* The Cleveland SAIL BAB Team Ready To Roll at KWRW 2011- Skipper Jim Sminchak of Cleveland’s Lakeside Yacht Club
and the crew of his J/105 IT prevailed over a strong field in SAIL’s
2010 Best Around the Buoys (BAB) contest and will be heading to Florida
in January to take part in 2011 Key West Race Week.
Team IT received the nod based on its
outstanding performance this past year in a number of regattas on the
Lake Erie, including the Mentor Harbor Yachting Club Regatta; the
Lakeside Yacht Club Regatta; the 73rd Annual Falcon Cup, organized by
the Mentor Harbor and Cleveland yacht clubs; and the offshore portion of
Edgewater Yacht Club’s Cleveland Race Week. In each case, it took first
place in its PHRF division and, in all but Cleveland Race Week, won
first overall as well. The crew also competed in a number of one-design
events, including ILYA Bay Week and the Detroit NOOD regatta. In both
cases, it took first.
According to SAIL publisher Josh Adams,
the crew of it won out over the other 70 entries in this year’s BAB due
to a combination of its performance on their local racecourse and its
cohesion over the years. “With Best Around the Buoys, we aimed to reward
a team for its local PHRF racing performance with a berth on the
national stage at Key West Race Week,” Adams said. “Jim Sminchak and
crew stood out as a winning team committed to performing around the
buoys in their region. Their success and the impressive volume and
quality of entries to BAB serve as a testament that PHRF racing is alive
and well across the United States.”
Adams added that the BAB selection panel
was particularly impressed by the team’s involvement and success in a
wide range of events, including handicap racing, one-design racing and
point-to-point races. Over the year’s, team it has also competed aboard a
number of different boats, including a Tartan Ten, a J/22 and a Farr
30. Sminchak said his crew’s wins are no accident, but come as a result
of “countless hours of practice, boat preparation and team bonding. Our
training has us ready to compete at any regatta”.
Sminchak said he’s been sailing on Lake
Erie all his life, after being introduced to the sport by his parents.
He added that he and his crew are doing the same with their kids to keep
the tradition alive. “Most of the crew has been sailing with us for
more years than I can think of. We think of our group as family and we
are competitive, love to sail and most importantly like having fun,”
Sminchak said. “We take our kids or other young sailors along as much as
possible, as we do believe that we need to show or teach them the world
of keelboat sailing.” As for Key West, Sminchak said he and his crew
are looking forward to the opportunity, but know they have a lot of work
to do. “We will get to grips with [the regatta] in the next couple of
weeks when I know of all the plans. With the J/111 being so new, we will
have a hill to climb in learning what will make it go,” he said. Photo
courtesy of David Mathias. For more information on the SAIL BAB winner.