Sailors from the Glen Lake and Leland yacht clubs each posted top-ten finishes in the two divisions competing at the 2007 Butterfly National Championship Regatta held July 18-19 on Crystal Lake.

The butterfly is a small single-sail sailboat that typically holds one to two people and is used as trainer for children and young adults to learn the basics of sailing. Each year the National Butterfly Association hosts a national championship regatta where yacht club and sailing groups compete in different races.

The 2006 nationals were hosted by the Glen Lake Yacht Club. This year’s event was hosted by the Crystal Lake Yacht Club near Frankfort.

There are two divisions: junior, for children ages 17 and younger; and open, for sailors of all ages. Sailors competing in the junior division must have a crew of two in the boat, while those competing in the open division may sail alone.

The top Leelanau County finisher in either division was Eric Rivard of the Glen Lake Yacht Club, who took eighth in the junior division with a score of 24. The total score was determined by the position a contestant finished in each race. Due to a lack of wind during the junior division races, only two races were held. Rivard placed 15th in one and ninth in the second to reach his score of 24.

The top county finisher in the open division was Jeff Ragains of the Leland Yacht Club, who took ninth place with a total score of 49. His best finish in the four-race event was a second place finish in the fourth race.

Following is a list of all county sailors who competed in the two division races and finished:

Open division: Eric Rivard, Glen Lake, 18th; Reid Pierce, Glen Lake, 26th; Stuart Anderson, Glen Lake, 28th; Taylor Moore, Glen Lake, 31st; Lizzy Hamilton, Glen Lake, 35th; Jack Kerby-Miller, Glen Lake, 38th; Grant Peterson, Leland, 39th; Drew Peterson, Leland, 43rd; Pete Kerby-Miller, Glen Lake, 44th; Jack Hamilton, Glen Lake, 45th; and Jake Siddall, Leland, 56th.

Junior division: Jack Kerby-Miller, Glen Lake, 13th; Taylor Moore, Glen Lake, 20th; Drew Peterson, Leland, 24th; Grant Peterson, Leland, 27th; Jack Hamilton, Glen Lake, 28th; Andrew Ragains, Leland, 38th; Pete Kerby-Miller, Glen Lake, 42nd; Leif Vanderwerff, Glen Lake, 44th; Mary Haley, Glen Lake, 45th; Lizzy Hamilton, Glen Lake, 47th; K.K. Doyle, Glen Lake, 53rd; Chloe Polikoff, Glen Lake, 55th; Preston Cory, Leland, 57th; Ellie Suse, Glen Lake, 58th; Elle Rivard, Glen Lake, 62nd; and Caroline Lindquist, Leland, 65th.