2007 Beneteau First 36.7 North American Championships Event
Sponsored by BMW and Mount Gay, the Beneteau 36.7 North American Championship is the most prestigious race for that class of sailboats. The race begins this Thursday morning, and Buffalo will, once gain, be seen for the incredible waterfront activities that it offers. Last year the race was held at the NY Yacht Club… but it was not as big of a turnout as race organizers had anticipated. Buffalo has already surpassed the number of racing boats that will be competing for the title. This is one of the hottest one-design racing classes that there is, and race enthusiasts and teams are traveling from all over the country to witness and compete in the event. It's the Super Bowl for the Beneteau 36.7s.
There are eight Beneteaus that call Buffalo home. That means that the rest are out-of-town competitors. “Four days with four races a day,” stated competitor, Jason Davidson. “Just to see 46 boats all starting on the same line should be amazing. It’s great for Buffalo and a privilege for the Buffalo Yacht Club. All of the members of the yacht club had to take their boats out of the area to make room for the incoming boats. There are about nine crewmembers per boat that will be staying nearby to the club. Some of the racers have been here for two weeks in order to get acclimated to Lake Erie. This is a highly regarded race for Buffalo that Beneteau sailors from all over the world will be watching. These boats are almost triple the size of the J22s that raced earlier this year. This is a very competitive race where collisions are not uncommon. Each boat is limited to have only one Class 3 sailor onboard. It's also a spinnaker fleet that must operate under very strict class rules. That means that there are weight requirements for the crew. Max weight for each crew is 1550 pounds max crew weight. We've been laying off the hotdog buns for a while now.”
To get a good look at the race there will be vantage points from the break wall (with binoculars) or in a spectator boat if you're lucky...
Click here to get the race itinerary and listing of events.
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Perry
Like the recent ESPN Bassmaster tournament, it's nice seeing one of our greatest assets (Lake Erie) bringing us some national recognition.
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