2005 LOWCOUNTRY REGATTA
Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club
June 25-26
| Boat | Skipper | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Tot |
| 14532 | Harkrider | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 14695 | Waldkirch | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 14825 | Tyner | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 15 |
| 14318 | Sawyer | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 |
| 14932 | Pelosi | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 22 |
| 11771 | Sloger | 9dc | 9dc | 9dc | 9dc | 9dc | 45 |
| 14266 | Modzel | 9dc | 9dc | 9dc | 9dc | 9dc | 45 |
| 14355 | Wright | 9df | 9dc | 9df | 9dc | 9dc | 45 |
Seven Southeastern Lightnings rolled in to Beaufort for the annual 2005 LowCountry Regatta hosted at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club. On Friday, several teams met in town and enjoyed dinner on the Beaufort riverfront. Team Pelosi lined up a great Italian restaurant and Team Wright joined for outdoor dining and music. Bob and Sharon motored in on the motorcycle and by 10 pm all were feeling pretty good on superb food, drink, and a great live band.
Saturday morning found us all at the club setting up for racing. The winds were pretty strong and there was a lot of turbulence and rain to add to the conditions. To his wise credit, Bob Modzel decided against it, but the rest of the fleet saddled up and headed out.
It was Richard Waldkirchs day. As he reported at dinner, Richard chose to tack early off the start, takes his lumps on the current, and then power up the inland shorline. It worked to perfection and he finished the day with a 2-1-1 record and first place. Harkrider and Tyner rounded out the top three. Team Wright faced disaster at the finish line on race one as Ron confused the finish line bouy with the windward mark bouy. In trying to correct the error, 14355 got sideways in a wicked shift and went over. John Holmes and Tom Martin performed heroically on the centerboard and prevented the turtle. Alas, John pulled a muscle in the bicep and had to retire from the regatta. Bob Modzel jumped in to replace John and Ron proceeded to put on a textbook case of Murphy's law on race three using the current to hit everything on the race course but the other boats.
The party Saturday was vintage Beaufort - the best on the circuit. A cool breeze kept the bugs away and we enjoyed great food and live bluegrass on the deck.
Sunday, Bob Harkrider made his move, going 2-1 to take over first place. John Sawyer put up a bullet in race one to become the third skipper in five races to win.
It was another great weekend on the SELD circuit. Congratulations Team Harkrider.