The News

District 19 Championships

June 21-22, 2014

Irish Boat Shop and Little Traverse Yacht Club, Harbor Springs

Story written by Polk Wagner

Twenty-six competitors gamely handled very light and shifty winds on Little Traverse Bay as they battled in the 2014 Laser District 19 Championships, held in Harbor Springs, Michigan on June 21 and 22, 2014. The top Laser class sailors from across Michigan, Ohio, and even Ontario competed in the chilly waters off the Harbor Springs Harbor.  The title came down to the last leg of the last race of the three race series: sailing fast in the best winds of the weekend, Steve Johansen of Ann Arbor, Michigan emerged as the 2014 District Champion.  Ken Swetka of Detroit, Michigan was a close second, and Daniel Barry of Sarnia, Ontario won a tiebreaker on points from Barry Savage of Detroit, Michigan to capture third place.  The top Laser Master Award was given to Leigh Savage of Detroit, Michigan, the top Junior Sailor was Harbor Springs' own Matt Menzi, and the top woman sailor was Suzie Pegel.

The 2014 Laser District 19 Championships were graciously sponsored by Irish Boat Shop and Little Traverse Sailors, with assistance from the Little Traverse Yacht Club.  The organizers were very pleased with the sharp uptick in interest in the event this year, with nearly ten more boats racing.  The extra boats, and the high talent level of this fleet made for exciting starts (with several general recalls), very tight mark roundings, and overall highly competitive racing.

On Saturday the light and variable winds saw the Race Committee struggle to get in one race, and similar conditions on Sunday meant that only two races were possible before the time deadline expired.  But the lack of races was more than made up by the tight racing and camaraderie of the sailors, who were treated to a Saturday night barbeque and Sunday afternoon Awards Ceremony at Irish Boat Shop in Harbor Springs. The organizers would also like to thank Ali Hill of Bayview, Dave Travis of Crooked Lake, and Dan Thompson of Harbor Springs for excellent Race Committee work under very difficult conditions.  The event could not have happened without the support of Irish Boat Shop, Little Traverse Sailors, and the Little Traverse Yacht Club.  We hope to host the 2015 Laser District Championships next June, and look forward to building on this years' momentum.

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​For complete resultsclick here to download a PDF

You can download some photos from the event at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/co4dfni1mppicso/Photos.zip

Open to all standard and radial racers

June 22nd and 23rd in Harbor Springs

Sailing in the protected Harbor on Little Traverse Bay

Launching and parking at Ford Park Boat Launch next to Irish Boat Shop

This regatta will take place in Harbor Springs on Saturday June 21 and Sunday June 22. We will be sailing out of Ford Park, the Harbor Springs public boat launch, and competing on the pristine waters of Little Traverse Bay. This event promises to be a good one and is the kick-off to our summer schedule of local Laser Racing here in Harbor Springs.

For questions or more information, please contact:

For Notice of Race 2014 District 19 Laser Championship NOR.