Day 1:
After a windy Midwinters, most crews took advantage of two days off while a
few hearty souls braved the 15-18 knot easterly yesterday. Today dawned
quite different; glassy calm as we drove into Coconut Grove. By the noon
start, a light seabreeze had filled and a windward leeward course was set.
One postponement (for the first of several large windshifts) and two general
recalls later, the dreaded Z flag allowed us to start racing but caught five
teams over early. Pedro Lorson/Mimi Berry stepped out to an early lead when
they extended just far enough left to get to a nice angle. They never looked
back, but behind them was a battle for second place. George Szabo/Carol
Cronin held it for awhile, until Hal Gilreath/Ned Jones took it over on the
second run. At the finish, Szabo/Cronin managed to just oust Doug Hart/Scott
Lindley for third.
About twenty minutes after the finish, the large looming dark cloud moved in bringing rain and killing the wind. After a brief hesitation, the committee sent everyone in for what turned out to be the rest of the day. Three races are scheduled for tomorrow.
A 32 person crowd dominated La Carreta, a Cuban restaurant that happily dealt with a crowd dominated by Argentines and Uruguayans. The Spanish of all regatta participants will be much improved by Sunday.
Day 2:
3 races today in every kind of conditions. A weak front was passing over FL
playing havoc with the breeze.. in the words of one competitor, the wind was
"volatile". Szabo/Cronin had the most consistent finishes (2,3,5) but
discovered they had fallen victim to an OCS in the second race. Augie
Diaz/Pam Kelly (who missed the first race yesterday) also had a good day with
three top five finishes, but they were OCS the first race. We were met by
the traditional DonQ daiquiris at the dock after sailing, which may explain
the lack of remembered results. The Argentine Ocariz brothers are currently
in first, with Doug Hart/Scott Lindley one point back and several other teams
not far behind. With one race to go and big breeze predicted, nothing is
over yet.
Day 3:
The front that had teased us all weekend wasn't done yet. After a serious
rain squall the fleet was sent out, only to be sent back to the harbor by the
RC, who was registering 25 knots at the masthead. After a brief postponement
further attempts at racing were abandoned, and yesterday's results stood as
final. Now on to the Bahamas where George takes over the reporting and the
annual Quest for the Zimmerman.
Annaul Pine Cone Award:
The Pine Cone Trophy is awarded to the Don Q Snipe sailor showing remarkable "come back" efforts. The 2000 Pine Cone winner is Alex Stout (with the lovely Liz Filter as crew). Alex and Liz managed to be on the course side in the first three races of the 2000 Don Q. Also, on the race he sailed properly, he had to do a 720 at the finish. Nevertheless, Alex and Liz never lost the spirit and thoroughly enjoyed the kidding by fellow Snipers and were ready to sail the final race.
| Pos | SailNo | Bow# | Helmsman | Crew | City | St | Country | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | TotPts | Pos |
| 1 | 28647 | 31 | Javier Ocariz | Nicolas Ocariz | Rosario | Argentina | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 1 | |
| 2 | 29314 | 37 | Doug Hart | Scott Lindley | San Diego | CA | USA | 4 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 2 |
| 3 | 29324 | 43 | Hal Gilreath | Ned Jones | Fairfax | VA | USA | 2 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 23 | 3 |
| 4 | 29630 | 55 | Birger Jansen | Liv Ulveie | Norway | 15 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 28826 | 47 | Roberto Fabini | Diego Stefani | Montevideo | Uruguay | 19 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 41 | 5 | |
