Day 5 of the Fall North American 5.5M Regatta dawned with grey skies and rolling thunder, remnants leftover from fierce overnight thunderstorms. By skipper’s meeting they’d dissipated and crews headed out for the last day of competition with standings shaping up – but still opportunity to better their positions, writes Jennifer Harker.
Race 1 saw a grouped start in good winds with Firestorm USA 87 top of the pack and Nantoria CAN 22 never far away.
O’Kelly CAN 79 was all business and charged ahead to the first mark. Rounding with a preloaded spinnaker she executed a slick spinnaker raise for a solid lead.
By the second mark Firestorm’s crew had her in top gear and led for much of the remainder. But O’Kelly wasn’t done yet and would take the lead again by the fourth mark and make it interesting right till the finish where Firestorm crossed first, followed by O’Kelly and Nantoria.
O’Kelly crew Chris Gooding, sailing in his second 5.5 regatta, said, “We had a really good first race, leading up till the final mark, where we made a mistake, a missed call. I thought I could cover and push him, but Firestorm ducked me.”
Finishing two places ahead of Savage USA 75 all but solidified the winner of the battle for third spot in the evolutions. However, a poor start in Race 2 left the door open for Savage. “We were totally shut out at the start line, playing catch up for the rest of the race,” Gooding said. “I learned a lesson there, barging won’t work, there are no gaps at the end of the week, everyone’s just too close.”
Gooding said he really likes the one design, close match racing of the 5.5 Regatta. “The third race was excellent trying to keep in front of Savage, and they almost had us at the line. It was a fantastic day, a fantastic week and I can’t wait till next year.”
In the super tight classic division Summer School CAN 31 and Summer CAN 80 traded the lead throughout Race 1 with Summer School prevailing at the line. Purple Haze USA 51 sailed into third which would be her consistent placing in all three final races and her overall finish.
Race 2 had everyone raring to go and Nantoria led the fleet off the line with Savage quickly nosing in. Clearly it could be anyone’s race.
Pride USA 31 took the eastern line which proved effective and led the classics around the first mark. She would carry that momentum through the race for first place.
Although Summer School would register another first in the final race for the overall win, Pride skipper Joe Strelow said, “I’m proud of how we sailed today. It was a really good, clean last day. It went right to the last mark.”
With everyone fighting for that last inch, he said, “Dividing into two classes was the right thing. It forces us to be laser sharp on what we’re doing in the classics and the evolutions have to be laser sharp too. You have to go hunt or be beat by the other classics. It’s really incredible to see two classics in with the evolutions at the mark. This was the best 5.5 regatta ever with great winds and fantastic competition.”
Savage was in the hunt all of Race 2, trailing only Firestorm for the third and fourth legs, however Nantoria would glide in for second. O’Kelly was fourth, making the race for third very interesting. In Race 3, Savage was so close at the horn but it would be O’Kelly taking third spot for third overall.
Savage skipper Dan Rossi said, “We had spectacular moments of brilliance throughout the regatta but Midland Bay got us every time.”
Instrumental in the creation of the inaugural North American 5.5M Regatta in 2014, Rossi has brought boats and lent them to skippers every year introducing more sailors to the 5.5 experience. “We’ve created something special here. Racing is racing, but what makes this click is the people. I’m having a helluva time,” he enthused.
Nantoria, sailing as an evolution to even out the fleets, had a strong final day with two seconds and a third but couldn’t reel in the speedy Firestorm to finish in second spot overall.
Firestorm was unbeatable today, claiming three firsts on Day 5 for the top spot in the evolutions, earning the class trophy donated by Kaspar Stubenrauch.
Coming from the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club with its storied 5.5 racing history, Firestorm skipper William Turner recalled his initial visit to Midland with crew Tal Hutcheson. “Tal and I came up for the first time in 2019. They said just show up. We’ll put you in a boat. We arrived and parked wherever and someone said you guys are the Texans, you’re sailing my boat. If it sinks it sinks, it has before. There were laminate sails, the main was flaking off and there was water everywhere [obviously he is talking about Nantoria] but we had such a great time.”
Turner begun the search for his own 5.5 and although his first attempt ended disasterously with the boat being destroyed at customs, he was eventually able to secure Firestorm and bring her back from Europe.
They returned to Midland this spring with Firestorm, tuning her up and finishing second to Nantoria. “We’re glad to be back and grow the fleet,” Turner said.
They certainly had the boat dialed in this regatta as Firestorm’s nine of 13 first place finishes not only earned top spot for the regatta, but also the North American 5.5 Metre Championship overall crown for 2022.
Final standings were: Firestorm, Nantoria, O’Kelly and Savage in the evolutions and Summer School, Pride, Purple Haze and Summer in the classics.
Awarding the Classic Trophy, donated by German Thies Forst, to Summer School, Dan Rossi described the glossy wooden boat, jointly owned by Canadian John Lister and American Joe Strelow. “She is fast and pretty, the queen of the ball.”
An accomplished Shark racer, Eugene Kokbas took the helm of Summer School this week for his first 5.5 experience. Kokbas said, “It’s truly a privilege to sail this vintage boat. She’s beautiful. We tried to make her previous owner proud. He’s sailing with us as his photo is under the deck.”
Winners also received engraved glasses, courtesy of William Turner – perfect for “rum gums” a Texas Corinthian Yacht Club specialty drink that made its Canadian debut at this regatta.
The North American group has an excellent reputation for spirit and camaraderie whether it’s ensuring every boat gets out on the race course with borrowed parts and group repairs, or raising funds for the community.
The North American 5.5M Regatta is sponsored by and centred out of the Midland Bay Sailing Club. Bay Port Yachting Centre is also an essential sponsor, handling launch and haul of all the 5.5s. This year Bay Port is fundraising to support the Georgian Bay General Hospital with Boaters For Best Care. The 5.5ers took a collection and the group donated $1300 towards Bay Port’s campaign.
Final results here: images/results_pdf/2022/NA-Fall-Regatta-2022.pdf
For information on the North American 5.5M fleet, contact Dan Rossi danielrossi@earthlink.net or John Lister listersjohn@gmail.com
A tightly packed fleet was a hallmark of the fall regatta as classics and evolutions mixed it up all week long.
Firestorm USA 87 would emerge victorious, earning the evolution title, as well as the inaugural North American 5.5 Metre Championship overall crown for 2022 with (from left) Jeff Brook, skipper William Turner and Tal Hutcheson.
Early Friday morning Pride USA 31 crew was making last minute adjustments, but it wasn’t quite enough, finishing second overall to classic winner Summer School CAN 31. The team of Michael Bloor, Mat Thurley and skipper Joe Strelow declared it the best 5.5 regatta ever.
Eugene Kokbas skippered Summer School CAN 31 to first place in the classic division. He called it a privilege to sail the vintage boat. It’s a perfect example of the spirit of the North American 5.5M Regatta as she is jointly owned by American Joe Strelow and Canadian John Lister who invited Kokbas to skipper the boat – his first time racing a 5.5.
From left John Lister, Bay Port General Manager Steve Goddard, Chris Gooding and Dean Harker paused haul out to offer a thank you plaque and donate $1300 from the North American 5.5ers to Bay Port’s Boaters For Best Care campaign in support of the Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland.