First Great Lakes 52 Season Series to be launched in 2020
by Robert Hughes 25 Jan 2020 07:11 AEDT
12 June - 13 September 2020
The 52's are the perfect boat for the great lakes © Great Lakes 52 Fleet
2020 will launch the first Great Lakes 52 Season Series (GL52 Season Series). The growing premier monohull big boat racing fleet has achieved critical mass in the Great Lakes and the teams are excited for close boat on boat racing.
The 52's are the perfect boat for the great lakes. The powerful, agile, boats are renowned for buoy racing yet fast enough to win line honors in distance racing as has been the case in the past few years in the Queens Cup, Bayview and Chicago to Mackinac events.
The series starts with the Chicago NOOD and finishes with the first annual Great Lakes 52 Championship at Macatawa Bay Yacht Club. The 2020 GL52 Season Series includes:
- Chicago NOOD
- Bayview Mackinac Race
- Chicago Race to Mackinac
- UGotta Regatta, Harbor Springs, MI
- Verve Cup, Chicago
- GL 52 Championship, Holland, MI
This year is poised to be a great match up between a very competitive fleet of boats including; Doug Devos' Windquest, Chis Duhon's Mockingbird, Austin and Gwen Fragomen's Interlodge, Laura and Bob Hughes' Heartbreaker and Jim Murray's Callisto. Phil and Sharon O'Niel have purchased the Fox that will be re-named Natalie J while their previous Natalie J is for sale. Victor Wild will be joining the fleet for the Verve and GL 52 Championship with his new 52 Fox.
This new series, in closely limited and handicapped boats with ORR time on time scoring, promises to bring close, exciting, near boat on boat racing to the great lakes' most iconic inshore and offshore races.
At the GL 52 Championship in addition to and Overall winner, both the Offshore and Inshore Season Winners will be recognized to further bolster the Series appeal.
The 2020 GL52 Season Series will be hosted by yacht scoring and the page will be populated with details in the coming weeks.
More information at Fleet's Facebook page. The series was formed by like-minded owners interested in close, fleet racing.