Buccaneer 18 North American Championship

From high winds to no wind, with teams from Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alaska, and Arizona, the 2019 Buccaneer 18 North American Championship was held October 23-26 was held at Lake Pleasant, Arizona.

Day one completed four races, all in pretty good breeze, but the following day got cancelled with no wind forecast less than 20kts all day and gusts into the 40s.

That night gusts were recorded over 50kts, which made day three a tenuous decision for the Regatta Management Team. With racing set to start at 9:00am, sustained winds in the high teens and gusts in the low 20s, with 4 foot, wind-driven waves demanded yet another postponement.

Finally, at 11:30, after taking multiple readings on the water and reviewing several more forecasts, racing would start at 12:30.

The wind did dissipate some and the wind driven waves were in the 1-2 foot range by 12:30. The first race of the day tested skippers and crew as it was at the top end of the range for racing the Bucc 18. Everyone stayed upright and completed four more races as the wind continued to relent into the afternoon and overnight.

The final day started early with good breeze, but it wouldn’t be Lake Pleasant without a bit of a drifter, and the third and final race of the day ended on with a shortened course.

The B-Fleet Trophy was awarded to Tom Gage and crew Sue Goodglick from Big Lake Sailing Club Alaska. In third place overall from Denver Sailing Association, Dave Spira with AYC crew Vanessa Wisbaum. In second place overall, from Potomac River Sailing Association, Jeff Neurauter with crew Heather Howard. Finally, in first place overall, from the Arizona Yacht Club, Joel Hurley with crew Antony Chapman. Joel and Tony had a total of 12 points over 11 races.

The Centurion award goes to the highest-finishing boat with a combined crew age over 100, which went to Dave Spira and Vanessa Wisbaum. The Oldest Boat award went to Jim Irwin for his early copy of the now revered Nickels Bucc. And the Sportsmanship award went to AYC’s own Dave Newland. His was the only boat to have a failure, which caused him to be the only capsize.

For complete results, click here.

Source: Rob Gibbs