SAISA South Points #3 (Varsity)

South Points 3 regatta was held again at North Lake just south of Holland Park in Hollywood, Florida, with 21 Varsity boats and nine JV boats. All 31 of the 420s starting at the same time made the starting line crowded and very competitive.

On the water activity commenced at 09:30 with light northwest morning breeze warming up the fleet for the first few races until the breeze shut down in the shadow of Jimmy Buffet’s new Margaritaville Resort just east of the ICW and racing area. When the breeze re-filled from the northeast, it brought rain squalls that saw gusts knock down three to four boats at a time, one crew overboard and sent experienced crews planing around the racecourse. As with last year, anchored yachts, grounded keel boats, jetskiis and long anchored ropes provided plenty of traps for the competitors to avoid in each race. Ultimately, after seven races, the home team of St. Thomas Aquinas took first place in both A divisions (Varsity & JV) and second in both B divisions, with STA clinching the regatta for the Varsity and JV teams.

Spectators climbed the three-level viewing tower for shade and for excellent viewing while others crowed the beach under team tents, and all were entertained by the chaotic rotation on the narrow beach. Boat repairs, bow number replacements and last minute coaching were all happening in the small beach area.

Tom Lihan, PRO, along with Mike Toppa, Steve Lewis and Jonathan Swain were all returning for the second year in a row. Bob Meagher, III, Suzanne Sabadash and Wanda Cassaretto assisted with scoring on the start/finish boat while Michael Redmond, Todd and Karin Correll helped round out the race committee. The experienced race committee kept things moving despite several modest intermittent rain showers, around a minefield of moored cruising yachts cluttering the racing area and variable wind ranging from 5-25 knots. The special delivery pizzas, compliments of MVP Mike Redmond, helped keep the RC spirits up in the rain.

Judges Rick Malinson in the morning, and Jack Loving in the afternoon provided their much-appreciated expertise. On shore was Debbie Fitzgerald learning Techscore from Holger Weis. Helping with rotations (aka boat shepherds), as they have for many years, were Jody Lewis and Alberto Casseratto with additional help from John Dixon

Clyde Wright and his cookout team consisting of Pat Ross, Buzz Smith, Tom Fox, Rob Miller and Dave Rulien did another fantastic job, everyone seemed to eat more to overcome the drizzling rain. The light breakfast was gone in a hurry with some fresh fruit left over for lunch. Cindy Buckley, Jill Ramos, Libby Redmond and Cary Swain helped with breakfast, keeping the pavilion clean and picked-up. Many appreciated the free and refreshing watermelon juice.

Jim and Deb Sclafani jumped in at registration and did a great job without any training. John Dixon, Chip Sabadash, Paul Weber, Michael Juskiewitz and STA sailors not competing helped with parking, bow numbers and helping get the 31 boats off the trailers and into the water. Many STA sailors not competing helped with parking, bow numbers, boat repair and clean-up.

Thank you to all the volunteers from Pine Crest, St. Thomas Aquinas, Lauderdale Yacht Club and friends for supporting high school sailing and making this event possible. Special thanks to Gulfstream Sailing Club for allowing us to use their facility as they have done many times in the past. Steve Buckley, Regatta Chair

The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.

The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.