Allstate Sugar Bowl 2023 Viper 640 World Championship - Day 3

Allstate Sugar Bowl 2023 Viper 640 World Championship - Day 3 © Allstate Sugar Bowl Viper 640 Worlds

Winds finally filled in on Lake Pontchartrain Wednesday morning to allow the Allstate Sugar Bowl 2023 Viper World Championship to sail four races and try to catch up on the proposed schedule of 12.

First day leader Jackson Benvenutti finished ninth in the fourth race of the day, falling into a tie for first overall with Lee Sucherow of Crescent Sail Yacht Club in Lake Saint Clair, Michigan. Suckerow came back from an 11th in the third race to win the last race of the day. Sucherow posted finishes of 3-1-11-1 Wednesday. His crew includes Brad Boston and Eric Vigrass.

Benvenutti, a member of host Southern Yacht Club, stayed at the top of the fleet all day until the last race, with finishes of 2-2-6-9. He won Tuesday's only race. Benvenutti is sailing with Christopher Alexander on the bow and Andrew Eagan trimming.

Both Benvenutti and Suckerow are tied in the low-point scoring system with 20 points each.

Currently in third is Mark Zagol of Pawcatuck, CT, sailing with Drew Buttner and Timothy Desmond. Zagol sailed consistently well Wednesday with a record of 5-5-3-7. After a third-place finish Tuesday, he is only three points behind the two leaders.

The regatta rules allow competitors to exclude their worst score if six or more races are sailed. That is a high probability, since five races have already been completed with two more days of competition scheduled.

Allstate Sugar Bowl 2023 Viper 640 World Championship - Day 3 - photo © Allstate Sugar Bowl Viper 640 Worlds

The Race Committee called the boats out an hour early Wednesday morning to take advantage of the fresher breezes following the passage of a weak cold front. The morning winds started at 18 knots and gradually faded to about six knots for the fourth and last race of the day.

With five races completed, the regatta's goal of 12 total remains in reach if the winds hold up Thursday and Friday.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl Viper World Championship has drawn 34 entries from Canada, Jamaica, India and 14 U.S. states from California to Maine to compete for the top prize in one of the most competitive sailboat classes in the world.

The Viper 640 is a two-to-four-person, high-performance sport boat about 21 feet long.

The 640 is a strict one-design with no changes permitted to the boat as supplied by the class approved builder. The only option is sails, supplied by class approved sailmakers and strictly controlled through class rules.

"Sailing has been a proud piece of the Sugar Bowl tradition from the beginning, getting its start even before the first Sugar Bowl Football Classic," said Committee President Richard Briede. "We're so pleased and excited to expand on that tradition by sponsoring this year's Viper World Championships on Lake Pontchartrain."

Viper 640 Results after Day 3:

1. JACKPOT, Viper 640, Lee Shuckerow, Windsor, on, CAN, 4 - 3 - 1 - 11 - 1; 20
2. Psycho Tiller, Viper 640, Jackson Benvenutti, New Orleans, LA, USA, 1 - 2 - 2 - 6 - 9; 20
3. NESS, Viper 640, Mark Zagol, Pawcatuck, CT, USA, 3 - 5 - 5 - 3 - 7; 23
4. Southern Challenge, Viper 640, Ricky Welch, Long Beach, MS, USA, 2 - 7 - 9 - 1 - 6; 25
5. Boomslang, Viper 640, Geoffrey Fargo, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 5 - 9 - 4 - 9 - 4; 31
6. Loco, Viper 640, Ed Feo, Long Beach, CA, USA, 6 - 8 - 6 - 4 - 11; 35
7. Crazyhorse Mongoose, Viper 640, Zak Fanberg, Bay St. Louis, MS, USA, 12 - 6 - 7 - 2 - 18; 45
8. Team Z, Viper 640, Marek Zaleski, Norwalk, CT, USA, 8 - 4 - 10 - 14 - 10; 46
9. Robot Flamingo, Viper 640, Jimmy Praley, Annapolis, MD, USA, 34/UFD - 1 - 8 - 10 - 3; 56
10. Merica, Viper 640, Karl and Paul Kleinschrodt, Mobie, AL, USA, 11 - 10 - 3 - 13 - 20; 57
11. Meow!, Viper 640, Cole Constantineau, Cambridge, MA, USA, 15 - 12 - 12 - 8 - 13; 60
12. Juicy, Viper 640, Mike Levert, Pensacola, FL, USA, 9 - 13 - 20 - 17 - 2; 61
13. Strategery XI, Viper 640, Cam Farrah, Destin, FL, USA, 7 - 21 - 17 - 5 - 12; 62
14. Spitfire, Viper 640, Nick Lovell, New Orleans, LA, USA, 16 - 14 - 11 - 7 - 15; 63
15. Great Scott!, Viper 640, Peter Beardsley, Shelter Island, NY, USA, 10 - 19 - 22 - 12 - 8; 71
16. Rolling Thunder, Viper 640, Vir Menon, Bangalore, Karnataka, IND, 24 - 15 - 13 - 16 - 16; 84
17. Caterpillar, Viper 640, Peter Ill, Virginia Beach, VA, USA, 17 - 16 - 14 - 20 - 26; 93
18. Sparky, Viper 640, Michael Puleo, Sarasota, FL, USA, 13 - 30 - 24 - 23 - 5; 95
19. Oshunmare, Viper 640, Steve Chapman, Alcove, QC, CAN, 18 - 18 - 15 - 28 - 24; 103
20. All Fruits Ripe, Viper 640, Marina Maffessanti, Ocho Rios, St. Ann, JAM, 20 - 11 - 28 - 29 - 17; 105
21. Widespread Panic, Viper 640, Arden Carleton, Edgecomb, ME, USA, 27 - 22 - 21 - 22 - 14; 106
22. Evil Hiss, Viper 640, Mary Ewenson, Annapolis, MD, USA, 34/UFD - 17 - 18 - 19 - 22; 110
23. KAA, Viper 640, Carson Downing, Des Moines, IA, USA, 25 - 23 - 19 - 24 - 19; 110
24. Touch of Grey, Viper 640, Adam White, New Orleans, LA, USA, 14 - 26 - 23 - 27 - 25; 115
25. Mr Humble, Viper 640, Zane Yoder, Daphne, AL, USA, 34/UFD - 25 - 16 - 15 - 27; 117
26. Suspect, Viper 640, Mike Lebov, Milford, CT, USA, 23 - 29 - 27 - 18 - 21; 118
27. USA 301, Viper640, Gabriel Ferramola, Rossmoor, CA, USA, 21 - 27 - 25 - 21 - 34/UFD; 128
28. Big Energy, Viper 640, Doug Jensen, Topeka, KS, USA, 29 - 24 - 29 - 25 - 23; 130
29. Patched Up, Viper 640, Marcelo Pereira, Swampscott, MA, USA, 28 - 20 - 26 - 30 - 30; 134
30. Ringle, Viper 640, Richard Samuels, Gulf Breeze, FL, USA, 19 - 34/DNC - 34/DNC - 26 - 29; 142
31. Eight Second Ride, Viper 640, Steven Taylor, Suffolk, VA, USA, 26 - 28 - 30 - 31 - 28; 143
32. Boat, Viper 640, jeffrey Willis, New Orleans, LA, USA, 22 - 34/DNC - 34/DNC - 34/DNC - 34/DNC; 158
33. Flight Risk, Viper640, Heather Patterson, Houston, TX, USA, 30 - 31 - 31 - 32 - 34/DNC; 158