Dillon Reservoir Hosts Races

The Dillon Reservoir was flooded with sail boats yesterday afternoon, as the Alpine Bank Dillon Open kicked off.

The 86 boats were divided into 10 fleets. One-design keelboat fleets — similar type of boats that race against each other without a handicap — include Etchells, J22, J24 , J80, Ensigns, Santana 20, Stars and Ultimate 20s.

A separate fleet, labeled the PHRF, allows dissimilar boats to race against one another and be scored with a handicap system based on the estimated speed of each boat. The J24 fleet was the largest with 12 boats. The dinghy sailboat fleet, called Lasers, was raced on a separate course also on the reservoir.

Participants and boats came from Texas, Georgia, New Mexico and South Dakota. Some bring their own boats, but with the cost of gas, the number of boats towed in from out of town has declined. Some crews were sailing with local skippers that they may or may not have met before, while others manage to borrow or charter a boat and bring their entire crew.