Columbia Yacht Club COLORS Regatta
The Columbia Yacht Club COLORS Regatta, held on June 1-2, featured a mix of moderate and light, building conditions. UK Chicago sails customers made a strong showing across several one-design and distance racing fleets.
Since 1995, the COLORS Regatta has been Chicago’s “shake-the-sheets” event, drawing over 100 boats annually on the first weekend of June. With a strong one-design presence, including Beneteau, J/Boat, Tartan 10, and other large fleets, the event serves as a vital tune-up for the season. The regatta includes buoy racing and a distance race, attracting both serious racers and casual cruisers.
Tartan 10 Fleet
![2024 COLORS REGATTA RECAP 2 Tartan 10, ERICA, in the 2022 Chicago to Mackinac Race.](https://www.uksailmakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/UK-Sailmakers-Photo0122-1024x733.jpg)
In the Tartan 10 fleet, Brian Kaczor and his team on ERICA dominated by winning every race, closely followed by another UK customer, Blane and Cindy Boynton’s team on MINISTER.
J/105 Class
Mike Sheppard’s team on FLYING PIG won the J/105 fleet in a tiebreaker against another UK customer, Mark Fruin on NYCTOSAUR.
![2024 COLORS REGATTA RECAP 3 THE FLYING PIG crew (left) and the NYCTOSAUR crew (right) at the 2024 Columbia Yacht Club COLORS Regatta awards ceremony. Photo by J/105 Fleet 5 Chicago.](https://www.uksailmakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/UK-Sailmakers-Photo0123-1024x410.jpg)
Beneteau 40.7 Class
Scot Ruhlander’s team on MOJO dominated the Beneteau 40.7 class, winning every race, while UK customer Ron Buzil and team VAYU finished third.
![2024 COLORS REGATTA RECAP 4 Beneteau 40.7, MOJO, pictured from a past event.](https://www.uksailmakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/UK-Sailmakers-Photo0124-1024x683.jpg)
PHRF 2
In PHRF 2, Team MASKWA finished second.
ORC and Distance Racing
- In ORC, Shawn O’Neill’s EAGLE placed second, and Kevin Saedi & Raman Yousefi’s MOMENTUS finished third.
- In the ORC Distance category, John Gottwald’s EAGLE’S WINGS took first place, with Dave Dickerson’s PARADIGM SHIFT in third.
- In PHRF 2 Distance, Dave Baker’s HANDSOME PETE finished first.
- In PHRF 3 Distance, Bill Batrz’s RANGER finished first.