J/70 Sailors Love Southern Bay Week

(Hampton, VA)- One of the highlights of the southern Chesapeake Bay racing season is the Southern Bay Race Week hosted by Hampton Yacht Club.  The event actually starts with the annual "feeder race" from Annapolis, the "Down the Bay Race".  After the racers have recuperated from their blast down the Chesapeake, the Hampton YC plays host to an amazing regatta that is loaded with an enormous amount of social activities and festivities for the next four days straight!  Great bands, great food and simply fabulous Southern hospitality.  No wonder its popular for "those in the know" in the mid-Atlantic region.

For their debut event, the J/70s had a good turnout for Southern Bay.  In the end, it was evident the teams were all on an enormous learning curve as some boats that did well in the beginning soon found themselves on a slippery slope trying to cope with others who were learning how to go faster and apply better tactics upwind and, especially, downwind. Locals Ron Thompson and crew started strongly but struggled later in the regatta.  Their 1-1-2-1-4-1-3 for 13 pts sealed the deal to win the J/70s.  The Kimbrough boys on NOSTALGIA sailed well and their 3-4-1-3-3-2-1 for 17 pts was good enough to take a comfortable second overall.  Third was John Hanna sailing VORTEX Racing, beating on a tie-breaker their friend Basil Rowland sailing GETMYBOAT.COM.   For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information