6/25/2008

Congratulations to Julien Dougherty, Northeast fleet member, and his crew on winning the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division of the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race.

Excerpt Article by Lynn Fitzpatrick dated 6/25/08

Tiny Tenacious triumphs in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division

Stenacious, the little Beneteau First 36.7 sailed by Julian Dougherty of City Island New York, was smallest boat in the Gibbs Hill Division of traditional keelboats with professional crews and won against the likes of the R/P 90 Rambler, STP65 Moneypenny. and the new R/P 69 Bella Mente. Rambler crossed the line first on Monday afternoon and Tenacious completed her voyage down to Bermuda on Tuesday night.

Tenacious had a total elapsed time of 103:00:28 which corrected out to 56:53:20. She finished two and a half hours ahead of Thomas Carroll’s J 133 Sirensong, the second place boat in Class 10 of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. Aquarius, Sam Fleet’s Swan 601, won Class 11, the other Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. The corrected time for Aquarius was 63:04:10.

Tenacious was largely sailed by amateurs from Long Island Sound. Her crew included: Stephen Cain, Julien Dougherty, Gerard Girsti, Thomas Mikolasko, Heather Schultes and Jeffrey Tyrel. Sailmaker Adam Lorry, was the sole professional on board and the team entered the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse division to allow him to drive the boat.

For more info: Click Here

Copy of Sailing World Article
Written by Tony Bessinger:

Sue and Dave Grassley own a Beneteau 36.7 named Sho-Was-Cae-Mette, which is a name taken from the Potawatomi tribe of Native Americans who, according to Wikipedia are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire." Sho-Was-Cae-Mette means lightning on the water, according to Sue Grassley, who, along with her husband Dave, owns the boat. They are the overall winners of the 2008 Sperry Top-Sider Detroit NOOD, after taking the 12-boat Beneteau First 36.7 class with a tiebreaker with Phil O'Neil's Natalie J.

"We had our regular crew sailing with us," said Sue, "as well as Wally Cross from Quantum sails. He helped us really focus so we could make the boat do what it's meant to do." It's the Grassley's sixth season with the boat. "We were really close to winning two years ago at the Detroit NOOD," said Dave. "We were in second, but we had a collision and ended up with a DSQ, and finished fourth."

This was the Grassley's first big win with the boat, said Sue, who trims the main. "It was a difficult weekend, and we were able to make it come together. Everybody was working together as a team. Everything's got to be in place, the preparation has to be there, the sails have to be fast, and everybody's got to work together."

Sho-Was-Cae-Mette sails out of Monroe, Michigan, and both Dave and Sue love the class and the boat. "It's absolutely wonderful one-design racing in the 36.7 fleet," said Sue. "The class is really good because everybody's really competitive. All the boats are fast, and we managed to get everybody to sail together and worked really hard, especially on the last race, to beat Natalie J. by about 10 feet. We ended up tied with them for first, but won the tiebreaker."

Dave drives the boat, and he gets credit for registering the boat under Sue's name because he couldn't find his US SAILING card. "This weekend was tremendous, great conditions, and we kept the boat tuned for the conditions on every race," he said. "We were a little bit disappointed that we didn't sail more than one race yesterday afternoon, but in a way it was a good thing, because we didn't want to break anything else. We had some carnage onboard, but nothing major. We shattered a block on the headsail track and broke a couple of minor things, including the spinnaker pole downhaul, but we were able to recover very quickly; crew work is what saved us there."

Preperation was an important part of Sho-Was-Cae-Mette's win. "We spent about 100 hours prepping the bottom of the boat this spring," said Dave. "We've only had the boat in the water for about a week, we got it in just in time to make this event. The bottom has VC Offshore, and it's been wet sanded to 100 grit. You could probably use it to shave with in the morning, it has that kind of mirror-like finish. We sail with Quantum sails. Last autumn we got a Quantum spinnaker and genoa and two weeks ago we got a new main. We're very happy with the sails, but Wally was our inspiration. He kept the team focused and heading in the right direction. He was both tactician and crew boss. I was his reality check, if I didn't like it, we didn't do it, but Wally was pretty much the game."

