2005 Report

2005 J-22 South East Circuit Wrap up We had over 20 boats participate in the circuit, which is down from years past. However the upside is the amount of boats actually traveling and hitting multiple regattas. The 2005 Circuit was made up of 6 regattas. 2 in Birmingham, 2 in Nashville and 2 in Atlanta. We kicked off the 2005 Circuit in Birmingham at their annual "Iron Man" regatta. We had great competition and fair wind but we relished in the best part of the regatta. The best part was the party of course. Birmingham sailing club is one of the most hospitapal groups around. They hosted a great dinner on Saturday night and all of the sailors decided with the great weather to camp out on club grounds. This was a good idea since the beer had been flowing all day and then we moved to the Martinis by Clare and then the shots of Shiraz by Carson then back to beer. We closed out the night with a large bon fire started by Clifton, Colby and Pitts. Needless to say the party went into the wee hours of the morning. Sunday decided to show up and we were off to the race course. It was light air…Thank god! Needless to say most of the boats were working on keeping their hangover under control more than their tactics. The Second event we attended was the G.O.O.D. (Grand Ol One Design) at Percy Priest in Nashville. We had a decent crowd show up for the special Tennessee light air sailing. Neergaard showed us all his excellent light air skills and took the fleet. Our third stop for the South East Circuit was the Reggae regatta at Lake Lanier Sailing Club in Atlanta. We had a one design start for the J-22's amongst a total fleet of over 100 boats. This regatta is LLSC biggest and best. Again with the theme of the party and camaraderie it can't be beat. All of the boats enjoyed music from three different bands and some fine Jamaican cuisine. Our forth stop on the Circuit took us back to Birmingham for the Leukemia Cup. The sailing was great and we got to hear Max Meyhoefer enjoy himself by distracting the boats around him by simply trying to have a conversation during the races. BSC showed us their typical hospitality. Every one enjoyed the auction to raise money for the cause and afterwards we all stayed up late again because John Pitts brought his guitar. The entire fleet passed the guitar between the folks that could actually play, Pitts and Denis Colby. We heard great songs, including some sing along ditties by Galen Freeman. The next stop for the circuit for the fifth regatta was in Nashville at Percy Priest. I will have to say it was some of the best race management I have ever seen. It was supervised by Robert Maddix. The tale of this regatta was to go left, no wait, right, no left. Needless to say it was very shifty and the RC really did an excellent job. On Saturday evening Sean Clare invited the fleet to his house for Drinks, Chili, Pool and Pinball. The Meyhoefer clan were the champions at pool. The last stop on the circuit sent us to Atlanta in November to freeze. The problem was the temperature was in the 80's. Bill Harshman put on a great show and at the conclusion of the regatta we awarded the 2005 South East Circuit winners with certificates. We look forward to a growing 2006.