2008 Region V Championship Race Pictures
 
Region V Championship Results, Les Cheneaux Islands, July 11-12
Finish Boat Name Skipper Fleet Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Total
1 Foxy Lady Tom LaBelle LCYC 2 8 2 1 4 1 1 11
2 Pegasus Travis Van Neste Wayzata, MN 1 1 1 9 2 3 3 11
3 Gotta Wanta Zeke Durica LCYC 3 5 3 3 5 8 2 21
4 Green Dolphin Joel VerPlank Alabama 4 3 7 29 1 2 7 24
5 Eh? Eric Seaborg Marquette 8 2 9 5 6 6 9 36
6 Breezie Weezie Ray Layman LCYC 12 4 15 10 3 5 4 38
7 Water Dog Scotty Graul LCYC 6 14 8 6 8 10 5 43
8 Tecumseh Dave Snyder LCYC 10 11 5 4 7 11 11 48
9 Brorealis John Birkmeier LCYC 16 10 4 2 14 4 15 49
10 Second Wind Mark Birkmeier LCYC 5 9 6 8 13 13 10 51
11 Tiburon Richard Anderson Marquette 7 6 11 13 9 14 21 60
12 Instinct Jonas Carpenter LCYC 11 12 16 11 16 7 8 65
13 Amaizin Blue Jason Beccher Marquette 9 13 12 17 19 12 6 69
14 Gigi Todd Soderlund LCYC 22 18 10 7 11 9 14 69
15 Irish Ayes Neil Lynch Marquette 14 7 19 15 10 20 12 77
16 Beelzebub Ron Spainhour LCYC 13 20 22 16 12 18 13 92
17 Kindred Bruce Cochran LCYC 18 17 13 18 17 22 20 103
18 Andrea E Hans Ediger LCYC 23 16 18 14 18 15 22 103
19 Aldebaran Mike Sauer Marquette 20 15 17 12 22 24 19 105
20 Wings Leonard Hilton Pentwater 15 22 23 23 15 25 18 116
21 Rudi Colin Irish Marquette 25 19 14 22 25 17 26 122
22 Michipezhu Pete Iverson LCYC 24 26 21 19 21 21 16 122
23 Sleuth Bob Conkey Mayfield, OH 21 24 25 20 20 19 23 127
24 Nancy B Bob Braham LCYC 29 21 20 21 23 23 17 131
25 Chether/Spindrift Andy Bohn LCYC 17 23 24 29 24 16 25 133
26 Troll F. Maaseidvaag Pentwater 19 25 26 29 26 27 29 152
27 Lil "M" Leroy Pieri LCYC 27 28 29 24 27 26 24 157
28 M&M Mike LaHaye Pentwater 28 27 27 25 28 28 27 162

Yellow denotes throw-out race
 

28 Boats From 5 States Race in 2008 Region V Ensign Sailing Regatta

A local father-son team earned championship honors in the annual Ensign Class Sailing Regatta held in Les Cheneaux Islands on July 11-12. The event attracted 28 boats from five states for a seven-race series in Wilderness Bay near Hessel. The 23-foot Ensign is the most popular sailboat in Les Cheneaux Islands, with 64 area boats comprising host Fleet 31, the largest Ensign fleet in the country.

Foxy Lady, skippered by hometown sailor Tom LaBelle and owned by his father and crew member, Frank LaBelle, won the championship in the closest competition ever recorded in this event. The LaBelles, two-time national Ensign champions and three-time regional winners, edged out Pegasus of Wayzata, MN in a tie-breaker. Both boats scored three first-place finishes, with Foxy Lady being crowned champion by virtue of having one more second-place finish than Pegasus. Third place honors went to Zeke Durica of Dunedin, Florida, sailing Gotta Wanta.

This was the third time that the Ensign Regional competition has been held in Les Cheneaux. Ensign fleets from five different states were represented in the field of 28 sailboats, the largest number of boats ever to compete in an area race. In addition to many boats from Michigan, boats and crews traveled from Alabama, Florida, Minnesota, and Ohio to sail here.

Joel VerPlank, national Commodore of the Ensign fleet, trailered his boat all the way from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and managed a fourth-place finish. Ensign Fleets 35 (Marquette, MI) and Fleet 70 (Pentwater, MI) were also very well represented by several crews.

Approximately 120 crew members enjoyed excellent sailing weather on both Friday and Saturday race days, with especially strong winds for the later races on Friday. Spectacular sunny blue skies on Saturday attracted many spectator boats to witness the exciting finish of the seventh and final race.

Local boats from the Les Cheneaux Yacht Club (LCYC) fared especially well in the competition, earning eight of the top ten spots. Event Co-Chairman Dave Parlin’s boat, Breezie Weezie, took sixth place, and cousins John Birkmeier (Borealis) and Mark Birkmeier (Second Wind) finished ninth and tenth respectively. Other local top-ten finishers included Rob Dendel (Waterdog), and Todd Snyder (Tecumseh).

Over 200 people, including the boat crews and a large number of event volunteers, participated in weekend events. Dave Parlin and Tom LaBelle co-chaired the event, and Dick and Sheelagh Knapp headed the race committee. A volunteer group of over 35 people and several local businesses contributed a range of services to support the event. The social highlight of the weekend was the Awards Banquet at the Les Cheneaux Yacht Club on Saturday night, where the top seven  finishers received plaques.