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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