VEGGIE SUB TAKES THE LIGHTNING WINTER CHAMPIONSHIP IN ST. PETERSBURG,

VEGGIE SUB TAKES THE LIGHTNING WINTER CHAMPIONSHIP IN ST. PETERSBURG, FL

CHED PROCTOR WINS LIGHTNING WINTER CHAMPIONSHIP

Day one of the winter champs began with a front that brought NW breezes in the 8-12 knot range and built throughout the day to 22+ knots. The fleet successfully completed four races as attrition took its toll on the fleet. Capsizes, bent spreaders, and one broken mast resulted in very sore and tired sailors!

Day two was primed to be “moving day” with many teams set to work their way up the leaderboard. Unfortunately the wind wasn’t in the mood to get “moving” until late in the day as the fleet waited onshore until 3pm for the sea-breeze to build. Patience was rewarded with a very nice 5-leg race in a pleasant 8-12 knot westerly breeze, which was challenging to the fleet because of the shifty and puffy wind behavior.

David Starck on ‘Team Patstrong’ got out early in the first beat, never looked back, and took the race win. The rest of the top varied throughout the race and changed every leg with several teams moving into and out of second through fifth. In the end, Jeff Linton got to the right of Marvin Beckman and Mike Holly on the final beat to take second place. James Taylor was there to round out the top 5.

Fleet lined up ready for the start of the race

Once sailors got to shore, the ‘Lutz Rum Party’ at St. Petersburg Sailing Center was a nice way to end a solid day of racing.

The final day was a test of patience as the 40 teams were postponed onshore waiting for the promised afternoon seabreeze. After a little over four hours postponed the fleet headed out into the building breeze, which finally turned southwesterly.

While the majority of the fleet turned right after the start to chase the expected wind shift, event leaders Ched Proctor and David Starck got out to the left side of the course where they found a bit more pressure. This enabled them to get over the top of the boats on the right and round the top mark first and second again, with Ched holding a one-boat length lead on second place. From there it was protect and extend for team ‘Veggie Sub’ as they covered ‘PatStrong’ throughout the race to earn their third victory and overall regatta win. The Starck team crossed the finish line in the final race in second, followed by Tom Allen in third, Jeff Linton in fourth and Cris Perez in fifth.

In the overall result, team “Veggie Sub” with Ched Proctor, Jeff Eiber and Tim King won the 70th Winter Championship. This was Ched’s 2nd Winter Championship victory

The teams of David Starck, Marvin Beckman, Cris Perez, Tom Allen and Jeff Linton rounded out the top 6 places, all powered by North Sails.

Congratulations Ched Proctor and team ‘Veggie Sub’ for taking the overall win at the winter championships and to our clients for sailing well!