Sailors Gather at Les Cheneaux for Weekend Regatta
13 Fleets To Start Races at Hessel

The 2008 Ensign Class Region V Championship Regatta in Hessel begins this Thursday, July 10, with races Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12. Ensign Class 31 of Les Cheneaux will host the races between Ensign sailboats from the Midwest and New York. It is the second time in the decade the Region V Championship has been in the Les Cheneaux Islands. Region V includes 13 sailboat fleets from upstate New York and the Great Lakes states of Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Races will be in Wilderness Bay on the west side of Marquette Island, and are open to public spectators, who can watch the race from boats around the bay. Spectator boats will be at Hessel Marina, and can transport a limited number of people to the racing area. Spectators using their own boats should steer clear of the sailing vessels and race course marker buoys, and keep their boat wake to a minimum during races.

Ensigns are the 22.5-foot, full keel sailboats used in the Les Cheneaux Yacht Club-sponsored sailing races throughout the Les Cheneaux Islands during the summer.

More than 100 sailing fans will be in the area for the weekend, in addition to the teams and spectators of at least 16 local boats. Thirty-two boats in all have registered for the event, including sailors from Pentwater and Marquette, and National Ensign Class Commodore Joel Verplank of Alabama is planning to attend the championship.

Visiting boats will begin launching Thursday, and the public can watch launching from Hessel Marina. Races will begin both Friday and Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in Wilderness Bay, which is the second bay south of Hessel Marina. All boats will be in the Hessel marina, and the Islander Bar on Pickford Avenue in Hessel will be the registration center for all arrivals.

Registration for the weekend race will begin at noon Thursday at the Islander, followed by a skippers' welcome reception on the patio.

Race day Friday, July 11, will begin with a 9:30 a.m. skippers' meeting at the Hessel Marina gazebo, and a 10:30 a.m. warning signal will be sounded to announce the first race.

The second day of racing Saturday, July 12, will also start with a 9:30 a.m. skippers' meeting at Hessel Marina gazebo, and a 10:30 a.m. warning signal will mark the first race. An awards banquet for racers will be at Les Cheneaux Yacht Club on Marquette Island.

For complete race schedules and other information about the races or Les Cheneaux Yacht Club and Ensign Fleet 31, call the Yacht Club at 484-2579. Information about the race is at the Web site: www.lescheneauxEnsignclass.com, where registration forms and a schedule of events for this year are posted.

Ensign Fleet 31's regular racing season is underway, as well, so anyone who misses the racing action this weekend can watch local boats race for the rest of the season. The next regular season race will be Saturday, July 19, around Marquette Island, Cedarville, starting at noon.

A race will be Saturday, July 26, in Muskie Bay, Cedarville, at 12:30 p.m. The Les Cheneaux Ensign Class Fleet 31 Regatta will be Wednesday, July 30, through Friday, August 1, with races at 12:30 p.m. each day.

In August, races are Wednesday, August 6, in Government Bay, Cedarville, at 1 p.m.; Wednesday, August 13, in Muskie Bay at 1 p.m.; Wednesday, August 20, in Gov - ernment Bay at 1 p.m., and Saturday, August 30, from Boot Island to Voight Bay at 11 a.m.