Arrrrr! Fleet Places Fifth At Buccaneer 18 Championships

By Emory Heisler

Arrrrr!  Those Arizona Buccaneer 18 Pirates be at it again!  Sailing back
and forth across North America, seeking the pirate treasure that all racing
pirates seek — the Buccaneer 18 North American Championship (BNAC) treasure
chest!

Skipper Tony Chapman and First Mate Chris Robertson — two hearty Arizona
Yacht Club pirates — hauled their speedy craft across the continent to Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, to race on the beautiful waters of Lake Ontario in BNAC 2007, July 16-20. 

Surprisingly, the conditions for racing mimicked Arizona sailing in many
ways: consistent 10-12 mph breeze one moment; light, shifty drifting breeze the next, and then — the thunderstorms! They could have had those same conditions right here at Lake Pleasant — well, except for the high temps of mid 70s and water temps around 57degrees. Brisk!

After winning the BNAC 2006 Silver Fleet, our Arizona scallywags moved up
into the "Gold" Fleet for 2007.  Even against some of the best Bucc 18 sailors in the country, our Arizona boys consistently stayed at or near the front of the pack to bring home a respectable top-five finish in the 17-boat Gold Fleet. 

Their continued success, fond memories of Rum and Booty and more than a few racing lessons provided by BNAC 2007 Champion Jim Daus of Colorado, are sure to bring them back to BNAC 2008.

Tony, Chris and the AZ Buccaneer 18 Fleet will join forces with Bucc 18sailors from California and Nevada on their next adventure in San Diego for Mission Bay One Design Aug. 18-19 and then to Heron Lake, N.M. for more racing over Labor Day weekend.