The Snipe Colonial Cup is this weekend and is its 45th birthday – I think based on my research. There have been all kinds of iterations of the event from purely local fleet racing to worlds qualifiers to combined regattas to socially distanced-during-a-pandemic style, but the Colonial Cup has always provided top competition in the Snipe. This 40 year old gem from the Annapolis Capital on June 9, 1980 is no different!
Sailing by Karina Paape
This weekend the Snipe Class killed two birds with one stone as they held two regattas simultaneously. The Severn Sailing Association hosted both the North Eastern Championship and the Colonial Regatta. Both events were for Snipes which are two person boats. The Colonial Regatta had already been scheduled but the Snipes still needed a place for their championship so they chose the Severn Sailing Association.
Both events had the same races but used separate scoring and awarded separate trophies. The North Eastern Championship was a three-day event, and the Colonial Regatta was two days. The North Easterns started on Friday and had 32 boats racing. These boats were automatically entered in the Colonial Regatta which started on Saturday and had a total of 41 boats participating. Greg and Patty Fisher of Columbus, Ohio won both events.
A variety of sailing conditions prevailed as the weather ranged from high winds and choppy seas to light and shifty breezes. Yesterday’s race was cancelled because the wind was blowing more than 25 knots; the Snipe Class has a rule which sets 25 knots as the maximum wind strength for racing.
Saturday two races were sailed in light wind, 5-10 knots, and were slow compared to Friday’s racing. The first race on Friday was in light and shifty winds and had a lot of waves. By the middle of Friday’s second race the wind had picked up to more than 20 knots. One boat sank and several others dropped out. The boat that sank belonged to Lu Burns of Newport, Rhode Island and was brand new. According to Ike Lawton, race chairman, Burn’s boat sank as the result of a manufacturing defect that allowed water to get into the air tanks. Burns managed to participate in Saturday’s racing however.
The sailors I spoke with were very enthusiastic about the sailing conditions and thought the racing had been fun although wet at times I felt that the sailors who dropped out of Friday’s second race had exercised good common sense as their reasons ranged from not having a self-rescuing boat to not having sails suited to heavy weather sailing to not feeling comfortable in the heavy winds and choppy seas.
NORTH EASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Greg and Patti Fisher, Columbus, Ohio
2 Terry Tim, Grand Rapids, Michigan
3 Sam Mollet, Ohio
4 Griff Hall, Severn Sailing Association
5 Jonathan Bartlett, Severn Sailing Association
COLONIAL REGATTA
1 Greg and Patti Fisher, Columbus, Ohio
2 Arthur Holt, Jr and Theresa Gomeiplata, Severn Sailing Association
3 Jonathan Bartlett Severn Sailing Association
4 Sam Mollett, Ohio
5 Griff Hall, Severn Sailing Association
Regatta Report from the August 1980 Snipe Bulletin
This report shows more of the finishers.
Colonial Cup Winners over the Years
It is too much to show here, but I have full results back to 1996 in our archives and you can look at the SSA Results Archive for results back to 2003. If anyone can fill in the blanks, let us know in the comments!
2019 Carol Cronin/Kim Couranz 2018 Carol Cronin/Kim Couranz 2017 Ernesto Rodriguez/Kathleen Tocke 2016 Doug Hart/Ryan Hopps 2015 Peter Commette/Bryan Stout 2014 Ernesto Rodrigez/Eddie Mintzias 2013 Peter Commette/Julia Melton 2012 Augie Diaz/Justine O'Connor 2011 Louis Soubie/Diego Lipszyc 2010 Brian Kamilar/Enrique Quintero 2009 John Macrae/Linda Epstein 2008 Ernesto Rodrigez/Megan Place 2007 Ernesto Rodrigez/Megan Place 2006 Augie Diaz/Lisa Griffith 2005 Hal Gilreath/James Liebl 2004 Peter Commette/Sheehan Commette 2003 Henry Filter/Lisa Griffith 2002 Augie Diaz/Pam Kelly 2001 Augie Diaz/Brian Janney 2000 Andrew Pimental/Monique Gaylor 1999 Henry Filter/Lori Stout 1998 Lee Griffith/Lisa Griffith 1997 Hal Gilreath/Alex Stout 1996 Hal Gilreath/Alex Stout 1995 Jim Weber/Lisa Pline 1994 Doug Clark/Alex Stout 1993 Ed Adams/Nancy Haberland 1992 Andrew Pimental/Lexi Andrews 1991 Ed Adams/Carol Newman 1990 1989 1988 Ed Adams 1987 1986 Hal Gilreath 1985 Greg Fisher 1984 Ed Adams 1983 1982 Greg Fisher 1981 Griff Hall 1980 Greg/Patti Fisher 1979 1978 Greg Fisher 1977 1976 1975
Annapolis Snipe Fleet 532 