{"id":75682,"date":"2023-06-09T20:36:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T00:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=75682"},"modified":"2023-06-12T09:51:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T13:51:00","slug":"soft-opening-for-chicagos-big-regatta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/regatta-series\/soft-opening-for-chicagos-big-regatta\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft Opening For Chicago\u2019s Big Regatta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HfqHD5DenZY' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/yachtscoring.com\/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eid=15508\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Final Results<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Daniel Floberg was at work on a glorious summer Friday in <a href=\"\/regatta-series-chicago\/\">Chicago<\/a>, he turned the his <em>J\/88<\/em> <em>Misty<\/em> to his crew, which did their skipper proud on the opening day of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series by not just winning the first race of the morning\u2014by a Lake Michigan mile\u2014but then winning the next one and finishing fourth in the third to close the day with a 1-point lead in the seven-boat class. This was, of course, easier said than done with flat water and an easy breeze that slowly built but often shifted dramatically, catching some teams off guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"539\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0106-3-1024x690.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"2023 Sailing World Regatta Series \u2013 Chicago\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0106-3-1024x690.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0106-3-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0106-3-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0106-3-1536x1036.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0106-3.jpg 1602w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">J\/88 Team Misty rounds the weather mark on en route to winning the first race of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>For the first day of this early-season Chicago summer classic, three races were scored across all four race circles and with winds on the tamer side, conditions were ideal for race teams new and old to re-acclimate with their boats and their positions after the long offseason. But for Tod Patton, the professional sailmaker and skipper of the J\/122e <em>Blondie<\/em>, today was an opportunity to better understand a boat that is new to the team. \u201cThis is the first buoy race regatta we\u2019ve done since we\u2019ve gotten the boat,\u201d Patton says, \u201cand given that we\u2019re happy with our results today\u2014the crew work was great and that certainly helped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a trio of second-place finishes in the six-boat <strong>PHRF<\/strong> division, Patton\u2019s <em>Blondie<\/em> padded themselves a 3-point lead over Robert Smeeter\u2019s <em>Ohana<\/em>, a Dehler 34c, but it\u2019s not <em>Ohana<\/em> that Patton is most worried about. He says Joe Hummel\u2019s C&amp;C 115 <em>Archimedes III<\/em>, sitting in third, seemed to be the fast boat they\u2019ll have to keep tabs on over the weekend. \u201cThey had good speed,\u201d Patton says, \u201cbut for us, everything worked pretty smoothly, so that made for a good day to start with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gary Powell and Scot and Yvonne Ruhlander\u2019s <strong>Beneteau 40.7 <\/strong><em>Mojo<\/em>, past overall champions of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago, got off to a good start with a second in the first race and race wins in the next two to establish a 2-point lead over Thomas Weber\u2019s team on <em>La<\/em> <em>Tempete<\/em>, which won the day\u2019s opening race. Jeffrey Davis\u2019 team on the <strong>J\/111<\/strong> <em>Shamrock<\/em> also put a pair of wins on the scoreboard to lead its three-boat division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0424-2-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"2023 Sailing World Regatta Series \u2013 Chicago\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0424-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0424-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0424-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0424-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-0424-2.jpg 1620w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The Beneteau 36.7 fleet exits the mark and looks for the next shift at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>In the <strong>J\/109 <\/strong>fleet, George Miz\u2019s team on <em>Smee Again<\/em> got off to rocky start with a fifth in the first race after seemingly getting caught out on the morning\u2019s first big wind shift, but with that result behind them, they rallied with a 1-2 for the next races and closed the day tied at the top with Peter Priede and his team on <em>Full Tilt<\/em>, winners of the final race of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Mark Fruin and his teammates on the <strong>J\/105<\/strong> Nyctosaur, today on Lake Michigan was a banner day and an even better start to their season. After winning the first-race wire-to-wire they finished second to Josh and Laura Lutton\u2019s <em>Kinship<\/em> in the next. Their win in the third race, Fruin says, was all on account of a full-speed start. From there, however, he doesn\u2019t remember much. He was doing his job concentrating on driving and letting the crew do the rest of the good work, including his tactician, Bob Bernstein, a local champion with plenty of experience on Lake Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1181-2-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"2023 Sailing World Regatta Series \u2013 Chicago\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1181-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1181-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1181-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1181-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1181-2.jpg 1620w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Team Mojo, the top Beneteau 40.7 after three races on the opening day of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was all about the right side today and Bob put us in some great places.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Saturday\u2019s coming races, Fruin says the plan is to stick with what\u2019s been working: \u201cWe\u2019ll just listen to Bob, put ourselves in clear air and sail fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the regatta\u2019s one-design circle, which features the two largest classes\u2014the <strong>J\/70<\/strong> and the <strong>Tartan 10s<\/strong>\u2014it was all Richard Witzel\u2019s team on the J\/70 <em>Rowdy<\/em>, which went undefeated to build a 9-point lead over Dick Kalow\u2019s crew on <em>Superior 1<\/em>. For the Tartan 10s, last year\u2019s winning team on Brian Kaczor\u2019s <em>Erica<\/em> remains on form with 1-3-2 scoreline which puts them 3 points ahead of their rivals on Edward Mui and Craig Roehl\u2019s <em>Meat<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1773-1-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"2023 Sailing World Regatta Series \u2013 Chicago\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1773-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1773-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1773-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1773-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/230609_SWRS_Chicago-1773-1.jpg 1620w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Tartan 10s group off the start of the day&#8217;s third race in Chicago.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe were expecting lighter winds all day and were happy to have the breeze we did,\u201d Kaczor says. \u201cFor the first race, we had the boat set up for lighter winds and it was quick, but when the wind built for the scone we didn\u2019t shift gears very and missed some shifts, but were happy to claw back from seventh to third in that race. Overall, we\u2019re pretty happy with being a bit more consistent than the rest of the fleet. The crew did great and I think we are sitting in a good place but we know there are a lot more races to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a good forecast for Saturday\u2019s races, the regatta\u2019s Distance Race fleets, topping more than 30 boats, will join the action with longer courses across the lake. Once ashore, all competitors will gather at host Chicago Yacht Club\u2019s Monroe Station for the weekend\u2019s biggest party and the ultra-competitive remote control racing with the Dragon Force 65 fleet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The breeze was light and the racing was tight on the kickoff of the 2023 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Chicago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":75672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"157","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Racers and teams returned to Lake Michigan for the first day of racing at the 2023 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[157],"tags":[181,202],"class_list":["post-75682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regatta-series","tag-helly-hansen-sailing-world-regatta-series","tag-helly-hansen-sailing-world-regatta-series-chicago"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}