July Race Update!

Bay Racing July 1st @ 7:00 p.m., this Wednesday night.

Come join us for the summer "Bay" series on Wednesday nights; July 1st, July 15th, Aug 12th, and Aug 26th.

First race is at 7pm. As many short course races that can be flown before sunset will be run. The course will be in front of the clubhouse, with the dinghy dock being the committee end of the start line. Each night is high tide so bring out anything from a sunfish to a Morgan and enjoy our great waterfront.

On June 24th, we had nine boats on the water for our summer opener. "Edgar" (a Raven) inched out, Fearless Frog (an Ensign) by 7/8 of a second on corrected time. The back of the fleet also saw close racing with Kim Thinel (sunfish) inching out Carol Elwood's "Island Hopper", for 6th. A thunderstorm rolled in from the north and race two was postponed.

Website race results are still offline until the end of July. Here are the official results for June 24th.

1. Edgar (Raven) - 24.38
2. Fearless Frog (Ensign) - 24.39
3. One Love (Catalina 27) - 27.34
4. Red Baron (C&C 30) - 28.28
5. Carpe Diem (Pearson 21) - 29.11
6. Kim Thinel (Sunfish) - 30.74
7. Island Hopper (Hooks 34) - 30.78
8. Kinelas (Catalina 22) - DNF* (R/C retired)
9. Aqua Diem (Hunter 25.5) - DNF

Come out and Join us this Wednesday night. Cold refreshments at the club house, post race will be provided. Looking to crew ? Need Crew ? For more information please call me at 727-688-1631 or email me at paul_auman@att.net.

Paul Auman
DBC Race Chairman

Online Signup for the Bay Series willl not be available while we update the server. Please call me at 727-688-1631, or check in with the race committe on Wednesday nights.

June Race Update!

Bay Racing starts June 17th @ 7:00 p.m.

Come join us for the summer "Bay" series on Wednesday nights; June 17th, July 1st, July 15th, Aug 12th, and Aug 26th.

First race is at 7pm. As many short course races that can be flown before sunset will be run. The course will be in front of the clubhouse, with the dinghy dock being the committee end of the start line. Each night is high tide so bring out anything from a sunfish to a Morgan and enjoy our great waterfront.

Commodore's Laundry Race.

It was a wet and wild time! 14 Boats and 80 some scaly wags joined the DBC for wonderful time Saturday May 30th. The on the water, reverse handicap "pursuit" race saw some great water gun fights and sailing action on the bay.

As always the winner is the last to cross the line, and the "Laundry Race" award goes to Island Hopper and Carol Elwood. They had the most crew and engaged each boat that they came upon with a deluge of water.

For the Commodore's Award; Carpe Diem (Bob Durbie) took the bullet, with Vision (Zeke Durica) and crew in second. Third place went to Last Call (Peter Kolb), but everyone was a winner with the live music of Eddie James.
Paul Auman
DBC Race Chairman

May Race Committee Update

On April 25th, 2009 Rod Collman, Norman Dixon and "Regard" held a great race for us out in the "Gulf". Race 3 saw 8 eight boats on the line for a breezy start. The real story though is "Fuzzy Logic". This boat hails from the Clearwater Community Sailing Center and is their Saturday's Youth Sailing Program. Five teenagers and their instructor; Nicole Buechler gave us all a race. These kids smartly navigated the course in a blustery 15kts winds, to cross the finish line first. They had a chase boat on hand to cheer them on! It was great to see such enthusiasm and excitement on the water!

Sid Zipperman and FOMA hosted a great distance race on April 18th. Thank you for inviting our club to join in! Our DBC monohulls had a close race from the Clearwater Spider to Anclote Key and back. Six seconds separated "One Love" and "IIIgs". Congrats to both skippers and crew!

If you want to take part in the action come join us for the summer Wednesday nights"Bay" series; June 17th, July 1st, July 15th, Aug 12th, and Aug 26th.

First race is at 7pm, as many short course races that can be flown before sunset will be run. The course will be in front of the clubhouse, with the dinghy dock being the committee end of the start line. Each night is high tide so bring out anything from a sunfish to a Morgan and enjoy our great waterfront.

But First, Commodore's Laundry Race!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

St. Joseph Sound (In front of DBC club house)

First Warning : 1 p.m. This will be the classic reverse handicap start, water gun, and costume regatta that ends at the Clubhouse with great food and refreshment. And Maybe a water fight or two.

If you have ever left your laundry at Skip's or made a pirate of yourself at Jolly Mon's, than this revived race is for you! Bring your motley friends and family out for a festive day of fun on the water.

Capture our illustrious leader's laundry and win the Commodore's Cup. Do not be late, last place also wins a prize.

Decorate your boat, come in swimsuit or costume, bring your best water toys, water guns, and/or bio-degradable water balloons to increase the fun factor. Just be sure to hide your electronics.

Landlubbers and tailgaters welcome to cheer on their favorite boats from shore. Give them a good soaking when the fleet comes in. It will be a very entertaining day for all.

No race entry fee. $5 per person (armband) buys a sailor a great meal: Catfish or BBQ Pork and all the fix ins. Cold BEvERages included with your armband.

Skippers, online registration is now open for the "Commodore's Laundry Race" Click here for Scratch Sheet and Signup. If you are a Landlubber and would like to join in please RSVP @ 727-688-1631, lets us know how many scalawags and we will make sure there is enough grub to go around.

Paul Auman

DBC Race Chairman

April 2009

Mark your calendars for some great racing in April.

