Strong J/111 and J/70 Fleets Ready for 65th Ugotta Regatta

ByStuart Johnstone

(Harbor Springs, MI)- Sailors from across the USA head to Harbor Springs each summer for one of the nation’s best-known sailing traditions: the Little Traverse Yacht Club’s “Ugotta” Regatta. The “Ugotta” brings some of the best sailboat racers in the country to sail in one of the world’s best sailing venues in Little Traverse Bay. The event takes place annually the weekend following the second of the Mackinac Races (Port Huron-Mackinac/ Chicago-Mackinac). This year the Little Traverse YC is celebrating the 65th running of the Ugotta Regatta! Participating are the J/111 and J/70 one-design classes, plus ORC handicap racing fleets.

J/111 Class
With one of the strongest turnouts in years, the twelve-boat fleet will enjoy excellent racing on the Bay. Several teams should be factors at the top of the leaderboard, including local favorite Scott Sellers skippering the famous NO SURPRISE, Jeff Davis’s SHAMROCK, Blane Shea’s STRIKING BACK, George Golder’s TERRIER, Brad Faber’s UTAH, and Carl Henssen’s VARIANCE. That’s a talented collection of veteran J/111 racers that have all won various trophies and events over time. Placing odds on that group might as well be a “fool’s errand”; anyone can win given the right conditions for their teams.

J/70 Class
The seven-boat fleet features local heroes that have been sailing the J/70s for a while. Some of the top teams include Polk Wagner’s ESCAPE, Sean O’Brien’s McFLY, Merritt Sellers’s TRES BURRITOS, and Chris Schoendorf’s TAZ.

ORC B Division
Sailing this nine-boat fleet will be Brad Kimmel’s new J/45 GOLDEN GIRL from Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, MI.

ORC C Division
This thirteen-boat fleet features a trio of J/Teams. All three boats also happen to be winners in past events across the Great Lakes. Those teams include Sam Logan’s J/122 BLITZKRIEG, Mike Hendrie’s J/109 BULL, and Steven Briggs’s J/35 DEAN’S LIST. That’s a “rogues roost” of talented teams; it will be intriguing to see how they fare over the weekend.

For Ugotta Regatta race results
https://yachtscoring.com/emenu/50563

For more Little Traverse YC Ugotta Regatta sailing information
https://ltyc.org/ugotta-regatta