The core group of the crew has been together for seven to eight years, according to Dave. "We've had one guy, Chris Merkle, who's sailed the last three NOODs with us, and done a lot of other one-design racing. He's been an asset on the bow and in the back of the bus. We also had Terry Freeman on board, he was also a big asset for us, he trims spinnaker. Don Kartsen has also been key player, he does jib and spinnaker trim. We also had Erica Schwab on the foredeck and Matt Broadbeck in the pit, both of whom did a great job. In the years we've owned the boat, we've really learned to blade out the boat, keep the sails flat, which lets us carry the heavy No. 1 a bit higher in the wind range. A lot of it is rig tune. We tune the rig before every race."

Sho-Was-Cae-Mette spends most of its time sailing on Lake Erie and Lake St. Claire, but Dave and Sue have been thinking about heading to Chicago this year, but they're really looking forward to racing against the other eight overall NOOD winners in the Caribbean this fall.

We asked Sue and Dave about the dynamic between the two of them during racing. "He's the captain," said Sue. "We've been sailing together for 25 years."

The Grassey's owned a Cal 33 before the 36.7. "In some ways it was a good preparation for the Beneteau," said Sue, "but in others the Beneteau is a very different boat, It has a lot more acceleration and it's a newer design. It's a great boat. We don't cruise the boat except to get to different venues, but it's very comfortable. We sail with a crew of eight, and it worked out well this weekend. There are a lot of people who are very surprised about us. We've been sailing together for 25 years, been married for 23 years. We have two cats, but we haven't been able to teach them how to trim yet."

April 30, 2008

First 36.7 North American Fleet:

The 2008 North American Championship (NAC) organizing committee has been hard at work over the winter months to prepare what we hope will be a memorable National Championship for all.

Since there were five members of the Lake Michigan Fleet who participated in the 2007 NAC in Buffalo- we were all able to experience what has gone down in the history books as the most successful First 36.7 NAC to date. We used that as the platform on which we built the offerings for 2008.

The registration website is NOW LIVE! In the early days of registration, we already have twenty entries! You will not want to wait long to register as spots are limited! The Notice of Race has been posted on the site for your information.

Our host Yacht Club for this year will be Chicago Yacht Club. A club that is rich in the tradition of organizing events of the caliber as the First 36.7 NAC. Annually, we are host to world class events such as the Chicago Race to Mackinac, the Chicago NOOD and the Verve Cup, all events that draw competitors such as you from around North America. Belmont Station will be the backdrop for our race week 'on land' events. Located just north of the downtown area in Belmont Harbor, it provides a cozy setting for our fleet and friends. The SOLD OUT -100th Running of the Race to Mackinac (July 19th) already has 28 entries (the second largest of all the OD groups). The Verve Cup (August 15-17th) has 15 boats registered so far and will be a good test ground for many of the boats competing in the NAC.

Our race officers for the NAC will be Mr. Harry Kluender serving in the capacity of Principal Race Officer. Joining us for the second year in a row will be Mr. Wayne Bretsch as Deputy Race Officer. Our two race officers are known for their standards of excellence in race management, as anyone who attended Buffalo in 2007 can attest.

We hope that you and your families take the time to peruse Chicago's many treasures. Our hospitality team has been at work preparing guides and negotiating a hotel accommodations package with the Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown/Lakefront that will serve as the Official Regatta Hotel. We've done the hard work- negotiated a good price/room for you so that you focus on the race and preparation of your boat. Information on this will be posted on the event website in the upcoming week. The hotel is close to Michigan Avenue or the 'MAG Mile' as it is known- a hotspot for tourism and dining al fresco.

The Official Boat yard of the NAC will be Crowley's Yacht Yard just south of the city. Crowley's has been helpful in preparing dry sail packages and haul-out packages for all the out-of town boats. They are a full service yard with a ship's store and full rigging department. Their service professionals will be on hand to help you in whichever your needs are during the weeks leading to the NAC. They have prepared packages for those boats thinking of coming in for the season to race One-Design as we do here on Lake Michigan. Crowley's will serve as your 'base camp' for boat arrivals and departures.

Please take the time to visit the registration website to register today. The registration website's address is: www.yachtscoring.com. We will be updating the site and putting out updates as new information becomes available so don't forget to register for Event news.

Should you have any questions in the upcoming months, please do not hesitate to reach out and ask any member of our planning committee. On behalf of the Lake Michigan Fleet, We look forward to seeing you all here in Chicago!

Yours in Sailing,

Lou Sandoval
2008 North American Championship-Chairman
Lou@first367.com

March 14-16, 2008

"Victory-At-Sea" conditions…multiple "man overboard's"...ambulances...dislocated shoulder...broken nose...round ups and round downs...reefed mains...shredded kites...exploding blocks…broken stanchions and lifelines...sinking boats with holed sumps...mast butts driven through the bilge...pervasive seasickness as exemplified by Mr. Sailing Anarchy himself...lost R/C ground tackle and drifting buoys...R/C boat injuries...describes day 2 of the 2008 San Diego NOOD regatta.

Noteworthy for a regatta with "Victory-At-Sea" conditions, the Beneteau 36.7 class took overall honors as the big boat class with the fewest DNS-DNC-DNF’s. It was only Bob Carlson’s broken stanchion and lifeline and 2 MOB’s that caused the team from Adeline to head for the dock.

The R/C boat anchored at the edge of a 130' ocean shelf. A Pacific storm combined with this ocean shelf to produce 10' seas and wind driven chop that taxed the skills of drivers and trimmers as never before. The Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan Fleets combined four owners and crew to campaign two chartered 36.7’s. But the locals had no advantage over the lake sailors in these never-before-seen conditions. Day 1 consisted of medium winds but the confused seas and huge Pacific swells made the sighting of buoys and the R/C boat a real challenge as boats seemingly got lost in King Neptune sized troughs. Day 2 conditions saw the sea state revved up ever more with gusts from 20-25kts. Day 2 conditions made day 1 conditions seem like a walk in the park. Most boats returned with as many sandwiches as they left with. Happily for the snowbirds from Chicago and NY day 3 conditions were Chamber-of-Commerce perfect, as witnessed by their exclamations of promises to return next year.

Don Finkle and Gary Tisdale returned to the SD NOOD for the 5th year in a row, having won 2 previous years’ SD NOOD regattas, this could have been their hat trick. Don Finkle describes the weekend, "Our team from Youngstown NY has been coming out to the San Diego NOOD for 5 years running and we plan to be back again next year. It is a wonderful place to visit, the SDYC people are terrific hosts, and we enjoy the other sailors in our fleet. If you haven't done this event you should try to charter a boat, or get a crew slot, for next year. You won't be sorry.

The evening before the event we had a social hour at SDYC sponsored by the local Beneteau dealer Southwestern Yachts. The wife of one of the (local) skippers told me "we don't have weather here in San Diego, we have climate". Well that might be true most of the time, but this year we had weather.

The racing was fun and challenging. Some of us had moments of brilliance but they didn't last long, the team that won the regatta convincingly was led by Chick & Alexis Pyle on Kea. They sailed an almost perfect event, clean, smart, fast and consistent. On our boat Concussion, chartered from Kevin Spainhour of Seal Beach, we had excellent boatspeed due to my co-skipper Gary Tisdale's superb tuning and fast sails, and good trimming by our crew. The whipping put on us by Kea only makes us want to come back again for another crack at them!"

Mark Norris and Sue Hogan from the Lake Michigan Fleet made their SD NOOD debut on Dan Clinger’s Venteux (x-Valhalla) from Marina Del Rey. Dan was a member of the Split Decision/As You Wish team and he took away with him a fantastic memory. Mark sums up his team’s experience, "On behalf of the entire Chicago Team, a large thank you. The San Diego Yacht Club, the Southern California Beneteau First 36.7 Fleet and the local Beneteau dealer, Southwestern Yachts, all did a fantastic job with the event and welcoming us Midwesterners. The hospitality, camaraderie and excellent racing made up for whatever the weather could toss at us. The photos are great, thanks for passing them along - see you at the North Americans in Chicago this fall and most definitely next March for the 2009 San Diego NOOD Regatta."

