Jessie Ball Regatta puts women on the water

Posted on July 3, 2017 By Editor Articles, Neighborhood News

Six boats competed June 2 in the second of four sailing events sponsored by the Women’s Sailing Series. Hosted by Epping Forest Yacht and Country Club, the Jessie Ball Regatta included three performance boats with all-female crews and three cruisers with mixed crews.

In the spinnaker performance category, first place went to Team Quicksand, a J-24 skippered by St. Nicholas resident Jodi Weinbecker, who is sailing director at Florida Yacht Club. The team finished the 2.8 nautical mile course at 15:10:39.

First place in the cruiser category went to Team Bernoulli, skippered by Brittanie Holtz on a Pearson owned by Allen Jones, which finished with a time of 15:10:44 for the 2.09 nautical mile distance. Milky Waves, a 38-foot Beneteau owned by Victor Barbe was skippered by Neena Guidi of San Marco, and came in second with a time of 15:11:45.

“It was a beautiful day to be on the water racing sailboats with some of my favorite ladies,” said Weinbecker. “The breeze was very light at the start so the race committee postponed the start. When the wind filled in we had a gorgeous afternoon of racing on the St. Johns River.”

The first race in the series was hosted April 9 at Florida Yacht Club. The third will be sponsored by the North Florida Cruising Club on Saturday, Sept. 23 and the last will be held Saturday, Nov. 4 courtesy of The Rudder Club of Jacksonville.

By Kate A. Hallock
Resident Community News