March 21, 2000
Ah, well everyone is now safe and sound at home regaling friends and colleagues with tales of sailing feats and blunders and of course showing off their excellent tans (or sunburns) and awesome bruises. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my first day back at work makes me want to turn tail and head back down to beautiful Florida.

Something Henry didn’t mention were the delicious breakfasts that he and I made of eggs, toast, French-press coffee and Canadian bacon for our fellow Albacore sailors on Saturday and Sunday. They were extremely appreciative and since there were no incidents of food poisoning we might just do it again at future regattas.

Special thanks must go to our bartenders extrodinaire (Dan Caplan and Jeff Solsby) with their traveling blender. They kept us all in “adult beverages.” Hmm, yum. Nothing better than coming off the water to a nice cold mixed drink.

All in all it was an excellent event which provided thrills and spills both on and off the water. We hope you have enjoyed reading this commentary and we look forward to seeing more of you down there next year.

Stephanie
PRAF Web Master (USA)

March 20, 2000
Oh, the CARNAGE!
It’s what everyone (well, almost) came to Sarasota for!  With winds averaging over 20 knots and 25-30 knot gusts something was bound to happen.

There were several team trades taking place as some members decided to stay ashore. Becky, Christine, Paul and Neil all decided to stay dry leaving Barney and Henry crewless.  With yours truly crewing for Barney the headed out for some fun.  At the one minute mark on the start line of the first race, Barney’s rudder broke leaving us sailing / dragging Barney’s new boat back to shore.  We managed to get CAN8022 rigged and ready to go, and made the last two races with Barney crewing for me (now there’s an unlikely team).

Congratulations go out to the two boats who stayed upright this last day:  Denis and Diane, and Dave and Dory.  Great show, and nice “chicken-gybes”, you guys!

Thanks for a great time, gang, and see you next year!
Thanks also go out to a great bunch of sailors from all the other classes present (it wouldn’t have been the same without you), and especially to the Vanguard-15 fleet with whom we shared a course with – you guys are awesome!

Henry.
March 19, 2000
Tonight’s commentary has been hijacked by PRAF (USA) Webmaster Stephanie Strand.

Today we sailed 6 short races with the (mostly) local Vanguard 15 fleet. They were extremely competitive and were great for getting back in the groove of sailing after a winter on land. Positions changed wildly from race to race except for the Harris team (6701) and Gorton/Macnaughton (7700). What else is new?

The theme for tonight is STRIP EUCHRE, no just kidding–we’re keeping our clothes on (for the time being). Tonight’s theme was supposed to be FLYING BIKES, which is comprised of taking a long ride off a short pier. (Wouldn’t you like to send your skipper/crew there some days?) The tide and a broken dock conspired against us today, but we will try again tomorrow. Henry has promised that he will be the test pilot (photo documentary to follow). Thanks for tuning in.

Stephanie.
March 18, 2000
Two races done. Yours truly is languishing somewhere mid fleet, while Chris and Heather are leading it, with Barney Harris in his new (old) woody boat (not expensive firewood yet) trailing close behind.

Tonight’s theme is El Habanero (that’s Cuban for good eats, cheap). We’ll let you know how bad the heartburn is tomorrow. That’s it for now. Yours truly gets to cook breakfast for the gang tomorrow morning. There’s several pounds of back bacon, and many many eggs. It’s going to be a hog-fat fiesta Canuck style. Stay tuned.

Henry.
March 17, 2000
Tonight’s theme is PARTY AT THE GORTONS! Yep, it’s steaks, baked beans, good Canadian Beer (no watery making-love-in-a-canoe American stuff here) and Mount Gay Rum (a prerequisite at any event). And still no sailing! This fiesta has been going on for two days and no one’s hit the water yet. Check back tomorrow, kids.

Henry.
March 16, 2000
Currently, the intrepid group of Canadian Albacore sailors are making their way down to Sunny Sarasota (the land of many sandbars) by various forms of transport.  The handiest of us all are flying, and the savviest of the fliers have cashed in their frequent flier miles (hey it’s a free flight, gang).
The not-so-lucky ones, like me, get to drive (“hello lonesome highway” or so the song goes) the 26 hour torture session.  A small price to pay for dragging your very own sled behind your car to the event (now we’ll see who really finishes last!)

The theme for Wednesday is MOTORBOAT BAR HOPPING!  We’ll keep you posted.  Racing starts Friday!
Cheers

Henry.