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J

ust as the running of the dragon is an Oriental tradition on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day finds sail boats out on the Neuse for the Instead Of Football Regatta.

Classic lines near some classic Oriental landmarks: #1 and the Oriental Bridge.(Photo credit: Richard Altans)

Twenty boats and their stalwart crews took part in the 2010 Instead of Football Regatta.

There were long boats as well as at least one dinghy. Some boats had large crews of half a dozen, while one sailor, George Sechrist, singlehanded. Also, one southbound barge became part of the action on the first leg of the race.

In keeping with the tradition, the 2010 Regatta was a casual affair. No handicapping. No ratings. No skippers’ meeting until after the race. The race took about an hour and 45 minutes after which the captains and crews headed to M&Ms Restaurant and the “skippers’ meeting” where ‘winners’ were chosen by random drawing.

The sailboats didn’t have the river entirely to themselves since barge traffic on the ICW does not take a holiday on New Year’s Day. On that first leg between Oriental 1 and Adams CReek some boats were forced to change course. (Photo credit: Richard Altans)

The luck of the draw determined that 1st place went to Jerry Dasson on Gypsy Soul, 2nd place to Jim Gray on Detour and 3rd place to Joe Valinoti and Il Gatto. The first boat to actually cross the finish line was Out of the Blue, skippered by Ed Bliss.

Here are some scenes from the 2010 Instead of Football Regatta.

Boats large and small took part. Here, a Lyle Hess designed, Montgomery 15.(Photo credit: Richard Altans)

Yellow was a popular color.(Photo credit: Richard Altans)

At the helm.(Photo credit: Richard Altans)

Close quarters for Wild Rose.(Photo credit: Richard Altans)

Crew on the SV, Southern Cross: Don and D Wogaman and Anne Siddens.(Photo credit: Richard Altans)

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Posted Wednesday January 6, 2010 by Melinda Penkava

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