- Great Lakes 2020 COVID Cup Regatta October 5, 2020
October 3-4, 2020
2020 has been a tough year for everyone. Viperers, with travel limited and restrictions on social contacts outside the household, have missed what was supposed to be an event-packed season of one-design racing culminating in the North Americans on Long Island Sound. As of mid-September, there had been no one-design racing on the Great Lakes since 2019, though boats had been sailing PHRF in Sarnia, Ottawa, and Hamilton.
Out of some threads of text messages, the fleet decided to try and throw an event on short notice before the season was completely done. The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club on Burlington Bay proved to be excited about hosting, and able to provide boats and RC—so the regatta came together for October 3 – 4. Five boats raced with a higher proportion of family teams than usual—the Molimard brothers came from ...
...read more - Marcus Eagan wins Viper 640 World and North American Championships August 25, 2019
Congratulations to Marcus Eagan, Andrew Eagan, and Jackson Benvenutti (Mandeville, LA) for winning both the Goslings 2019 Viper 640 World Championship and the 2019 Viper 640 North Americans. Hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA), the four-day Championship consisted of 13 races in atypical Long Beach conditions – light, 8-10 knots except for the final race on Day 2 and the last two on the final day when winds were mid to high teens. It was a regatta where sailors were faced with a wide range of conditions and those atop the podium had to be capable of dealing with them all.
Eagan ended with 33 points after five of the races atop the 41-boat fleet. In second was Geoff Ewenson (Annapolis, MD), Ryan Cox, and Jon Ziskind with 44 points having won an extremely consistent series with 11 ...
...read more - Sharon Green Photos from the Goslings 2019 Viper 640 World Championship August 25, 2019
Award-winning photographer did an absolutely superlative job capturing the color, flavor, and texture of the Goslings Viper 640 World Championship. Many have been posted in low resolution on this website and on Facebook, but if you want a photo from Sharon, simply click on this link.
2019 VIPER 640 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTOS
Great images, great sailing, great Vipering!
...read more - Faces in the Crowd – Goslings Viper 640 Worlds August 24, 2019
From 1958 to 2006, in the back of Sports Illustrated was a column of editorial called Faces in the Crowd. These started out being the super stars…but transitioned into both pro and amateur athletes who made a difference in the world of sports.
In the world of sailing, particularly in the world of the Viper 640 World Championship, there are many Faces in the Crowd.
Award-winning photographer Sharon Green (UltimateSailing.com #ultimatesailing) has been capturing the faces of the 2019 Viper Worlds. Here are just a few:
...read more - Goslings Viper 640 World Championship – Day 3 – Moving Day! August 24, 2019
Day three of the Goslings Viper 640 World Championship is what the sailors called “moving day.” The Catalina High was predicted to suck the air out of the race course mid-afternoon and, after two good races in 8-10 knots, the High’s effect was felt, and the third race was finished in very light conditions.
With two days and seven races under their belts, the sailors were going to either move up or down in the standings. For Marcus & Andrew Eagan and Jackson Benvenutti as well as Geoff Ewenson, Ryan Cox, and Jon Ziskind, it was moving up. After two days wearing the “yellow jersey,” local sailors Jay Golison, Steve Flam, and Eric Doyle fell. Eagan’s CAJUN UNDERWRITING moved from second to first winning all three of the day’s races , Ewenson’s EVIL HISS moved up into the second position with ...
...read more - Viper Worlds – Day 2 recap August 23, 2019
The weather gods smiled on the sailors of the Goslings Viper 640 World Championship at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA). The maximum four races were run by PRO Mark Townsend in breezes that ranged from 6-8 knots for the first two heats to 10-12 for the last two.
When the dust settled, it was still local sailors Jay Golison, Steve Flam and Eric Doyle atop the leaderboard with a 6-4-7-(14) for 26 points. After the throw out, Golison and crew are still ahead of Marcus & Andrew Eagan and Jackson Benvenutti (Mandeville, LA) in second having finished 7-3-4-7. Jeff Grange, Chris Parker and Tedd White (Santa Barbara, CA) moved up into the third position with the top ten shuffling from Day 1 with it still anyone’s regatta to win. Sailing will resume on Friday after a layday tomorrow.
Results:
Photos and ...
...read more - “Spot” on at the Goslings Viper 640 Worlds August 23, 2019
When we made our travel plans to go to the Goslings Viper Worlds at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, we all knew that we’d have great sailing, great fellowship and, most likely, some good shore-side activities. Little did any of us know what was in store for us.
It turns out that ABYC has a hidden asset: Ed “Spot” Spotskey. Spot is the Event Chairman–no small task when hosting an international championship. It quickly became apparent that this was not Spot’s first rodeo! Here are just a few of the things that we were greeted with once we got off the water Wednesday evening:
Flowing Goslings Dark n’ Stormies and Trademark Brewing beer…not just at the bar, but right at the head of the dock.
Live music
A great dinner of steak, salmon, chicken and, yes, lemon bars
Flags from all the countries and states being ...
