Written by SEAN BOWSHER
Roostertails.net
Boys and Girls it’s 2013 and time to go racing. The 1-Litre Mods along with, JSS, SE Flatbottoms, OPC and J Class/AXR made the warm trip down to Florida for this great race. Gene Engle and crew put on a top notch event and truly try to cater to every class to make sure the whole race day goes smoothly, and it did with a boat cout of 35.
I went down a few days early to enjoy the surf and warm weather of theTampaBayarea and spent a day atBuschGardens. If the Stuart Regatta Sailfish Regatta and the Orange Cup Regatta got together and planned a back to back weekend events this would be a marketing genius. I know of several Inboard boats that would make the trip down toFloridain the hopes to make four days of racing in seven days. Plus you have the bonus of spending the week in beautiful sunny centralFloridaand all the perks that included.
Friday was a test day with most boats going out to shake all the dust they collected over the winter. The weather was warm but not hot and the winds were light. I found out that I had a bad engine and gearbox in testing but that was quickly fixed with the help of Jim Sechler, Tim Collins and Marty Hammersmith. After the fix the boat ran flawlessly in the final round of testing late in the day.
Saturday morning arrived with cooler temperatures and strong sustained winds. The wind was very peculiar as it would blow to white caps for a while then die down. All classes that showed (besides One Litre Mods and AXR) got their heats in on Saturday. The gusty winds and poor water conditions made it too dangerous for us to go out. After speaking to Gene Engle and Dave Shaw we agreed that we would be the first boats on the water on Sunday and we would get our Saturday race in.
Sunday morning arrived with even cooler temperatures and windy conditions. The wind had changed direction slightly and made the water “race-able”. The 1-Litres, put in the water at 11:30 a.m., were able to get in back to back heats to complete Saturday’s schedule. The rest of the classes ran but that pesky wind picked back up again, and again we had a talk with Dave and Gene about a solution. We all agreed to wait out the wind and give it a chance to lie down. Gene ran the rest of the heats that he could and stalled as long as he could. Around 3:30 that afternoon the winds lessened and the 1-Litres made for the water.
We ran back to back heats with Jim Sechler’s Fast Eddie 2 piloted by Dan Kanfoush beating me by a few boat lengths. Marty Hammersmith in his Nauti-Buoy ran a strong third and Bob Weaver with Pilot Ernie survived the rough conditions and finished a solid fourth. Let me tell you we raced as hard as we could but the conditions were rough. We got all of our heats in thanks to Gene and Dave working with us and ensuring we did not travel over 2000 miles for naught.
The first race of the 2013 season is in the books! Thanks to all the fans, officials and owner/drivers of the 75th Orange Cup Regatta. The weather tried to keep us down but we endured and made this a great event. I want send a special thank you to my wife, Tanya Bowsher, who had to stay in the cold water all four of my heats holding my boat with no waders on and a strong wind keeping her cold. She did a great job in the water when no one else would dare go out. She was a real trooper. See you all inLake,FL 2014.
