Thanks to Crisp McDonald for this report: The Easter Regatta hosted by the Columbia Sailing Club was an enormous success. Sailors enjoyed moderate spring-time temperatures, overall steady breeze and stiff competition. Nine races were completed in a range of conditions. Friday’s four races consisted of a steady 10+ knots breeze with very small oscillations in direction, which is very atypical for Lake Murray. On Saturday, four races were completed, and conditions started in the 8-12 knots range and slowly shut off as the temperature increased. By race seven, sailors saw large shifts and challenging lake sailing conditions where patience and focus paid off. Easter Sunday, one race was run in a steady 4-6 knots of breeze, and then everyone headed in for burgers and awards. The overall Champion for the 2018 Easter Regatta was Paul Abdullah, on Team Tarheel, from The Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville, FL. Paul and Team Tarheel took a bullet in race one and never looked back. Steve Shaw on Ulman Sails was second, James Howard on Classic was third, Christopher Stone on Velocidad was fourth and rounding out the top five, in fifth, Ron Medlin on Bash. Charles Bumgardner on USA 555 won the Fleet 67 Trophy and also was awarded the Peter Bream Award for his finishes across the King’s Day Regatta, Midwinter Championship and Easter Regatta. The Easter Regatta is nationally known for its rich history in bringing top level sailors each spring to South Carolina. This year’s regatta was even more special as it received the J/24 District 8 Championship designation, making it a 2019 J/24 World Championship Qualifier. Steve Shaw from Mooresville, NC and the Peninsula Yacht Club was the top District boat and was awarded the District 8 Championship Trophy and the berth to Miami’s 2019 J/24 World Championship. A huge thanks to Charles Bumgardner (Regatta Chair), J/24 Fleet 67 and the Columbia Sailing Club for hosting. The sailing was great, the parties were fantastic, and the weather was perfect. As a testament to the Class and how we all work together, one boat experienced a trailer issue where the boat was sliding off during tear down. Every single sailor dropped everything and ran, picking the boat up (physically) and getting it back onto its bunks. A true verification of the teamwork we see across all J/24 fleets. For a full listing of results, visit https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=4537.