RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesYoungstown is the place to be for sailing enthusiasts, as some of the best this country has to offer will be sailing the next several days.
The village is hosting this year’s International J/111 Class North American Championship through Saturday, with 14 boats and crews from all across the continent coming to sail on Lake Ontario for the title.
“It’s quite the privilege and honor to host a North American championship of this size,” said Charles Kegler, commodore for the Youngstown Yacht Club. “We consider ourselves a world-class sailing destination. Hosting an event like this fits right in with our goal of being that kind of organization.”
The J/111 class boat is 36.5 feet long with crews of seven to eight people. The 14 boats participating come from Texas, Florida, Long Island, Connecticut, San Francisco, and Cleveland, with Youngstown itself having four boats participating.
Amateur and professional crews are taking part, coming from all parts of the United States, Canada, and even two from Argentina.
Shane Vanstrom, one of the event organizers, said they had participated in other J/111 regattas like this in Chicago and Key West. They threw their hat into the ring for hosting the championships and were awarded it.
“It’s great to give Youngstown this kind of exposure,” Vanstrom said. “It gets teams exposed to how great sailing is on Lake Ontario and the Niagara River.”
Two races will happen each day across five days, with a different race course set up on Lake Ontario each day to account for the angle and strength of the winds. Each participant is awarded points based on their race position, with whoever has the lowest amount of points named the winner.
The festivities began on Tuesday evening with a champions dinner at the Youngstown Yacht Club’s main facilities on Water Street. Other activities throughout the week include a cornhole tournament and performances from Mayday Buffalo and the Yacht Club’s house band The Chamberlins.
Youngstown was previously known for hosting the Level Regatta, which sailed for 40 years before its last races took place in 2013. At that race’s pinnacle, around 400 boats took part, with Rolling Stone magazine even naming the festivities surrounding it the seventh best party in the world in 1995.
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