Vanguard 15 Midwinters

December 31, 2009 - January 4, 2010 • Sarasota Sailing Squadron - Sarasota, Florida Coverage created by Michelle Thomas

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8 comments

RITRA 2 years ago

Complete Midwinter Team Race results are available at http://www.RITRA.org

Chris Love 2 years ago

The results link above the videos works now.

Colin 2 years ago

1st (27 Wins) Bristol Pistols (B. T. Spiller,Sally Evans,Colin Merrick,Amanda Callahan,Jon Enright,Kelly Stannard)

2nd (22 Wins) Larchmont YC (Nick Ewenson,Meredith Nordhem,John Baxter,Molly Baxter,Danny Pletsch,Alexis Rubin)
3rd (19 Wins) Smash & Grab (Peter Levesque,Carrie Amarante,John Loe,Phillip Schmalz,Ted Hale,Maggie Lumkes)
,

Awesome 2 years ago

Awesome Colin. Do you think you could list just the top three teams or so?

2 years ago

How do you get a 6th in the final race without even sailing?

Coilin 2 years ago

I have a set of results in excel. I will try to get a copy to Chris to post.

Curiouser and Curiouser! 2 years ago

Are there team racing results anywhere on the interweb?

Colin 2 years ago

2009/2010 Vanguard 15 Mid-Winters Fleet Race Champs

After several years in Stuart, this years V15 Midwinter Championship was held at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron in Sarasota, FL on December 31- January 1st. Fifty two teams made the pilgrimage, hoping for a reprieve of the winter doldrums, expecting the warmth and sun promised by the Sunshine state, but many were dismayed and in some cases, underdressed, when the temperature hovered in the mid 50s for the duration. Despite the weather, Sarasota Sailing Squadron offered wonderful hospitality; the dollar- conscious V15 sailors were allowed to pitch their tents at the club and the blazing fireplace provided some warmth before and after racing. And of course kegs were supplied daily after racing.
On day one, six races where completed in 6 to 12 knots. All courses where modified Windward-Leewards with an offset and gate either once or twice around. Ben Spiller and Sally Evans came out of the gates very strong, winning 3 of 6 races, but they also jumped the gun early one race and ended up with an OCS in a series with no throw-outs. The other three races were won by Matt Allen (defending Midwinter Champion) with crew Andrew Sharky Schneider; the duo topped the leader board at the end of the day. Colin Merrick and Amanda Callahan were also in the hunt, ending the day 7 points behind the leaders. John Storck and Caila Johnson had some up and down races but with three 3rds stayed in the mix to finish the day in 3rd. Billy Martin and Sarah Donahue and Austin Anderson with Catherine Pelo rounded out the top 5 with consistent score lines and nothing worse than a 14th and 13th respectively. With 4 races in the top 6, Charles Higgins and Steph Roble also had noteworthy performance (the pair swapped helms every race), but an OCS would keep them out of contention going into the final day.
With New Years Eve festivities falling smack in the middle of fleet racing, there was an evening portion of the regatta this year, and a contingent out to win it. The squad from URI emerged from their RV to get the party started with a booze cruise just after racing. A picture would be worth a thousand words, but in the absence of photographic evidence, imagine 6 flannel clad sailors, 6 lifejackets, 1 cooler, 1 V15, and 0 knots of breeze. What better way to ring in the New Year! After dark, Mark Dineen took the early lead before the New Years Ball dropped (not really a ball, but rather the green tetrahedron that also doubled as the leeward gate mark) much to the delight of his crew who had looked at the cold and windy forecast for the following day. The hands down winner of the Best Dress award was John Baxter who rolled in style with high-cut jorts*, fanny pack and blond locks; no written description could do him justice. Though he wasnt fleet racing, Justin Law made a late night push for the party title that left tent city begging for more. Ultimately, Mark regained the lead the moment he stepped foot in his V15 on New Years Day thinking he was safe to drive.
Day two started with a weather delay, as a couple of fronts drenched the club in downpours and occasional thunder. Because of the postponement, there was record attendance at the Annual Class meeting. Outgoing Class President Matt Allen presided, while Treasurer Charles Higgins reported on the financials and Peter Beardsely was elected as class president.
Just before noon, the temperatures remained 20-degrees lower than usual, but the rain and threatening weather ceased, the breeze built from 10 to 20+knots. Quite a few sailors either didnt feel up the weather conditions or fell victim to severe hangovers, resulting in a smaller fleet size when race seven got underway.
Sailing pretty quickly in the heavy stuff, Merrick and Callahan managed a 1, 4, 1, while Allen and Schneider finished with almost identical scores 4, 1,2 to keep the lead and the Midwinter title. Storck and Johnson clung to 3rd place overall with a 7, 14, 11. Spiller and Evans scored a 2, 2, 8 to finish up 4th overall. Anderson and Pelo started off the day with a 19, 20 but pulled it together for a 6th in the final race to hold onto a top 5 finish at the event.
This years event happened in large part through the efforts of V15 Class Elder Danny Pletsch. He had the dubious task of organizing both events, running the fleet race, and then somehow organizing and sailing in the team race. Other volunteers who helped make racing possible were Bob & Brenda Twinam, Bob Zavos, Chuck Koch, Chuck Tanner, Dan Wiedenhoft Jr., Fred & Cathy Strammer, Jeff Penfield, Jeff Seidman, John & Susan Domagalla, Lainie & Marshal Pardy, Mike Smith, Ron Pletsch, Ted Kemp, Virginia Vorenkamp, Joel Hanneman, and the Youth Sailing Program / David Livingston, Abby Featherstone and junior sailors.
Final Results
http://v15.org/schedule09/midwinters09.html
Top 5 Final
1) Matt Allen & Andrew Schneider (7,1,1,11,1,4,4,1,2) ( 32 pts)
2) Colin Merrick & Amanda Callahan (14,6,3,2,2,5,1,4,1) (38 pts)
3) John Storck III & Caila Johnson (10,3,21,3,6,3,7,14,11) (78 pts)
4) Ben Spiller & Sally Evans (1,OCS,12,1,4,1,2,2,8) (84 pts)
5) Austin Anderson & Catherine Pelo (2,13,13,12,11,11,19,20,6) (107 pts)
* FYI - The slang term jorts stems from the mashed up abbreviation of jean shorts.