(South Dartmouth, MA)- New Bedford Yacht Club is hosting the 45th
edition of the late summer classic, the quintessential “Buzzards Bay
Regatta.” As part of that program, they also hosted the second
Corinthian J/70 USA National Championship. The fleet of 30 teams was
treated to a wide variety of weather conditions over the three-day
regatta. On the first day, it was somewhat classic Buzzards Bay
conditions, light winds building up to 9-13 kt winds with heavy chop,
particularly on starboard tack. Then, on Saturday, a front was
scheduled to pass through with heavy showers, thunderstorms and winds
gusting to 35 kts. Fortunately, as the front hit the Atlantic Ocean, it
fizzled out and the J/70s saw more southeasterly breezes with winds in
the 8-12 kt range and for a brief period of time, gusts up to 20 kts.
Sunday dawned 
with
a gorgeous sunrise and the wind blowing 15-20 kts from the Northwest;
racing commence under clear sunny skies and the teams enjoyed very
shifty, streaky winds. Excelling in the broad spectrum of weather conditions was the local hotshot, Brian Keane and his SAVASANA team from Marion, MA, winning the regatta by just two points. Taking 2nd was Heather Gregg and Joe Bardenheier’s MUSE, sailing with the two “Stu’s”- Johnstone and Saffer. Third place went to Glenn Darden’s HOSS with Reese Hillard as rock-star bow dude and man about town. Fourth went to Ray and Jenn Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY and fifth place was Hannah Swett’s all-women crew on SPARKLE.
For more Corinthian J/70 Nationals sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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