bit high, but theres no water init. I know I didnt overfill the oil. Bill informed me. I

scratched my head and said, Runningaway smoking like that, you know sheseating it. Does the oil smell like diesel?Bill ducked into the engine room andpopped back up with a smudged nose.Cant tell, the whole thing stinks likediesel. He looked forlorn. You haveinternal fuel lines? I asked. No, Billsaid.

HAH! Bill suddenly blurted, real-izing what was wrong. He scrambledinto action while I stood by and handedhim tools. Defiants engine uses an add-on electric diesel fuel pump, but the oldmechanical pump is still in the system.The aged pumps diaphragm hadcracked, which allowed diesel fuel toseep into the oil. When enough fuel con-taminated the oil, it raised fluid levelsjust enough for the engine to burn the

excess and briefly race out of control, coughing up darksmoke. The diesel intrusion also changed the oils viscosity,which explained the dramatic plunge in pressure. Defiantshealth was restored in a few hours. Bill had drained the badoil, changed the filter and replaced the fuel pump with aspare. Though we preferred sailing over motoring, we wererealists and not purists. Mechanical propulsion is an optionthats appreciated when the winds drop and timely progressis desired.

Leaving the Little Bahama Banks and bounding into theAtlantic, we headed toward the Palm Beaches on Floridaseast coast. Angel and Defiant planned to hop south alongFloridas east coast, anchoring at night and sailing by day.After the rough morning, I was grateful for an uneventfulday. Angels tiller pilot did most of the helming while I regu-larly plotted my position on a paper chart and compared thefigures to a back-up navigational aid, the GPS. The spilledcoffee was cleaned and small boat chores started. When Iwent below for a snack, I forgot to unclip the safety harnessand was jerked to a halt, outstretched arms flailing while Iteetered just out of reach of the galley. Things became moreinteresting when Defiant, about a mile ahead, spotted a hazyblob on the horizon. The blob hailed him. this is US Navalwarship. The ship relayed Defiants bearing, speed andposition before politely introducing itself. The warship sug-gested that we shift a few degrees to starboard to assure safepassing distance. Awed, we respectfully obliged.

The Palm Beaches and Lake Worth inlet is a hot spot forboats coming in from the Atlantic or exiting the ICW. Withour delayed start, wed be arriving after sunset, and asevening fell, I couldnt help feeling anxious. Numerous


TRAVELS WITH ANGEL

Coastal hopping SoutheastFloridas Palm BeachesPart I: Lake WorthBy Rebecca Burg

freighters roamed through the inky, moonlessnight. Though they were well lit, accurate distancesare always difficult to eyeball in the dark. NearingLake Worth, I could not discern the inlets buoylights from the dazzling confusion of the populousPalm Beaches. Blinking signs, billboards, movingcar lights, streetlights and boat traffic triggered aneye-watering sensory overload. Defiant had herown uncomfortable moment when a large patrolboat raced up and studied her with a spotlight. ToBills relief, the patrol vessel lost interest andmotored away to give Angel a cursory sniff.

Groping toward the inlets general vicinity, Iwatched for other boats that might duck in or outof the unseen channel. Soon, a brightly lit gam-bling vessel exited Lake Worth and revealed theinlets location. Lagging behind Defiant, Angel finally wan-dered in too late for cocktail hour. I turned to port andentered the lakes southern half. The anchor rattled over thebow roller and splashed down in only one fathom on softbottom. Lake Worth is mostly shallow, and its dredgedchannels are marked. There are deep pockets in the lakessouthern half with ample swinging room. A slip can bereserved at one of the areas numerous marinas.

The next day was set aside for provisioning and rest-ing. A Winn-Dixie grocery store is located near shore on theRiviera Beach side, just north of the fixed 65-foot-highbridge. The only dinghy access we could find was at theMunicipal Marina on Riviera Beach, which is due west of

Peanut Island. The dock fee was 10 dollars per day. Gas,diesel and friendly information can also be found here. Thepublic marina is just a few blocks away from the Winn-Dixie. Note that the ICW in southeast Florida can beextremely crowded on winter weekends. Tidal current andnearly nonstop boat wakes can stir up a steep, rough chopeven when the winds are calm. Weather permitting, its eas-ier for a sailboat to travel on the outside to avoid heavy traf-fic, the chop and the numerous bridges.

In the muffled calm before sunrise, Angel and Defiantheaded into the Atlantic and nosed south. We werent surewhere wed end up, but the journey itself was just as unusu-al as our next destination.

To be continued


Anchored in Lake Worths southern half and looking northeast.

