J/24 sailors race on Lake Pend Oreille

SANDPOINT — The best skill wins in J/24 sailboat racing, at least in theory, as each vessel is nearly identical in design.

That premise was put to the test this weekend, with 15 sailboats from around the Northwest converging on sunny Lake Pend Oreille on Saturday and Sunday, as the Sandpoint Sailing Association hosted the J/24 District 19 Championships.

Sandpoint sailor George Kiselica, one of the event organizers, likened J/24 racing to the Indianapolis 500 of sailing.

Among the sailing phrases overheard were “he tacked when he should have jibed,” “being in irons” and “dogs in the house,” the latter a term for all four crew members sitting on top of the keel, keeping the boat steady.

Each race is scored, with the first place boat receiving one point and the 15th place boat 15 points, and after all of the race results are added up the crew with the lowest point total wins.

“It’s an incredibly competitive fleet. A lot of the top sailors in the world race J/24,” explained Sandpoint Sailing Association member Fred Park. “It’s more than just experience, some people just have a sense for it.”

While not as windy as the field would have liked, six races were completed on Saturday and another two on Sunday.

When it was all over, Bound For Glory from Flathead Lake in Montana was crowned District 19 Champions. Sandpoint’s Red Hot Rookies, comprised of Ray Hendrickson, Al Reuter, Dean Kyriakos and Wayne Pignolet, posted a strong second place finish in a regatta made up of 10 out-of-state boats and five Sandpoint boats.

Sandpoint sailor Keith Sheckler, who ran the Windbag Marina for more than 30 years, had his own take on the beauty of sailboat racing.

“It’s a combination of ski racing and chess, and to me that doubles up the fun,” described Sheckler, who said sailing well was as much mental as physical. “All those good sailors are fighting for position on the start line and none of them want to give an inch.”

Each crew can have up to 880 pounds on the boat, which usually means between three and five sailors. More weight is beneficial in windy conditions, and less weight works best in more placid weather. One local sailor joked that a 95 pound girl who likes to drink beer is extremely popular.

Each race is basically a loop, with the length determined by the conditions. Saturday’s loop was roughly a mile, with boats spread out and taking a variety of different routes around the buoys, trying to gain precious seconds on the competition.

While experience helps, and the crew that makes the least mistakes usually wins, nothing is guaranteed in a sport rich with nuance and strategy.

“You can have the best boat and the best crew and still get your lunch handed to you,” said local sailor Chris Chambers, also a member of the Sandpoint Sailing Association. “Just by picking the wrong side to start on.”