9224S944.com and the Nort Northam Collection participated in the Porsche Werks Reunion and the Amelia Island Cars and Coffee events in conjunction with the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on the weekend of March 6-8, 2020. This is the third year of the Werks Reunion and our third year of participation.
The trip to Amelia Island, located north of Jacksonville near the Georgia state line, is a two-and-a-half hour trip from Central Florida. Trailering two cars and driving one is normally not a big deal – unless a cold front comes through and the accompanying monsoon-like rain catches you. And it caught us with some consequence. More on that later.
We made reservations in advance through AirBnB for a duplex on the north end of the Island. Each of the apartments had a full kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a block from the beach and ample parking for our trucks and trailers. A great find, but we made our reservations many months in advance.
The Werks Reunion is on Friday, with the Cars and Coffee on Saturday morning. The Werks Reunion is organized by the Porsche Club of America. It is an event to celebrate both the Porsche marque as well as the camaraderie of being an enthusiast. You can enter your car on the “Judged Field” or in the “Corral” for a fee. The cars on either field are grouped by type. PCA notes that the judging is not a contest of who has removed dust from the deepest crevices in their Porsche but rather a judged show that rewards a Porsche that has been lovingly maintained and presents itself well on the field. Our judges do not use Porsche Parade Concours score sheets but rather rank the cars according to certain attributes discussed prior to judging.
Sparky won third place in the 924S/944/968 class. He’s a happy guy! There were unfortunately only six transaxle cars on the judged field, including our two 924S’s Moe and Sparky. A really nice 944 Turbo painted with Brumos Racing #59 colors won the class, with a clean and nicely-sorted 944 in second. A racing 944 RS and a bright yellow 968 finished out the field. We should have had more on the judged field! Start getting ready for 2021, folks!
With hundreds of Porsches in attendance, the featured car this year was the 914. One of the speakers noted that “the 914 has been bullied for years by the Porsche community, but has recently seen a surge of acceptance as a great Porsche.” Hey, what about the transaxle cars? Are we next? There were thirty-nine 914’s on the field to be judged, including a 914 “Pit Car” pickup truck conversion, some nice driver-level cars, and some obvious concours prepped restorations.
Our granddaughter participated in a Youth Judging event organized through the PCA Juniors program. The kids, aged 6-14, were given score sheets and sent out to judge a few selected cars. An award was presented to the winner. The PCA Juniors program has been created so kids can enjoy PCA events, learn about Porsches and build the enthusiasm that runs through all of the Porsche Club of America. Any child under age 18 who is registered by a current PCA member can participate in the program. (Note: This is not a PCA Membership.). Click here for more information.
After a full day on Friday and great meal in downtown Fernandina Beach, we attended the Cars and Coffee. This is an event on the Concours field that features a diverse group of vehicles that celebrate the automotive enthusiast’s spirit. Proud owners of beautiful collectible and exotic vehicles awake early, shine up their prized automobiles, drive to The Golf Club at Amelia Island and gather with like-minded enthusiasts on the first, tenth, and eighteenth fairways for a cup or two of fresh coffee. There were a variety of Porsches there along with muscle cars, exotics, and groups of marques such as Alfa, Nissan/Datsun, Corvette, and others. Check out the slide show below.
The Amelia Island Concours weekend is a lot of things, but for the Porsche Enthusiast – yes, even those of us who are excited about the transaxle cars – can have a great weekend. It is a crowded events, accommodations are difficult to get, and traffic car be a nightmare, but the Werks Reunion and the Cars and Coffee are great events. Over the past three years, there have been a lot of folks interested in our 924S’s on the field at both venues. This year we stayed very busy talking to folks about our cars with a notable increase in interest in the transaxle cars. There were many young folks who, like our granddaughter, acquired 944’s and were in the process of or had completed rescues and restorations with Mom and Dad’s help. We answered a lot of technical questions, and many were surprised to learn of the availability of parts both used and new – and that the prices were actually reasonable.
The 2021 Werks Reunion is at the beginning of March each year. Here at 924S944.com we encourage owners to enter the judged field and join us for next year’s festivities.
On a sad note, the monsoon-like rain that we encountered as we passed north of Jacksonville did claim a victim – Sparky. With lots of construction, the lanes shift back and forth from their designed paths, and a semi-truck missed that fact and hit the driver’s side mirror, folding it back. In trying to avoid any worse damage, Sparky squeezed to the right, hitting the low temporary concrete barrier with the right front wheel and the side, putting a crease down the side and knocking out the toe in the right front. With a large bandaid on the damage and still drivable, we made it to the show with a third-place ribbon and was able to drive home. We are still evaluating the damage. That night, Sparky could be heard in the driveway whimpering and crying. We’re sure that it must have hurt. More on the expected repair in a future article.
Poor sparky. That makes my heart hurts. What are the chances.