Wisco wins Great Lakes Offshore

The 2018 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (GLIOR) was held September 15-16 in Chicago, IL. The GLIOR is an annual fall regatta in Tartan 10s that provides an opportunity for collegiate sailors to experience offshore keelboat racing. Participating teams are from college sailing programs in the Midwest and beyond.

The fourth edition was hosted by the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club and the Chicago T10 Association along with the support from Northwestern University Sailing (NUST).

It was a great day for the first day on the water. The sky was sunny and cloudless. When racing started it was about 80 degrees with a light and variable NE breeze which lasted all day. After a slight delay, at 9:30 a.m., all 19 boats were on the water heading out to the start, about 3 miles offshore. Winds were variable NE between 5 and 10 knots throughout the day.

The team from University of Wisconsin lead throughout the day with the next 5 spots on the scoreboard highly contested and finally determined by a 5-way tie breaker. Racing concluded around 4:30pm and teams headed back to the yacht club for a debriefing session given by Quantum Sails.

The second day of sailing was one of many surprises. The University of Miami (Ohio) was unable to get out on the water due to two team members falling sick leaving the fleet with one fewer boat. The breeze was slightly down from day one with NE winds around 4 knots. During the day the onshore breeze filled in, shifting the wind to the left and building it to around 12 knots for the last of 3 races.

After a general recall in race one, the race committee raised the “U” flag, requiring boats to be behind the line during the last minute of the starting sequence. Offenders were DSQ’d for that race. The University of Wisconsin held their lead throughout the day with Michigan State right on their heels. After 3 solid races, the race committee sent the fleet home for the day.

The University of Wisconsin, sailing on the yacht Hot Sauce took the first-place prize with the low total of 20 points. In second place, at 22 points, was Michigan State onboard Erica. Third place, onboard the yacht Glider, with 44 points, was University of Michigan, which had won the 2016 and 2017 regattas.

Event details – Results – Day 1 photos – Day 2 photos

If you are a collegiate team, or Midwest T10 owner and would like to participate in the event next year, please contact Regatta Vice-Chairman Nick Zomer at nwzomer@gmail.com.

Source: Nick Zomer