Buzzelli Multihull Rendezvous

Weta at the Buzzelli Multihull Rendezvous

A great event!

Report by Richard Stevens

When we pulled into the Sarasota Sailing Squadron after a 26 hour drive from

Ithaca NY, I thought we had passed from this world into heaven. It is on a
peninsular in a protected bay, surrounded by beaches, and it is a club
totally dedicated to sailors and sailing. The wind was a fresh Northerly,
which held for almost all the four days we were there, and we wasted no time
getting on the water for some practice. Afterwards we joined the Windrider
boys at a Tiki bar across the bay.

The Buzzelli regatta started as the Stiletto cat Nationals, but now has
handicap classes for offshore multis and beach cats. The small boat part of
the regatta has seen rapid growth over the last few years, and this year
there were 64 boats racing. The Wetas were the largest class, with 13 boats
racing, 4 of which were double-handed. The Weta Florida dealer, Dick
Hitchcock, has been doing a great job building the racing fleet in this
area, and I think the class is really gaining momentum. We even made a brief
appearance on the local TV news!

On Friday, the Stilettos were doing a 35 NM distance race out in the gulf
along the coast. Four of us in the Weta fleet decided to go out with them
and do a shorter course, unofficially. Getting out through the pass was a
bit dicey, with a strong current flowing and breakers rolling over sand-bars
on both sides. We sailed 9 miles up the coast on a close jib-reach and back
under spinnaker. It was beautiful out there in the long ocean swell with
about 10kt breeze diagonally offshore. We ended up finishing about the same
time as the more extreme racers on the long course. Getting back into the
bay against the current was again, an adventure, especially where the wind
was blanketed going through a lifting bridge! I think I held up the traffic
for about five minutes as I desperately tried to skull my way through.

On Sat and Sunday there was course racing in the bay. We had 10-15knts for
the first 5 races on Sat, around 10 dying down to 5 for R6 and light air for
R7 on Sunday. There were three race circles, and we were sharing with just
the Hobie Waves. We did W-L with a mid-course start/finish line, while the
Waves did triangles with a separate nearer windward mark. All the races
except the last were twice around. Just perfect racing conditions! The
racing was competitive, with the three of us from Ithaca (Keith, Ben and I),
Oscar and Mike all vying for the lead at various times. Several races were very close
and one was won or lost by match-racing tactics only feet from the finish
line. I think it was race 6 where Keith was a couple of boat-lengths ahead
of me around the leeward mark. I tacked onto starboard and he covered. As we
approached the port-tack layline to the finish, I was able to work my way
almost level with him. He then made the mistake of tacking first, and I was
able to position myself on his hip as we approached the committee boat, not
quite laying the finish. Despite his attempts to luff me up, I held him
pinned past the layline, and was able to tack and finish in the lead. What a
thrilling way to finish a 40 minute long race!

I was very pleased to be racing with veteran multihull sailor, Meade
Gougeon, who's enthusiasm for the Weta was a big influence for me when I
decided to start our fleet at Ithaca. Unfortunately, he pulled the head
grommet off his jib, and had to return to the beach to jury rig the halyard
to the top hank. So he was not able to use the jib effectively when the wind
was up. He was competitive in the last race when the wind was lighter,
though, and is planning to do some practice with his brother Jan, for future
regattas.

It was also great to meet Oscar from Miami, and Dave from Panama City. Also
good to see Remi from Baltimore again. I look forward to racing (and
partying) with all of you again soon. This is going to be a fun season for
Weta racing in Florida!

Richard.

Photos courtesy of SailMonster on Flicker

Results