For two years, the organizing committee for the 1996 J/24 NAs in Cleveland promised that September brings some of the best and most consistent sailing conditions of the year.

On the first day of sailing, Thursday, Sept. 12, they kept their promise.

The first race started on time, at 1 p.m. with a clean start and 69 boats on the line (registration closed with 71, including two no-shows, for the largest North American Championship in several years).

Winds were from 290 degrees at about 22 knots, gusting to 25. Waves were typical Lake Erie -- 4-5 footers, tall, steep, pointy at the top and very close together.

The left side of the course was favored early, but oscillations were generally small -- less than 10 degress, except for the occasional 20 degree shirt that would last just a few minutes. If you were on the right tack when it hit, you gained nicely. If not, by the time you found a lane and tacked on it, it was gone.

Virtually the entire fleet sailed the day with small jibs, though about a third had changed up to genoas by the end of the second race.

Chris Snow, American Garage, San Diego, won the first race, followed by a Cleveland boat, 12-Step Program, skippered by Chris Carroll. In third place was Steve Wood, Tasmanian Devil, of Rhode Island.

The second race brought more of the same. After one general recall, the left side worked again early on the five-leg windward/leeward course.

At the end of the race, Tom Kane, Red Eye Express, Chicago, took the gun. He was followed by Brad Read, out of Newport, in Mookie; and Eric Leitner, Apple Pie (Hull #38, the oldest in the regatta), Perth Amboy N.J.

With a pile of protests, official results weren't available until late Thursday night. Here's how the top 10 looked after two races:

Chris Carroll, Cleveland, 6 points
Chris Snow, San Diego, 6.75
Tom Kane, Chicago, 7.75
Brad Read, Newport, 8 
Eric Leitner, Perth Amboy, NJ, 15
Waldek Zaleski, Noroton, Conn., 16
John Reynolds, Waitsfield, VT, 18
Ben Capuco, Annapolis,18
Al Hobart, Waitsfield, VT, 22
Howard Moscrop, Kanata, Ont., 22

However, the fleet was sitting out a 3-hour delay Friday morning while waiting for some violent storm cells to pass. Best guess was no more than 2 races would be sailed Friday (at least 4 races are needed to complete the championship series).

Day 2 brought more of the same unstable low-pressure that's been hovering over Cleveland for a week. It also brought thunder cells and waterspouts.

After a four-hour delay, the committee sent the fleet out for what was expected to be a one-race day (original schedule called for 3), only to send the fleet in again after two water spouts were sighted.

Some 350 sailors, a small patio, a rainy day with no racing and a truck full of microbrewed beer (Crooked River, a major sponsor). And yet the scene has remained orderly. But it's early, and bus transportation to and from Cleveland's now-famous nightlife district-the Flats--is scheduled for the evening.

Tomorrow's forecast is for 20-30 knots and three races.

It was gray, windy and angry on the water. The word that seemed to work back on the porch with beer-in-hand was gnarly.

The leaders couldn't claim heroics today as they did on Thursday, when Chris Snow, American Garage, San Diego, broke his boom on the regatta's lone general recall and went on to finish sixth in Race 2 after splinting it with kevlar line and a spare spinnaker pole.

But the waves were bigger Saturday and the wind higher (22-25, gusting to 35 -- it's only fair to state that Principle Race Officer Steve Podlich claims it barely broke 30, but those of us actually racing know better).

The fleet sailed two races of three that were scheduled for Saturday, bringing the regatta count to 4 races -- the minimum required to determine the North American Champion.

Chris Snow led the regatta with 9.5 points after winning Race 3 and placing 2 in Race 4.

Brad Read, Mookie, Newport, took a 3-1, to move into 2nd place with 11.75 points (up from 4th).

Cleveland-based 12-Step Plan, skippered by Chris Carroll, was in 3rd after placing 9-5.

Podlich said the fleet behaved well with only 4 over-earlies in Race 3 (2 returned) and all clear in Race 4.

The winners may have been racing, but the rest of us were in survival mode. The entire fleet sailed with small jibs and found out how it feels when a wave -- they were 4-6 feet with an occasional monster -- has no bottom.

