Those unstoppable Martin 242 sailors planned it, sailed it and can now call it a success. The 2019 Martin 242 North Americans were held in West Sound at Orcas Island June 29-30. In the process they proved you don’t need great wind to have a great regatta.
The wind wasn’t actually all that bad, ranging from 2 (hey, that’s not 0) to twelve. And the shifty breezes kept all 27 boats engaged.
But the camaraderie was the big winner for the weekend, with BC, WA and CA sailors together claiming #Martinswintheparty. I wonder what other classes might have to say about.
The winning boat All In was from California and skippered by Michael George. Second was Michael Clements and third was Alex Fox. Results.
Organizer Ken Machtley reports the following tidbits:
- Our next big Martin 242 event is Cow Bay (Cowichan Bay, BC). Chris and I are taking a Martin to Whidbey in a couple weeks (he won overall in a Martin in 2016)
- California is set to host next year’s NA championship, date/place TBD. Vancouver will host in 2021, date/place TBD (much discussion about possibly holding at Race Week at PR).
- The two spectator boats got about 20 folks out on the water to see the racing up close.
- No protests were heard (one was filed, but dismissed for being filed past the deadline).
- Ullman Sails was an outstanding sponsor for us from financial support to giveaways and on-site presence.
- We had ~25 volunteers helping out on the water, decorations, food, bar, dock, spectator boats, etc.
- We look forward to hosting here again someday. 😊
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.