BIXBYS SWEEP SOUTHERNS
Ethan and Trudy Bixby (5700) won all 4 races on both Saturday and Sunday to sweep a windy Windmill Southern Championship event at the Boca Ciega YC in Gulfport FL November 11-12. The RC set short but challenging modified Olympic courses for all races with the finish just above the weather mark. Colin Brown and super-crew Eric Mann (5252) pushed the Bixbys in several of the races while they themselves were beaten in 3 races by the Lin Robson/Terra Berlinski (5706) combo. Jake Fath not only jumped overboard to help a slightly disabled Sea Scout boat but also once pulled his crew, mother Lisa, back into the boat and capped some fine sailing with 3-2 results in the final races. Behind the Bixbys finishes were often very close with 4-6 boats crossing the line within a minute in quite a few races. With a few breakdown issues (all eventually fixed) Parker Schuler from Sea Scout Ship 915 and BYCY Youth Sailing received the traditional "Silver Screw" perpetual trophy. We were delighted to have both Sea Scout Windmills racing and look forward to seeing them again with improving results as they continue the process of upgrading their boats. Almost made 10 boats this year and certainly hope to reach that goal in 2018! |