By Sam Gordon
Murphy News Service
Minnesota is nicknamed the Land of 10,000 Lakes, which means there are plenty of opportunities for sailing every year.
And this summer, one of the country’s premier yacht races – the A-Scow National Championship — is coming to the Twin Cities area.
Lake Minnetonka is hosting the event. And two local yachtsmen are looking to add new hardware to their trophy case.
Rob Evans and Tom Burton of Excelsior are nine-time Inland Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) Champions and have sailed the Midwest’s waters for decades.
The regatta, last held at Lake Minnetonka in 2007, features top skippers from across the country and Evans said he is excited for the event to be in Minnesota again.
“It’s pretty special when it is here,” the 50-year old Evans said. He has won the event multiple times. “There should be a ton of interested people that’ll come out and watch … It’ll be a lot of fun.”
Racers will compete from June 19-22.
Evans said the national championship race and the Inland Championship are the two main a-scow regattas every summer. The Inland Championship is held in Oshkosh, Wisc.
The ILYA and the A-Scow National Championship are typically held on larger bodies of water. Evans and Burton say they are used to racing on lakes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t significant challenges.
“You’re sailing in very shifty conditions,” Burton said about lake racing. “It puts a real premium on being able to anticipate the shifts and sail the fastest route … You have all these tactical decisions you have to make.”
Yacht races are crewed by a seven-member team. Each member is tasked with a unique responsibility critical to maximizing the boat’s speed.
“You can’t afford to have a weak link,” Burton said. “It’s very easy if someone misses one of their task, it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the crew.”
And for a race of this magnitude, they’ll be pulling out all the stops.
Evans said he expects his crew to spend extra time fine-tuning the boat in preparation for the competition.
Burton’s crew will do the same.
“A special effort is tried to make sure you have good sails and equipment,” Burton said. “Some of the club races, you might be racing with 2-year old sails but you get the best equipment for the big events.”
Sam Gordon is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.
A-SCOWS – ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA
“The A-Scow is a large sailing scow. It is 38 feet long and with reported top speeds of over 25 knots … With a large sail area and little keel ballast, the five to seven crew members must work in unison on the A-Scow to keep the boat sailing fast and upright. The boat is mainly sailed in Minnesota and Wisconsin.”