The 2012 District 22 and Flathead Lake Laser Championships were held the weekend of August 18-19 at the North Flathead YC in Somers, MT. Many Northwesterners were busy with big events out on the coast, but we were very happy with the healthy turnout of quality sailors who did attend, including the local talent. Half the field had competed in major championships, the North Americans, and/or the Masters Worlds in the past year.
Our neighbors in Alberta brought a contingent of skill and experience, with seven boats registered. Northern California sent one, Wisconsin one, Washington one, as well as people from across the state of Montana. Twenty full rig boats sailed, plus three 4.7s in a first for MT. A bigger group of 4.7 sailors were unable to make it because of early fall school sports activity.
Three different sets of father-son sailors raced, with the youngest sailing for only his 7th time. 1980 North American Champion Susie Pegel taught a rigging, trimming, and body position clinic on the lawn Friday afternoon.
The Ians sailed strong - Ian the Pirate, Ian the Younger, then Jim the Legend came in 1-2-3. That’s Ian Elliott, Ian Hern, and Jim Christopher, our D22 member for life and past repeat champion. The top three finishers were all within one point of each other.
In the 4.7 class, three sailors from Montana and Alberta duked it out in common-start, one-lap races, with the full rigs going around again. In the end Caleb Gillam squeaked by Dylan Eve for the win.
Saturday produced a nice early morning thermal breeze in a clear sky, not as strong as most years, and dying out by mid-day. Four races were completed, with one triangle course, and one general recall. A fifth race was started and abandoned as the breeze weakened and clocked around.
Dinner was served on the club terrace Saturday night, with grilled chicken, salmon, and burgers. A technical game of the classic board game “Regatta” broke out, with seven sailors and lots of rules and strategy discussion. Later, Ian Hern impressed everyone with a Flash-based sailing computer game he designed.
Thin cloud cover Sunday morning caused the thermal to not fully form, but we completed two good races early. As the Committee Boat waited to see if the Southerly would develop, the sailors were treated to views of the Swan Range, the Mission Range, and the lake sprawling over the horizon South. The Southerly didn’t stabilize, so it was decided to call it a regatta after six total races.
After the awards ceremony, the Southerly started up and produced a nice medium breeze for the afternoon as we drove home.
Flathead Lake was spectacular as usual, with 90 degree temps and 70 degree water. Some regional forest fires added a smoky haze to the horizon, but it was clear and blue on the lake. A couple of sailors made it to Glacier National Park, some went road biking, some mountain biking, and one fly-fishing on the Swan River.
Our farthest travelers were Susie Pegel at 1560 miles, Jim Christopher at 990 miles, the Elliotts at 490 miles, and the entire Billings MT contingent at 450 miles.
2012 District 22 & Flathead Lake Laser Championships August 18-19, 2012 North Flathead Yacht Club - Somers, Montana Full Rig: Finish Sail # Name Homeport R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Total Net 1 195601 Ian Elliott Alberta 2 (5) 1 2 5 2 17 12 2 162333 Ian Hern Alberta 1 (3) 3 3 3 3 16 13 3 174350 Jim Christopher California 4 (10) 2 6 1 1 24 14 4 194593 Nicolas Hamilton Alberta 6 2 5 1 7 (8) 29 21 5 189805 Liam Quinlan Alberta 3 7 (10) 8 4 5 37 27 6 143225 John Underwood Montana 9 8 4 5 (11) 4 41 30 7 165895 Tim Sauer Montana 7 4 (9) 9 2 9 40 31 8 170757 Susie Pegel Wisconsin 5 1 6 12 (15) 11 50 35 9 185926 Richard Quinlan Alberta 8 9 8 4 (13) 7 49 36 10 184536 Luke Harrison Alberta (12) 6 7 10 12 6 53 41 11 160965 Mike Gilbert Montana (16) 11 12 11 6 10 66 50 12 188874 David Elliott Alberta (14) 12 13 7 10 14 70 56 13 NFYC 8 Dennis Muri Montana 15 (16) 11 14 8 16 80 64 14 NFYC 84 Galen Healey Montana 13 13 16 13 9 (18) 82 64 15 175143 Peter Aronsson Montana 11 14 14 (15) 14 15 83 68 16 196817 Frank Caccavo Washington 10 (18) 15 16 17 13 89 71 17 NFYC 82 Nelson Roosendahl Montana (17) 15 17 17 16 12 94 77 18 69468 Austin Gilbert Montana (19) 17 18 18 18 17 107 88 19 NFYC 7 Robin Westlake Montana 18 DNS DNS DNS DNC DNC 118 98 20 NFYC 20 Sarah Bleyer Montana DNS DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 120 100
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