When not racing or cruising, the 41-foot sailboat Condor can be found on its home mooring in Pentwater Lake. Currently co-owned by brothers David Bluhm (Pentwater) and Stephen Bluhm (Sarasota, Florida), the Condor was one of 140 boats participating in the recent 87th running of the prestigious Queen's Cup sailing race. One of the oldest regattas in North America, this overnight race begins at the host site of South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and crosses Lake Michigan to a West Michigan location. Last year it concluded in Muskegon, and this year it finished in Grand Haven for a distance of approximately 68 nautical miles. This year’s race took place June 26-27.
Race boats are placed in multiple divisions to enable staggered starting times and racing with similar boats. Handicaps based on boat size, speed and other features are used to provide an equitable comparison of finish times. David Bluhm explains, “The handicap can add hours or subtract hours from the length of time the boat was under sail.”
He was thrilled to report that this year the Condor not only finished first in its division, but it also took first place over all other participating boats. “Always representing the Pentwater Yacht Club, the Condor has sailed in the Queen’s Cup close to 40 times and been first in her division several times. But we had never come close to being first overall – maybe coming in at 19th or 20th place overall. So this was a huge achievement…We are still pinching ourselves with this win, as most competitive sailors go their whole sailing career without winning a nationally recognized sailing trophy. We get to hang the first-place flags at the Pentwater Yacht Club. An engraved plaque with the boat’s name, the crew members’ names and the year will hang with the trophy at the South Shore Yacht Club.”
For those who understand the lingo, the Condor is a C&C Redline 41-foot sailboat that happened to be the oldest competitor in the race. She had a crew of seven this year: the Bluhm brother owners, Brandon Bluhm from Sarasota, Florida, Aaron and Vanessa Boyko from Pentwater, Paul Slotsema from Pentwater and his brother Luke Raymond from California. Bluhm said it was an especially sweet win for Slotsema and Raymond, who are in the process of buying the boat from the Bluhms. The sale will be finalized this fall.
