Racing on the river

With the overnight temperature nearly dipping into the 30s, the Quantico Yacht Club recently ended its 2009 sailing season by hosting the 55th Annual Quantico Frostbite Regatta. In the face of the gray, winter-like conditions, the Racing Rear Commodore Ray Williams of Catlett, praised the turnout of the 40-plus participants.

The regatta coverage drew novice crewmembers and a skipper. Felix and Giovanna Vega, David La Charité and Judy Diamond teamed up with skipper Robert Lang on "Good Trade."

A father-son team of Ken and Christian Winters and Nancy Whitfield joined skipper Charlie Hazard on "Music Maker," along with regular crewmember Sean McNulty of Stafford.

Aboard "Harmony," first-time Frostbite skipper James Mead of Stafford tasked his crew, Rich Alt and Darryl Harris.

Winters said that until Saturday he had only heard stories of how enthralling a regatta experience could be.

"I really liked it," he said. "The fact that it was freezing cold and raining only made it better."

Three Daingerfield Island Sailing Club boats made the run down to Quantico.

On "Reprisal," skipper Doug Savage worked his longtime crew of Joe Wooten, Janice Minshal, Charles Shields and Mike Nelson.

Aboard "Blue Boat," skippers Bob and Johanna Soli sailed with Robert Barra and Lisa Picardi.

On "Firefly," skipper Robert Gibbs had Steve Haase, Kevin Uleck, Kristen Barletta and Dan Korwan to work the boat.

Another Quantico boat rounded out the fleet. Skipper Ray Williams on "Te-Keel-La" sailed with his twin brother, Robin, and friends Peg Albrecht, Kevin Shumelda and Steve Goralczyk. Aboard "Stacy Lynn," Marty Peatross, Dave Doane, and Todd Philips worked the decks for skipper Ray Boisvert.

Mike Cusamano of Woodbridge skippered the committee boat, a Bristol 42 trawler, while his son Tony raised the signal flags, sounded the horn to start the race and did the deck work.

The race course was adjusted to fit the rising winds. The regatta was 10.6 nautical miles long or 12.2 land miles and used Power Pole No. 3 and Green Can (buoy) No. 41 as port side marks.

After an upwind north-bound start between "Kayla Jane" and Green Can 43, the boats went close hauled, beating to the first mark. There, greeted by shifting winds and the tide, the skippers gave the power pole a wide berth, lest they risk a penalty for hitting the mark.

The second leg was a relatively relaxing beam reach down to buoy No. 41, since the wind off to the side. The third leg was to see one or more tacks upwind back to the power pole followed by another reach back to Buoy No. 41. The final leg was the north-bound series of tack to pass over the original starting line to finish.

With a spinnaker and non-spinnaker class, the skippers and crews were on the water from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During this time, various elements challenged the crews and their boats. A strong tide sped downriver at a healthy 1 to 2 knots. Fresh winds blew out of the North at a brisk 10 to18 knots, with reported gusts up to 22 knots or 25.3 miles per hour. The rains continued on and off and the temperature never rose above 46 degrees.

After the race, the boats returned to the docks and the crews retired to the Quantico Yacht Club. There, the participants changed into dry cloths and sat down to a chili dinner and an awards ceremony.

The spinnaker class honors went to "Savage."  With the friendly and helpful treatment he received from the marina staff, he gave quite an endorsement by saying, "Quantico is way better than Annapolis."

The non-spinnaker class went to Lang.

Despite the dreary weather outside, the mood inside the club was festive and everyone agreed that whether racing, being on the committee boat or joining the skippers and crews for dinner, the 55th Annual Quantico Frostbite Regatta was a great time for everyone.