US NATIONALS - 2004

We arrived in Somer’s, Montana for the U.S. National’s to a steady warm 20 knots of wind. Early arrivals were already heading out for a practice sail when we pulled into the parking lot. The first race on Sunday with 16 boats, started at a leisurely 12:30 pm, ended in abandonment with the wind and time running out. It was 91 degrees farenheit and better suited to swimming or relaxing in the shade until the evening race was started at 8:20pm after the sun disappeared behind the mountains and the thermal showed up. I crossed the line in first with Rob and Dave right behind but it wasn’t until Pat and Ned crossed that the race committee sounded the finishing horn. We had both been over early. It was almost 10:00pm before everyone got off the water and we needed to be off the shore the next morning at 7:00am for the first race at 8:00. Three races were finished with the wind blowing a steady 15 but slowly diminishing by the end of the third race.

While the wind was still blowing strongly, Martin Herbert sailing with Anne Thompson, suffered a blow when his fast pin came out of the windward shroud causing the mast to break and lifting some of his deck. Martin had sailed fast in the two races he’d finished but was forced to pack up early and go home. The fleet was competitive and close with boats changing places each race. Rupert and Pat were consistently fast trading firsts and seconds. Tuesday morning we sailed the fifth race in a light breeze which Chris Lemke and I won. Again we were towed in to await more wind. With only five races, we had no throwout. Prizes were awarded to the top five boats. Pat and Ned were first, Rupert and Maddie Purves-Smith (at 18yrs. received US Fireball junior award ) finished second, Ken Tichkowsky and Bill Russell from Edmonton were third, myself and Chris Lemke were fourth and Hamish Ferguson and Bill Plaxton were fifth. With 4 Calgary boats home now, the fleet will now be 12 .

Debbie Kirkby Can 14425

Sailing hits the Flathead big time 
By David Lesnick 
The Daily Inter Lake 
Somers Bay on Flathead Lake will definitely be busier than normal the next nine days as three major sailing events are planned. 
The Fireball National Championship kicks off the ambitious racing schedule with 20 to 25 boats from the U.S. and Canada. 
The North American Fireball Championships will follow, Thursday through Saturday, with the same field competing. 
And capping it off will be the Tutima Montana Sailing Championships, Friday through Sunday. Also known as the Montana Cup, this will mark its 27th year. 
The North Flathead Yacht Club won the cup a year ago and has dominated the event by winning it 20 times overall. 
The North Flathead Yacht Club, located in Somers, will serve as the home base for all three competitions. 
Sailing begins daily at 8 a.m. with two to three races held depending on wind conditions. 
The Montana Cup is expecting 40-50 boats. They will compete in four classes — A, B, C and Portsmouth. The cup annually attracts participants from Canyon Ferry Yacht Club near Helena, Idaho, Washington and Canada. 
The only day there will be no competitive racing next week is Wednesday. 
The last time Flathead Lake hosted a national championship was 1983 and 1987. That was for the Thistle class. 
“Our yacht club is famous for big wind regattas,” said Pete Sauer, who has organized sailing events on the lake for many years. 
“It blew like crazy both times (1983 and 1987). Somehow the word got out.” 
And Flathead Lake has become a favorite sailing destination ever since. 
Fireballs are a two-person hull boat with a spinnaker and single trapeze. They are very popular in Canada. 
“In the past we’ve had fireballs come down from Calgary to compete in the Montana Cup regatta,” said Sauer. “One guy had a great time here; called all his buddies.” 
They in turn contacted Sauer a year ago about holding nationals here. 
Fireballs are all one design. They are 16 feet long, 4 1/2 feet wide and weigh 175 pounds. 
“A little rocket,” said Sauer. “Rigged with a spinnaker.” 
Over 1,500 have been built. The international office for this sailing class is in the United Kingdom. 
This will mark the first time the Montana Cup has a major sponsor. 
“Lakeside Watch Company is bringing Tutima to the table,” said Sauer. “They are putting up a Tutima watch for the best performance.” 
Also sponsoring the event are Sail Montana, Kalispell Marine and North Flathead Yacht Club.