FOMA (Florida Offshore Multihull Assoc.) has invited us to participate in their annual distance race from Clearwater to Anclote Key and return, on April 18th, 2009. Please see attached flyer. FOMA Notice of Race

We got winded-out in March for DBC Gulf Racing with winds 30+, so join us for a rematch on April 25th for Gulf Race #3, with a 1 p.m. start, High Tide 2.89 ft @12:24, Low Tide -0.63 ft @ 19:38.

Paul Auman
DBC Race Chairman

Spring Break! Gulf Race #2

What better way to enjoy the great spring weather than an afternoon of racing with your friends!

The Dunedin Boat Club "Gulf" race series continues with race two, March 28th.

Skippers meeting will be optional, at 9 am Saturday morning. The course will be broadcasted on channel 72, and first warning will be at 1 pm at the Committee Boat, on station.

If you will be racing PLEASE SIGNUP ONLINE or call me at 727-688-1631.

Dunedin Boat Club racers you are invited to join FOMA for their "FOMA Frolic", April 18th. This will be a distance race from Clearwater Spider to Ancolte Key and back. A post race dinner will be hosted at the Clearwater Sailing Center. For more information contact Sid Zipperman at sidneyzipperman@verizon.net.

Race Chairman
Paul Auman

Valentine's Day Sweetheart Regatta Race Results!

• 2009 Race Results
• 2009 Photos

Congratulations "One Love", Tracy and Chad Tippon took a win in last weekends Sweetheart "Duo" regatta. They will enjoy a night out for two at "Bon Appetite".

We had a total of 15 boats, including FOMA, and CYCC. A big Thank You needs to go out to the crew of "Island Hopper". Carol and Howard Elwood and Sharon Meyer did an awesome job as R/C for our opening race.

If you have pictures from the race please send them to paul_auman@att.net. The "Sailor" rankings and 2009 "Pictures" pages will be update in the near future.

Mark your calendars for our next race, March 28th, 2009.

Dunedin Boat Club 2009 Racing Program

Can you believe it is the beginning of a new year already! Change of Watch is upon us and it is time for the race committee to dust off the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions. I want to thank everyone for their great input and ideas for 2009. We are very fortunate to have a great pool of volunteers and crew eager to expand their racing skills. From taking a survey, here are the three main items that our members would like to see changed for 2009:

Expanded Wednesday Night 'Bay' Racing
Expanded 'Gulf' Racing
More 'for Fun' Races


The numbers speak for themselves. We get more boats to race in the Gulf on any given day than we do "North of the Bridge." So, I agree that an investment in "Gulf" racing is merited. 

This summer we found a great compromise in "Bay" racing. By picking nights with extreme high tides, we were able to offer racing without the committee boat. Our time to get to the race course for most members was significantly reduced. Our participation equaled that of our "Gulf" program. We had boats like "Challenger" and "3G's" racing and we did not have a single boat run aground. So the racing is not limited to small boats.

I have expanded the summer series to include June, July and August this year. Bi-Monthly Wednesday night racing will allow us to enjoy a quick race around the cans, a great sunset, and share our great waterfront with our non-racing members. I hope we can encourage the Ensigns, Sea-Scouts, and our local Dingy Sailors to come out and enjoy our venue.

I agree that the "North of the Bridge" racing can be a great alternate to "Gulf" racing, but should not be a permanent venue. Our plan for 2009 is to host one "Gulf" race a month between February and May, a practice Dunedin Cup, and the last two Gulf races in October and November. Gulf races will be the traditional Saturday location, but with a 1 pm first warning. History has proven that no wind ever blows across the stern of "Regard" at 11:00am.

But we do have one serious problem to overcome: Who is going to be committee boat? Our main problem is reliable and appropriate committee boat and skipper support. In the last year, I have sent out numerous requests for "Power Boat" committee boats. However, with the exception of "Regard", there has been a zero response for new volunteers. In these economic times, we just do not have anyone, with the exception of Rod Coleman, that will donate their time and money to support "OUR" racing program.

So, how do we solve the Committee Boat issue? We have to support "OUR" own race program. I propose that our core Skippers/Racers will draw/signup for a "Gulf" race were they will be responsible for the Committee Boat duty. They may trade with another skipper, but the responsibility will not transfer. For races were the CB is less than 30 feet, a backup "BIG" boat skipper will be selected using the same process. On the Friday night thru 9 am on the day of race, if a "Small Craft Warning" or "Small Craft Advisory" is in effect, then the backup "BIG" boat skipper will be responsible for CB duty that day. We also plan to include FOMA in our list of available boats so we can spread the joy around.
I will make sure that all R/C preparation, equipment, and supplies are available. Each skipper will be required to provide a race committee helper and I will be available to assist in any training that is necessary for crews to feel comfortable with their duties.

For each "Gulf" race, the Committee Boat skipper has the final say 'if' a race will be held within the guidelines of our Sailing Instructions. Each skipper is responsible to determine 'if' they are going to race in the conditions at hand. We have great momentum from 2008 to make this a great program. We are the only club racing on a consistent basis on this side of the gulf.

So where are the Fun Races? Karen and I will be hosting the DBC Shorthand Valentine's Day Regatta. It will be our kickoff "Gulf" race for 2009, open to all our local sailors. For all boats with double-hand crews, we will score the race separately and award the best Valentine's Duo, a gift certificate for dinner. If you are racing with a full crew, or Duo, come out and enjoy our first Gulf race of season, February 14th.

May 30th, we will bring back the classic, Commodore's Laundry Race. This will be the classic reverse handicap start, water gun, and costume regatta that ends at the Clubhouse with cheap beer, hamburger, hot dogs, and maybe a water toy fight or two.

I look forward to any suggestions or input that you may have. I value your expertise in sailing and sailboat racing. As Race Chairman, my goal is to continue to support and build a program that we all can be proud of.

Respectfully, Paul Auman
DBC Race Chairman