News & Views for Southern Sailors - Southwinds Magazine

The Useppa Yacht Club has no members, no dues, and no regulations.It is a spirit of catboat sailing that has grown among the residents.Ladies’ tug of war at the Useppa Sailor BeachOlympics was one of the main events on Saturday.2012 Useppa IslandCatboat Rendezvous,Charlotte Harbor, Feb. 23-25By Gretchen F. CoyleNorth versus South. East versus Midwest and West.Florida Chamber of Commerce weather with plentyof wind adding to the excitement. One hundredtwenty-five people on 80-acre Useppa Island in southwestFlorida. Excellent racing, good friendships, lots of food anddrink. Even the Useppa Olympics.Everyone was a winner at the biennial Useppa IslandCatboat Rendezvous held on a real island where the onlyforms of transportation are golf carts, bikes and feet. It ishard to imagine what humanity, from the Paleo people andCalusa Indians to Spanish and Cuban fishermen, not tomention Barron Collier’s friends and family to trainees ofthe Bay of Pigs Invasion, would have thought of a large catboatregatta being hosted by the Useppa Yacht Club. Theyprobably would have cheered the sailors on.The Useppa Yacht Club has no members, no dues, andno regulations. It is a spirit of catboat sailing that has grownamong the residents. Twenty-two 15-foot MarshallSandpipers bob contentedly on moorings around the island.Sailors are out in their boats almost every day. What wasonce a rare sight is now commonplace as sailing takes firstplace among island pastimes.People come to the Useppa Island Rendezvous for fivedays or a week. Most combine midwinter vacations withgood sailing. PRO Bob Stevens never disappoints anyonewith his skill at getting perfect starting lines, announcing amandatory reef when the wind is over 15, and getting in asmany races as time and physical stamina permit.Taking place the last weekend in February, a Useppasunset cocktail party kicked off the fun. Thursday morningthere was a mandatory skippers’ meeting, followed by a 10-minute warm-up and stretching by trainer KarenBruggerman. Three races took place, then lunch on thebeach, and then more races.Friday was another day of perfect sailing. Karen loosenedeveryone up again. A heavier wind saw all Sandpipersreefed, then allowed to de-reef later in the day when thewind calmed a bit. Friday night there was a pig roast at theTarpon Bar. Lunch on the beach became a daily favorite.Saturday the Useppa Sailor Beach Olympics took place.The brainchild of former Kansas City advertising executiveCraig Ligibel, they included events like a pump and bucketrace, a rum/coke spoon three-legged race, and a tug of war.Gretchen and Henry Vare of Beach Haven, NJ, won the knottying while Kristin and Geoff Marshall of South Dartmouth,MA, won the nautical directions blindfold race. The tug ofwar was the main attraction with Team New Jersey winningover the Southerners in the men’s race while Team Useppaladies won. All this was decided after the long line brokeand another was jury-rigged.42 May 2012 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com