...read more - LiveTiles 2020 Viper 640 North Americans powered by Goslings announced August 22, 2019
During the Wednesday night festivities at the Goslings Viper 640 World Championship, Viper Class Association Chairman Justin Scott announced that the 2020 Viper North Americans would be hosted by Noroton Yacht Club (Darien, CT) September 26-October 4, 2020.
The Championship is being sponsored by LiveTiles and supported by Goslings…so the plans are in place to make this a truly world-class championship.
As soon as Justin’s comments were made, four boats immediately registered for the Championship.
Information and online registration HERE.
...read more - Goslings 2019 Viper 640 World Championship – Day 1 Recap — Local talent leads with very tight pack nipping at heels August 20, 2019
Jay Golison, Steve Flam, and Eric Doyle from the host Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA) sit atop the leader board after the first three races of the Goslings 2019 Viper 640 World Championship. With a scoreline of 1-2-6, Golison and team with nine points are a slim four points ahead of 2017 Viper 640 North American champions Marcus Eagan, Andrew Eagan, and Jackson Benvenutti who rolled a 5-1-7. From there, the scores drop to the twenties with three boats tied for third with 20 points and a slim 7 points separating third from tenth.
Golison noted that he won the favored pin end of the line all three races and was able to sail his own race. Eagan said, “We sailed conservatively, starting mid-line, and worked on our fleet management. The left paid out the first race and the ...
...read more - Follow the Goslings Viper 640 Worlds August 20, 2019
The 2019 Goslings Viper World Championship is underway!
Check back to this link regularly to follow the results from the Goslings Viper 640 Worlds hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA. Former World and North American Champions, Olympians, and the best Viper sailors in the world will be competing.
Watch the action on Facebook Live with coverage of mark roundings and finishes as on the water conditions permit.
Results
Follow on Facebook
...read more - Viper PCC and Pre-Worlds in the books…Bring on the Big Show August 19, 2019
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club to host first Viper 640 World Championship in the U.S.
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA) will be hosting the 2019 Viper 640 World Championship powered by Goslings from August 17-24, 2019. The host of the Viper’s 2014 North American Championship and the home of the world’s largest fleet of the Viper 640 sportboat, ABYC has the experience, the resources, and the volunteers to make this a true World Championship.
50 Vipers are expected to be on the starting line sailing in the waters off Long Beach. The Viper 640 is known for its exceptional tracking upwind and, in the right conditions, hitting speeds in the high teens downwind. In short, these boats are as exciting to watch as they are to sail.
This Championship is drawing competitors from around the world including 2018 World Champion Nick Jerwood ...
...read more - Northern Honey Badger finds 2019 Nepean One-Design Regatta and Canadan Open Championship “sweet!” June 20, 2019
The Great Lakes Viper fleet was in Ottawa June 14-16 for the annual Nepean One-Design Regatta. This year the event was also the Canadian Open Championship for the Viper Class. Ten boats made the trek to Ottawa where flood conditions on Lac Deschenes on the Ottawa river had only recently receded to the point where the event was able to go ahead and sail.
With 70 boats at the 21st edition of this major Ottawa event, Vipers raced seven races starting Friday evening, with typical Ottawa weather prevailing. It was an event full of surprises – Ron Schute had to pull out due to an injury before the event leaving nine competitors. Quinton Gallon helmed 116 for Mike Thompson in his first Viper regatta as skipper. Brian Johansen chose to sail 3-up foregoing his usual 4-up team, and no surprise, the ...
...read more - Northern Honey Badger finds 2019 Nepean One-Design Regatta and Canadan Open Championship “sweet!” June 20, 2019
The Great Lakes Viper fleet was in Ottawa June 14-16 for the annual Nepean One-Design Regatta. This year the event was also the Canadian Open Championship for the Viper Class. Ten boats made the trek to Ottawa where flood conditions on Lac Deschenes on the Ottawa river had only recently receded to the point where the event was able to go ahead and sail.
With 70 boats at the 21st edition of this major Ottawa event, Vipers raced seven races starting Friday evening, with typical Ottawa weather prevailing. It was an event full of surprises – Ron Schute had to pull out due to an injury before the event leaving nine competitors. Quinton Gallon helmed 116 for Mike Thompson in his first Viper regatta as skipper. Brian Johansen chose to sail 3-up foregoing his usual 4-up team, and no surprise, the ...
...read more - Got Current??? Bayview One-Design Regatta sure did! June 6, 2019
Viper 640 Great Lakes Region – Bayview One-Design Regatta
The Great Lakes region opened their season this past weekend with the first of our summer series regattas. There were six Vipers that joined the other 130 boats and over 700 sailors at Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit for the Bayview One-Design Regatta. A club steeped in racing tradition, founder and organizer of the Port Huron to Mackinac Island Race, and with strong match racing and team racing programs, we could tell upon arrival that this was going to be a fun, competitive event.
We shared a circle with the J70’s sailing right in front of the club on the Detroit River. The persistent 3 kt current posed a challenge for RC and sailors alike in the very light conditions that prevailed on Saturday, limiting us to one race as a storm system ...
...read more
