CanAm Series Events 4 & 5 – Wrap up – A Wild and Windy Finish
April 4, 2021 – Port Charlotte FL
By Shan McAdoo, Photos by Fran Burstein
Five days of racing concluded yesterday in Port Charlotte Fl. CanAm Events 4 and 5 were sailed between March 28 and April 3.
Event 4 March 28-29, 2021
Event 4 was pretty straightforward with great conditions. Dee Smith built a picket fence of bullets and threw out a 2. Lone Canadian Bruce Millar continued to make a stong case for a club footed boom and finished second. The podium was rounded put by US Class president Tony Pocklington. The remainder of the 13 boat fleet commented on the nice conditions.
Event 5 April 1-3, 2021
Event 5, AKA the US Nationals was a different matter altogether. The 3 day event started with an April Fool’s joke (No wind). The fleet spent hours on the water waiting for breeze only to sail in with 10 knots of air after racing was abandoned for the day. Aeolus is quite the trickster.
Day 2 dawned with 18 – 24 knots of air. The fleet was “treated” to a nice day of heavy air sailing. There were casualties. Dee Smith broke a mast, others reported near swamping and other issues including broken rudders and rigging.
Day 3 the breeze kept up. The fleet continued to get treated to wet and windy conditions with plenty of opportunties to for racing. In the end the Regatta Committee got 8 good races in. Jeff Linton, a multi class champion and Yachtsman of the year ended up winning event 5 with a great scoreline. Bruce Millar finished second, only 2 points behind. Tony Pocklington rounded out the podium in third.
Event 5 also had 13 boats on the line. The sailors seemed enthusiastic about the 2.4 meter and the upcoming events. The Marblehead fleet is planning a big summer with weekly sailing starting in June, an appearance in the Marblehead NOOD and of course the Claggett clinic / regatta.
We missed our Canadian friends this winter and hope to have them back on the line next fall as we all gear up for the 2022 World Championships at Davis Island.