Hobe Sound Radio Sailing Hosted the Travelers Trophy DF-95 Ranking Regatta on May 10 and 11, 2025.
24 sailors participated in a one fleet event. Winds were fresh bordering on A and B rigs from South East to South- South East which provided fantastic sailing from the western shoreline of the lake. Half speed tacks and pinching at the top mark turned into going into irons and giving up places. Sixteen races were completed on Saturday with the top 5 coming in as:
1. Landeau, 43 pts.,
2. Bremer 49.5 pts.,
3. Gonsolves 52,pts,
4. Taylor, 68 pts. and
5. Bentz 79.5 pts.
A group went out to dinner at Harry and the Natives and had a great time. The food was great.
The forecast delivered the same conditions on Sunday, but with a bit more breeze than Saturday. Winds ranged from 8 knots to 18 knots with white caps and a nice chop. 31 races were sailed for this regatta. Scores remained close and leads changed on the beats, BUT Tony Gonsolves romped all day with very consistent sailing and 9 first place finishes out of 15 races and his highest scores were 3 thirds the remaining were all seconds- WOW. Baron Bremer also sailed extremely well to capture second. Mr. Steve Landeau finished third after acknowledging a few fouls and doing his turns without being protested. Thanks Steve for setting the example! Chuck Millican also sailed extremely well and moved from 7th on day one to a podium finish of fourth! John Taylor held on to 5th place, sailing well even though he was struggling to stay cool and hydrated.
Congratulations to all who sailed and THANK YOU ALL for sailing and your assistance with the event.
Thanks to the Hobe Sound Farmers Market and Be A Man Buy Land for allowing us to sail and to Captain Crusty for help with scoring and finishes. A hug with love to Karen Luscomb for scoring and organizing and really just keeping everyone on task. 
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We hope everyone had fun and we will see you next time.
Report by
Jon Luscomb
A Competing Skippers Report:
The weekend saw a large fleet arrive at Hobe Sound, for a regatta which is the equivalent of the UK (TT Ranking Series). Two days of racing in hot temperatures of 88*F.
During Day 1, the wind would slowly increase from a mid-range breeze to the top end of A-rig. The race team decided to use a one fleet system and with 24 boats on the start line, it was important to find enough space to start the race well.
During the course of the day Steve Landeau, Baron Bremer and Tony Gonsalves started the regatta with some consistency and by the end of the day and after 17 races those skippers would occupy the top 3 places.
As for me, I also made a good start but I was suffering with the heat and would gulp down water after each race. However, I felt the boat was going well and I was pleased with my start.
On Day 2, the wind had increased with the fleet choosing to use B-rigs. Personally, I thought these conditions would favor me better using my experience from the UK. During the morning session, all seemed well but as we approached the lunch break, that gave me the opportunity to swallow much needed water.
In the afternoon, the wind would drop slightly and become more variable in direction. My performance soon became inconsistent as I was feeling like I was racing my boat in ‘syrup’. At this stage, I just wanted to finish the regatta and keep whatever place on the leaderboard. By this time, I was feeling very hot and bothered, each race more was just an invite for me to free fall down the leaderboard.
In the end, congratulations goes to Tony Gonsalves who put in a very strong second days performance to win. 2nd Place – Baron Bremer and 3rd Place – Steve Landeau. My thanks goes to Jon Luscomb and his race team for all their hard work in running this fantastic regatta.
I am very appreciative to Jon and to other skippers who kept checking on me, making sure I was drinking plenty. On reflection, I am really grateful for 5th place after a really difficult week for my boat.
Written by: John Taylor
