A fleet of 31 Buccaneer 18s competed Sunday in the third and final day of racing of the 50th Buccaneer 18 North American Championship in strong winds on the Patuxent River, Solomons Island, Maryland. The sailors reconvened from lockdown to celebrate fifty years of competition in the fun two-person racing dinghy. The participants were able to bring out their best pirate behaviour, both on and off the water on “International Talk Like a Pirate Day.”

Ed Montano (Kenosha Yacht Club) with regular crew Trevor Bach put on a demonstration of how to get around a race course quickly to secure a fourth BNAC trophy by winning seven of eight races and throwing out a third place finish.  Local fleet builders Jimmy and Kristi Yurko (SMSA) sailed consistently to finish as runners up. John Weiss and Jay Foght (Kenosha Yacht Club) finished up front in all three races on the final day to move up the leader board and finish third overall.

Evan and Elizabeth Scott (Bayview Yacht Club) bought out their recently purchased boat and were banished for life from the B fleet by winning a tie-breaker against local sailors Mike Major and Carrie Quinn.

Conditions were challenging for all three days of racing with plenty of breeze on the first and final days of racing to test the competitors. Day 2 tested the Race Committee more by forcing them to chase the reluctant and shifty puffs around all day to allow the competitors to put a single race on the score sheet.

Hosts Southern Maryland Sailing Association (www.smsa.com) provided a great venue and kept everyone well fed and hydrated each day.  The social highlight of the event was an evening of sailing on the Historic Dee of St. Mary’s, one of the last commercial Skipjacks built and operated in the Chesapeake, courtesy of Calvert Maritime Museum.  The vessel was built in 1979 and was in service dredging for oysters using sail-power until it was no-longer commercially viable.

The wanna-be pirates of the Buccaneer 18 Class Association (www.buccaneer18.org) will reconvene for more sailboat racing and piracy at Clarke Lake, Michigan, in September 2022.

Tony Chapman