Trophy Dinner 2003

Fleet Captains Steve Schnelker and Bill Jenkins presented 505 Fleet 3 awards at the MBYC annual trophy dinner on November 22. Yes, that was in the middle of the ABYC Turkey regatta…. But anyway, here are the awards.

Golden Trowel Award – This award is in recognition of the reputation Geoff Nelson earned for scooping up mud with the top of his mast and dropping it into his boat.

Demolition Award – Rick Denney bought his boat last year, and on each of his first four outings this year managed to break something – first he shredded his spinnaker, then he put a hole in his mainsail when he fell into it from the trapeze while singlehanding, then he broke something else that no one can remember any more, then he snapped his centerboard while trying to right his boat after a capsize. As one of his nominators said “it isn’t just how much equipment you break, it’s also the amount of energy you put into breaking it”.

Maintenance Award – Goes to the person who made the most improvements to his boat. According to fleet records, Mark Kurzava has been working on his boat for at least two years. In that time he has stripped all the gear out, then completely rerigged and repainted it. Some said it would never happen, but Mark finally launched the boat this year and named it Moxie.

Fleet Appreciation Award – A special award that goes to the fleet member who put in the most work to make sailing 505s in San Diego a fun activity. Last year Dan Merino put in a successful bid for our fleet to host the Pacific Coast Championships at MBYC. This year, as the Regatta Chairman, he organized the regatta in conjunction with our annual Invitational. This involved rounding up sponsors for the beer keg and vests; handling all the details for sail measurement; and overseeing each of the many other activities such as registration, trophies, and race committee. It was an extraordinarily well-run regatta. Many boats came to San Diego to race for the first time and were very impressed.

Bay to Bay – Start outside Mission Bay, round SD#3, round Coronado Bridge piling, finish at Shelter Island. 25 miles direct, plus tacking, gybing, and sailing around the kelp beds.

First to Finish – Dan and Bill.

Pin Tail (last to finish) a testimony to determination considering that half the fleet dropped out before they finished – Dave Eberhardt and Richard Hockaday.

First Classic to Finish – Dave and Richard.

No record time this year.

Fleet Championship – five regattas throughout the year, sailed in So. SD Bay, Pacific Ocean, and Mission Bay.

Open Division – Dan and Bill.

Classic Division – Tie between Geoff Nelson and Lee Such, Roger Lovett and Mike Barry.

Next year’s Fleet Captain, Rick Denney, will need the help and support of all of us.

Postscript – Following the interminable Yacht Club presentation of trophies for all the year’s regattas, Dan offered to share his award (a bottle of Mt Gay) with the rest of the fleet. John and Trish volunteered their beach house for the ceremonies, perhaps relishing an opportunity to relive the glory of the Rum Extravaganza. All the cool people made it and spent the rest of the night drinking rum and conjuring up good times together.