
DATE: Sunday, July 20, 1997                 TAG: 9707200108

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MATTHEW DOLAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: AROUND PORTSMOUTH                 LENGTH:  106 lines

SAILING WINDS JUST KNOT HAPPENING STILL, RACERS MAKE A DAY OF IT IN PORTSMOUTH FOR THE 10TH ANNUAL COCK ISLAND SAIL EVENT.

0.3 Knots: The sailboat Mischief, a 30-foot sloop captained by A. James Fillion, creeps to the starting buoy Saturday morning, 45 minutes late to begin the Cock Island Race.

But Fillion was not alone. Many of the other 282 clogged sailboats struggled to find a sympathetic breeze for their limping sails off Portside at this 10th annual nautical race along the Elizabeth River.

``Where's the wind?'' Fillion pleaded. ``This has shades of the '95 race.''

A neighboring vessel, Genesis, from Alexandria, hadn't started either and Patience, from Hampton, was, well, waiting patiently.

No matter. For some, this weekend sail-about is more about a little landlocked inebriation than sailing competition. It's the kind of weekend that boats named Laid-Back raft up next to Siesta, and Budweiser foams in every cup.

Cock Island also promotes the city's waterfront, with up to 300 boats and thousands of sailors coming ashore at one of the East Coast's largest sailing races.

Some at Cock Island tack expertly into the wind and stake a claim for the day's brass trophy while others are just glad to cross that line by the race's close at 4 p.m.

When asked Friday night, James C. Hawks, the co-chairman of the Cock Island Race and former Portsmouth councilman, pulled up close with a knowing grin:

``Everybody, I mean everybody, wants to win. Don't let them kid you.''

Fillion agreed, even as he coordinated his jib and main sail to reach an elusive starting line.

1.6 knots: ``Yea, we made it. Way to go, Jim!''

That's Michelle Davis congratulating Fillion, also known as Portsmouth's commissioner of the revenue for the past quarter-century.

Davis, her boyfriend, her mother Anne and Fillion's son Jeff all pulled lines, cranked winches and watched for oncoming ships to get Mischief beyond the starting line around 10:45 a.m..

Cock Island racers are put into separate classes and are handicapped to make the event competitive. Still most of Mischief's rivals in a cruiser class were ahead.

``Skirt that jib inside the rail,'' Capt. Fillion called to his son Jeff about the ballooning front sail.

Soon Mischief's speed dipped again. ``I'm not worried,'' Michelle said. ``I feel a decent wind coming. I just know it.''

3.7 knots: Mischief's five-member crew believe that a pair of dolphins on its starboard side signaled good things ahead.

Under an 11:30 a.m. hazy sun, Anne Davis, the owner of a ship engine repair business in Portsmouth, thanked the wind for their new-found speed.

But James was already thinking about his race next week.

``Nothing like today. I'm going on a boat with a spinnaker, he said, describing how he will command the balloon-like racing sails. ``I'll be rail meat by the time I'm done. Black and blue all over.''

4.2 knots: Lunchtime at noon and the mood lifted. A boat, which cut off and then sent Mischief into a 360-degree turn, has eaten Mischief's wake.

``We stopped, did a donut in the race track and we're still beating them,'' Michelle's boyfriend exclaimed.

At 12:45, the Mischief crew saw the leader, a returning boat from the halfway mark off Craney Island. And the Mischief was only half way to the marker.

``I think we're going to get a little puff of wind here,'' Jeff said.

0.1 knots: Traveling at this speed make the 12-nautical-mile course feel like 1 million. And it happened right at the halfway marker at 2:58 p.m.: the wind just died. Boat congestion here could put a major tie-up at Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to shame.

``Well, at this rate, we'll never make it by 4,'' Jeff said. ``And the party . . . ''

His father, as tanned as he is gung-ho, wanted to keep its sails hoisted until 4.

He doesn't need to say that the alternative is to give up and ignite the boat's dreaded motor.

5 knots: No, Mischief didn't catch a piece of Hurricane Danny. It was on motor power as it glided by the Norfolk International Terminal at 3:40 p.m. But almost everyone has grabbed a Coors and a smile. Earlier, Jeff and Michelle's boyfriend dove left off the portside for a cool-down swim.

Sailing, the elder Fillion explained, means some days are good, like their 12th place finish in 1995. And other days, like Saturday's scorcher, are more forgettable.

``Y'all run out of beer?'' asked a woman atop a still-sailing boat with its nautical flags ablaze.''

No, the captain replied as the clock struck 4, ``we just ran out of time.'' ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER photos

Boaters - some from Hampton Roads, but others from up and down the

East Coast - had a tough time catching a breeze as they tried to get

started during the Cock Island Race on Saturday in Portsmouth.

Besides waiting for a favorable breeze, sailboats heading down the

Elizabeth River had to contend with tug boats, barges and speedboats

that were sharing the water. More than 280 boats started the race

at Portside, but some had to use their motors to finish the race by

4 p.m.

Just before the start of the race, some of the boats were running

close together on the Elizabeth River.