(Canandaigua, NY)- The J/22 Jack Rabbit Regatta was recently hosted by
J-22 Fleet 24 at the Canandaigua Yacht Club from May 17th to 18th on
beautiful Canandaigua Lake. A good time was had by all; though
attendance was down this year as the J-22 North Americans were scheduled
for the same weekend. There were major rain storms in the area on
Thursday before the regatta, and Canandaigua Lake was at flood levels
with water up to the top of the docks. The County Sheriff issued a
safety warning and issued a speed restriction of 5 mph to minimize any
shore damage. The camping area was wet, but several brave souls camped
and had nice camp fires going on Friday and Saturday evenings! That is
the tradition of the “Jack Rabbit”, laid back, fun and so popular that
it’s now going into its third decade as a great late spring regatta to
“de-mothball” your J/22 and get it ready for the summer sailing season! 
Saturday
morning was bright and clear with NW winds in the 5-8 kts range, with
temperatures in the low 40’s. There was plenty of coffee, donuts, juice
and fruit donated by “Wegman’s Market” to get us warmed up and ready to
race. Jim Muller, who has been the regatta PRO for the last 7 years,
got racing started at approximately 10:30. By 3:30 five great races had
been completed and the boats headed to shore. After the boats were secured for the night, the fleet headed to the Canandaigua YC building for an awesome “house party”! Entertainment was provided by “The Table Top Three,” a local favorite that play blues, standard stuff and contemporary popular music, featuring an acoustic trio of guitar, harmonica and upright bass. They certainly had the house rocking late into the evening!
Again, according to tradition, after the running of the Preakness Stakes (part of the horse-racing “Triple Crown”) on Saturday, spirits, glasses and shirts provided by East Avenue Liquor were given out to participating boats!
As
the sailors slowly woke up at the crack of noon Sunday morning, the
weather couldn’t have been nicer, bright and clear again with
temperatures in the mid 40’s. Winds were again light from the NNW.
Racing started at 9 and two more races were completed before noon. Awards for the top three included J/22 sailboat models and gift certificates from sponsors APS Ltd. and German Brothers Marine. The Mid-Fleet winner garnered a bottle of “Pyrate Rum” with a wooden display case. Awards were also given to the best sailing clubs with 3 or more boats participating and for the boat that came the greatest distance. As people packed up their boats, there were smiles everywhere.
After winning four of the seven races sailed, Richard Hallagan’s crew on CHIBOUGAMAU took first overall with 10 pts net (after toss race). Second was Mark Stuhlmiller on EUDAIMONIA with 15 pts net and third was Gary Schmidt’s MOOI NOOI with 20 pts. Rounding out the top five were Adam Masters on TRAINWRECK and Todd Salzman on HANDBASKET, 4th and 5th, respectively. For more J/22 Jack Rabbit sailing information
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