CHED PROCTOR WINS LIGHTNING MIDWINTERS IN SOUTHERN CIRCUIT FINALE
VEGGIE SUB WINS LIGHTNING MIDWINTERS IN SOUTHERN WINTER CIRCUIT FINALE
The Lightning Midwinters ended Saturday with four races in windy conditions of 15-22 knots on beautiful Biscayne Bay in Florida. The Coral Reef Yacht Club race committee, led by Jane Anne Pincus, kept the fleet of 30 teams in the northern end of Biscayne Bay and ran flawless W4 and W5 courses in challenging but consistent breeze. There proved to be a definite left side advantage in the first three races, which gave those who got left early a chance to break free and gain a nice advantage on those who went right.
In race 1, Ched Proctor’s team Veggie Sub, consisting of Ben Cesare and Jay Lurie, was pushed hard by David Peck, his wife Nina and son David on 15215. Peck led around the windward mark in Sunday’s first race and benefitted greatly from Ched’s “nose dive” into a wave just after the weather mark that nearly filled the cockpit to the seats, which allowed the Peck team to run away with that race as Ched narrowly fended of Jeff Linton’s team on xx.
The left corner shifts seemed to pay off for Veggie Sub in the second race, working their way to the top mark in first place and avoiding all downwind hazards to win the race. The third race of the day was a close battle between the top three teams. Ultimately it was the Cristobal Perez and his team from Chile who caught the last big gust of the race, and surged ahead just before the finish to take the win. Jeff Linton was close behind until a mishap caused a capsize just before the finish line.
The last race of the series presented the fleet with a 15 degree right shift that made it hard to get out of the left corner for those who committed early on, although Dave Peck’s 15215 pulled off the feat by over-standing the windward mark and reaching in on port tack full speed, to just barely make it across the bows of the starboard tack lineup on the layline.
The final standings for the Midwinters saw North-powered teams in the lead with Ched Proctor’s Veggie Sub taking the overall win, the Peck family on 15215 finishing second, Chris Perez sailing No DesesPerez in third, and Jeff Linton with team xx finishing fourth.
We are very proud of all the North teams that performed so well this year on the Southern Circuit and dominated the results at all the events! The Midwinters marked the end of the Southern Circuit events, which also included the 70th annual St Petersburg Winter Championship that finished earlier in the week.
In the Southern Circuit overall results, North clients placed 1-14. Top five are Ched Proctor and team Veggie Sub, Cristobol Perez and team No DesesPerez, Jeff Linton with team xx, Tom Allen with team 9, and Neal Fowler with 11346.
Congrats to Ched and his team for winning the Midwinters, Winter Championship and overall Southern Circuit titles and to our clients for participating in and dominating the results in the Southern Circuit series events!
