WindCheck Magazine The Corinthians Annual Frostbite Regatta for the Ed Colie Memorial Trophy

By Ted Corning

On Saturday, April 6, The Corinthians held their annual Frostbite Regatta at the Mystic Seaport Museum’s Sailing Center in Mystic, CT. This one-day regatta, raced in the Seaport’s fleet of 9’ Dyer Dhows, was revived in 1993. The impressive trophy includes a scale model of the Mystic Fleet founding member Ed Colie’s dinghy “Puddy” mounted on a large curved mahogany base. The trophy was presented to The Corinthians by Fran Colie in 1995 and is awarded annually to the regatta winner.

This year’s event saw a record turnout of both racers and spectators. A strong turnout from the Chesapeake and Long Island Sound Fleets resulted in nearly fifty registered racers and spectators. Brunch was served prior to racing while competitors signed in, drew for boats, geared up and connected with one another. Early morning puffs near 40mph put a bit of doubt in people’s minds and were cause for some concern if the racing would be conducted safely and/or put the Seaport’s equipment at risk. Luckily, things began to settle down so after some welcoming remarks by Regatta Chair Ted Corning and a skipper’s meeting conducted by PRO Lee Reichart, racers hit the water with some trepidation.

The shifty northerly breeze, still packing puffs of 20+mph, proved a bit dicey for some, many of whom had never before sailed these sorts of boats, or only do so once a year. Some of the twenty-four racers conceded to the challenging conditions, some reefed sails and some capsized, only to be swiftly pulled from the water and returned to shore by the very capable Seaport staff, headed by Sailing Center Director Matt Forte.

Sporty conditions greeted sailors in this year’s Corinthian Frostbite Regatta. © Henry Atterbury

Once racing commenced, the remaining 13-boat fleet enjoyed some terrific competition. The Race Committee set square lines and was able to complete six races over a windward-leeward course. At one point the call was made to return to shore briefly to assess the situation. The sailors and committee quickly agreed more racing was in order.

In true Corinthian fashion, and despite very close boat-on-boat action, not a single protest was lodged. Some suspect this might be partially due to the event’s unique rule for filing protests, which states in part, “any protests must be filed in writing within five seconds of finishing a race and be accompanied by a $1,000 non-refundable donation to the Mystic Seaport Museum Community Sailing Program. The skipper of the protesting yacht will also be restricted to only bread and water during the awards party.”

First overall with only 8 points was returning champion Will Beery. Second place was Ian Ray with 17 points, and Todd Williams took third with 19. The winner of the Top Women Finisher Award, in 6th place, was Katie Morgan.

Will Beery (#53) and Todd Williams (13) battling it out at a leeward mark © Henry Atterbury

Special thanks go out to Mystic Seaport Museum for its many years of partnering with The Corinthians to host their Frostbite Regatta. Matt Forte and his staff were terrific with their enthusiastic support and hard work preparing for and executing the event. Thanks also to Lee Reichart and Frank Murphy for running the races and Jay Kiszkiel helping with sign-ins and boat draws. More thanks go out to Sandy Corning for organizing the brunch and to Dan Van Winkle, with his team of Laura Seehaus and Pam Gibbs, for organizing and hosting the awards/after party at his beautiful home on Masons Island.

The Corinthians is a non-commercial membership association of amateur yachtsmen and women. Its primary objectives are to promote sailing, encourage good fellowship among people afloat and ashore, and connect non-boat-owning amateur sailors and boat owners requiring crew. The organization is concerned with both beginner and expert sailors, and those in-between. To learn more and join the fun, log onto thecorinthians.org. ■