J/Teams Sweep Three PHRF Divisions(Cleveland, OH)- Like they did the weekend before, the Edgewater YC rolled out the red carpet and did a fantastic job of hosting the “Offshore CRW” this past weekend. The regatta was blessed with four good days of racing with winds ranging from 4 to 20 kts from a variety of directions. The format was made fun for everyone, mixing up “random leg” offshore buoy racing with finish lines on the inner harbor just outside the iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Brown’s football stadium along Cleveland’s picturesque waterfront. The weekend finished with two days of windward-leeward course, providing each team a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and diversity sailing both offshore and around-the-cans races.
The
regatta started off on Thursday with spectacular weather. After
racing, the Edgewater YC hosted their infamous “Ragin' Cajun party,”
where they served up spicy, spicy gumbo with Tito's Vodka and Regatta
Ginger Beer- a helluva concoction known as an “American Mule” (a.k.a.-
it does give you a kick in the proverbial booty!). On that note,
everyone seemed to enjoy the camaraderie and no matter how many American
Mules were served, it was pretty clear that a number of J/crews were
going to knock it out of the park out on the water!Exhibit number one- the J/111s swept the podium in PHRC C Class! Rob Ruhlman’s J/111 SPACEMAN SPIFF was 1st, followed by Don Hudak’s CAPERS in 2nd and Jeff Davis & Bob Knestrick’s SHAMROCK in 3rd. Fourth was the beautifully restored J/39 BLACK SEAL sailed by Seth & Kevin Young. Tim Yanda’s J/120 VIVA LA VIDA was 6th in class.
J/Teams nearly pulled off the same scenario in PHRF D class. Winning was Paul Matthews’ J/35 WHITEHAWK with Mark Saffell’s J/36 PAINKILLER in 3rd place.
PHRF E Class saw David Koski’s J/109 USA 77 win class counting just straight bullets in six races! Second was the duo of Doug Moose & Jim Sminchak racing the brand new J/88 SPACEMAN SPIFF. Chris Mallett’s J/109 SYNCHRONICITY took 5th place, while Charles & Andrew Drumm’s J/100 D2 took 6th position.
It
was an all J/gangsta’s affair in PHRF F class, made up of three J/29s,
two J/34 IORs and one J/70! Quite an eclectic mix of new and old
designs from three different decades! In the end, Brett Langolf’s J/34
IOR KNEE DEEP won class counting all 1sts in their six races that
counted (one toss was permitted). Second was yet another J/34 IOR boat,
Dave Krotseng’s BONAFIDE. Third was Cindy & Tom Einhouse’s J/29
OVATION, followed by John Zelli’s J/70 FREE ENERGY in fourth and Aarne
Lillo’s J/29 AQUARIUS in fifth position.Finally, in PHRF G class, Rich Galaska’s J/30 BREEZIN’ took third position, managing to win the first race of the regatta along the way!
In the J/105 class, Chip Schaffner’s FALL LINE won convincingly, posting six bullets for a final tally of 6 pts. Sailing fast, but not fast enough to catch FALL LINE, was Robert Mock’s UNBRIDLED, settling for 2nd with 11 pts and Jim Uhlir’s TRIO finished third. Sailing photo credits- Dave Mathias/ Reaching Leg Photo. For more Cleveland Race Week sailing information
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