Saturday, August 24, 2013

Verve Cup One-Design Regatta Preview

J/70 sailing on Great Lakes (Chicago, IL)- The Verve Cup Inshore Regatta is a spectacular sailing event that is hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club at Belmont Station from August 24th to 25th. Identical One Design classes compete for two days to determine which boat has the best skipper and crew; included are the debut of the incredibly popular J/70 one-design speedster and the classic J/24 one-design keelboat classes.

This year, the Verve Cup will be bigger than ever and is assured to be the best one-design sailing around the Chicago area. Featuring optimal late summer breezes, competitive racing, and the best race committee on the water, the Verve Cup delivers outstanding racing. Big name sponsors include AUDI Chicago, Mt Gay Rum and SLAM yachting gear.

The debut of the J/70 class is quite impressive in this regatta, having by far the largest fleet with over twenty boats participating.  The fleet has a national and international flavor to it with crews from all over America and Europe.  Top teams featured in this year's event include Joel Ronning's well-traveled CATAPULT team from Minneapolis, MN; Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE crew from San Diego, CA; Joe Woods's crew on RED from Torquay, England.  Several new teams are participating including Blane Shea's GEMINI and Richie Stearns' TYLISHAN-- both from the local Chicago fleet.

The J/24s have a good fleet sailing including teams like Mark Soya's 2XS, Richard Graef's DON'T PANIC and Dan Walsh's GOLDRUSH.  Sailing photo credit- Tim Wilkes.   For more Verve Cup Inshore sailing information