Gorgeous and stormy 31st annual Verve Cup Offshore Regatta
by J/Boats 27 Aug 2022 12:10 EST
August 19-21, 2022
2022 Verve Cup Offshore Regatta at Chicago YC © Chicago Yacht Club
The 31st annual Verve Cup Offshore Regatta featured three days of offshore buoy racing for a fleet of over 75 yachts.
The regatta coincided with the famous Chicago Air & Water Show that features the awesome US Navy Blue Angels flying acrobatic team in their F-18E Super Hornet fighter planes.
The small J/Navy of 30+ teams enjoyed very challenging sailing in one-design classes for J/105s, J/109s, and J/111s, plus offshore ORC/ PHRF handicap fleets. The forecasted "postcard perfect" Friday went off without any issues, with all fleets sailing at least three races in the best that Chicago waterfront sailing on Lake Michigan has to offer.
South to southwest winds in the 8 to 14 kts range, sunny skies, clear aquamarine waters, lots of chop, with the winds oscillating through 40 degrees. The offshore gradient was fighting the nascent onshore sea breeze effect all day long, making it especially challenging for the tacticians. Saturday's forecast was spot on, with cloudy skies, more southerlies but in the 10 to 19 kts range, and spotty showers. Thankfully, forecasted thunderstorms and squalls never materialized over the race course and, consequently, most fleets got in three more races.
Sunday dawned with a gorgeous sunrise until about 10:00 AM when an ominous line of black clouds aligned NNE/SSW kept streaming towards the city. As the day progressed, the center of the Low moved east and those black clouds swept across the course areas, producing North to northeast winds with 20-30 degree shifts and rain showers. By the time the two scheduled races were completed, the front was off to the east and produced a "glamma" of a day- white caps, sun, partly cloudy, and 70s F temps. It was a spectacular ending for the regatta.
J/111 Class
The half-dozen J/111 teams saw Jeff Davis' SHAMROCK team produce a near-perfect record, scoring six firsts in seven races to win convincingly with 9 pts (the lowest total point score of any boat in the regatta). In a battle for the balance of the podium, Brad & Ian Faber's UTAH and Tom Dickson's WARLOCK fought hard for three days, with UTAH closing with a 2-2 on the last day to clinch the silver medal with 17 pts. Tied on points with UTAH going into the last day was WARLOCK, but tactical missteps dropped them to third place with a 4-4 tally to end with 21 pts.
J/105 Class
The seven teams in the J/105 class saw a three-way battle evolve for the podium, with Judith & Ross McLean's ESPRIT D'ECOSSE taking class honors with 23 pts and winning only one race! Though they accumulated three bullets, Jon Weglarz's THE ASYLUM team could not muster enough consistency to stay in the hunt for the lead, having to contend with three 6th places in their tally for 27 pts. They took the silver medal by just one point, everything coming down to the outcome of the last race! John & Laura Lutton's KINSHIP took the bronze medal by winning the last race for a total of 28 pts.
J/109 Class
The seven J/109 teams experienced a similar scenario as the J/111 class, with one standout team, and the rest battling "tooth & nail" for the balance of the podium. Handily winning was Kate & Jim Murray's CALLISTO, winning three races and ending with 14 pts. The ensuing battle for the podium was a three-way affair, starring David Gustman's NORTHSTAR, Ray Douglas & Kris Maybach's COURAGEOUS, and Jim Caesar's LIQUID LOUNGE II. Starting with a promising 1-2, muddling a bit in the middle, and closing with a 1-1 was Gustman's NORTHSTAR, taking the silver with 19 pts. The bronze step was determined by a tiebreaker at 23 pts each. Winning the countback was COURAGEOUS, with LIQUID LOUNGE II settling for fourth position.
ORC Distance
The ten boats sailing the ORC distance race had an eventful day on Saturday, sailing with plenty of breeze! In the end, it was past Chicago-Mac class winner- Tom Papoutsis's J/133 RENEGADE from Columbia Yacht Club- that took a silver medal for their day's efforts.
PHRF Distance
With eight teams, the PHRF Distance class saw J/Teams on both podiums! Winning PHRF 1 was Mark Olsen's J/120 JAHAZI. Then, it was a near sweep of PHRF 2, with Gerhard Zinserling's J/105 Y-NOT taking the silver, Mike Frerker's J/88 FUNKY MONKEY earning the bronze medal, and Grace & Mike Gillian's J/88 JULIA getting the fourth place!
More information at vervecup.com