28 MARCH 2006 • Shawn Burke sailing Grins took the Melges 24 Southeastern Inland Championship Regatta this past weekend for the second year in a row at Lake Lanier Sailing Club located just north of Atlanta, GA. The regatta was sponsored by Quantum Sails, Solution Property Group, Sadler and Hamm Insurance, and Sailmax.biz. Twelve teams arrived Friday to cool and breezy conditions and after some practice, the teams met at Mal Hill's lake house for Fiesta Night complete with Mexican and Margaritas sponsored by Solution Property Group. Saturday the teams began racing with puffy 10-20 knot breezes blowing out of the Northwest. Some excellent downhill rides and wipeouts were experienced throughout the fleet as the breeze was constantly changing velocity and direction. Burke protected the left and clearly favored side of the course posting all bullets for the day. Mike Krantz helming Lamorak had a solid day until posting an OCS in the last race of the day taking him from 2nd to 4th place. As a result, Team Satisfaction helmed by the M24 Class Vice President, Scott Gregory, seemed to have 2nd place secured with a 9 point lead over the 3rd place boat, Wireless, helmed by Reggie Fairchild. 3rd through 6th place remained tight after the 5 races on Saturday with just 3 points of total separation (Wireless, Lamorak, VC Performance Rigging, and Desperate Measures.) After Sailmax.biz awarded the well deserved daily prizes to the Grins’ team on Saturday evening, all the teams met at the club for dinner catered by local establishment Old MacDonald’s BBQ. Participants definitely seemed to have a good time as festivities last well into the night for some. Sunday morning the teams woke up to temperatures in the cooler than normal mid 30s and breezes of 10-12. Immediately after the first race on Sunday, the breeze shifted approximately 70 degrees to the right forcing race committee to reset the course. The breeze shut off for some time and eventually filled again so the fleet could complete the seventh and final race of the regatta in light conditions. The dominance of Grins continued with 2 additional bullets on Sunday and a perfect record for the weekend. VC Performance Rigging had an outstanding day with 2 2nd place finishes taking them from 5th to 2nd overall. Scott Nixon of Quantum sails presented trophies to the top four finishing boats.
For full results of the regatta, visit the following site:
http://www.llsc.com/database/RaceResults/2006/2006_109.xls |