Lead changes were the norm for this regatta, and the string of 5 bullets scored by Kea did not represent the true story. No single boat dominated the mark roundings and most of the races were not decided until the final jibe. First-to-the-mark honors went to a lot of boats including Mike Whittemore’s Melokia and Bob Carlson’s Adeline. Mark Norris and Sue Hogan were always in the hunt but really showed their mettle on the roughest-toughest day 2 when they scored a second and a third…lake sailing will never be the same again. Steve Ernest was consistent and always on the podium but saved his best for the last race as he jetted away from Concussion and Kea for a bullet. Finishing 1-2-3 for the regatta were Pyle, Kea; Finkle/Tisdale, Concussion; Ernest, Aimant de Fille.

Download Article (PDF)

August 18, 2007

The WRSC’s annual Twilight Race held on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis attracted 6 Beneteau 36.7’s.

Only Pete Firey on Pegasus solved the puzzle that light air, big shifts and foul current presented to the tacticians. The rest, like the vast majority of the 50 entries, failed to finish within the 5 hour time limit or withdrew, although Curt Schwab on Volition got close.

August 15, 2007

It is official! A new record has been set. The current list of entries for the 2007 North American Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. has reached a record 45 boats!! This is a huge milestone in the history of this growing one-design class. Boats will be traveling from around North America to Buffalo in the upcoming two weeks to race for the title of North American Champion! The record is a testament to the hard work of the 2007 NAC committee from Buffalo Yacht Club.

This year’s NAC will take place September 6-9, 2007. With close to 250 boats built in the North America alone, the Farr Yacht Designed First 36.7 has quickly become the boat that meets the needs of the weekend racer, weekday cruiser. With fleets in many major parts of North America, one-design racing on the First 36.7 presents excitement on the water.

To view the current list of entries at this year’s NAs visit: 36.7 Current Entries

August 14, 2007

Five boats from the Lake Michigan Fleet will be participating in the 2007 North American Championships in Buffalo, NY. This year's event will take place the week of September 6-9th 2007 at the Buffalo Yacht Club. With 42 boats registered so far, this year’s NAC is being billed as the largest North American Championship. It will serve as a preparation for when the Annual Championship comes to Chicago Yacht Club's Belmont Station in 2008.

The boats representing the fleet will be Sue Hogan, Grace Tsiang & John Heaton's "As You Wish", Karma Sailing Group's "Karma", Warren & Sue Levins' "Program", Mark Norris' "Split Decision" and Robert Foley's "Tried and True". The boat's will start shipping to Buffalo the week immediately after the Verve Cup. The 2007 Verve Cup will serve as a testing ground for the boats to hone their skills in preparation for the NAC.

As the largest 36.7 fleet in North America, the Lake Michigan Fleet races One-Design through a 9 race schedule. Included in the schedule are Regional Regattas such as the Chicago NOOD and Verve Cup. The fleet also hosts a OD start in the annual "Race to Mackinac” a 333-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac Island.

July 22, 2007

The Executive committee is happy to announce the appointment of Sue Hogan ('As You Wish' Hull #173) to the position of National Class Treasurer. Sue has been a member of the Lake Michigan Fleet for three seasons. She has been instrumental in the development of the Lake Michigan Fleet. (Her former tactician recently took on owning his own boat recently). Sue and her boat partners (John Heaton and Grace Tsiang) will be shipping their boat to Buffalo for the 2007 North American Championship this September. She brings a wealth of experience from racing J24s and is gladly looking forward to her new role in the national class organization.

July 20-21, 2007

With a total of 143 boats entered, eight Beneteau 36.7 fleet members contested the annual 45 mile overnight race from Annapolis to Solomons Island. The 36.7s started at 7:00 PM and with good wind from the north all night, it was spinnakers all the way with just one gibe at the turning mark into the Patuxent River.

