Zhik Flying Tiger 10 Meter Winter Series

The final weekend of the Zhik Flying Tiger Winter Series was held at the Lake Lanier Sailing Club on April 11 and 12. Four boats sailed the regatta: Solitary, skippered by Jeremy Alexis from Chicago, Renegade, skippered by Jeff Freeman from Flowery Branch, GA, Viper, skippered by Roger Pollack from Detroit, and QMN, skippered by Ivar Blumenau from Flowery Branch. Saturday brought warmth, sunshine, and light breeze. The close racing continued from the previous North American... Championship series (won by Renegade): aggressive starts, contested mark roundings, and close finishes defined the day. The first race was a 2 lap windward leeward course plus a windward finish. The remainder of the races would follow this format. Solitary won the first race by just a few boat lengths with Renegade second, Viper third, and QMN in fourth. The wind eased after the first race forcing the committee boat to move the starting area. The final three races of the day included shorter legs (about .75 miles) resulting in extremely tight racing. Viper won the third race and Renegade won the fourth race. At the end of the day Solitary was in first place with 7 points, Viper was in second with 8 points, and Renegade was third with 9. Saturday night Lake Lanier Sailing Club hosted a beach party that included a bonfire, grilled burgers and brats, a game of bags (AKA corn hole), rum, kids, dogs, and truck tuning advice. The folks from the Midwest were happy to share their secrets for cooking Wisconsin beer brats. After a spectacular sunset the crews turned in early Sunday promised more wind and the last few races would determine the winner of the series. Sunday morning greeted the sailors with moderate breeze (15 knots steady with puffs to 20). The team from Chicago took advantage of the Lake Michigan style wind conditions (minus the Lake Michigan chop) to win the first three races. Renegade won the fourth and final race. The teams ended racing in time for the Midwest boats to get packed up for their journey north. The LLSC facilities made it possible to get in 8 races, have a beach picnic, and get the boats on the trailer ready for the road all in one weekend. The range of wind conditions and short courses made the racing intense and tactically challenging. The hospitality of the host club made some of us question why we were dragging our boats North. The results for the weekend: 1. Solitary 12 points 2. Renegade 16 points 3. Viper 21 points 4. QMN 31 points For the overall series 1. Solitary 35 points 2. Renegade 39 points 3. Viper 72 points 4. QMN 82 points We will be running the series again starting in October. Any boats that enjoy warm weather and one design racing are invited to join us. If you are interested please contact Jeff Freeman at [email protected].

A big thanks to teams Viper, Solitary, Q.M.N, and Renegade for coming out to the North American championships this last weekend! We hope everyone made it back home safely. There's still one more weekend of racing left in this series and we hope to see everyone back here next month.

Flying tiger 10m #45 Renegade and ft7.5 #52 Tiger Cub at the dock after the LLSC PHRF Championship. We hope you'll be with us next weekend for the 10m north Americans!