The series is dedicated in memorium of Roger Dunton, an avid sailor, cruiser and racer. Although only occasionally successful in the racing arena, Roger was passionate about sailing and introduced many individuals to the sport. He started sailing with his young family in an enterprise dinghy hull number 303 on a reservoir in Bedfordshire England, soon graduating to a fireball dinghy. He was essentially self taught and voraciously studied all aspects of the sport and in particular navigation. Along with certifications in celestial navigation, he achieved the RYA Yachtmasters Certification. Never one for the conventional type sailboats he owned various interesting designs and when he moved to the coast graduated to keelboats. A skilled wood craftsman, (he never owned a fiberglass boat) he often modified his boats to provide more cruising amenities and utility. One bilge keeler he owned was a little unstable and had a propensity to tip sternwards when drying-out. He designed and built a skeg keel that also incorporated the lower end of an outboard motor effectively creating one of the first sail-drives, predating the OMC sail-drive by several years. He cruised in the Solent and the NE coast of England as well as trips across the North Sea to Holland and around the northern Scottish isles.
This trophy is to be presented annually to the cruising yacht, as defined by the Pensacola Bay Cruising Fleet charter, that wins the Sunday Season Series in the cruising division. A small silver colored plaque inscribed with the year, the name of the winning yacht and the skippers name will be added to the base each year.
Pensacola Bay Cruising Fleet 