Sailing Education Adventures

The first series of SEA's Catalina Regatta proved to be a successful blast! Congratulations to Wesley Frederick winning title as "SEA's Fastest Catalina  Racer"! Under lights and with wild applause, he was awarded a fanciful French bottle of spirits adorned with a golden SEA seal. Those who witnessed the fifth and final race would agree this skipper left others in his wake. The remaining three dinghies were neck and neck at the finish line, vying for second place.

 Chris Holland overall put the heat on Wesley placing a close second. Wayne McIntosh and Barbara McVeigh tied for third, though timing indicates Wayne was a tad faster (this author hopes for a rematch), and Matt Tibbals placed fourth, earning him great respect. Matt and his crew Cory took Intro to Sailing just this year!

Skipper (Crew) Points Avg. % Faster (Slower) Races (out of 4) Avg. Points/Race
Wes (Anne/Claudia) 14 11.09 4 3.50
Chris (Katka) 12 4.34 4 3.00
Wayne (Dave/Cory) 9 4.39 4 2.25
Barb (Helena/Jordan) 9 (2.29) 4 2.25
Matt (Cory) 6 (3.79) 4 1.50

Despite the excellent show, there was yet murmuring suspicion amongst the other racers about Wesley's skill and awarded title. Afterall, it was revealed he did organize with Mark Miglio and rally racers, not to mention he proposed and prepped the five race series to ensure all five racers benefitted from each boats' "tacktical" abilities. Each racer also got to take part on the committee boat to keep time and observe their competition. Wesley helped decide and implement many of the rules set for this series. And, of course, he single-handedly tallied all reported times and points. Could there be truth to the suspicion of a possible set up in his favor?

Clearly these races generated enough hoopla to ignite interest in another race series. There's been more murmuring of a follow up challenge between the new winner and some SEA Old Salts who don't like the young out racing them. So, let's look forward to seeing a match between winners of this regatta and some well seasoned SEA racers who want to demonstrate what challenging dinghy racing is all about!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this race a go! Special appreciation to skippers Chris Holland, Wayne McIntosh, Matt Tibbals and Barbara McVeigh ! And thank you to Karri Ving for donating awards.

Rumors Abound...

...that a pack of SEA wolves is preparing to have their own matchup, and then challenge these snarky racers to a champions league to finally wrest the coveted Lawler Cup right out of their soft and manicured hands.