ECC Skipper’s MeetingIt takes a village to put on a regatta, along with a dedicated Commodore, and BABA has all that and more! We had 2 days of beautiful weather and WIND for the 2012 East Coast Championships Regatta, part of US Windsurfing’s National Race Tour. The first race started around noon on Saturday, September 22 but there were many hours of planning and organization ahead of the horn’s blare.
Big thanks to Commodore Tomaso for bringing all the pieces together and running a great regatta. We’d also like to acknowledge Anne Arundel Recreation and Parks for co-sponsoring the regatta, and park manager Dary Lofgren.
Jeff and Darlene Forte spent Friday night on their sailboat Something Special, a 1973 41 Tartan sloop at the marina on the West River where it is moored. It took them about an hour to motor over to Mayo on Saturday morning where they anchored in position to serve as committee boat for the regatta – a much more luxurious committee boat than BABA usually experiences! Thank you Jeff and Darlene.
Albert Pritchard and Tom Caswell brought out their motor boats for the regatta – Tomaso and the committee would not have been able to put together such a great course if they didn’t have a boat. The smaller boats also served as safety boats to rescue befallen sailors, including Amber who broke a mast far from shore and appreciated the ride. I hope her string of bad luck has ended. Thank you Albert and Tom C.
Jeff and Darlene, and Dave Iseri and his daughter Jasmine ran the racing from Something Special under the tutelage of Commodore Tomaso. They ran a tight series over 2 days with excellent starts and undisputable finishes – some camera ready.
Susan Belsinger (aka the Commodore’s partner in all things life, home and garden) came out on Saturday to pick up lunch from the caterers and deliver it to Mayo. She made sure that we were well taken care of. Thank you for your hospitality Susan! And thanks to all the others who helped with food, drinks, water and ice including Bill Anderson, Helen Van Gelder, Fan Pat and Steve Melnick.
Mike McCormick, currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of BABA, secured some great prizes from our sponsors that were given away via name-drawings at the end of the regatta. BABA Treasurer Helen Van Gelder handled the finances for this and every other BABA event, Hatteras trip, etc. Thanks also to those who labored on the cleanup including Bill Anderson, Janice Emerling, Fred Thomas and Eddie Murawski.
The forecast for wind brought out many other BABA members for “Meet at the Beach.” Thanks everyone for coming out. The ECC was one of our largest regattas/ meet at the beach weekends in a long time. I hope we can keep up the stoke over the winter and see just as many people out for the race series and meet at the beach in 2013.
I truly hope I didn’t miss anyone because everyone’s help is essential and appreciated.
Now for the results:
2012 East Coast Championships
Formula
1. Christophe Waerzeggers
2. Tom Caswell
3. Colin Pitts
4. Alan Bernau
5. Guillaume Vernieres
6. Fan Pat (1st Place Women’s Formula)
Open
1. John Contos
2. Myles Borash
3. Kei Imai
4. Eddie Murawski
Long Board 7.5 Limited
1. Daphne Lathouras (1st place Women’s Longboard)
2. Mike McCormick
3. Eugene Belogay
4. Ann Jackson (2nd place Women’s Longboard)
5. John Drinker
6. Fred Thomas
Novice
1. Jackson Holden (St. Mary’s College)
2. Chris Wattengel
3. Clyde Kunst
4. JJ Holden (St. Mary’s College)
