2011 North Americans - Macatawa Bay, Michigan, USA

The 2011 U20 North Americans have come and went but not without a little excitement along the way. U20's gathered from Canada, Kansas, Colorado, North Carolina and Michigan to start the process of check in on Thursday, August 11th, 2011 at Macatawa Bay Yacht Club. That evening skippers and crew visited the local pubs and breweries in Holland, MI to relive some U20 memories.

Friday morning came and the weather looked great! Winds were out of the SSE at 14 knots with waves around 3 feet. Little did most realize that there was quite a strong current flowing in the lake from South to North. Tac Boston's "Salt Fish US" and crew showed dominance right from the start by taking 4 firsts out of four races for the day. Jim Pearson's, "Slippery", followed up with four Seconds for the day. Keith Ziegler's, "Who's the Boss", and the Bayview Boys on "No Name", battled it out for Third. Friday evening, Tac Boston, held a tactical briefing to discuss what worked on the lake today, what rig tensions were set, etc. Then Goombay Smashes were served for those who dared! The U20 group enjoyed a great pizza party and then followed by the U20 Class Meeting.

Saturday moring brought storms and a postponement on shore. After watching the storms pass through, the race committee determined we might be able to get in a couple races before the next line of storms that were on the western side of Lake Michigan were able to come through. The first race was in winds out of the South at about 18 knots with 4 foot seas. The same results occured with Tac, Jim and Keith taking 1, 2, 3 respectively. The second race started the same as the first, however on the second upwind leg the storms crossed Lake Michigan faster than the race committee had anticipated. The race committee shortened course and started finishing boats but not before the storm took hold. 3 boats dropped out to head for shelter. Lightning, heavy rain and high winds to 50 knots hit the fleet. All individuals made it back to shore safe with some damage occuring on the race course. Everyone was accounted for so everyone dried off, got some drinks and the U20 Class Banquet was enjoyed by all.

Sunday morning all boats headed out to Lake Michigan only to be turned back to shore from waves from 8 to 10 feet and high winds with a storm approaching. After postponement at shore for another hour, the race committee abandoned racing for the day and the regatta was done. Awards and lunch were enjoyed by all and boats were packed up and goodbye's were given until the next regatta. Special thanks go out to Dr. Mike Bremmer for his organization of the event, Macatawa Bay Yacht Club and their great race committee.

Story by Gregg Henning