Mississippi Coast at its Finest Mississippi is not the most pleasant state to visit in August . The air is so humid that the heat just drips . The breeze loses every iota of freshness . The waters of the Mississippi Sound are tepid and long tentacled jellyfish lurk in the murky brown waves . It ’ s just lovely .
So why did our club members choose to go to Pass Christain Yacht Club on August ?? Deborah Wilusz , Linda Wright , Phyllis Seaton , Gail Mitchell and Leslie Hanley went to participate in the 80th annual Knost Regatta . The 2017 Knost was the last scheduled to be sailed in the GYA Flying Scot . The humble and sturdy Scot is due to be replaced by the fun and fiesty Viper 640 in 2018 .
Despite the historic nature of this particular regatta , Fort Walton Yacht Club had no plans to attend and no all female team in place . But that all changed very quickly when Kip Keelin started making the rounds . With a grin and a wink , Kip rounded up enough ladies to make a go of it . He explained to all that FWYC ’ s Capdevielle team was currently in first place out of all the GYA clubs and that our club had perfect attendance . FWYC needed them to step up and sail . The pressure was on .
Our ladies practiced . In groups of three , they zipped around Garner ’ s Bayou , gaining a few bruises and getting the hang of the Flying Scot . For some , this time in the Scot provided a refresher and for others something entirely new . They sailed hard in the limited time that they had and “ Team Titos ” was born . On the Friday before the event , with high hopes and coolers filled , they were Mississippi bound . The instigator , Kip Keelin , and Scott Mitchell tagged along .
Saturday morning dawned hot as Hades while local fishing vessels perfumed the Pass Christain Harbor with the catch of yesterday . The wind hesitated to make an appearance but our ladies were optimistic and ready to rumble . With an average team age of 61 , the FWYC “ girls ” were by far the seniors of the curcuit and also the least populated team . Some of the other teams were so large that they couldn ’ t easily fit in a single picture . Size and age didn ’ t matter one bit as our ladies were eager to have their time on the water .
When the breeze finally filled , although it failed to cool , it continued to build . And build . With a squall coming out of the West , the final race of the Saturday was sailed in downright sporty conditions . The FWYC team did great and sailed back into PCYC with a solid fifth place overall .
The second day of racing arrived with a bottle of Titos emptied and a few coins flattened by a local locomotive . Regatta memories were made .
The only thing blasting about Sunday ’ s wind was the heat so a postpone was thankfully called ashore . The yacht club air conditioning was decidedly appreciated until race committee called for the first race of the day . Our ladies were dead set on , at a minimum , keeping ahold of their fifth place and if possible moving up in the fleet . At the end of racing , fifth place it was . Team Titos was thrilled .
“ Away ” regattas are challenging and certainly shake a sailor out of her comfort zone . Team Titos did a wonderful job representing FWYC . No trophy was needed to tell each lady that she had done something special with her friends and for her club , although something shiny is always appreciated . Maybe next year . A big thank you to our team . You go , girls ! Kerrie Serpa and Jennifer Grant also participated in the 80th Annual
Knost Regatta aboard Ponchartrain Yacht Club ’ s “ Super Duck ” and got third in the PHRF fleet . The always helpful Sam Grant did what he could to support both teams .
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