Regattas - Rochester Yacht Club

international class regattas. Gunther Buerman sailed in severalWorlds’ chanlpionships (J 24 sailors have to qualify to sail inthese), with one of the lnore noteworthy being one held inSweden. Gunther made it a point to bring home something ofwtlue from his regattas, and this time far exceeded his bestprevious record when he brought home his new wife, Maggie.What a find!In the 90s the fleet picked up Greg Eiffert and crew whofollowed Gunther’s tradition, winning ahnost every regatta trophyon Lake Ontario. As a headliner, they placed third out of 95boats at the 1998 North Americans, beating numerousprofessionally crewed boats.THE OLYMPIC SOLING ACTIVITYSolings at the starting line.JohlSte\Photo by Jay ToveyBoat measurement ranks high as a concern for J 24 events.Them just seems to be much more variation in the construction ofthese boats or the competitors are always pushing the limit. Thecommittee built waist-high sail-measuring tables and scaffolds toenhance the complex measuring process by reducing measurers’fatigue and focusing on logistics. They lined up all the UnitedStates J Association measurers they could find locally.Fortunately, the International J Association Technical Chairmanwas on hand to deal with the expected "innovations" that showedup.The next element of concern was race management. Generalrecalls seem to be a way of life in J 24 fleets and the Worldswere no exception, usually 5 to 8 each race! One Olympiccourse was used and the rest were windward leewards with agate. Without doubt the gate tamed the downwind mark roundingand is strongly recommended for large fleet races. Racemanagement elected to have a single stmting line rather than usinga mid-line boat. You cannot imagine how long the line was with73 boats (the pin end boat, an inflatable, needed its flag to beseen as the hull was lost in the seas).Fleet sailors have also been active in national and1041979-80 1981-82 1983-84 1!William J. Peter M. Gordon R. P~Stolze, Woodams, Britton,Commodore Commodore Commodore