Jim Kershaw on Team Aegis was first in just over 6 ½ hours followed by Curt Schwab in Volition just over 2 minutes back. 3rd (Keith Mayes on Jubilee) through 8th finished within 1 (one) minute of each other in a mad rush for the finish line that saw 60 boats finish between 1:30 AM and 2:00 AM.

The Beneteau 36.7 class is up for grabs. Of the 17 teams competing in the division at the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD, most are new to the class, many are sailing brand new boats, and some are racing in their very first Beneteau 36.7 event. The absence of a clear pecking order gives every team hope, as each race could be their coming out.

Today was Manuel Cordero's time to shine. Cordero's Agitator crew got off to a fine start in the extremely light conditions of Race 1 and led around every mark of the course. "We had good boatspeed, good tactics, and that was that," says Cordero, who joined the class in 2006.

"It's a fun fleet," he says, "And there is very much competition. It will be a very long weekend. We have our work cut out for us.

Among those boats sure to be agitating Agitator is Split Decision, which finished second today thanks in part to the mainsail-trimming of Chuck Norris. "We just snuck that second in by a hair," says Norris.

Split Decision rounded the final windward mark in third place, but was able to pick up a place by sailing slightly lower than the competition. "It stayed light and fluky the whole time, and we just kept trying to get the pole back to steer down," says Norris. "Our only consideration the entire leg was keeping the boats behind us, and we ended up picking up the boat in front of us."

Norris also races Beneateau 36.7s in Larchmont, N.Y., so he has witnessed the national growth of the class firsthand. "It's wonderful to see a one-design class that's actually working," he jokes.

Antoni Czupryna is certainly sold on the 36.7 idea. Czupryna and the all-Polish crew of Erizo de Mar have been making constant improvements since joining the class earlier this year. "This was our first major race," he says. "We have a new crew, a new boat, it's a new learning experience."

Finishing 13th in his first big race was just fine with Czupryna, who seems happy to be on the steep slope of the learning curve. "There were some boats in front of us that we probably could have taken, but we goofed up. What can I say?"

"It's a happy bunch," continues Czupryna. "We work together. There's no nervousness. Everybody tries their best, and if you mess up, that's fine. There's always next race."

There is always next race, especially in the Beneteau 36.7 class.

The Lake Michigan First 36.7 Fleet completed their "spring opener" this weekend after their first two attempts (Abe Jacobs and Olympic Cup- Both Abandoned per RC) were nullified by Mother Nature. Ms. Nature did come through in great fashion as eleven First 36.7’s got in their first full weekend of racing in great sailing conditions. Warren Levins' "Program" picked up right where they left off last year to finish the weekend with 11 points and 1st place in the regatta. The next three finishes were tight and separated by one point only. Four points behind "Program" was former crew member (on As You Wish) turned new owner, Mark Norris' "Split Decision" followed by Joe Hyla and team “Bella Luna". Manuel Cordero’s "Agitator" was back in action with a strong 4th place finish after having been sidelined early last season.

With 30 boats, the Lake Michigan Fleet is the largest 36.7 fleet in North America. They run an 11 event One-Design race schedule that includes the Chicago NOOD regatta, Race to Mackinac (longest freshwater distance race) and the Verve Cup. Five 36.7s will be traveling to Buffalo, NY to compete in the Beneteau First 36.7 North American Championship September 4-8th. The fleet will host the North American Championship in September 2008 at Chicago Yacht Club-Belmont Station.

For More Info visit: www.first367.com

Click Here to view results.

IRC racing returns to the NOOD

May 25, 2007
By: Dana Paxton

Next week, the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design Regatta sets sail to Bayview Yacht Club (BYC) in Detroit, Mich. From June 1-3, competition in 14 one-design and two handicapped classes will take place on the Lake St. Clair. Now in its 15th year as the region's largest sailing regatta, there are 192 boats entered to date, with the majority from the Great Lakes area representing Michigan, Ohio and Ontario, Canada. The overall winner in Detroit will receive a Sunsail charter during the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta Championship, in the British Virgin Islands, where they will compete against the overall winners from each stop on the nine-regatta Sperry Top-Sider NOOD circuit.

As in 2006, the Detroit venue will host IRC handicap fleets. "There is a growing interest in IRC racing among the Great Lakes sailing community," said Dave Reed, editor of Sailing World magazine, which presents the national regatta series. "Although it's mainly a one-design event, we have IRC in Detroit because the sailors want it. Additionally, there is a class for boats using PHRF ratings called 'Levels.' Basically each boat has a similar PHRF rating and the group is scored as if it was a one-design class."

Returning Beneteau 36.7 champion Chuck Bayer (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) and his boat Grizzly will compete in the 14-boat class. This will be Bayer's third Sperry Top-Sider NOOD regatta this year; he won at both the San Diego, Calif. and Annapolis, Md. regattas. "We are on a streak, but there are several competitors who will be tough," he said. "It is, without a doubt, the fiercest and best competition we have in the Detroit area. The racing is so tight; any boat can win at any time." According to Bayer, there are quite a few boats to look out for with as much boat knowledge as his Grizzly team. "Several competitors are coming from other areas. Don Finkle on Seaweed, who was second in the North Americans, will be here with a brand new boat and new sails. Gary Tisdale from Lake Ontario is coming. Legend, a local boat sailed by Dave and Dan Shriner, is always tough. The wild card will be Phil O'Neil, who won the last three Chicago NOODs with Natalie J. He has just bought a new Beneteau 36.7 and will have a rock star crew and brand new sails." Most of Grizzly's Annapolis-winning crew will be onboard with new addition and possible good-luck charm Tom Meir, Bayview Yacht Club's commodore.

The three largest fleets registered are the Cal 25, Melges 24 and Tartan 10 classes. Dale Marshall (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) on his Cal 25 Clytie won 2006 overall Detroit NOOD regatta and has registered to compete in this year's event. Other standouts to look for in the 25-boat class – the largest gathering this year of Cal 25s in the U.S. – include past class national champion Brian Shenstone (Grosse Pointe Woods) and his Draco; John Shumaker (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) and his Pirogue; and David Holmes (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) on his Holme Brew.

The Melges 24 fleet continues to grow at each NOOD stop and Detroit is no exception. To date, 25 of the highly-competitive sportboats are entered, except for the class's defending champion Fu, owned by Marc Hollerbach (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.). The rest of the top 10 finishers are registered and with so many talented sailors in the fleet, the class title could go to any of them.

Another fleet with consistent boat numbers is the J/105 class. So far, 12 boats are entered with more expected. C.J. Ruffing (Detroit), who sails his own J/105 C-Jem and is the class coordinator, characterized the upcoming competition: "The J/105 class is known for very tight racing and in the NOOD Regatta format, 10 races in 3 days, consistency will be key. In last year's NOOD Regatta, it took every race of the series to overcome a slow start and catch the leader Tenacious on the last race for the win. I'd expect them to be one of the top boats again this year. Jim and Lori Murphy on Windshadow have had a very aggressive, early-season practice schedule and should be fast and in contention. Junto with their new tactician, Trey Rose, should also be in the hunt. Wish, a previous winner, and Unbridled are very well-sailed boats from Lake Erie, and make the trip with the intention of winning. Any boat in the class is capable of winning a race and I'd be surprised if any one dominates."

The Detroit stop has always attracted a strong fleet of sailors. In 2006, 181 teams – or over 2,000 sailors – competed. Additional one-design classes, with numbers of boats registered, to date, include: Crescent (6); Express 27 (7); J/120 (7); J/24 (9); J/29 (6); J/35 (8); J/80 (2); NA 40 ( 6); s2 7.9 (4); Tartan 10 (20); Ultimate 20 (9); and Warhorse (5).

May 13, 2007

Regattas Lure Executive Class to the Region

The national yachting spotlight will be shining on the Buffalo Niagara region this summer and fall, when sailors of all types of boats arrive to compete on lakes Erie and Ontario.

The newest regatta — the North American Championships of the Beneteau 36.7 class in September — becomes the latest high-profile sailing event the region will have hosted in recent years.

While the races generate some tourism dollars, their true value may lie in raising the profile of Great Lakes sailing and serving as enhancements in business and executive recruitment, experts say.

