(Port Credit, ONT, Canada)- The weekend of the "Great Lakes" major
offshore races, the Chicago-Mac and LO300, were primarily characterized
by the fact that a massive High pressure area was squashed over the
entire Great Lakes, acting somewhat like the Atlantic and Pacific Highs
that wobble around-- they generally produce little or no wind near the
maximum area of pressure. While the Mac Racers had their longest race
on record, it may also be said that LO300 sailors shared a similar
experience.
In some respects, the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge, the premier offshore race on Lake Ontario, provided even more challenging scenarios than their Mac counterparts as they circumnavigated Lake Ontario. The Main Duck Island course of 300nm saw tops boats finishing just as some of the fleet in the shorter 190nm Scotch Bonnet course were finishing, too!
Nineteen J/Teams sailed the race but not all finished as the rate of attrition was nearly as high as it was for the Mac Race on Lake Michigan. It was epic, slow going as well for the Lake Ontario sailors.
The IRC 1 again proved to be a dual between two J/Teams and two Farr teams. Winning class was John McLeod's J/133 HOT WATER and getting the short-end of the stick in fourth place was the J/111 SURVENANT (skippered by a Quebec quartet of Marcel Cote, P Bernier, C Boulet, N Cote and Y Dion). For more Lake Ontario 300 sailing information
