(Marion, MA)- Twenty-five intrepid adventurers in the J/80 class are
soldiering forth to the wild and woolly waters of Buzzards Bay, a place
infamous for massively choppy waters and epic “blowing dogs off chains”
breezes well into the 18-25 kts range. Participating teams in the 2018
J/80 North Americans cannot wait to test their boats in the strong
southwesterlies that are the prevailing condition on most sunny days at
this time of year.As host for the event, the Beverly YC and their local J/80 Buzzards Bay fleet are looking forward to welcoming crews from as far away as California and Washington. The three major fleets are well-represented, Buzzards Bay (MA), Lake Winnipesaukee (NH), and Annapolis (MD). The courageous visitors from afar include Bryan Rhodes’ CRAZY IVAN from Corinthian YC in Seattle, WA and Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS from Sausalito YC in Sausalito, CA.
The homeboys from Beverly YC are hoping to take home the crown for proud display on the fireplace mantelpiece. Those crews include Chip Johns’ CAVITICA, Dan Cooney’s AMERICAN PRAYER, Jack Gierhart’s AEGIR. The always-strong Chesapeake Bay J/80 fleet are fielding solid contenders, too, such as John White’s USA 1162, Alex Kraus’ COOL J, Bert Carp’s ELEVEN, and Dan Shanahan’s LAWYERS GUNS & MONEY. The Lake Winnipesaukee contingent includes Casey Nickerson’s ARGO III, Jason Blais’ BLONDIE, Les Beckwith’s FKA, and Kevin Hayes/ Jeff Kirchoff’s MORE GOSTOSA. The “lone sharks” hoping to steal the championship include Ken Colburn’s GHOST (a previous winner and also NYYC Invitational Cup winner) from Boothbay Harbor YC and Peter D’Anjou’s LE TIGRE from PWYC. For more J/80 North American Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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