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RACINGGail Heausler of Davis Island won the Sunfish class.Tove Kullman (St. Petersburg) won the Pram class, andNancy Kadou (St. Petersburg) won in Optimists.First-place winners in the Masters class (ages 60 yearsplus) were: Tove Kullman in Prams; Ann Carroll (Venice) inthe Optimist; and Ursula Olson (Sarasota) in the Sunfish.Race ReportsThird Time the Charm for 2012Rainbow Regatta, Sarasota, FL,April 16By Lynn PaulInternational Contender WorldChampionship, St. Petersburg, FL,April 24-28By Dave EllisSailing in the Contender World Championship in St. Petersburg,FL. Photo by Dave Ellis.Sunfish racing in the FWSA Rainbow Regatta in Sarasota, FL, onApril 16. Photo by Chuck Comstock.The annual Florida Women’s Sailing Association RainbowRegatta was held at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron on April16. Sarasota and Venice hosted the event. This year, 85 boatsraced in the Clearwater Pram, International OptimistDinghy and Sunfish classes.Two years ago there was no wind in Tampa, and theregatta was called “the floater.” And last year, there was toomuch wind in St. Petersburg, and it was dubbed “the flipper.”This year was far better—with clear skies, stiff winds,rolling waves and swift boats. Racers sailed a modifiedOlympic course for the Prams and a windward/leewardcourse for the Sunfish. Miriam Stavely of Venice, FL, saidthe course was challenging, but not terrifying like 2011.Racing were sailors from the Luffing Lassies, DinghyDames, Mainsheet Mamas, Windlasses, Broad Reachers,Bitter Ends and Salty Sisters. The clubs representedspanned from Dunedin/Clearwater south to Sarasota/Venice along the Gulf Coast. T-shirts with the RinglingBridge, Sunfish and Pram on the back were a hit. The frontlogo, created by Nancy Marik, was duplicated by Tervis ofNokomis, FL. The company donated their 24-ounce, liddedtumblers in a rainbow of colors. The event chair,Nanette Reus, said that perfect wind and weather onSarasota Bay made it a flying success.The Worlds of this 16-foot performance dinghy was held offthe Gulf Beach waterfront of the Tradewinds BeachResort on St. Pete Beach. It was a challenge for host St.Petersburg Yacht Club, as all the race committee boatshad to steam some distance to the race venue. The competitors,sailing alone on the boat with a trapeze, had tolaunch through the surf.All went well, however, for a fine event having variedwind and seas conditions for nine races befitting a worldclass event.The 44 registered boats enjoyed very close competition.Some sailors liked lighter air, while others reveled in thewindy conditions. There were both. St. Petersburg sailorEthan Bixby, the owner of the North Sails Gulf Coast loft,was the highest placing North American in fifth place overall.He won two of the light air races. Sailors from Italy werefirst and second, Denmark third and Germany fourth. Othercompetitors came from Canada, Great Britain, TheNetherlands and Australia. For complete results, go towww.spyc.org.Cream Rises to Topat Sarasota Bay Cup, May 12By Morgan StinemetzThe Sarasota Bay Cup, a Bird Key Yacht Club very specialevent with challenging sailing and absolutely sparklingshoreside activities, drew 59 sailboats this year. The race50 June 2012 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com