SAVASANA Wins Davis Island J/70 Winter Series 2
(Tampa, FL)- The “sailingest yacht club” in southeastern USA is the self-described mission of the Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa, FL. With sailing taking place on northern Tampa Bay, it could be argued that there is a lot of sailing most days on the bay. However, as more and more concrete is poured and more roads and parking lots paved, the sailing conditions have often given way to a self-destructing “ring of fire” around Tampa Bay. That means if there is not much gradient wind generated by passing fronts, the lighter winds often never materialize as sea breezes around the edges of the bay. As a result, the “thermal effects” along the coast encircling the bay all become “self-canceling”. In other words, it’s tough for proper sea breezes to develop, especially in northern Tampa Bay.
Having said that, it was rather unfortunate that the “worst case scenario” materialized for last weekend’s second event in the Davis Island J/70 Winter Series. Despite having a “crackerjack” DIYC Race Committee/PRO team, there wasn’t much the DIYC team could do; praying to the Wind Gods and offering plenty of red wine nectar to Neptune didn’t work either. As a result, just three races were sailed over the two-day event.
Thirty teams from across the USA, Canada, and Mexico gave it their best shot for the races that were sailed. In the end, a past winner of the event took the honors. Brian Keane’s SAVASANA team from Boston, MA won the regatta with a 6-1-1 tally for 8 pts. Brian’s crew consisted of Ian Barrows, Conner Harding, and Ron Weed.
Rounding out the podium behind SAVASANA was Jim Gary’s AYACUCHO, second with a 2-5-5 scoreline for 12 pts; his crew consisted of Ed Gary, Travis Carlisle, and Brendan Read. Then, taking the bronze medal was the top woman helm, Chicago’s Laura Sigmond on NORBOY, posting a 5-6-2 record for 13 pts; her crew consisted of Leif Sigmond, Collin Kirby, and Greiner Hobbs.
The balance of the top five included Hanson Bratton’s T2 in fourth and Doug Fritz’s LIL BIT in fifth place.
CORINTHIANS DIVISION
Winning Corinthians quite handily was Jim Gary’s AYACUCHO, also taking the silver medal overall. Then, it was a past Corinthians North Americans winner- Tod Sackett’s FM- that took the silver based on a tiebreaker at 32 pts each (with crew of Lee Sackett, John Rampe, and Jeff Haase). Losing that countback to end up with the bronze medal was the Kirkman family on HOT TICKET. The Kirkman team from Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, MI, consisted of Mike Kirkman Sr., Mike Kirkman Jr., Trish Kirkman, and the Lockharts (Andrew & Grace) —truly a family affair!
ONE-PRO DIVISION
Winning this fleet was Hanson Bratton’s T2. William Heston’s GREENWICH followed them in second, and Ian Hill’s SITELLA in third place.
MIXED-PLUS DIVISION
The winner was a top women’s skipper, Ava Wilson, and her crew on TEAM CONVERGENCE from Chicago, IL. Brian Williams’s AFTERBURNER took the silver medal.
For more Davis Island YC J/70 Winter Series sailing information
https://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu/50305