(Lake George, NY)- In a borrowed boat and without a 'bad" race, Chris
Doyle of Youngstown, NY scored a 1-2-2-4-3 for 12 points in the five
race series to top 26 teams in the 2013 Lake George Open/ Northeast
District Championship, held September 21-22 at The Lake George Club,
Diamond Point, New York. Chris' tally was half that of his closest
competitor, RJ Moon of Rochester, NY who sailed an excellent series of
2-3-5-12-2 to finish in second place. RJ is formerly from Lake George,
and many of us in Lake George Fleet #61 know him well and are really
pleased to see him do well in several recent J/22 events. Rounding out
the top five are Stephen Jones, Toronto, 4-1-18-2-1 who might have won
save one unfortunate race in third, past champion Jed Hoffer, Marion,
MA, 6-6-8-1-5 in fourth, and David Godin, Verdun (Montreal), Quebec,
3-5-7-3-9 in fifth. Other award winners were Ellen Cantrell, Lake
George, Top Woman Skipper (20), Tom Linville, Lake George, Best Local
Boat (7), and Robert Miller, Lake George, the annual "Grab Bag" prize
(22).
Race
conditions were at both extremes. Two races were held on Saturday with
south winds in the 15-20 kts range. The RC went out in the afternoon
trailed by about half the fleet to see what the wind strength was, and
after anchoring measured winds above 25 and gusts over 30 kts. They
cancelled further racing for the day. The J/22 is a tough little boat,
but those on board are not so tough, and we didn't want to risk any
injuries. On Sunday morning, the wind was light, 5-7 kts, out of the
southwest-- not the predicted gusty northwest wind. The first race was
rather short and the wind strength was consistent. However, the second
race was longer, and the southwest breeze began to die and veer to the
west and northwest, confounding the competitors, particularly those at
the front. The ones who figured it out and went west did the best,
while those who stayed east paid the price. The RC did a great job of
moving the windward mark and realigning the course. For the third and
last race of the day, the predicted NW wind kicked in with a nominal
12-14 kts and higher gusts. So, while we couldn't hold as many races as
desired, there was plenty of action and good sailing. Add that to the
beautiful venue, usual outstanding hospitality of The Lake George Club,
fine regatta organization under Chair Joe Favero, and competent RC work
under Dave Dougall, and you have another successful not-to-be-missed
annual fall J/22 event. Please plan on coming in September 2014!!
Thanks for the contribution from Tom Linville- J/22 Fleet 61.For more J/22 Lake George Regatta sailing information
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