WOMENS RACING


Ever since May 2004, when an unfortunate right-of-wayincident with an Irwin 39 resulted in a sizable insuranceclaim, my confidence in helming during races has beena bit shaky. Since then, Ive won a couple of womens racesin the coached class and only lost one race in the non-spinclass by a paltry two seconds. So I figured the next logicalprogression in proving my sailing prowess was to jump intothe spinnaker fleet and compete with the big girls in TampaSailing Squadrons Gasparilla Womens Regatta, Feb. 10-11.

Little did I know, the competition would be a bit stifferthis time. The ladies in the spinnaker fleet have been com-peting for years. In the 80s and 90s, the Tampa BayWomens Yacht Racing Association hosted several womensregattas. The Davis Island Yacht Club (DIYC) Dore DrakeWomens Regatta has been around for more than 25 years,and the now-defunct TBYRA hosted many womens regat-tas between DIYC, Tampa Sailing Squadron and the St.Petersburg Sailing Association in the area. In addition to allthe womens races, these ladies race their boats against menand women all the time.

In the spinnaker class were two J/24sEnergizer, withGail Rosenke at the helm, and HoSoBad, with SandyMickelsonFire and Ice, a J-105, with Anne Cussins, andWhirligig, an Ultimate 20, with Lynne Randall. I was onDouble Trouble, a Soverel 30not an unfamiliar boat, as I doforedeck and mast on her all the time. But as skipper in thespinnaker fleet, I was in new territory.

The Gasparilla Regatta is always held on Saturday, fol-lowed by the womens regatta the next day. I raced both

days and my pre-race jitters started just as soon as we fin-ished Saturdays race. Doing foredeck on a big boat with abevy of experienced, capable men on board is much lessdaunting than skippering someone elses boat with an all-women crew, few of whom are doing their usual jobsaboard. My usual foredeck tasks pale in comparison to thecombination of helming, doing tactics, supervising crewwork and making the decisions on where to go on the race-course. But after a few trips to the Appleton Rum drinkcounter, my nerves were calmed a bit.

On Saturday, as the results for the Gasparilla Regattawere being read, I heard someone shout Fast girls on slowboats! Glancing across the room sheepishly, I was quite cer-tain they werent talking about my crew, some of whom wereplanning to attend the SantYago Knight Parade that night.Lucky for me, they were referring to the ladies on the boatthat came in second in the spinnaker fleet, who were alsoplanning on doing the womens regatta. Im unsure about thereputations of the girls on their crew versus my crew, but thenext day their boat proved to be decidedly faster than ours.

Perhaps all that Appleton Rum went to my head, fuel-ing my over-confidence. I fell asleep that night with visionsof the upcoming catfight between me and our trimmer (whois also the lady who owns the boat) over the impendingfirst-place trophy. Id done well in previous womens racesin the coached and non-spin classes, so why the heck would-nt I do well in the spin class, too?

Sunday morning came early, especially for mycrewmembers who had gone to the Knight Parade. Not onlythat, Double Troubles usual skipper decided to help out withrace committee that morning, securing a front row seat fromwhere he would watch all of our mistakes. Ah yes, thosepre-race jitters came thundering back!

Leaving the dock was largely uneventful for us. Steeringa boat in reverse can be tricky, but, thank goodness, it wasntme who ran into the pilings trying to get out. We made ourway out to the course only to find a postponement in place.One of the boats with a deeper draft was having a rough timeof it leaving its slip, so the race committee took pity on it.

To keep us entertained during the postponement, therace committee opted to hold some practice starts. Thiswould have been an excellent idea, had we known that theywere just practice starts. After a fantastic first start, wewere very disappointed to learn that it didnt count, and wehad to turn around rather than continue leading the pack to

A Skipper Learns SomeLessons in the Move Upto Spinnaker Class in aWomens RegattaBy Dawn Narramore The crew of Fire and Ice sail in the Gasparilla

Womens Regatta. Photo by George Cussins.


the windward mark. Disillusioned and disheartened, weboycotted the remainder of the practice starts.

Finally, the racing started after about an hour and a halfof sailing back and forth, complaining about practice startsin lieu of going over maneuvers, checking the wind andplanning or practicing our approach to the starting line.Not too surprisingly, our first start was simply awful. Ourmaneuvers werent too bad, but I found that, watchingfrom the back of the boat, spinnaker hoists, douses and jibesappear to take about three times longer to execute thanwhen youre up there doing it yourself.

The second and third starts were equally horrendous,

but the overall crew work did get a little better, with only afew exceptions. When youre well on your way down theleeward

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