Monday, August 6

The last day of racing in the 2007 Independence Cup/North American Challenge Cup (IC/NACC) began with a thin fog shrouding the skyline in shades of gray.  Scattered clouds kept temperatures comfortable.   Light winds from the east contributed to the cool temps.  The winds while appearing streaky settled to steady by the time the racing began.

The 2.4mRs and Sonars each got in four races to finish the regatta with 14.  The Freedoms completed an additional three races for a total of 13 for the series.  When all the points were totaled in the 2.4mRs, it was Mark LeBlanc of New Orleans, La. on top with a total of 19.  John Ruf of Pewaukee, Wisc. finished in second with 28 points.  Charles Rosenfield of Woodstock, Conn. also had 28 points but was awarded third place based on Ruf’s greater number of first places.

In the Sonars, Albert Foster of Wayzata, Minn. held on to first finishing with a point total of 24.  Paul Callahan, Cape Coral, Fla., picked up one point from the day before to close with 31.  Filling out the top three was Canadian Ken Kelly. 

In the Freedom’s, repeating for her fifth time, was the queen of the IC/NACC, Karen Mitchell of Deerfield Beach, Fla.  Mitchell’s point total was 25.  In second place with 32 points was Mike Strahle of Redding, Calif.  Mike Jaffe, a local Chicago sailor, finished in third with 45 points.

On the first race of the day a jam up at the pin tangled up three boats, the leeward boat forcing everyone up in order to make the line.  Foster wisely chose the middle of the line and began the race with clear air.

At the first mark, Foster was in the lead approaching on starboard but having to pinch around.  Paul Callahan was six seconds behind Foster and Jen French ten seconds behind him.  Those three held their respective positions all the way to the leeward mark although French cut Callahan’s lead on her by several seconds.  After the rounding, French split with the two leaders which didn’t help her position.  They finished in the same order: Foster, Callahan, French.

When asked at the end of racing her assessment of their team’s performance, Jen French had this to say: “I was glad for this opportunity.  It gave our team a good practice together.  This is only our second regatta as a team.  We’re new to this particular boat as well so, all in all it was valuable from that stand point.  And it was good to test ourselves against our competitors.  Having a chance to tune against your competition is key.  Now we know what we can try to close the gap.”

The IC/NACC awards ceremony will be held this evening at Chicago Yacht Club’s Monroe Station. IC/NACC was built on providing a racing opportunity for the disabled community with a minimal amount of financial barriers.  Key to this success has been the substantial support of Founding sponsors American Airlines, The Chicago Yacht Club, The Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program, The Chicago Park District, and Cook-Illinois Corp our local transportation carrier.  Additional NACC major sponsors include Hyatt Regency Chicago, Carol's Cookies, USG, Quizno's Subs, Carol’s Cookies, and West Marine.