USMCA NEWS

NEWS

JACK KERN WINS THE 2006 LEUKEMIA CUP IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

17 OCTOBER 2006 • The 2006 Leukemia Cup in Austin, Texas was the last stop on the Gulf Coast Melges 24 circuit, that is until 2007. Five of the Gulf's strongest teams made a showing, for two days and five races.

Overall the regatta was wonderful. No rain, 5-10 knots of breeze, great food and beverages at every pass through the club. In the end, it was Jack Kern and his son Doug as well as ex-owner Mark Giesing winning the regatta with a 1, 1, 2, 2, 1 finish, five points ahead of the second place finisher Mark Bryan with 12.

Three short leg races were held on Saturday and two on Sunday. On every leg, it seemed that there must have beet at least four position changes with a very shifty breeze. The combination of talent, local knowledge and experience on the Devil Dog crew was great. The second race they won by almost a full leg and just played it solid the rest of the way. Pretty close finishes with Trick Monkey and Barking Fish kept things interesting. The local boat of Steve Eller and his Cold Shot crew carried the hospitality way too far as it seemed they seemed to have picked every wrong shift. Instead of leading the way around all they mark as they have done in the past, this time the lost the race on the first leg rather than the last.

A great time was had by all and looks forward to seeing everyone back next year and then some!

FULL RESULTS
1.) JACK KERN; Devil Dog: 1, 1, 2, 2, 1 = 7
2.) MARK BRYAN; Barking Fish: 2, 2, 3, 1, 4 = 12
3.) MATT MAYO; Trick Monkey: 4, 3, 1, 4, 2 = 14
4.) GARY BAUMGARTNER; Risky Business: 3, 4, 5, 3, 3 = 18
5.) STEVE ELLER/BRYAN BAYERDORFFER; Cold Shot: 5, 5, 4, 5, 6DNF = 25