Business owners make location decisions based on places they prefer, if they also can make the financial numbers work, said Tom Kucharski, president of the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, the region’s business recruitment organization.

"The new expression is, 'quality of place,'" Kucharski said. "Everybody's got the best school district, outdoor events, major college events, good park systems and everybody can point to some survey where they were rated pretty high in something."The BNE tries to work with coordinators, when events seem to overlap with this area’s targeted industries of financial services, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

Kucharski said one never knows when a Bills or Sabres game, or an apricot festival might draw someone in to the area.

Although the precise value of Buffalo’s growing yachting profile as a recruitment tool is hard to measure, it is clear that those involved find value in being here. The Buffalo Harbor and lower Niagara River area are dotted with sails throughout the summer. For the more serious sailors, upcoming races include:

• The 50th anniversary of the Lake Erie Interclub Cruise Erie-Dover next month, with the final leg of the regatta in Buffalo. It draws boats from throughout the region.
• The Buffalo Yacht Club hosts the Eastern Great Lakes J/22 Regatta in late July with 40 to 50 boats.
• The Youngstown Level Regatta, also in late July, is expected to draw scores of boats, in part, because it precedes the Lake Yacht Racing Association regatta (LYRA) in Toronto.
• The Ira G. Ross Great Race match series, similar to the America’s Cup, being hosted by the Buffalo Yacht Club in August, draws international judges.

And for four days beginning Sept. 6, the Beneteau 36.7 North Americans are expected to attract 35 to 40 boats to the area with between eight and 10 crew members, in addition to family and friends, drawing close to 500 people from Cleveland to Toronto, and as far away as Texas.

Rich Geiger of the Buffalo Convention and Visitor’s Bureau anticipates the economic impact to be in excess of $400,000, with hotel stays, restaurant meals, gas, convenience store and boat-related items included.

One Texas-based participant, and a few from Chicago, are trucking their boats for a total round-trip cost of $12,000. Some figure on spending a total of about $20,000 for the entire event. From boat-owning CEOs to worker-bee crews, the waterfront will be humming with activity during Labor Day week.

"From an economic impact perspective, it's obviously great to have this piece of business in town. It’s another great venue we have sitting on Lake Erie, as a place for national sailing events and, hopefully, as the harbor and waterfront develops, something we can continue to market and promote," Geiger said.

View the Full Story

dbracely@buffnews.com

May 7, 2007

Roy Halvorsen’s CROSSBOW, driven by Anthony Pulgram won the American Yacht Club Spring Series. John Hammel sailing ELAN was 2nd, after 10 races sailed over 2 weekends (4/28-5/5/07), with the regatta up for grabs until the last race. Sandy Lindenbaum sailing PROMISE KEPT was 3rd.

Conditions on day 1 were light, more like August and then the wind came, with the last day starting in 5 foot waves that had been piling up in Western Long Island Sound after 12 hours of solid 20+ easterlies.

The 4 days of racing were packed w/ close mark rounding, and boat on boat downwind tactics. Julien Dougherty debuted TENACIOUS with her new deep keel, bolted on only hours before he appeared. Bill Purdy in WHIRLWIND showed his speed.

The fleet is now focusing on Block Island Race Week (June 18-22), with a tune up on June 2, as part of the North Shore Yacht Club day race.

May 1, 2007

Grizzly puts together back to back wins in the Beneteau 36.7 Class!

After coming from behind to win in San Diego, Chuck Bayer, who trucked his boat Grizzly to Annapolis from Detroit, put together two solid second place finishes in Annapolis to win the Beneteau 36.7 title.

The Race Committee did get two races started in mid-afternoon in a desperate attempt to get the competition under way. As the Beneteau’s set up for the start of the first the wind shifted 150 degrees and several skippers called for spinnaker sets for the upwind leg. Three shots from the RC quickly followed.

