71 Boats Competed in Verve Cup Inshore Regatta

Chicago, IL (August 24, 2014) — After Saturday’s races were postponed due to weather, 71 boats made the most of a spectacular day of sailing in Chicago in the annual Verve Cup Inshore Regatta, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club at its Belmont Station. The annual regatta features the best one-design sailing in the Midwest, with nine classes in this year’s event.

“It was some nice racing on Sunday,” said Jessica Jamieson, chair of the Verve Inshore. “Unfortunately, we had to abandon racing on Saturday due to the weather, but I was pleased to see the turnout of so many fleets — the J/70s, Etchells, Rhodes, the Vanguard 15s and many more.”

With temperatures in the upper 80s under sunny skies, winds shifted to the east/southeast at approximately 8 knots throughout the day.

“We made up for the weather yesterday with champagne sailing today in Chicago,” said Jay Kehoe, on-the-water director for the Chicago Yacht Club. “We also saw great performances by Sarah Renz in the J/70s and Mark Teborek in the Etchells, who are both preparing to represent CYC in the New York Yacht Club invitational in the first week of September.”

PRO Rick Lillie said there was a 55-degree wind shift during the first race, which made it a challenge to keep the course somewhat square.

“A special thanks to the Race Committee team, who moved every mark several times today,” Lillie said. “Good, tight racing and we were able to get three races in today. And we are happy to host the largest J/70 turnout of the season.”

The J/70 class is indeed growing and attracted competitors from as far away as Norway. Eighteen J/70s competed in this year’s regatta. Heartbreaker, skippered by Robert Hughes of the Macatawa Bay Yacht Club, earned the top spot in the J/70 class. The Heartbreaker crew included Taylor Canfield, ranked No. 1 match racer in the world.

“We got in three great races today, with the wind backing from the southeast all the way to the east. But overall, it was some good, fair racing,” Canfield said. “The city is great — freshwater, Lake Michigan is awesome. It’s one of my favorite places to sail and one of my favorite places to be.”

Congratulations to all Verve racers. First-place awards went to each of the racing sections:

· Etchells: USA 1280, skippered by D Mense, Chicago Yacht Club
· J/70: Heartbreaker, skippered by Robert Hughes, Macatawa Bay
· Luders: Clipper, skippered by William F. Simpson, Chicago Yacht Club
· Shields: Insidious, skippered by Gary Ropski, Chicago Yacht Club
· Solings: Timaru II, Ross Richards, Sheridan Shore Yacht Club
· Colgate 26: Hunter Ratliff, Lake Forest Sailing
· Vanguard 15: Condor, Jacob Karlin, Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club
· Rhodes 19: YAHOO, Vince Camarda, CCYC
· Stars: Tess, Mike Phinney, Lorain

Results

Report by Event Media