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By NEIL PASCOE

Special to the Eagle

It began in balmy, pleasant sailing conditions on Saturday but, because of low tide with troughs of only about three feet and high waves approximately seven feet and breaking at the mouth of the San Marco River, racing in the Sixth Annual Marco Island Fall Regatta was abandoned Sunday for the safety of the fleet.

Twenty-two boating enthusiasts had entered what was supposed to be a two-day event and all of them crossed the finish line for various and exclusive boasting rights for the remainder of the year.

Despite the beauty of the day Saturday, the racing started out with wind at about 10 knots, but soon began fluctuating from four to 10 knots and veering as opposed to clocking as was anticipated. The racing therefore proved to be slow with heavier boats having trouble running with the wind due to its lightness.

The Best Performance of the Regatta for a Yacht Club member was Ulrich Rohde’s Dragonfly Plus, while the winner of the Overall for the multihull classes was Larry Geller and Third Tri. He also won the Club’s 50/50 raffle before donating his winning share of $180 back to the Marco Island City Kids Youth Sailing (MICKYS) program.

Other winners included: Dan Kendrick and Tippecanoe in the Class A Spinnaker A Division; Jason Richards and T-Bone in Class B Spinnaker B; Jim Gunderson and Big Sky in Class C Sportboat; and Ed Dixon and Tri-Power in Class D Multihull Corsair 24.

The Yacht Club’s full weekend of activities included a Friday night get-together along with a full bar with the purchase of tickets followed by a skipper’s meeting for the distribution of sailing instructions. Class streamers and a review of race and Club House instructions were also on the agenda.

The same provisions were in place after what proved to be the first and final day of racing on Saturday.

Sunday saw the Big Party at the Yacht Club despite the day’s racing cancellation as 125 people attended featuring the music of JRobert. Awards were presented to the various winners which also featured a fabulous buffet and embroidered Polo shirts and t-shirts for sale which commemorated the event.

In addition, Marco Island West Marine held a Community Day in support of the MICKYS Program, donating 5 percent of its gross sales Nov. 8. It also provided free hot dogs and soft drinks in drawing people into the store.

“We wish to thank Jonathan Andrews, the store manager, and his sidekick, Don West, for their generosity,” noted Regatta Chairman Dean Heard. “Jonathan presented a check to MICKYS in the amount of $1,145.00 at the Awards Ceremony and plans to do even more next year.”

The evening’s Silent Auction netted $4,805 this year along with donations, donated merchandise, and gift certificates to various Marco Island merchants.

The MICKYS Program is operated by the City of Marco Island Parks and Recreational Department in order to educate area youth and adults in the sport of sailing and be safe near and on the water. Entrants between the ages of 8-15 are also given a swimming test and a capsize recovery drill along with being able to sail on their very first day.