| Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jun 1, 2005
The Sunfish and Windmill classes have long
histories of racing on Tampa Bay. Local sailors in each class have
won major titles.
David Mendelblatt, a St. Petersburg eye doctor, won
the Sunfish Midwinters this year with a near perfect score. He
invited the class to St. Petersburg Yacht Club over the Mother's Day
weekend for the state championship. The turnout of 16 boats was less
than usual.
The start Saturday was scheduled at noon for the
benefit of travelers from around the state. Mendelblatt led the
two-race series with a second and first. Mindy Strauley of
Casselberry was second and Tampa's Joe Blouin third after one
day.
Racing Sunday was difficult. The wind started light
and went downhill from there. Mendelblatt had a fifth in the race
with Blouin first and Strauley third.
One more race started but the wind was nearly
gone.
"The first boat in the abandoned race was only a
couple of hundred feet from the finish when I abandoned," race
official Colin Park said. "The problem was that the first few boats
were probably going to finish okay, but then half the fleet would
have missed the time limit because of the current."
When the race was abandoned Mendelblatt was near
the lead and Blouin was deep in the fleet.
The new state champ, Blouin, who has been near the
top of the Sunfish class for years, also took the Florida State
Masters title.
Strauley finished in third, one spot ahead of
husband Paul.
WINDMILLS STATES: Two bay area Windmill sailors
competed in Lake Eustis for their State Championship.
The Lake Eustis Yacht Club has a fleet of MC Scows,
Flying Scotts and Wayfarers in their weekend regattas. Windmills
were given the first start and stayed ahead of the other fleets so
there were no interference problems.
The same weather system that the Sunfish endured
slowed things down there.
In the first race Arthur Anasov from St.
Petersburg, sailing with 7-year-old daughter Sonja, was late to the
starting area in very light air. But they showed the speed resulting
from a new boat and sails skippered by an Olympic-level sailor with
a very light crew. By the finish he was second in the fleet.
After a two-hour wait on nearby club docks, two
more races were run for the 'Mills. Anasov did a classic port tack
start from the favored pin end of the line in the second race and
never was challenged. In the third race he again led by a small
distance when a zephyr came his way just after rounding the windward
mark. He and Sonja rode the wind to a commanding win.
On Sunday only one race finished before the wind
cut off totally. Again, Anasov showed superior speed in the very
light air.
St. Petersburg's Mike LaGrua crewed for Dave Ellis
to second place, two points behind the winner. They placed second in
all races after the first race win.
OLYMPIC PRACTICE: Sailing in the Netherlands,
Clearwater's Paige Railey was seventh of more than 60 competitors in
her first European regatta of the season. She had to count a race
that she didn't start and jumped the starting gun in the final race.
A decent finish in either heat would have produced a top-three
finish.
The bay area is well represented on the USA Olympic
Sailing Team. David Fagen in the 49er, Brad Funk in Lasers, Railey
in Laser Radial, Allison Jolly in 470 Women, Mark Mendelblatt in the
Star, Zach Railey in Finn and Robbie Daniel in the Tornado catamaran
are on the team.
The Paralympic Team includes Roger Cleworth in the
2.4 Meter and Jan French, JP Creignou and Brad Kendall in
Sonar. | 
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