A new course was set up for the new easterly wind – four 1½ mile legs with the breeze at or below 5 knots. Those boats that went out to the corners did best, while those in the middle struggled. Richard Reid on Bump in the Night (after being OCS and re-starting) and Jim Keen on Foxtrot Corpen made good gains early. On the second upwind leg the wind died and it became a struggle to keep attached flow. Jim and Richard rounded weather mark ahead of the bobbing pack. Jubilee was well back but reached back to the west looking for new breeze, and found it. When the two hour time limit expired Foxtrot was about a minute out … tactician Dan Trammel was fit to be tied...with Bump and Jubilee not far back.

The wind arrived on Sunday. 10 – 12 knots from the northwest. Racing started on time, but only two races were allowed under the SI’s. In the first Foxtrot Corpen went way right, banged the corner and came to the weather mark about 2 minutes clear of a group that included KA’IO, Volition, and Grizzly. After that it was race for the minor placings. KA’IO struggled at the second weather mark in a battle with Jubilee and had to take a second pass to get around. It was a procession down the last leg with Grizzly falling in behind Foxtrot followed by Kurt Schwab on Volition.

In the second race the best gains appeared to be in the middle of the course – Foxtrot again went right but that did not pay off. Team Aegis and one or two others went left and while that looked good for a while, the pressure was better in the middle. Art Silcox on KA'IO got a great start, made no mistakes, and led all the way around the 8 mile course. Keith Mayes on Jubilee had a great 3rd leg and rounded the weather mark just behind KA’IO, with Grizzly not far back. In the run to the finish Grizzly ground down Jubilee and engaged in a spirited jibing duel, with Chuck eventually getting the upper hand.

The one good day of wind and great sailing did not quite make up for 2 days of bobbing, but it was good to get a couple of races completed and have the results stand. Congratulations to Chuck Bayer and his crew for an outstanding display of sailing and boat handling. They were indeed the best boat on the day! KA'IO and Foxtrot Corpen were 2nd and 3rd.

April 10, 2007

Official logo Unveiled!

The 2007 First 36.7 NAC-Buffalo planning committee unveiled the official logo for the 2007 NAC. This year’s event will be held in Buffalo, NY at the Buffalo Yacht Club on September 6-9, 2007.

March 30, 2007

The Beneteau First 36.7 Executive Committee awarded the winning bid for the 2008 North American Championship to the Lake Michigan fleet for 2008. Projected dates for the 2008 event are September 2-6th. Chicago Yacht Club’s Belmont Station will be the hosting club for this stand alone event.

With more than 30 active boats in the Lake Michigan Fleet, it is the largest First 36.7 fleet in North America. The group regularly has 20 boat starts for all the major regattas and runs a 15 race One-Design schedule. Lake Michigan last hosted the 2004 NAC.

February 23, 2007

The Chesapeake fleet is proud to announce the appointment of Keith Mayes as the new fleet captain for the fleet. Keith owns 36.7 Jubilee # 169. The fleet thanks outgoing fleet captain Art Silcox who had held the post for the past two years.

December 15, 2006

Toronto Fleet Announcement

The First 36.7 Toronto Fleet is very pleased to announce that Richard Reid has been elected Fleet Captain by unanimous vote.

Richard has been very successful campaigning his 36.7 Zingara, both on Lake Ontario and on the east coast. Twice, Richard has been awarded Overall Winner at Toronto NOOD. He has also scored top 3 results in Annapolis fall and spring racing. Richard won 3 of 4 regattas on Lake Ontario in 2006, to win the Toronto Fleet Season Championship.

Richard is taking the reins from Colin Andrews, of Anchor Yacht Sales, who was the founding Fleet Captain. Colin will remain closely involved with the Toronto Fleet as both a Beneteau representative, and an active competitor.

In addition to Richard’s election, the Toronto Fleet selected its 2007 Season Championship regattas. As in 2006, they are: ABYC 1-Design Invitational; Toronto NOOD; Youngstown Level; and LYRA at ABYC. The Fleet also agreed to establish a Lake Ontario Championship series with the Lake Erie/Lake Ontario South Fleet, based on scoring of 3-4 selected regattas.

The Toronto Fleet now includes 10 boats in five Toronto yacht clubs, and the Fleet anticipates steady continued growth in 2007.