Lake Bemidji Sailing Association crowns John K. Pierson 2022 all-season champion
Sep. 2—BEMIDJI — The Lake Bemidji Sailing Association wrapped up its final regatta of the season on Saturday, Aug. 27, crowning John K. Pierson as the all-season winner.
Eight Johnson-18 Olympic class sailboats set out on Lake Bemidji on Saturday for the final two-race series with double points awarded to the top three finishers in each race. With winds reaching 14-18 mph, the races were neck and neck with the leading boat finishing fractions of a second faster than the next, according to a release.
Pierson, who hails from both Minneapolis and Malibu Calif., won with four first-place and two second-place finishes during the summer series held on Lake Bemidji for a total of 547 points. Pierson also is a former co-commodore and has two-time all-season titles under his belt from 2019 and 2020, the release said.
Last year's champion, John Eickhof, won the final race on Saturday, finishing with second place and a total of 420 points. With several high finishes earlier in the season, Eickhof slipped ahead of Randy Ruttger, who finished third with a point total of 398.
Ruttger was a multiple race-winner along with high-score finishes earlier in the season.
The winners of the first race on Saturday were Randy and Tina Ruttger along with John Eickhof and Mike Loyland winning the second race.
