Great conditions, good time at Buzzard regatta

bveneri@hotmail.com

The Buzzard had a great time in New Bedford last weekend.
The 24th annual Buzzard Hobie Cat Regatta sailed in light air Saturday, but the building southwesterlies on Sunday more than made up for any lack of wind the day before.
This year's Buzzard, sailed off East Beach near the entrance to Fort Taber in New Bedford's South End, provided the venue for the 2001 Division 12 championships. Hosted by Hobie Fleet 28, based in southeastern Massachusetts, the event brought more than 30 boats and at least twice that number of people to Fort Taber for two days and nights of racing, "fun" racing, after-race entertainment and camping.

The Buzzard Regatta, also known as the Steve Latham Memorial, is named after the former New England championship catamaran racer who died last year.
North American Hobie Cat Division 12 secretary and scorekeeper Mike Levesque praised Fleet 28 Commodore Doreen Coughlan and the members of the race committee for doing "a great job."
Event spokesman Bob Kunkel, had only words of praise for the city of New Bedford.
"We had great sailing conditions, great races and a fun beach party," he said. "Many people from New Bedford came by to ask us about the boats and the event."
"We are constantly trying to improve and expand the sport of catamaran sailing and sailing in general," he continued, adding that the city administration, police, firefighters and lifeguards helped the fleet make the event a success.
Among the top finishers were the team of Billy and Sue Guay from East Freetown, taking first place in the Hobie Cat Class 18A with 9 points. In the Hobie Cat 16C class, Brad and Keith Stalter from Acushnet took first place with 7 points, followed by Marie and Paul Henderson of Wareham in second place with 19 points. In the closely-raced Inter 20 ft. class, John Smith and John Swiniarski of Westport finished fourth with 26 pts.
Here are the final results: Hobie 16A Class: 1. Cliff and Dorothy McCarty, Newtown, Conn., 12 pts.; 2. Bill and Joshua Kast, Easton, Penn., 12 pts.; 3. Robert Merrick and Eliza Cleveland, Branford, Conn., 23 pts.; 4. Michael Levesque and Michelle McLean, Pawtucket, RI, 28 pts.; 5. Jay and Adam Obst, Stephenson, Va., 34 pts.; 6. Dan and Donna Christensen, Taunton, 35 pts.; 7. Chris Janssen and Dave Kirkpatrick, Warren, RI, 43 pts.; 8. Steve Bird and Tina Connor, Newton, 44 pts.; 9. Jan Benvenutti and Greg Maier, Boston, 68 pts. Hobie 16C Class: 1. Brad and Keith Stalter, Acushnet, 7 pts.; 2. Marie Evans and Paul Henderson, Wareham, 19 pts.; 3. Dan Andrews and Larry Slifkin, Wethersfield, Conn., 23 pts.; 4. Guy St. George and Britt Carter, Taftville, Conn., 28 pts.; 5. Unnamed new racer, 52 pts.; 6. Bruce Chirico, Manchester, Conn., 52 pts.; 7. Tom Rizzo, Rob Huer, Charlestown, RI, 53 pts. Hobie 17 Class: 1. Andrew Efstathiou, Canton, 8 pts.; 2. Nancy Worth, Canton, 15 pts.; 3. Ed Nolen, Englewood, NJ, 24 pts.; 4. Gerard Blom, Charlottesville, Va., 27 pts.; 5. Ted Knowlton, Lincoln, 32 pts.; 6. Bob Pickett, Seekonk, 33 pts.; 7. Sam Coes, Hampton, NH, 56 pts.; 8. David Bellemore, New Boston, NH, 61 pts.; 9. Bill Corey, North Chelmsford, 68 pts. Hobie 18A Class: 1. Billy and Sue Guay, East Freetown, 9 pts.; 2. Cliff St. George and Aleks Dessanti, Weare, NH, 16 pts.; 3. Todd Riccardi and Ross DeMay, Madison, Conn., 19 pts.; 4. Dave Heroux and Barbara Powers, Foster, RI, 24 pts.; 5. Sam and Patty Coes, Epping, NH, 33 pts. Inter 20 Class: 1. Barry Moore and Nora Zellmer, Reading, 9 pts.; 2. Joe Valente and Jim Zellmer, Hanson, 14 pts.; 3. Paul D. vanDyke and Leon Veale, Groton, Conn., 18 pts.; 4. John Smith and John Swiniarski, Westport, 26 pts.; 5. Rob Parker and Finn Arnold, Westborough, 38 pts. Nacra 6.0 A Class: 1. Ken and Karie Deming, Ballston Spa, NY, 15 pts.; 2. Mike Ferrara and Cindy Hall, Stonington, Conn., 16 pts.; 3. Eric Anderson and Sandy Takacs, Andover, Conn., 18 pts.; 4. David Fortier and Gretchen Hardy, Biddeford, Maine, 22 pts.; 5. Greg and Bill Harwood, Winthrop, Maine, 34 pts.; 6. Garrett Norton and Andrea Jannarone, Belmont, 35 pts.; 7. Chris and Nate Titcomb, Branford, Conn., 39 pts. Nacra 6.0 B Class: 1. David and Jamie White, Beverly, 9 pts.; 2. Scott Malcolm and Rona Prentice, Hampton, NH, 11 pts. Open Class: 1. Inter 17SP, Rick Bliss, Mansfield, 8 pts.; 2. Inter 18, Tom and Sara Schwandt, Atkinson, NH, 11 pts.; 3. Hobie 21, Sara Jean and Mark Hibbard, Raymond, NH, 31 pts.; 4. Hobie 17S, Brian McCarter, Newton, 35 pts.