Stearns, McCullough victorious again

Once again the husband and wife combo of Tony Stearns and Janet McCullough cut through the clear blue sea to victory as the duo guided their catamaran to its 12th win over the weekend in the 31st Annual Laguna Regatta.

The tenured tandem of the briny managed to avoid a series of unfortunate events that plagued their counterparts during the two-day affair—including a collision, overturned boats, a broken sail, and injuries—to pull a number of first place finishes over the competition.

Stearns and McCullough received top honors at the awards banquet held at the Fiesta Resort and Spa’s Shimbashi Restaurant on Sunday evening, as well as the coveted Brass Bat for besting the fleet of ten skippers and crew on the crystal clear waters between Managaha Island and Saipan.

After taking third place in 2005, Tatsuya Sasaki and Kelly Bruce improved to finish second overall in 2006 by managing to stay among the top finishers with a total of 17 points in the dual day duel.

The tandem of Yuichi Ito of Japan and countryman Kouji Suzuki managed to take third place in the long running event with 20 points, while Ron Smith and Ted Parker bested last year’s performance with 26 points and a fourth place finish over the weekend.

Michio Tanaka of Japan returned to Saipan to take fifth place with Saipan’s Amanda Rabauliman (34 points), while local sailors Lino Olopai and Cecilio Raikulape overcame slower finishes and a broken jib sail to take sixth with 43 points.

Seventh place went to Qamar Schuyler and Marshal Burkins for racking up a total of 52 tallies, but they also received the hallowed Bronze Bat, which is given to the team that shows perseverance in the face of adversity and/or excellent sportsmanship.

The one-woman team of Lisa Black raced to an eighth place finish overall with 59 points, but her pioneering spirit a sea inspired many to tackle the canopy and crossbars with the same vim and vigor.

Late entries Bruce Berline and Tyce Mister made an appearance toward the middle of the second day to finish in ninth place with 60 points, while the lone Prindle Cat manned by Darrel Slyter and Bob Bracken rounded out the competition with 60 points.

After the Friday evening registration party, activities for the event got underway early Saturday morning, as sailors and volunteers left the shoreline to race from buoy to buoy utilizing their knowledge of their craft and communication in two morning races.

Following a midday lunch break at Managaha Island, the fleet returned to the waters for a trio of afternoon races before retiring for the night. The Sunday events followed the same format, and continued with a trend of the first place finishes by Stearns and McCullough.

Over The Reef Yacht Club has been in existence since 1972, and has sponsored catamaran events (Hobie and Prindle cats), monohull distance sailing and regattas, and public seminars about both traditional Carolinian sailing and modern sailing.