On November 8th and 9th of 1997, Tackle Shack hosted the Mistral One-Design National Championships in St. Petersburg Florida. In attendance were four members of Fleet 18.
There were 115 sailors, from all over the country, competing in a spectacular location. The event was held close to shore and in conjunction with a large boat show which provided a large number of spectators with an excellent vantage for the races. Conditions varied from day to day and race to race with winds in the 5-12 knot range and smooth warm water. The air temperature was in the low 80sand there was mild cloud cover. The events included IMCO, Open Unlimited, Superlight II, Sport (non-pumping), and Sport classes. There was even a freestyle demonstration at the end of the event concluding with a spectacular 6 person pyramid on three windsurfing boards.
Dan Colton reporting.