2004 Midwinters Championship

St. Petersburg Yacht Club, St. Petersburg, FL

January 30 - February 1

The 2004 Jet-14 Midwinters Championship was contested Jan 30 - Feb 1 at the beautiful St. Petersburg Yacht
Club.  Five Jet-14 crews experienced three days of great racing, wind, food, prizes, relatively warm weather, and 
hospitality.

After a short delay on Friday, we headed out to the course in a light but fairly consistent northeasterly.
 The Jets were to sail a 1 1/2 lap windward-leeward course.  After a clean start, three boats headed left
while Team MacMurray and Saunders tested the waters to the right.  The left paid and it was a three boat race
up the last beat.  Tom Grace and Paula Pacheco showed great light air speed and took race 1, with Team
Hennon and Michos close behind.  Controversy ensued after race 1 as thet Jet fleet accidently sailed into
a fleet of angry Snipes, resulting in a barrage of protests.  But luckily, the Snipe fleet subsequently
sailed right through a Flying Dutchman start and evened things out.  Cooler heads prevailed that
evening.  

The 20 degree left hand shift during the first race caused the race committee to adjust the course for
race 2.  Team Michos won the start near the pin and led closely bunched fleet around the mark.  The fleet
remained close on the run, but nobody could catch Michos on the final beat as they took the bullet.  

MacMurray nailed the start in race 3, forcing Team Hennon to bail right.  Fortunately the wind clocked
around about 10 degrees right and Hennon rounded first.  Another very close race with all 5 boats
within striking distance.  On the final beat, Team Grace took a flyer to the left, made big gains, and
took the bullet.  Hennon, always the bridesmaid, nipped MacMurray for second.


Day 2 was for the heavyweights.  A stiff 14-18 kt northeasterly settled in with moderate chop.  Team
Saunders experienced a setback as Barry's crew felt like he just got off "The Regurgitator" at Cooney's
Island.  After Team Hennon won race 4, Michos looked to be out of the racing as they dropped their main and
jib.  Fortunately it was only a broken outhaul and they recovered to win races 5 and 6.  Team MacMurray
liked the heavier conditions as well, taking a second in the last race of the day.

Steve Reynolds stopped by after the races.  Steve sailed Jet #427 in the early 1960s on
Biscayne Bay at Miami.  At the time, over 20 Jets thrived on the bay.  Everyone enjoyed Steve's tales
and scrapbook of Jet racing 40 years ago - we especially enjoyed his cooler of beer!

It was anybody's regatta as Sunday dawned.  Hennon and Michos were tied for first, with Grace/Pacheco only 1
point behind. Conditions were more like day 1, with a 5-10 kt easterly.  Some leftover swell from an
overnight blow produced surfing conditions UPWIND.  Hennon was so excited about his standing that he
started race 7 three times.  Their fourth place finish virtually took them out of contention for the
championship.  Grace/Pacheco won race 7 handily, creating a tie with Michos for the lead going into the
last race.  Race 8 may have been the most exciting of the regatta, as everyone battled in close quarters
around the entire course.  It came down to the last beat as Grace decided to go left.  Michos tacked to
cover, giving the right side of the course to Hennon and MacMurray.  The right side once again paid, and
Team Hennon won the final race.  Grace/Pacheco's second place finish meant that they are the 2004
Midwinters Champions!

Everyone who attended agreed that this regatta was well worth the trip, especially now that racing covers
three days.  Let's put next year's midwinters on our calendars now and get double digit participation next
year.

                                                        Chris Hennon

Pictures

 

Race

Place

Sail

Skipper

Crew

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Total

1

717

 T. Grace

P. Pacheco

1

3

1

2

(4)

3

1

2

13

2

1093

C. Hennon

P. Hennon

2

2

2

1

2

(4)

4

1

14

3

1136

D. Michos

S. Michos

3

1

(4)

3

1

1

2

4

15

4

1145

C. MacMurray

F. Bajowski

(5)

4

3

4

3

2

3

3

22

5

962

B. Saunders

Bruns et al.

4

5

5

(DNC)

DNC

DNC

5

5

36


Results Posted 2/2/04

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