(Lake Dillon, CO)- Billed as “the world’s highest regatta”, the Dillon
Open is the highlight of the summer sailing season in Colorado, a state
more renowned for amazing ski resorts like Aspen, Vail and Steamboat
than it is for sailing. Nevertheless, sailing at 9,017 ft above sea
level can leave you breathless at times since you’re nearly a
mile-and-a-half above where the saltwater types go boating. Or,
consider this- once boats get to 10,000 ft into the air, can they turn
on their electronics, too, like you can on American airlines??The Dillon Yacht Club always extends a warm welcome to all sailors that wish to go sailing on beautiful Lake Dillon. Over 100 competitors enjoyed this year’s gorgeous weather- sunny days, gentle breezes and spectacular views of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains surrounding them. It truly was “Chamber of Commerce”, postcard-perfect sailing conditions all weekend long— one of those regattas to toss onto your “bucket list”!
The 41st annual event had light and variable winds Saturday, but event organizer Karin Osterloh Mattern said that beautiful weather allowed for some close and fun racing on Sunday.
Two
one-design J fleets were competing, the J/22s and J/24s. In the 24s,
it was Greg Johnson’s PINOTAGE that took class honors by winning on a
tie-breaker- they won the last race! Second was Alan Dille’s
SEPTILLION, taking the short-end of that tie-breaking scenario. Third
was Doug Pierini’s COLD SMOKE. They were followed by Steve Bergman’s
EVENT HORIZON and David Helmer’s BLUE SIDE DOWN, taking 4th & 5th,
respectively.Gasping for air in the dozen boat J/22 fleet were all the competitors of UP FOR AIR. It can be said that David Baker’s UP FOR AIR team took the fleets breath away, posting a runaway score of 1-2 to win by a landslide. Peter Fornell’s team on MAYBE LATER took second followed by Richard Hallagan’s crew on USA 1510. The infamous DOES THIS BOAT MAKE MY BUTT LOOK BIG, sailed by Robin Jackson, took fourth and in fifth was Shane Salisbury’s STIR CRAZY. The J/22s had a lot of fun and apparently enjoyed having one of their best turnouts in years for the event,
The PHRF A handicap fleet was two J/80s racing so close to one another (match-racing, maybe?) that they had to use a tie-breaker to determine who beat who! It was Tom Downing’s HENDRIX that won those bragging rights and earning the third spot on the podium. Missing out on more “silver & pickle dishes” was Keith Tayman’s GOOSE, ending up in 4th place. For more Dillon Open regatta sailing information
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