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Racing wrapped up Sunday for the 2016 Samson Women’s, Junior, and Master Lightning North American Championships at the Rochester Yacht Club. The Masters fleet ended the series with 4 total races, while both the Women’s and the Juniors finished theirs with 5. Two races were sailed on Friday for each championship in medium to heavy wind before storms rolled into the area for the afternoon. Saturday not a single race was ran despite the race committee’s best efforts due to a combination of unsettled breeze and more thunderstorms. On Sunday, however, the weather cooperated to allow for races 3, 4, and 5 for the Women and the Juniors, and races 3 and 4 for the masters.
Debbie Probst sailed an impressive regatta, winning the Women’s Championship by 7 points. Probst won four of the five races sailed, only letting one race slip by her thanks to a keelhauled spinnaker sheet. The Women’s Championship also had the event’s youngest skipper, Sabrina Starck (10), and the event’s youngest competitor, Jamie Starck (8).
The Junior fleet was won decisively by Doug Wake who took first place in all five races. He was followed by Ben Folds from the Buffalo Canoe Club with 14 points and Robbie Robinson, also from the Buffalo Canoe Club, with 16 points overall. In the Masters division, local sailor Mark Sertl took first place finishing the event with two firsts and two seconds, 8 points in front of Marvin Beckmann who finished second. David Peck finished third just one point behind Beckmann. Both Team Peck and Team Sertl were all family boats, as was the fifth place Masters finisher, Tom Allen.
Thank you to the Rochester Yacht Club for putting on a wonderful event and the race committee for getting races off in trying conditions. Congratulations to all the competitors!

New Bedford, MA (August 7, 2016)- The first ever Buzzards Bay c420 championship was one of the biggest c420 regattas, 173 Boats, the class has seen in it’s history. The massive fleet was stored away in the beautiful Ft. Taber Park with The Community Boating Center of New Bedford running the show. Executive Director Andy Herlihy and
his team of volunteers and staff were top notch in providing a great venue, beautiful racing, and a welcoming atmosphere.
The Regatta was a three day event with the first two days sailed in a qualifying series and the last day was a Gold and Silver fleet final. Day 1 saw a classic Buzzards Bay Sea
Breeze with a nice build all day maxing out at 15kts. The Race management team
pushed the sailors for 4 races knowing that the next day could bring thunderstorms. The
racing was tight in both fleets and the stage was set for a day 2 final day of qualifying.
Day 2 arrived with big breeze starting in the morning left over from a front that had
passed through in the night. Steep waves ruled the racecourse as the breeze eased and
settled in a bit. Day 2 saw an average breeze of 10-15kts but with puffs much higher in
the 20’s, so the sailing was challenging. The fleet battled the conditions well and the
qualifying series ended with a tight regatta especially for the top 5 spots. On the final day
the fleet was greeted with a nice NW breeze but the fleet knew that it would not last long
and the best bet for racing was for the sea breeze to fill. The NW breeze died off to glass
and the fleet floated in the bay until 11:30am when the sea breeze trickled in and slowly
built. The sea breeze provided beautiful 12-15 kt conditions under sunny skies. At the
end of the day Luke Arnoe and Mariner Fagan continued their consistency for the whole
event with a solid 1, 4 last day helping them come from behind to win the first c420
Buzzards Bay Championship.
The c420 Buzzards Bay championship is the biggest stop in the Triple Crown series this
year and the top points will make the series interesting going into the final event, North
Americans in LA, next week. The Community Boat Center of New Bedford did an
incredible job hosting this large fleet and putting on some classic Buzzards Bay races.
The fleet left the park happy and excited for next year’s event.
2016 c420 Buzzards Bay Championship Top 5
1. Luke Arnone/ Mariner Fagan 22pts.
2. Connor Baylies/ Kimmie Leonard 25pts.
3. Truckie Greenhouse/ Jack Denatale 25pts.
4. Jack Brown/ Kelsey Slack 34 pts.
5. Jack Johansson/ Claudia Loaicono 36 pts.