Sailing Notes: Bertrand's redemption tour is taking shape

John Bertrand captured consecutive world championships in the Laser class in 1976 and '77. The California native moved into the Finn class and won another world title and a silver medal at the Olympics.

Bertrand has spent the past two decades as a professional sailor racing big boats and performing campaign management. The Annapolis resident started working out more and getting in tip-top shape last year and rewarded himself by competing in Laser class at the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in January.

It was the first time in 30 years that Bertrand had touched tiller of a Laser and he was off the pace, finishing in the lower third of the fleet. He was determined to sail the high-performance dinghy at a high level again and has been training toward that goal.

"I want to go back to the Miami OCR and redeem myself," he said.

Bertrand appears to be regaining the touch, winning the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship in impressive fashion last weekend. Bertrand won all six races that were held for a 12-point victory over runner-up Peter Seidenberg of Newport, R.I.

"It was very windy and very shifty. I started well and was able to hit the shifts," Bertrand said. "My speed around the course was consistent so once I got out front I was able to stay there."

Bertrand won the Crab Claw Regatta out of Severn Sailing Association last month and placed 10th at the Laser Masters World Championships in Nova Scotia over Labor Day weekend.

"I'm really enjoying myself. It's a great way to stay in shape," Bertrand said. "The Masters scene is tremendous, very competitive."

Mike Schmidt of the Magothy River Sailing Association posted a pair of seconds and placed fourth at the Chesapeake Bay Masters Championship, hosted by Fishing Bay Yacht Club. Bob Tan of Severn Sailing Association finished sixth or better in every race he counted in finishing fifth.

Also last weekend, Arnold resident Geoff Becker won four of five races to capture the Lightning Frigid Regatta, hosted by Severn Sailing Association. Becker opened the 22-boat event with a second then reeled off five straight bullets to total six points - six better than runner-up Thomas Allen.

Eastport Yacht Club hosted its annual Fall One-Design regatta last weekend with 30 boats competing in four classes. David Hughes won two of three races to top the 11-boat Melges 24 class, which attracted several boats that were preparing for this week's world championships.

Kristen Robinson won both races to take first in J/80 class while Warren Richter did the same in J/22 class. Rick Crow won the lone race in Etchells class.

Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship

Fishing Bay Yacht Club (25 boats)

1, John Bertrand, Annapolis Yacht Club, (1)-1-1-1-1-1=15

2, Peter Seidenberg, Sail Newport, 2-(26)-5-3-3-4=17

3, James Jacob, Fishing Bay Yacht Club, 3-2-2-(5)-2-3=22

4, Mike Schmidt, Magothy River Sailing Association, 5-3-(26/ocs)-2-4-2=26

5, Bob Tan, Severn Sailing Association, (8)-5-4-6-6-6=35

Lightning Frigid Digit (22 boats)

Severn Sailing Association

1, Geoff Becker, 2-1-1-1-1=6; 2, Thomas Allen, 1-2-2-4-3=12; 3, George Sipel, 3-3-6-6-5=23

EYC Fall One-Design Regatta

Etchells (5 boats)

1, My Wife is the Best, Rick Crow; 2, Hoosier Lady, Ed Purdon; 3, Caramba, Jose Fuentes

J/22 (5 boats)

1, Tangier, Warren Richter, 1-1=2; 2, USA 844, Stuart Lawrie, 3-2=5; 3, bob Mark Wiatrowski, 2-6/dnc=8

J/80 (9 boats)

1, Angry Chameleon, Kristen Robinson, 1-1=2; 2, Shannigans, Shannon Lockwood, 2-2=4; 3, Dragonfly, Chris Johnson, 3-4=7

Melges 24 (11 boats)

1, Prairie Dog, David Hughes, 2-1-1=4; 2, Quantum Racing, Scott Nixon, 1-2-2=5; 3, Team Peacemaker, Valentin Veytsman, 4-4-3=11

BOR SEMINAR: Eastport Yacht Club will host a Bermuda Ocean Race seminar on Saturday, Nov. 7 (9 a.m.-noon). Alex Zahl will provide a safety briefing, Phil Mitchell of Electronic Marine will discuss offshore communications, Tom Wohlgemuth of Chesapeake Rigging will talk about rigging preparation and requirements while a representative from Fawcett's will have a safety gear display.

For further information, contact Frank Volpe (fravolpe@aol.com).

IRC REGATTA: The Chesapeake station of the Storm Trysail Club will host the IRC East Coast Championships the weekend of Oct. 30-Nov. 1. A solid fleet of 38 boats in four classes have already entered with regatta chairman Bill Kardash expecting more before the deadline.

Jim Grundy's newly-launched Tripp 75 Bella Pita headlines the big-boat IRC 1 class, which also features an STP 65-footer and four TP52 designs. Annapolis resident Bill Sweetser returns to defend his title in IRC 3 class aboard his J/109 Rush while Solomons resident James Keen will seek to repeat in IRC 4 class aboard the Beneteau 36.7 Foxtrot Corpen.