Wind Czar repeats as J/111 North American Champion

The J/111 North American Championship was hosted July 24-27 at the Little Traverse Yacht Club in Harbor Springs, MI. Thirteen J/111 boats attended the event in beautiful Northern Michigan, ready to race during the LTYC annual Ugotta Regatta, including local boat Wind Czar who won the inaugural NAs in Chicago in 2013.

Blue skis, clear water and perfect breeze kicked off the regatta on Thursday as the sailors competed in 3 races. At the end of day one, Wind Czar (Rich Lehmann) led the fleet, followed by NoSurprise (Dave Irish) in second and Kashmir (Karl Brummer, Steve Henderson, Mike Mayer) in third.

Day two had a slow start, but as the afternoon breeze filled in, the race committee was able to run 3 more races. Kashmir moved up from third after day two, finishing the day with 20 points as NoSurprise took third with 21 points.

On Saturday, the J/111 sailors participated in the Tour of the Bay race, after the wind filled in around 2pm, with heavy breeze and large waves providing an exciting ride. Wind Czar held a strong finish and NoSurprise headed back up to second.

The last day of racing was threatened with some storms in the vicinity but race committee was able to get two races off as the storms stayed off the course. At the end of the Championship, Wind Czar, NoSuprise and Kashmir took the first, second, and third, respectively.

Full Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=972

Report by Liz Smith. Photos by Gretchen Dorian.