Chicago Yacht Club Verve Cup Offshore Regatta gets off to a windy and wavy start

CHICAGO, IL (August 11, 2012). Today on the water the circles were each able to get in three races after Friday’s racing was postponed due to weather in the Chicago area, including wind gusts approaching 40 knots and waves nearing 10 feet. Verve Cup Regatta Chair Martin Sandoval said that after no racing on Friday, competitors were eager to get out on the water today. “You can never make up the missed races, but we got three races in each circle today and it should be good sailing tomorrow with more moderate weather.” Chris Bedford of Sailing Weather Services said racers can expect “a bit of a mixed bag” when Sunday’s racing begins. “During morning racing there will be a lingering offshore breeze around 10 knots,” Bedford said. “That wind is expected to die during the morning with variable conditions mid-morning through early afternoon. There will be a midday southeast lake breeze of 5 to 10 knots and the waves should be down, so it should be pretty nice out there tomorrow.”  

Saturday’s Race Officer Reports:

Circle A: “Circle A saw an amazing and challenging day with three races. Winds were out of the north northeast with 7- to 10-foot rollers. We saw very exciting, competitive starts in the six classes in Circle A, which included warm-ups for the Farr 40 Worlds. These saw James Richardson’s Barking Mad and Annapolis Yacht Club Commodore Kevin McNeil’s Nightshift do very well. First off the lines today were the TP 52s and Santa Cruz 70s, which did a great job beating upwind and surfed all the way home in grand style. All mark roundings were competitive and fair, and most classes finished within a minute of each other on the day. There were very exciting starts in the J111s, which all piled up near the race committee and had to bail and circle around at starts, showing why the J111 class is becoming a great One-Design fleet in Chicago.” ~ Race Officer Tom Keegan.

Circle B: “It was a fast day for our regatta after being literally blown off the lake by 40 knot winds and 12-foot waves on Friday. On Saturday, southern waves with a solid north wind made for challenging racing - an athletic day for crews - with 20 knot winds and shifts to the east. It was tight racing with 40 of 58 boats finishing within a four-minute period in Race 2. The race committee offered a fourth race and was cheered when the day ended with three. Bruises were shown and tales were told at the end of the day.” ~ Race Officer Rick Lillie.

The current standings and results are available online at http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=660.