(Bayfield, WI)- Bayfield Race Week is the centerpiece of the Lake
Superior offshore racing season, hosted by the Apostle Islands Station
of the Wayzata Yacht Club. It is a week long festival of sailing on the
south shore of Lake Superior, with racing taking place around the
spectacular Apostle Islands. The event surrounds the 4th of July, and
attracts boats and crews all points of the compass, including: Canada,
Florida, Duluth, and the Twin Cities.To say that it is also a “love fest” for J/sailors would be an understatement. J/crews have been sailing the event for years and has become a fixture on their calendars once you’ve had the pleasure to experience the fun and camaraderie of the event! It is truly one of the prettier corners of the sailing world you’ve ever seen, with plush green, pine-treed islands, magnificent tall bluffs, and incredibly clear deep blue waters- a color that could easily mistaken for the azure waters of the Caribbean.
This year, J/Teams won three divisions and took silver in two others- a rather dominating performance by one brand of sailboats!
The
Mid-Distance PHRF A group of the big boats was swept by J/crews; these
were races around a combination of government marks, islands and set
marks- a lot like what you see in the Caribbean race weeks. Winning was
Keith Stauber’s J/35 PAPA GAUCHO II with a 2-4-7-3-2 record for 18
pts. They also won the “Family Affair Award”. Second was another J/35,
Bob Vander Ploeg’s BOBSLED from Thunder Bay, Ontario with a 4-6-2-2-7
for 21 pts. Third was David Resch’s J/120 FOREVER YOUNG with a
1-8-3-7-5 tally for 24 pts. Then, Chris Wells’ J/41 IOR NORTHERN
HARRIER from Thunder Bay, Ontario posted a 3-3-5-9-4 for 24 pts, losing
the tie-breaker with the J/120 to take fourth place. 
In
the Mid-Distance PHRF B class, George Johns’ J/80 JAVALINA sailed
consistently well with a 1-2-1-5-6 for 15 pts, just one point from
first! Also taking silver was Jim Vaudreuil’s J/109 ZIGZAG in the Buoy
Racing PHRF B class, also just missing a class win by one point.Winning the Jib and Main PHRF class was Edward Alspach’s J/36 RADIO FLYER- a bright, fire-engine red boat that looks great sailing on the lake! They pretty much crushed their class with four bullets in their 5 races. Similarly, winning the Sport Boat PHRF class was Erik Wilson’s J/70 FLY 2.0 from Fargo, ND- a long drive away! Follow Bayfield Race Week on Facebook here Watch the local Fox 21 News video of the event here For more Bayfield Race Week scores and sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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