BEMIDJI -- The Bemidji Sailing Association held its final regatta on Saturday, Aug. 17, to crown a champion for the 2019 sailing season.
The final regatta, known as the Paul and Babe Regatta, was the final race in a summer-long series contested on Lake Bemidji. The 2019 winner for the Lake Bemidji Regatta series was John K. Pierson from Malibu, Calif., and Minneapolis, aboard a Johnson 18 sailboat. His family has a house on Lake Bemidji.
Pierson also won the 4th of July Regatta sponsored by the Jaycees, and the Birchmont Regatta contested earlier this summer.
The Paul and Babe Regatta was won by Kurt Eickhof from Crookston. His son Kale was first mate.
Eickhof caught Pierson, the race's early leader, as they approached the first mark when Pierson experienced catastrophic boat failure as his boat's center board ran aground and became stuck in a hidden submerged rock pile in the middle of Lake Bemidji, causing major damage to his boat.
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Eickoff then took the lead, but was chased down by Peter Nordquist, of Bemidji and Minneapolis, at the finish line after an hour of exciting racing in 15-18 mph breezes. In a photo finish, Eickoff nosed out Nordquist by one second to win the Paul and Babe Regatta.
