Dates: November 16-18, 2012

Location: Punta Gorda, Florida

Host Club: Sun Coast Model Sailing Club (Club#211)

Entries: 44

The Soling 1M National Championship Regatta began under cloudy skies and unseasonable cool temperatures for Southwest Florida. Winds were fairly steady out of the north- northeast at about 6-8 mph. with a temperature of 68 F at race time.

43 skippers were divided into 3 fleets (A, B, & C) for each race session, a session consisting of 3 races (A, B, & C). Subsequent fleet assignments were based upon a skippers finishing position in the previous race session. Each fleet sailed 17 times (sessions) for a total of 51 races for the 3 day event.

Reichard Kahle wasted no time in showing why he was the odds on favorite to win the regatta taking a first place in the first race of the day. Reichard sailed consistently getting good starts and staying clear of the other boats and refused to battle for position. At the end of the first days 6 sessions Reichard was in first place at 9 points with 3 first place finishes and 3 seconds. In second place was Jack Ward with 15 points, and third was John Steacy with 19 points.

Saturday, day 2 of the regatta, felt more like Florida with sun and warm breezes from the northeast. As

and they are off!

theracing progressed the wind shifted more to the east prompting RD Dave Brawner to pack up the regatta and move to the south course. Ward and Steacy continued to sail well with the second and third lowest scores for the day. Lowest score for the day went to Bob Graham sailing in his first AMYA sanctioned race.

Sunday, day 3, was a weather repeat of Friday. Wind was back out of the north with cloudy skies and cool temperatures bringing the racing back to the east course. Day 3 was dominated by Reichard Kahle with three 1st place finishes and 2 seconds for a day's total of only 7 points. Bob Graham was second for the day and John Steacy had the third best score of the day.  

The finish of day 3 mirrored the overall finish. Reichard Kahle was crowned the national Champion with 23 points in the 15 counted races (7 firsts and 8 seconds). Bob Graham, after a shaky 7th place after day 1 rallied to finish second with 36.25 points. John Steacy stayed in third place the entire regatta finished with 37.25 points. Jack Ward was fourth with 41 points and Alan Perkins was 5th with 51 points.

Winds: Moderate

Races Completed: 51

Scoring: Three Fleets, Low Point, 2 throw-outs

Race Committee: Gib Loesel, Regatta Chairman; Dave Brawner, Race Director; Jim Keller, Evelyn Keller, Marty Child and crew, scoring; Jeff Hawley, heat staging; Doug Nagle, kayak; Joe Hitchings, lunches; Linda Dion & Susie Loesel, picnic supper; Jim Child, chief mark judge; Paul Newfield, county liaison.

2012 Soling 1M NCR Top 5

Place     Skipper                                                Sail Number       Points

Just Two Days of Fabulous Sailing!

By Dick Hedderick

Naples, Fl

The Naples New Year Regatta was the second stop on the winter circuit of the Florida EC-12 association sailed on January 13th and 14th, 2013. The weather was near perfect with steady winds at 10, skies clear, and temperatures in the 80's. The lake of the Naples Model Yacht Club allowed for 100+ yard upwind legs and good visibility for the start line.

Commodore Laura Novak welcomed the skippers with a brief reminder about sportsmanship, fair play and mutual respect. Skippers responded to the call and sailed a friendly, calm, yet very competitive race.

In the 14 boat Gold Fleet, Alan Perkins sailed well to 1st place, posting 5 bullets. Doc Greer placed a solid second. Positions 3 through 7 were hotly contested all weekend with less than 10 points separating these 5 skippers. In the end, Jon Luscomb secured 3rd place by 1 point.

In the 13 skipper Silver Fleet, the competition was very close with 9 skippers posting a 1st place finish. Brenda Pardee scored 2! In the final races, the lead positions were very close. Bill Brown finally secured 1st place by only one point over Dick Reinke. George Balaschak secured a solid 3rd. They will move up to the Gold fleet at the next stop on the circuit.

The primary Race Staff was Dick Hedderick (RD), Jack Wubbe (Scoring), and Ken Morrison (Rules Judge). See full scoring at http://www.floridaec12.com/Naples13.html

Highlights for this year:

• Victor Oberg poured the lead for his new EC12.
• Mark Rinehart built a one piece removable electronics board with sheeting.
• Dave Branning floated his J boat for water line length.
• Nick Mortgu and Harry Mote worked on Nick's Vintage Marblehead and Schooner Nina built by Alan Suydam.
• Jarl Wathne had some milling to do on some parts.
• Ken Shaw worked on getting his EC12 ready for paint.
• John Stoudt brought in his Santa Barbara and A class hulls inspection.
• Ryan Lippincott brought his newly designed RC Penguin ( 9 inches long) for the group to see.
• Skip Hall brought a dozen or so Soling 1M masts to sell.
• Jamey Betz flew his helicopter around while everyone ducked.

About twenty sailors showed up on this snowy day in late January, and most stayed on and had dinner at Famous Daves. (the restaurant, not Brawner's)

So far this year, 26 AMYA sanctioned clubs have purchased 2013 Pond Owner Insurance. Don't wait until the last minute to apply for this reasonably priced insurance.  (the insurance secretary has a full sailing schedule this year!) 

This $1 million policy is available for pond owners through the application of AMYA sanctioned clubs with a minimum of 50% AMYA membership. This insurance covers normal RC sailing activities for the calendar year January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.

Renewal application forms have already been e-mailed to clubs who purchased 2012 insurance and provided accurate addresses. You may also obtain applications from the AMYA web site by clicking on the "Pond Insurance " tab under "Club Resources".