Ana O'Shaunessy piloted Teteki to first place overall in the Northport Bay Yacht Club (NBYC) Ladies Race on Saturday.

Gusty and variable winds challenged the NBYC fleet and caused three boats to withdraw at the start, according to yacht club treasurer Jim Rogers. Ten boats registered, but only six successfully completed the course and were rewarded with burgees in two fleets.

ANA O'SHAUNESSY takes the sloop Teteki across the
finish line of the Northport Bay Yacht Club Ladies
Race to win first place overall and first in her class
in Saturday's race.

Also taking first in class was Cathy Allchin in Desiree. Second-place winners were Sandy Mills in Phase Two and Susan Thiess in Birgitta.

Third-place awards were earned by Deb Wetherbee in Suzy and Linda Machir in Nancy Lou. Thiess also accomplished best start.

Will Harper’s Hobie 18 Ugly Fast also ran the course in a near record elapsed time of 67 minute, but did not include a female at the helm.

Rogers reported that gusty wind helped create a lot of excitement at the start as many boats struggled to execute clean tacks at the starting mark. In one case, a collision between two boats caused some damage, but did not stop both boats from successfully finishing the 10-mile course.

The strong winds also helped most of the fleet to finish in a window of less than 10 minutes. Races are conducted using a staggered start based on a formula determined by club commodore John Woomer. In a perfect race with perfect starts, perfect tactics, perfect crew performance, perfect equipment and steady wind, all boats would finish simultaneously, Rogers explained.

The next NBYC race will be the Harbor Days Race on Saturday. The skippers’ meeting will be at 1 p.m. on the marina deck. The meetings are conducted by a race committee comprised of club members Don Webb and Kim Todd.