Fast track for Queen's Cup

Mon, Jun 30, 2008    to del.icio.us

Sailors in the annual Queen's Cup sailboat race say they never know what to expect as far as weather conditions for the race.

That's what you get for living in the Midwest.

Wind conditions were at a standstill on Lake Michigan at last season's race, and most boats didn't reach the finish line in Muskegon until the afternoon.

"We were putting suntan lotion on during what was supposed to be a night race," said Grand Haven Sailing Club Rear Commodore Curt Porter, who sailed on the boat Bad Dog, a J-35.

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This year, boats took full advantage of steady 10- to 20-knot winds from Milwaukee's South Shore Yacht Club to the finish line in Grand Haven, especially Rocinante, the winner of the race. The South Shore Yacht Club boat, captained by Charlotte Taylor, finished with a corrected time of 6 hours, 38 minutes and 26 seconds to take first overall and in Division 11.

A total of 148 boats crossed the finish line in Grand Haven, while 34 others failed to make it from port to port.

Sailors encountered a thunderstorm at the start of the race, but while the rains eventually stopped, the consistent, strong winds never did.

"There was a consistent, steady wind the entire race," said Bad Dog owner Larry Taunt, whose 4:30 a.m. finish was the earliest he had ever completed the Cup. "It was a fun race."

Rocinante's corrected time was 15 minutes faster than the runner-up boat Cynthia, the Division 8 champion skippered by James DeVries of the St. Joseph River Yacht Club.

The lone Grand River Sailing Club boat to finish the Queen's Cup was Steve Platte's WindFeather II, which completed the race with a corrected time of 7:53.09, good for 10th place in Division 6 and 97th overall.