Orlando 07 Pix

Do you have a question about Regattas? Do you want to post about your EC12 club event? This is the place. Here you will find a listing for some of the club monthly events at the top of the page.

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Orlando 07 Pix

Postby greerdr » Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:35 pm

Go to : http://picasaweb.google.com/greerdr/orlandoregatta02 .Tom Germer hopes you enjoy the photos.I thank Bill Gale and his crew for a great regatta.My name is ROBERT !

R.C.Greer
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Postby deafsail » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:54 pm

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2007 HOME NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS RACING ENTERTAINMENT LIFESTYLEOPINION
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N-J | Phyllis Redman
Bob Brown of Daytona Beach inspects his boat at a model sailboat regatta Saturday at Lake Victoria in the Victoria Park subdivision in DeLand. Below, Bob Greer of Lake Park guides his boat by remote control during the regatta.


N-J | Phyllis Redman

September 09, 2007

Competition big among small-scale sailboat racing

By JULIE MURPHY
Staff Writer

DELAND -- Everything is clear at Lake Victoria Saturday -- the air, the sky, the water and the universal body language of shaking with fear shown by first-time model yacht regatta sailor Skip Miller.

Had he said "I'm nervous," it's unlikely veteran sailor Baron Bremer, who is deaf, would have noticed.

Instead, Bremer folds his arms and cradles them back and forth. "Baby," he teases.

The Orlando chapter of the Florida EC-12 Association has chosen to hold its two-day statewide regatta on the 12-acre, 30-foot deep lake in DeLand because of the low water levels at home, club member Don Forbecker of Orlando says.

The men, all members of the association, gather around boat 1282 belonging to Miller's friend Tony Rieck of Jacksonville-- also a first-timer -- to help him adjust his jib before Saturday's races begin.

As much as he appreciates the help, Rieck makes it clear when enough is enough. Like many others who race model yachts, he has sailed large sailboats for years.

"Everybody leave my boat alone," he says. "I've got her sweet now."

Dog walkers, joggers, rollerbladers and bicyclists look on as two fleets of 13 skippers each prepare their crafts for the day's races.

India Pezzi, a resident of the neighborhood, wheels her old Pekingese named Sasha in a red wagon with sons Caleb, 6, and Cole, 4, in tow at her side.

"The boys were so excited when I told them I thought there was a boat race here this morning," she says. "I could barely get their shoes on them before they were out the door."

Caleb explains that there are no scaled-down people to pilot the radio-controlled sailboats modeled after a 1962-63 boat designed for the America's Cup race.

"Do you see a guy? They go because of the wind," he says. "I watched them and there's no guy in there."

He's right, says 30-plus-year racer Bill Gale of Orlando.

"Each skipper has three or four controls," he says. "They only move the sails, but don't power the boat. The wind does that, and it's light today."

Though the course of the race is laid out the same for each race, the starting line is not determined until just before race time.

"You want the wind to be perpendicular to the starting line, so you can sail to an upwind mark," member Kris Simons of Orlando says. "Because the wind can change, you move the marks as best you can right before you start."

Depending on wind conditions, each race lasts 10 to 20 minutes. The first 13 sailors to race put their boats in the water and begin to maneuver toward the best starting position.

"You always have a plan of how to start, but by the time you get there it's different," says member Ed Gelina of West Palm Beach.

Boats cannot start ahead of the line. The trick, he says, is to position the boat as close as possible without crossing as the one-minute warning ticks off the clock.

For this race, Forbecker serves as Bremer's ears. He stands in front of him and indicates with his hands and fingers how much time remains before the starting bell rings.

John Rowley of The Villages near Lake County takes the lead, but Bremer is close on his tail.

The rest of the fleet trails behind until the leaders round the corner for the second lap. The wind kicks up, bringing the rest of the field within reach of Rowley and Bremer.

"It's the skill and the luck of sailing," Simons says. "A good wind can help you, but you have to have tactics, too."

As the leaders close in on the last half of the second lap, a fish breaks the surface of the water in the center of the lack and the wind kicks up again.

"Baron got the puff first this time," Simons says as Bremer moves into the lead.

As quickly as it comes, it goes and Bremer loses the lead at the last turn. But not for long; the wind of change gives him a second boost and he crosses the finish line with about three boat lengths to spare.

The joy behind his victory is clear, too.

"Yeah, all right," he beams as he throws his arms into the air and turns to high-five the nearest spectator.

julie.murphy@news-jrnl.com

Get the Details:

In the 1960s, the famed naval architect Charlie Morgan designed a 12-meter yacht as a potential defender in the 1964 America's Cup. The full-sized boat was never built, but the 9/10-inch to 1-foot-scale, tank test model survived and was used to make the EC-12.

The EC-12 is a restricted one-design class, in which hulls are made from identical molds and must be purchased by an approved manufacturer. Here are specifications:

· Length overall: 58.75 inches

· Length water line: 42 to 43 inches

· Width (beam): 11.14 inches

· Draft (below water line): 7.875 inches

· Displacement: 24 pounds

· Sail area: about 1,300 square inches

· Mast: 72 inches above deck

· Radio functions: Limit 4 --rudder, main sheet, jib sheet, jib twitcher

SOURCE: The Florida EC-12 Association

If You Go:

WHAT: Orlando Model Yacht Club's annual statewide Fall Sailboat Regatta

WHEN: Continues today, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE: Lake Victoria in Victoria Park, on Orange Camp Road, just west of Interstate 4, at exit 116.

COST: Free

DO BRING: Blanket or lawn chair and a picnic; beverages are available for purchase. Children are welcome.

DON'T BRING: Pets or tents.

WATCH FOR: Parking signs and park only in designated areas.




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Postby deafsail » Sun Sep 09, 2007 7:09 pm

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