Welcome to the Regatta Promotions Sailing Marketing Blog

A long time Casco Bay racing scene fixture passed away last week.  See the Obituary below.  George sailed a memerable J24 named Trick or Treat. Often with a black cat or other holloween type image on the spinnaker, you could see george leading the very competitive and large local J24 Fleet 43.  The season trophy for best performance of a Fleet 43 boat is named for George as his legend of competing lives on.

Recently I was going through some race results from Portland Yacht Club in Falmouth, Maine and noticed that George at the young age of 80 won the PYC Lightship race.  The race is a twenty plus mile all day race from Clapboard Island to the location of the lightship buoy and back.   Often the race produces a wonderful long windward beat and a long and fun downwind sled ride.

George Tonini PORTLAND — George Tonini born in Trieste, Italy, Dec. 20, 1922, passed away Feb. 19, 2009. George was a Merchant Marine and trained on the Italian navy ship Amerigo Vespucci. During WWII he was an Ensign and while cooperating with the U.S., he served in The Royal Italian Navy as navigator on the Italian submarine Goffredo Mameli.

He was stationed in many different places, but the most interesting was Great Diamond Island in Casco Bay. He also worked as a dispatcher and translator at the American Motor Pool for the Allied Military Government in Trieste, Italy.

He settled in Maine, married and worked the rest of his life as a Chef and Caterer in several different capacities. (If you were one of the lucky ones you would have tasted his food). He was a member of the Portland yacht Club since 1964, he taught many people how to sail, and was an avid J/24 racer until the ripe age of eighty.

There was so much more to his life then we can put into words. He loved life, the ocean, sailing, dancing, cooking, playing poker, fishing, the Caribbean, and most of all, his wife Dorothy of 50 years. He was loving, vibrant, flirty, energetic and cute. We will miss him dearly.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Tonini of Cumberland; daughter Juliana Tonini of Windham, son Daniel Tonini of Portland; along with his granddaughter, Aria Tonini of Alfred; daughters Adele Harnois of Portland and Linda Beck of Gorham, sons Eric Tonini of Ft. Myers, Fla., and Giorgio Tonini of Trieste, Italy. He has five grand children.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009, at the memorial Chapel of Independent Death Care, 471 Deering Ave., Portland.

Memories may be shared, condolences expressed and a guest book signed at the obituary page at www.independentdeathcare.com

Donations may be made to: American Stroke Association 51 U.S. Route 1 Scarborough, Maine 04074 or Animal Refuge League 449 Stroudwater St. Westbrook, Maine 04092 George Tonini

Here is the reaction from the law makers in Maine after the wonderful response from our loyal readers and fellow sail boat racers. I guess the state does have better things to do than to police our pfd wearing.

Hello, and thanks for writing –

LD 164 has been withdrawn and will not be proposed this session. The bill was not drafted the way I and the other sponsors wanted – we were concerned primarily with the 15 deaths suffered last season, mostly due to lack of PFDs being used on canoes and kayaks -

In any event, the bill will not proceed further – thanks again for writing, and please do so anytime.

Thom Watson

Rep. House District 62 (Bath)

trwatson@street-law.com

The state web site hasn’t been updated as of yet but I am told it will be updated soon. Things sometimes move a bit slow up there in Augusta.

Please be aware there is currently a bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Watson for everyone on a boat in water to wear a coastguard approved life jacket.
I am strongly against this type of legislation for the following reasons:

1.    I don’t believe in government legislating our lives!
2.    I don’t believe this law can be enforced.
3.    These life jackets can be uncomfortable and on a clear, calm day they just aren’t necessary.
4.    I believe its everyone’s personal responsibility to determine whether they should or should not wear a life jacket.
5.    The exceptions in this law are much more dangerous than some other types of boating.  For example you won’t have to wear a lifejacket when going to your mooring in a small zodiac  or while in a canoe owned by a children’s summer camp?!
6.    What are the legal effects of this law on the regatta events and boat owners if a person is found not wearing a life jacket? (can’t control everyone’s actions all the time)
7.    The requirement to wear a life jacket will be another barrier to our sport as it will increase costs and possibly turn people away.
8.    Our sport sailing on the ocean has resulted in very few injuries or deaths from accidents involving people not wearing a life jacket.
9.    Many more people who aren’t familiar with the boating on lakes are impacted each year, usually due to the sea worthiness of the boat and the knowledge of the operator.  Not the use or lack of use of a life jacket.
10.    With the economy the way it is right now is this what we want our legislators focused on?  Don’t they have some better things to do like finding a way to attract more business, tourism, etc….

There are probably plenty more reasons to be against this legislation.

If you agree with my thoughts or oppose this legislation please contact Rep. Tom Watson and your local Maine Rep. to communicate your dissent.

To keep up to date on the status click this link here.

To read the proposed legislation click this link here.