Saturday, the final race of the regatta was run in an easterly breeze of 5 - 7 k. Bill Lynn of Marblehead is the 2007 SONAR World's Champion. See results HERE.
See race day photos - Day 1 , 2 , 3
Read a RACERAP for - Day 1 , 2 , 3
See the GPS tracking of the boats at the Kattack site HERE.


Sailors were again greeted with no wind as they sailed out to the course for Day three of the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider Sonar World Championships. At 11:30, the Race Committee hoisted the AP and it quickly became apparent that the competitors where in for a long day. By 12:00 a light sea breeze began to make an appearance. Hoping to avoid the general recalls that have been a part of every start of the series, the Race Committee informed the competitors that the first start would be with the Z flag. Staying in the breeze was the key to the first race and no one did it as well as Sam Altreuter (585). Coming in from the left hand side of the course, he rounded the top mark with a five boat length lead and would go on to lead at every mark. The next seven boats were all close and changed positions throughout the race. In the end, it was Sam Altreuter in first, followed by Peter Galloway (701) in second, Erik Goethert (425) in third, Sonar Designer Bruce Kirby (633) in fourth, and Bob Monro (605) in fifth. Dave Curtis (564) who crossed the line in third was OCS.

For the second race of the day, the race committed again used the Z flag to keep the competitors behind the line. This was quite effective as a huge mid line sag made life difficult for the boats in the middle of the line. This enabled the boats starting at the weather end to get a jump on most of the fleet. Larry Erhrardt (690) had a fantastic start at the boat and quickly tacked off to the right. He was able to stay in the breeze and round the top mark in first. Close on his heels were Wade Edwards (689), Race three winner Skip Shumway (1), and Peter Galloway (701). The first run saw the boats spread out on the course and the boats that stayed right made big gains. At the leeward mark Wade Edwards (689) had worked his way into first, followed by Larry Erhrardt (690) and Skip Shumway (1). At the weather mark, Edwards was still in first with Shumway close behind. Edwards held the lead around the leeward gate, but picked the wrong side for the final beat. Shumway was able to work the right side of the course and ended up first at the finish line, followed by Peter Galloway in second, Larry Ehrhardt in third, Wade Edwards in fourth and Bill Lynn in fifth. A long day on the water was about to get longer as the race committee informed the competitors that a third race would be sailed.

With daylight rapidly disappearing, the race committee decided to shorten the weather leg to .8 miles for the third race. By the time the competitors arrived at the top mark it became apparent that a large band of fog would over take the fleet. The Race Committee decided to shorten the course and finish the boats at the leeward mark. Unfortunately, the fog rolled in much quicker than anticipated and the Race Committee made the decision to abandon the race. A sixth and final race will be sailed tomorrow.


 

About 30 Sonar's took advantage of the easterly breeze of 8 to 10 knots for 2 practice races on Tuesday.