Saturday, March 8, 2014

J/105 Midwinters Preview

J/105 Midwinters- Lakewood YC- Texas(Seabrook, TX)- How's this for gracious Southern hospitality?  Located on thirty-eight beautifully landscaped acres, Lakewood is more than just a yacht club. It is a haven for members, their families and guests. There is a sense of peace and tranquility that makes Lakewood an incomparable place of refuge combined with social and water activities. The Bermuda-style clubhouse provides its members with quiet harbor-view dining and excellent cuisine while the bar and piano lounge with three ginormous flat-screen TV’s invite members to relax by the fire or gather around the bar.

Sounds inviting, does it not?!  Well, a dozen J/105s will be calling Lakewood YC home for the March 7th to 9th weekend for their annual J/105 Midwinter Championship. Sailing on the waters of Galveston Bay, the J/105 teams will continually be challenged by its renown square “chop”, benign weather with mild sea-breezes or ferocious cold fronts that whistle in from the Northwest right off the Rocky Mountains, roaring across the Prairies, leaving everyone J/105 sailing off Lakewood YC in Texaschilled to the bone even as far south as the Gulf of Mexico.  No question, the fleet is hoping classic spring conditions kick-in on the Bay and glorious evening campfires around the pool are the order of the day.

According to Event Chairman Bill Lakenmacher, the J/105 Midwinters will be blessed with “shirt-sleeve weather and big winds”. For those who have endured the cold winter to the North, anything above freezing temperatures will be considered “shorts & shades” weather!  

The fleet will have a strong representation from the Gulf of Mexico region, including teams from Corpus Christi, Dallas/ Ft Worth and, of course, the local hosts in Houston.  Notable teams include Matt Arno’s BLUE FLASH, Uzi Ozeri’s INFINITY, JB Bednar’s STINGER, Bill Lackenmacher’s RADIANCE, and Mark Masur’s well-traveled TWO FEATHERS.

Perhaps one of the “guest stars” may be Royal Canadian YC’s Terry McLaughlin from Toronto, Ontario sailing on a local chartered boat called AVICI.  McLaughlin’s friends from Royal Canadian YC will be the hosts of the 2014 J/105 North Americans on Lake Ontario.   For more J/105 Midwinters sailing information