Verve Cup Offshore Regatta at Chicago Yacht Club: Rowdy crowned J/111 Great Lakes champion

27th annual Verve Cup Offshore Regatta © Sara Proctor

From Friday, August 10, through Sunday, August 12, 2018, the Chicago Yacht Club hosted the 27th annual Verve Cup Offshore Regatta. The event featured three days of offshore buoy racing and a separate one-day distance race. The first day of racing on Friday offered nice westerly winds, puffy and shifty in the 7 to 12 kts range. However, Saturday and Sunday were near "glass-outs", with just 2 to 3 races completed in most classes over the two days due to very light winds flowing over Lake Michigan.

The nine-boat J/105 class saw Jon Weglarz's The Asylum take the class honors by winning the last three races with a total score of 14 pts. Just hanging on to second place, after a strong start of 2-2-1-1, was Gyt Petkus' Vytis with a total of 17 pts. After a rough start in the first four races, Clark Pellett's Sealark raced up the leaderboard with three straight 2nds in the closing races to secure the bronze on the podium with 18 pts. Rounding out the top five were Judith & Ross McLean's Esprit d'Ecosse in 4th and Kathie & Mike Newman's Valhalla in 5th position.

The five-boat J/109 class saw Jim Murray's Callisto continue their winning ways after winning the J/109 class in the Chicago to Mackinac Race, winning four of seven races to win by a country furlong- just 10 pts total! Second was Keith Eickenberg's Blackfin with 20 pts and third was Jack & Jim Toliver's Vanda III with 22 pts.

The regatta also served as the 2018 J/111 Great Lakes Championship for eleven boats from across the country. Fast out of the starting blocks was local Chicago boat Rowdy, skippered by Rich Witzel, leading after the first day with a 2-1-1. Thereafter, over the tough light air sailing on Saturday and Sunday, they averaged just over a 3rd place with finishes of 4-3-1-5 to take the Great Lakes title with 17 pts total. Current J/111 World Champion- Peter Wagner's Skeleton Key team from San Francisco Bay- is unaccustomed to the light air, super choppy/ sloppy conditions off the Chicago waterfront. Nevertheless, after a slow start they proved to be fast learners, they closed quickly on the leader with a 1-1-3-2 for a total of 20 pts to take the silver. Rounding out the podium was Brad Faber's UTAH with 22 pts. The balance of the top five included the Kashmir trio (Brummel/ Henderson/ Mayer) in 4th and John Kalanik's Pura Vida in 5th place.

In the ORR 2 Division, Rick Stage's J/35 Alpha Puppy won two races, but it was only good enough to help them secure third for the weekend.

For more Verve Cup Offshore sailing information click here.