Damage report: Dick Baker, Moonshadow, Cleveland, tore both his jib and main on two different waves--the seams just popped. There were too many ripped spinnakers to count (one local sailmaker is offering overnight repairs--hope he knows what's on the way to the loft right now) and three broken rudders.

The only reported injury was Bob Netkowicz, Fast Forward, Erie PA, who wouldn't admit to feeling any pain whatsoever after getting about 10 stitches in the chin and losing two teeth after being hit by the boom.

For those who were racing, the left side of the course seemed to pay off. "Survival," said Snow. "That was a lot of it. Stay on your feet."<> The weather forecast for Sunday was more of the same--much more, with full gale warnings. Two races were scheduled.

Here's the preliminary top 10 (pending protests and other jury action) after 4 races.

Chris Snow, American Garage, 9.5
Brad Read, Mookie, 11.75
Chris Carroll, 12-Step-Plan, 20
Zaleski brothers, Twins, 26
John Reynolds, Downtown, 31
Al Constants, Blitz, 36
Eric Leitner, Apple Pie, 36
Howard Moscrop,Overdraught, 50
Bengt Johansson, Anna, 59
Will Crump, Satisfaction,62

Brad Read of Newport, RI, took a second in race 5 and a first in race 6 of the 1996 J/24 North American Championship,to come from behind San Diego's Chris Snow and win the regatta.

Going into Sunday's racing--the last of four days sailed at Cleveland's Edgewater Yacht Club--Read stood 1.25 points behind Snow, sailing American Garage. But his strong showing the last day, combined with Snow's 6th place in race 5 and 3rd in race 6 turned the standings around.

The races were sailed in 4-6 foot seas and winds ranging from 15 to 25 knots. The racing was close, as it has been throughout the championship, and broaches were common across the five-leg windward/leeward courses.

Conditions weren't as extreme as Saturday, however, when winds reached 30 knots. But the damage continued to grow -- a couple broken booms, one broken mast and several torn sails.

The water is still warm in Cleveland--a good thing for this regatta, because even skippers got wet. Day 2 of racing was suspended for severe thunderstorms and waterspouts. While 10 races had been scheduled, six were sailed and the regatta ended Sunday without anyone from the 69 boats wishing for more (56 boats completed the last race).

Major sponsors of the regatta were Bogey Inn of Columbus, and Crooked River Brewing of Cleveland. Here's how the top 10 stacked up in the final results:

1. Brad Read, Mookie, 14.5 points
2. Chris Snow, American Garage, 18.5
3. Waldek Zaleski, Twins, 30.75
4. Al Constants, Blitz, 41
5. Chris Carroll, 12-Step Program, 42
6. John Reynolds, Downtown, 47
7. Eric Leitner, Apple Pie, 60
8. Al Hobart, Fawn Liebowitz, 63
9. Howard Moscrop, Overdraught, 84
10.Tom Kane, Red Eye Express, 92.75

