(Dillon, Colorado)- Billed as the world’s highest regatta at 9,017 ft
above sea level, racing for the Dillon Open Regatta takes place on beautiful
Dillon Reservoir in Dillon, Colorado, where sailors enjoy mostly sunny days and
spectacular views of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. The regatta is
hosted by the Dillon Yacht Club, the nation’s highest yacht club at 9,017 feet
above sea level, located near the Continental Divide, a 70 mile drive west on
I-70 from downtown Denver.As Scott Spurlin from J/Boats Southwest once said, “It's been called the "Most dangerous Regatta in America", the "Highest Regatta in America", and the "Largest In-Land Lake Regatta West of the Mississippi". No matter what the claim-- the Dillon Open Regatta is a lot of fun!”
Think you're good at reading the wind? Lake Dillon would certainly
test your skills! Mountains and valleys with rapidly changing weather again
kept the tacticians on their toes this year! With winds rolling down the
steep mountain sides along the lakefront (or the occasional micro-burst blowing
down vertically out of clear blue sky), the faster (and sometimes luckier)
crews had a field day picking up windshifts and breeze lines to work themselves
to the front of the fleet. 
For well over 25 years, the J/24s from around the Midwest (as well
as refugees from the heat in the Deep South) have made their annual migration
to sail in the warm and friendly confines of Lake Dillon, nestled cozily in the
Rocky Mountains. Eight J/24 teams made the starting line this year.
It just so happened to be a good "vintage" year for the crew on Greg
& Susan Johnson's PINOTAGE, posting three 1sts in their scoreline on their
way to winning the J/24 class with a 5-1-3-1-1-2-3 record for 16 pts.
Alan Dille's crew on SEPTILLION made a valiant effort to remain in contention,
but two 4ths in races 4 & 6 hurt their chances for a comeback.
Instead, SEPTILLION's 2-3-2-4-24.5-2 for 19.5 pts snagged them a second
overall. Taking two 1sts but not staying at all consistent was Frank
Kelble's team on USA 1966, amassing a 1-5-4-5-4-1-4 for 24 pts to take third on
the podium. The balance of the top five was taken by Doug Pierini on COLD
SMOKE in fourth and Stephen Bergman on EVENT HORIZON in fifth.
The Dillon Open has also bee quite popular with the J/22 class,
this year fielding the largest one-design fleet in the regatta with twelve
participants. Sailing fast out of the starting blocks on the first day
was Mike Kline's NAUTI-MOOSE, taking a 1-1-2-1 to never relinquish the lead for
the rest of the regatta. However, victory clearly did not come easy for
this team. After what appeared to have been premature celebrations taking
place on Saturday night, the "Nauti-Boys" on NAUTI-MOOSE could only
muster a 6-5-2 on the last day to barely hang onto their lead to take class
honors! David Baker's UP FOR AIR started slowly but closed the regatta
with a 1-1-4 to take second overall. Third was Robin Jackson & Kristin
Zagray's BIG BUTT BOAT, closing with a 3-2-1 to show rapid improvement in the
standings to take the silverware for third. Fourth was Stan Strathman's
SCREAMIN J and the "long-distance award" goes to fifth place finisher
Richard Hallagan from Canandaigua YC on New York's Canandaigua
Lake. Sailing photo credits- Greg Schertz For more Dillon Open Regatta sailing information
