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SCREWPILE REGATTA DRAWS 141 ENTRIES
By Henri DuChemins (special to ST. MARY'S TODAY) Last week’s Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge Regatta did something few - if any- other regattas have done this year: It grew. The event, hosted by the Southern Maryland Sailing Association of Solomons, attracted 141 entries this year. That’s up from 118 entries in 2007. The all-time Screwpile record is 174 boats in 2004. About 120 of the boats entered this year were from outside Southern Maryland, meaning about 1,200 visitors descended on the Solomons area to serve as crew, shore support, or just to watch and party with the racers “The Mount Gay people told me they were the only regatta they have dealt with this year that had bigger numbers than last year,” said event chairman L.G. Raley. Mount Gay Rum is one of the primary commercial sponsors of Screwpile, and is involved in sponsoring most of the large regattas around the country. An around-the-buoys event held in the Chesapeake off the Patuxent River, this year’s Screwpile was scheduled to be contested July 20th through 22nd. The final day’s racing was cancelled due to the arrival of a severe thunderstorm. A total of five races were held over the first two days. Boats were divided into 11 classes, based on boat type or handicap. Two of the classes were won by Solomons-based craft. In the PHRF – 4 class, Leonardtown’s Clarke McKinney captained The Riddler to a first-place trophy. He was joined on the crew by his two adult children, his son in-law and two other friends. It was a make-shift crew, as he had never sailed with that combination of people before. McKinney and his wife Mary Ann own the boat along with Dave and Jacki Meiser of Solomons, and berth it at Zahniser’s Yachting Center. The Riddler is an Olsen 29. Although there was a one-design class for the Olsen’s at Screwpile, McKinney chose to sail in a handicap class. A California, Maryland skipper won the Olsen one-design class: Brian Spicuzza of Wildewood captained Priority One to a first-place trophy, crushing his competition with four first-place finishes and one second-place. Although they didn’t win their class, Mike and Becky Ironmonger of Dameron made a strong showing in their Colgate 26, Bob. They lost PHRF – 6 by virtue of a tie-breaker to Oxford, MD-based Big Time. John Edwards, a perennial Screwpile winner on his old J-29, skippered his recently acquired Mum 30 Rhumb Punch to fourth-place in the very competitive PHRF -2 class. This was Edward’s first Screwpile with the Mum, which he purchased at the end of last summer. Charlotte Hall’s Tom Attick led Splash, a J-29 to a third-place in the 13-boat PHRF 4. Sunday featured the best wind of the three days, as three races went off on each of three different race circles in southerly breezes between nine and 14 knots. “Sunday was the best sailing I’ve ever done in this area,” said McKinney. “The winds were awesome. We had some currents to deal with, but the wind was steady. It was a lot but it wasn’t too much, and it allowed everybody to compete.” Sunday’s sailors did have to endure a three-to-four foot swell that built in the afternoon, making deck work a bit of a challenge. On Monday, a refreshing northerly came in, giving sailors conditions ranging from six to about 12 knots of breeze. Tuesday was a disappointment, weather-wise. That morning, the boats headed to the courses in nearly-dead air. While waiting for the breeze to come up, the race committee got word of a severe thunderstorm heading for the Solomons area. Officials decided to send the fleet back into the harbor to wait-out the storm. After the storm passed, the race officers decided to call it a day. “I’m glad I wasn’t the one making the decision on the weather and if we should go back out,” said McKinney. For 15 years, he was the Principal Race Officer of Screwpile before stepping down this year to race his own boat. It ultimately would have been his call if he were still the PRO. “They have a good group on the race committee, and they are a lot more tech-savvy than I am in regard to watching the weather over the internet. They made a good call.” Replacing McKinney as this year’s race committee head was Don Behrens of Lexington Park, the Southern Maryland Sailing Association commodore and an experienced race official.
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