On Sept. 15 - 17, Fleet 7 of the Chesapeake Bay hosted the 2006 North American Championship regatta at the Annapolis Yacht Club. Five boats traveled from Detroit, Newport and Charleston to compete with 12 local boats on the Chesapeake Bay. The three-day series consisted of seven races. For the second year in a row, Falcon, a Detroit based boat owned by Ed and John Bayer and Jim Barnes won the J-35 North American Championship. Local boats, Aunt Jean, owned by Jim Sagerholm and Jerry Christofel, Maggie, owned by Peter Scheidt, and Frequent Flyer, owned by Kevin McNeil took second, fourth and fifth places, respectively. The other Detroit competitor, Karl Kuspa's Scandal, rounded out the top five with third place. There were awards handed out each night to the top three finishers for the individual races as well as the daily overall winners. All competitors were recognized with mini J-35 half-hulls. The final awards ceremony was held on Sunday evening. The Race Committee, lead by Principal Race Officer Sandy Grosvenor, were commended by all the racers for diligence in adapting to the conditions and delivering fantastic courses. Taran Teague chaired the Jury that did a thorough job in deliberating several hearings. In addition to two standing ovations at the Saturday social and Sunday awards banquet, the local J/35 Fleet honored Mark McGonigle, the regatta chair, with a half-hull of their J-35 WINDEPENDENT for his efforts in organizing what almost every participant outwardly exclaimed to be 'the best regatta they have ever been to'. Social events were held at the club each night of the regatta, in addition to the Welcome Reception on Thursday evening catered by Buddy's Crabs and Ribs at Fawcett Boat Supplies. The Fleet held a raffle in the Skipjack during the Friday night party and a silent auction in the third deck dining rooms on Saturday night. Items were donated by various regatta sponsors including North Sails, Forespar, Hall Spars and West Marine. You can view and purchase official photographs by Tim Wilkes Photography on his website: http://www.timwilkes.com/portfolios.php Look for the link on the left side '2006 J35 North Americans!' S&S Mobile Marinas and Fawcett Boat Supplies were the regatta's Title Sponsors. Other regatta sponsors included Mount Gay Rum and Hook & Ladder Brewing Company who supplied the rum and beer for all the socials, Sterling Realty who furnished a free case of water to each boat every morning of the event, as well as Stout Marine Enterprises, Capital Logo Inc. and J-Boats.

Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 (Archive on Sunday, September 24, 2006) Posted by host Contributed by host

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