| 6 | 24776 | 62 | Kevin Downey | Cristi Stroud | Coral Gables | FL | USA | 10 | 6 | 18 | 15 | 49 | 6 |
| 7 | 29442 | 59 | Carr Moody | Rich Jarchow | Ft Lauderdale | FL | USA | 17 | 8 | 26 | 0.75 | 51.75 | 7 |
| 8 | 29672 | 68 | George Szabo | Carol Cronin | San Diego | CA | USA | 3 | 3 | 44OCS | 4 | 54 | 8 |
| 9 | 28702 | 34 | Henry Filter | Lorie Stout | Stevensville | MD | USA | 8 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 58 | 9 |
| 10 | 28814 | 15 | Old Man Diaz | Greg Saldana | Miami | FL | USA | 9 | 13 | 8 | 32 | 62 | 10 |
| 11 | 27363 | 53 | Ernesto Rodriguez | Daniel Weberndorser | Miami Lakes | FL | USA | 16 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 63 | 11 |
| 12 | 29699 | 39 | Andrew Pimental | Monique Gaylor | Newport | RI | USA | 42OCS | 0.75 | 4 | 18 | 64.75 | 12 |
| 13 | 29592 | 46 | Paul Cronin | Emily French | Jamestown | RI | USA | 14 | 5 | 17 | 29 | 65 | 13 |
| 14T | 28812 | 14 | Gonzo Diaz | Pavel Naranjo | San Diego | CA | USA | 5 | 14 | 33 | 14 | 66 | 14T |
| 15T | 28369 | 57 | George Walker | Teresa O'Dea | Miami | FL | USA | 21 | 9 | 14 | 22 | 66 | 15T |
| 16 | 24702 | 36 | Jerry Thompson | Alen Capellin | Long Beach | CA | USA | 13 | 18 | 22 | 16 | 69 | 16 |
| 17 | 29730 | 44 | Matias Arrambide | Carlos Wybert | Cordoba | Argentina | 26 | 16 | 5 | 23 | 70 | 17 | |
| 18 | 28672 | 29 | Jim Richter | Watt Duffy | Fishers | IN | USA | 42OCS | 11 | 12 | 11 | 76 | 18 |
| 19 | 29373 | 51 | Matt Bryant | Ann Rogers | St Petersburg | FL | USA | 20 | 22 | 13 | 21 | 76 | 19 |
| 20T | 27141 | 26 | Thierry Den Hartigh | Greet Jansen | Antwerp | Belgium | 24 | 17 | 29 | 13 | 83 | 20T | |
| 21T | 29204 | 48 | Lee Griffith | Lisa Griffith | Yardley | PA | USA | 12 | 27 | 19 | 25 | 83 | 21T |
| 22 | 29671 | 35 | Tarasa Davis | Marcelo Fernandez | Atlanta | GA | USA | 23 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 84 | 22 |
| 23 | 28044 | 23 | Pedro Lorson | Mimi Berry | Port Washington | NY | USA | 0.75 | 42OCS | 7 | 35 | 84.75 | 23 |
| 24 | 29317 | 58 | Ian Brown | Devon Frost | Canada | 7 | 42OCS | 10 | 26 | 85 | 24 | ||
| 25 | 28810 | 19 | Augie Diaz | Pam Kelly | Miami | FL | USA | 40DNC | 42OCS | 0.75 | 3 | 85.75 | 25 |
| 26 | 28466 | 63 | Robin Baker | Janet Plitt | Palm Beach | FL | USA | 22 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 94 | 26 |
| 27 | 29114 | 52 | Peter Commette | Morgan Commette | Ft Lauderdale | FL | USA | 11 | 42OCS | 44OCS | 6 | 103 | 27 |
| 28 | 29511 | 61 | Bergie Montarroyos | Beto Montarroyos | Miami Lakes | FL | USA | 18 | 26 | 27 | 33 | 104 | 28 |
| 29 | 29014 | 24 | Donald Hackbarth | Yuki Yanaga | Atlanta | FL | USA | 42OCS | 24 | 31 | 10 | 107 | 29 |
| 30 | 25659 | 56 | Ray Schmit | Betty Williams | Ashland | MA | USA | 42OCS | 19 | 21 | 28 | 110 | 30 |
| 31 | 29632 | 2 | Jorn Haga | Marianne Haga | Norway | 25 | 40DNC | 30 | 17 | 112 | 31 | ||
| 32 | 29626 | 45 | John Papadopoulos | Stephanie Faillers | Newport | CA | USA | 38RET | 23 | 25 | 30 | 116 | 32 |
| 33 | 28678 | 38 | Jerry Blouin | Kelley Blouin | St Louis | MS | USA | 28 | 42OCS | 24 | 27 | 121 | 33 |
| 34 | 26486 | 54 | David Crawford | Jay Chen | Miami | FL | USA | 29 | 28 | 32 | 34 | 123 | 34 |
| 35 | 23623 | 41 | Robert Ramirez | Ian Anderson | Coconut Grove | FL | USA | 32 | 30 | 35 | 31 | 128 | 35 |
| 36 | 28628 | 42 | John Hill | Chris Hurst | Atlanta | GA | USA | 30 | 29 | 34 | 38 | 131 | 36 |
| 37 | 23391 | 49 | Fernando De Cardenas | Ana C. Gonzalez | Miami | FL | USA | 40DNC | 40DNC | 28 | 40 | 148 | 37 |
| 38 | 28791 | 22 | Jim Janda | Alex Guerrero | Marathon | FL | USA | 27 | 42OCS | 44OCS | 36 | 149 | 38 |
| 39 | 29773 | 27 | Halvor Poulsson | Edel Rager | Norway | 31 | 42OCS | 40DNF | 37 | 150 | 39 | ||
| 40 | 29682 | 33 | Alex Stout | Liz Filter | Annapolia | MD | USA | 42OCS | 42OCS | 44OCS | 39 | 167 | 40 |