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The 2020 Liberty Bell Regatta, the 48th Annual,
finally got to see the light of day on August 23rd. It was rescheduled from April due to you know what. Fifteen skippers showed up, some from South Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, and of course New Jersey to make this special day. We finally got to present the 2019 AMYA Hall of Fame Award to Lisa, Andrew and John Brawner in David Brawner's memory to begin the day.
To do this at David's favorite pond in Mt Laurel, NJ was particularly inspiring. The day was certainly crafted in the spirit of David as if he was controlling the elements of our racing frustrations. He loved to screw with us. First of all, there was little wind. OK, no apparent wind, but the mirror boat images, captured by Judy Bonanno's two cameras, showed the absolute calm that embraced us for an entire day. Setting a course was equally difficult as some races began as a reach and the ensuing wind direction varied on all legs of the course...which is signature Mt Laurel conditions. You would think, with just fluky or no wind, some lucky skippers would emerge near the top of the leader board but that was not the case. The most successful skippers, who held five National Championships between them, owned the day. Jarl Wathne, Jamey Betz and David Ramos were a treat to watch. Jarl won 4 races and his worst race was a 5th. Ryan Lippincott, Dave Ramos, Jamey Betz and Domenick Bonanno also won races. My observation: these skippers do not touch the rudder. You move the rudder, you slow the boat. Once they they sensed a slight buff, they let mother nature stay with them as long as possible. Establishing a little forward momentum and the glide of an EC12, they hopefully slid into the next possible "puff."
The other Brawner touch to frustrate the skippers was a thunder shower right after lunch to interrupt the day for 30 minutes. Fortunately we were able to achieve nine races and, graciously, RD Skip Hall, granted two throwouts, counting seven races in the scores.
A huge thanks to Judy Bonanno who captured the whole memorable day and made sure the lunches were well presented. RD, Skip Hall ran the show....since before April, making sure we had all the regatta materials. Thanks also to Harry Mote who rowed out the buoys wearing his mask. Thanks to Dave Ramos who crafted the laser printed awards. Skip arrived without a score keeper, so I eagerly kept my boat in the car and assisted with scoring duties. I had the best seat in the house.
Results
Place Skipper Gross T/O Net1 JARL WATHNE 21 9 12
2 JAMEY BETZ 29 12 17
3 DAVID RAMOS 36 15 21
4 SCOTT GRAF 48 18 30
5 WILL VAN CLEEF73 32 41
6 DOUG WOTRING 71 28 43
7 CAPE MAY RAY 64 20 44
8 RYAN LIPPINCOTT68 22 46
9 DOMENICK BONANNO 69 21 48
10 HARRY MOTE 82 32 50
11 MIKE CAMPBELL 82 27 55
12 BILL SYSYN 101 29 72
13 DAVE CRUMP 105 29 76
14 JAMES LATOFF 137 32 105
15 JOEL HAMBURGER139 32 107
Judy Bonanno's link to pictures and videos of the day; ENJOY!
https://judybonanno.smugmug.com/Sailing/EC-12-regattas/Liberty-Bell-Regattas/Liberty-Bell-48th-8-23-2020/