The southern Bay has been blessed with a kind winter and, so far, an early Spring.  While you are out there practicing for the coming season remember to  DO A MAN OVERBOARD DRILL or two... or three!  And, do it with the spinnaker up!

THIS COMING SUNDAY IS APRIL FOOLS DAY!   Southern Bay J24 Fleet 71 has their first 2012 regatta on  . . . Sunday, April 1.  Connect the dots!!   Kudos to the J24 racers for gettin' out there early!     [ Event hosted by Hampton YC; info and to enter contact Alan Bomar 757-810-4518 or Lin McCarthy 757-850-4225]

**March 27, 2012 - THIS TUESDAY EVENING!  CCV Annual Racing Guide Distribution  and Racing Clinic - (OPEN TO ALL) - no charge - The Racing Guide is included in a CCV membership.  Purchase a membership at the clinic, if you have not already.  Well known rules guru and southern Bay expatriate Rob Overton will discuss RULE 18, MARK-ROOM.   The gathering will be upstairs at Hampton Yacht Club.  CCV Guides will be handed out beginning at 6:30pm, and the program will begin at 7:00pm.  Reservations are not required.  For info contact Bob Thomas at 757-898-9407.   NOTE: 2012 Racing  Guides will also be available for pick-up at the HYC office after March 28th. 

**March 31, 2012 - THIS COMING SATURDAY ! SPINSHEET MAGAZINE SAILBOAT CREW LISTING PARTY (SOUTH)  and SOCK BURNING   4-6 pm  at  Marker 20 in downtown Hampton (one block off the waterfront) 21 East Queens Way, Hampton, VA 23669-4060   There is NO CHARGE for admission.  The keg for the party is compliments of  Jim Miller and Doyle Sails. For info and details contact Dave Taylor (757) 344-5292.   Come nob some hobs, line up a ride or crew, and offer your socks to the racing gods.  It is time to go racing!    AND . . Hampton Public Piers is running a special on the weekend of the 31st for sock burners, offering rates at just 75 cents a foot plus electric per night - cometh by land or, better yet, cometh by sea!!!  Call Kate at 757-727-1276 anytime or go to  www.hamptonpublicpiers.com.

Racing Boat "Spring Dance":   Martin (aka Bubba) Casey will be racing the Olson 30 (aka Incentive+ and previously Namesake), most recently owned by Louie and Barb Lewis.  The Lewis's will be racing a "new to them" O'Day 34, Incentive III, in the PHRF NS fleet . . . for now.  Martin Casey previously raced his Catalina 27, Bow Movement ,  very successfully in the southern Bay PHRF C fleet.  The Lewis's, at one point, raced an O'Day 27, Incentive, also in the PHRF C fleet.  The symmetry here becomes obvious, if you get out your old Algebra II textbook and take a week of salsa dance lessons. 

Collegiate Sailing:  Aaron Szambecki Team Race, hosted by ODU this past weekend,  was sailed in two days of threatening, wet, foggy weather.  Old Dominion went 3-1 and was in second place after the weather-shortened first round on Saturday.  But,  the strong field caught up to them on Sunday. College of Charleston won the event going 11-3 on the weekend followed by 2.Hobart & William Smith (10-4), 3.St. Mary’s College (9-5), 4.Roger Williams (8-6), 5.Georgetown (7-7), 6.Old Dominion (6-8), 7.Navy (3-11) and 8.Stanford (2-12).

Media Watch:  Featured on a two page spread of the April issue of  Sailing World magazine is Bruce Gardner's, Beneteau 10M, L'Outrage.  L'Outrage and crew trounced their fleet at Key West Race Week this past January, and received well earned attention from Sailing World (pages 42 - 42) in words and full color.  While most of Bruce Gardner's crew hails from elsewhere, the tactician on board for the championship effort was from the southern Bay; he is sailor and sailmaker, Ken Saylor.  KUDOS TO ALL.

Nuts & Bolts Race Committee Seminar:  Forty-six (46) race committee volunteers spent 4 hours in the seminar Saturday digesting and perfecting the knowledge and skill necessary to conduct races, emphasizing starting and finishing aspects, in their areas of the southern Bay.  Participants attended from Rappahannock River Yacht Club, Yankee Point Racing and Cruising Club, Broad Bay Sailing Association, Norfolk Yacht and Country Club, Seaford Yacht Club, Portsmouth Boat Club, Norfolk Naval Sailing Association, Fishing Bay Yacht Club, Langley Yacht Club, the Sea Scouts, and hosts Hampton Yacht Club and Cruising Club of Virginia.  Gettin' ready for racing!

SOUTHERN BAY RACE WEEK UPDATE:  The 2012 fleet continues to gather, adding 6 more Early Bird entries, all earning $$$ discounts and free regatta drink tickets, during the past few days:  SBRW faithful Bad Habit (Pearson Flyer), Bob Archer (Norfolk) is in and will again be sailing in the PHRF B fleet; Frank Murphy, also from Norfolk, has entered his Morgan 24, Last Boat III,  in the SBRW Cruising Fleet, partaking of the special-for-cruisers 2 day package; Richard Basye brings his O'Day 28, Miss B Haven, to the PHRF Non-Spin fleet and is the second Norfolk Naval Sailing Association entry (along with Tim Dull); two more J24s have joined the fray, Alan Bomar's roundabout, and Christian Johnson's, Blue Bus, are full in; and, from just this side [east] of Charlottesville in Troy, comes William McClure to race his San Juan 21, Thistledowne, in the PHRF C fleet.     For info, entry form, list of entries to date, and regatta details, please click here  www.blacksealcup.com  or call (757) 850-4225   Y'all come racing! 

Also, of interest this week:

March 28, 2012 (Wednesday) - Old Coast Guard Station support dinner at Waterman's Restaurant, Virginia Beach.   A portion of the proceeds will be donated toward helping  support the OCGS and preserve the history of Virginia's coastal communities and maritime heritage!    4pm - 10pm  at Waterman's Surfside Grille at 5th Street & Atlantic Avenue, Va. Beach -Reservations suggested -  757-428-3644. 

For info on the OCGS, please contact  Kathryn Fisher, Executive Director, (757) 422-1587 or  director@oldcoastguardstation.com

HOT LINKS  -  Entry information and/or event details 

    SPINSHEET MAGAZINE CREW LISTING SERVICE - http://www.spinsheet.com/spinsheet-crew-listing-directory

    63rd DOWN THE BAY RACE for the VIRGINIA CRUISING CUP  www.hamptonyc.com  click on DTB logo

    2012 SOUTHERN BAY RACE WEEK for the BLACK SEAL CUP  www.blacksealcup.com 

MURPHY'S LAW:   Yrs Truly, the Racing Beagle, has noticed a special aroma characteristic of Spring.  Some say it is the smell of freshly turned earth.  However, the Murphster says it is  the smell of newly uncovered racers'  toes tinged with the smoke of burning socks.  Trust me on this, I am a racing beagle, after all - the beagle nose knows!   /S/  Murphy the Racing Beagle, the sailing spirit in us all.

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SOUTHERN BAY RACING NEWS YOU CAN USE,  Lin McCarthy, Editor