Andy Horton USA wins with 1,1,2.Tito Gonzalez CHI is second with 9,2,1Ched Proctor USA third with 5,4,3.

We did not see much of the leaders today except as they picked up their trophies or rolled their packed up boats past us as we were washing ours down as we came off the hoist.

We were half way there at 22nd overall. Lighter winds today 4-12 mph. Sunny to start then overcast and warmer at 65F.BUGS still around and were lying in wait at the crane while we all waited for the boats to be hoist the 12 feet from the low tide.

Well, we are still talking to each other on the boat but the trend down in finish today (31 after 14, 24 yesterday) caused by my less than brilliant tacking decisions did not help. Seriously, the team is coming together and we may do some skipper switching in the next few races, if only to prove I do know how to crew. I discovered that doing turns is not very fast, especially if you run too close to the mud along the shore while doing them Mud is slow.

The regatta was very well run and we all had a good time, a very relaxed regatta with only 3 races. Miami has 5 as does St. Pete. The organizers here did a great job with a very difficult tide and unique starting arrangements. They do something that should be done in more regattas and that is have a separate committee boat with flags that is separate from the line. The line is set by two boats each with an orange flag and a line caller, you start between them. The RC boat is about 100-200 yards above the line to weather and so you can all see the signals all the time. It seems to work well.

Most of the boats were off after the prize giving in a caravan out of town and on to Miami. A few stayed on to play tourist and see the old city and the waterfront.

We are all looking forward to the full days of racing at Miami with the wonderful steak BBQ Tuesday at Coconut Grove SC.

Hope you are enjoying the cold &/or rain up North!

Savannah- Day One
Bill Fastiggi

After getting a chance to practice on Friday, check out the new boat, tune the rig, Andy, Suzy and I were ready to go. Andy Horton and I had decided to co-skipper the series, with Andy Steering St. Pete and me steering in Miami. We both love sailing Savannah so it came to a coin toss which Andy won - so he got the driving nod.

Wind yesterday was out of the NE any where between 5 and 15 knots in true Savannah fashion.It was a good day by Savannah standards - no capsizes, no anchoring, no gnats on the water, and the usual great RC work.

Race one started up the Skidaway River and the course was one lap plus one leg to port (that's the best way to describe it)

We had a good start in the middle of the line and stayed out of trouble - we were able to consolidate the lead before the first turn and after some close challenges from Dave Peck, Mike Breault, Greg Fisher, and Ched Proctor on the first downwind leg we were able to pull away from the pack. 

By the start of race two the breeze had shifted further to the right and the tart was not as far up the Skidaway. The course was two and 2/3 laps with the finish near the club. We got a decent start about 1/3 of the way up from the left end of the line, but Greg Fisher, Sean Fidler, Jeff Linton were all able to cross us and at the first mark it was Fidler, Linton, Fisher, Proctor, and us. Ched and we were able to get by the leaders by staying low in a little more breeze and we rounded the mark at the club first, and were able to extend our lead from there.

We felt great after two firsts - The forecast for this morning is 5-10 out of the NE and shifting to the right later in the day when the sea breeze tries to push in. Our race is scheduled to start at 11

A short note from the LIGHTNING Southern Circuit.
Dave Sprague            

Sharon Seymour and I drove down from Toronto to arrive in Savannah GA after 20 hours driving and one tacky motel. The boat and car made it in one piece. Very little snow and good roads. We got in Friday afternoon to see over 20 boats here already. Hope for 40 plus. Already there are boats from ARG, CHI and ECU as well as Canada and US.

Millions of no seeums biting viciously and no wind. We put the mast in, tidied the car and found our third, Andrew Hayward from Penn.

Weather is light rain, no wind and bugs with 35-60 degree F. temperatures. Better than snow and cold but the bugs are a nuisance? It's supposed to be sunny and warmer Sat. for the races. Winds are to be light.

SATURDAY:

Nice day bright sunshine wind 5-12 mph from NE and about 15 degrees. 9 foot tides very high and low (it's the full moon) Everyone ran aground at least once.

Good sailing and very strong tide. Andy Horton has 2 firsts and no one else is close. (we had a 14 and a 24th).There are 42 boats and great sailing. For those of you who have not sailed here it is run on 2 different intersecting rivers with significant tidal flow. You sail from one arm of a Y to a second arm and then to the third arm and repeat the course. Very weird and interesting as you sail into the edges of the river and hit bottom in order to stay out of the current. Oh yes did I mention the bugs.

We have 4 Canadian boats sailing. Mine 14&24 , Larry MacDonald OCS & 3 (Hamilton), Ross Bailey 27&14 (ThunderBay) and Jamie Allen 20&16 from Montreal. Lots of crew from Canada as David Gorman has Valarie Tardiff and Chantal Leger from Montreal and Jess Simpson is with Bill Mauk. 

Broke our paddle trying to dock so off to the ubiquitous Wal-Mart for a cheap replacement.

Boy not sailing for 6 months leaves you rusty.

We shall see how it goes tomorrow. Only one race planned, we shall see how it goes and then off to Miami for more normal racing.