What do you get when you throw a regatta and the wind doesn't blow and the caterer is MIA? Well, at FBYC, you get four good races with tight competition over two days, punctuated by warm hospitality, cold beverages and the best freshly cooked, hot meals prepared by volunteers on short (read NO) notice, you'll find anywhere.

When most race committees would have given up on Saturday when faced with hours of absolutely no wind, PRO David Lee, wind and weather guru that he is, decided to persevere and the racers were rewarded with a race on Saturday. When dinner time arrived, but the caterer didn't, a group of incredible volunteers served approximately 150 hungry sailors in less than 90 minutes, from leaving to grocery shop, to placing the finishing touches on the serving table. Most of those same volunteers were back at the club on Sunday morning before 6:00 AM, preparing and cooking, and served a hot breakfast buffet for the crowd at 7:30 AM. I have to mention that the volunteers that stepped up to the challenge of food service also filled other many other volunteer duties from parking and sales to bartending, race committee and clean up. There are no words to describe how awestruck, inspired and proud I was, and still am, having witnessed their Herculean efforts and tasted their product.

But, the reason for a regatta is the sailing, and sail they did. Sunday brought what Saturday lacked and David Lee and crew squeezed out three more races in winds of up to 18 - 20 knots.

This year, the Brent Halsey, Jr. Memorial Trohy was won by our own Jerry Latell and the crew of Boomerang The FBYC team of Brad Davis, Blade Runner (J-105) and Rob Whittet, Wavelength (PHRF-A) beat the Hampton YC team of Richard Payne, Flying Colors (J-105) and Christian Schaumloffel, Mirage (PHRF-A) to win the Potts Trophy for 2008. The Sportsmanship Trophy was awarded to the group of volunteers who selflessly jumped into the fire and provided the Saturday night dinner and the hot breakfast buffet on Sunday.

As an old friend from down the Bay told me as he was preparing to head back to Hampton, "This weekend is exactly why I love to come here. The facilities are great, and no matter what happens, you guys take care of us and we always have a great time." I think that's a pretty good compliment.

Top series finisher are listed below:

J-105 Fleet (7 boats)

• 1 She Crab Soup Will & Cyane Crump (FBYC)
• 2 Inevitable Mike Karn (FBYC)
• 3 Loose Cannon Strother Scott (FBYC)

PHRF-A (8 boats)

• 1 Cash Flow Lloyd Griffin (HYC)
• 2 Voodoo 2 Leroi Lissenden (HYC)
• 3 Rumble Ben Weeks (HYC)

PHRF-B (8 boats)

• 1 Boomerang Jerry Latell (FBYC)
• 2 Strokin' Robert Bowles (FBYC)
• 3 La Maga Allan Heyward (FBYC)

PHRF-C (7 boats)

• 1 Cat's Pajamas Drake Johnstone (FBYC)
• 2 Kobayashi Maru Collins & Dennison (FBYC)
• 3 Schiehallion Brad Miller (FBYC)

PHRF-N (10 boats)

• 1 Last Boat III Frank Murphy FBYC)
• 2 Checko Smith & Barfield (CCV)
• 3 Turbo's Tub M. D. Riley (BBSA)

Full results are available at " Results " on the Home Page. Thank you to all of the volunteers, many of whom did much more than they had originally planned to do, who made the 14th Annual Stingray Point Regatta an outstanding event.