REGATTA STANDINGS

Pos   Sail#   Bow Helmsman, Hometown                       1       2       3       4       5       6    TotPts Pos
--- --------- --- -----------------------               ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------ ---
  1 US   2934  02 Brad Read, Newport, RI                   6       2       3     .75       2     .75     14.50   1
  2 US   3379  33 Chris Snow, SanDiego, CA               .75       6     .75       2       6       3     18.50   2
  3 US   4802  04 Waldek Zaleski, Noroton, CT              5      11       2       8     .75       4     30.75   3
  4 US   3775  06 Al Constants, Morristown, NJ             4      21       8       3       3       2     41.00   4
  5 US   3602  24 Chris Carroll, Cleveland, OH             2       4       9       5       9      13     42.00   5
  6 US   4154  11 John Reynolds, Waitsfield, VT           10       8       7       6       4      12     47.00   6
  7 US     38  08 Eric Leitner, Perth Amboy, NJ           12       3      11      10      13      10     59.00   7
  8 US   2901  05 Al Hobart, Waitsfield, VT                9      13      18P20    9       8       6     63.00   8
  9 US   3708  22 Howard Moscrop, Ottawa, ON               8      14      10      18      16      17     83.00   9
 10 US   3836  21 Tom Kane, Chicago, IL                    7     .75       5      70PMS    5       5     92.75  10
 11 US   3702  56 Will Crump, Annapolis, MD               27       9      15      11      10      21P20  93.00  11
 12 CA   3913  66 John Vincze, Toronto, ON                18      15      20      12       7      22     94.00  12
 13 US    833  19 Bengt Johansson, Allentown, PA          11      17      14      17      37P20    9    105.00  13
 14 US   4396  03 Jody Swanson, Buffalo, NY               70PMS    7       6       4      11       8    106.00  14
 15 US   3969  14 Steve Wood, W. Kingston, RI              3      58P20   13       7      12      21    114.00  15
 16 US   4398  27 Dan Hawthorne, Severna Pk, MD           14      49P20   12      13      14      18    120.00  16
 17 CA   4286  58 Rudy Wolfs,  Toronto, ON                23      12      24      25      19      24    127.00  17
 18 CA   3749  45 Alan Ryder,  Oakville, ON               16      33      22      14      17      28    130.00  18
 19 US   2521  63 David Breitner, Wayzata, MN             22      16      19      27      15      31    130.00  19
 20 US    912  16 Tom Bremer, Denver, CO                  15      20      28      29      26      25    143.00  20
 21 US    641  42 B. Seidel, Cleveland Hts, OH            17      22      29      16      30      32    146.00  21
 22 CA   2728  59 David Clark, Toronto, ON                34      10      46      19      21      34    164.00  22
 23 US    374  23 Laurie Poppen, Montague, MI             32      18      30      33      38P20   16    167.00  23
 24 US   1029  61 Ed Gardner, Honeoye Falls, NY           42      28      33      26      33      15    177.00  24
 25 US   3140  73 Karen Lynch, Scituate, MA               19      65      27      22      29      19    181.00  25
 26 US   1925  17 Jeff Borland, Annapolis, MD             25      25      23      70PMS   20      26    189.00  26
 27 CA   2561  09 David Baird, Ottawa, ON                 28      70PMS   17      24      22      36    197.00  27
 28 US    106  41 Mike Titgemeyer, Cleveland, OH          44      57      26      15      34      23    199.00  28
 29 CA   3789  71 Steve Wells, Dryden, ON                 33      19      36      70DNF   31      14    203.00  29
 30 US    669  43 Ben Capuco, Annapolis, MD               13       5      37      70DNF   70DSQ   11    206.00  30
 31 US   2720  35 George Osborne, Toledo, OH              50      46      32      25YMP   27      30    210.00  31
 32 US    184  36 Jim Van de Velde, Cleveland, OH         20      23      16      30      58P20   70DNC 217.00  32
 33 CA   2623  67 Lamont Smith, Toronto, ON               55      31      53      36      25      20    220.00  33
 34 US   1073  13 Jeffery Wadovick, Carolina, RI          24      41P20   31      70DNF   28      27    221.00  34
 35 US   3757  50 Joe Colling, Cleveland, OH              21      70PMS   18      70DNF   18      29    226.00  35
 36 CA   4282  10 Gordon Burt, Oakville, ON               26      53P20   44      34      39      39    235.00  36
 37 US   3888  53 Jack DePeters, Rochester, NY            36      29      41      31      54      46    237.00  37
 38 US    332  37 Rollie Fisher, Trenton, MI              39      41      39      38      37      43    237.00  38
 39 CA   3524  65 David Walters, Toronto                  48      37      51      37      46      33    252.00  39
 40 US   1697  38 Barb Rosenbaum, Cleveland, OH           38      42      45      70DNF   40      37    272.00  40
 41 US   4119  64 Tim Roberts, Cleveland Hts, OH          47      51      43      43      45      44    273.00  41
 42 CA   4107  32 Greg McKenzie, Toronto, ON              54      54      70P50   23      32      42    275.00  42
 43 CA   4865  15 Jim Wilkins, Toronto                    62      52      49      40      38      35    276.00  43
 44 US   4013  20 Chris Bloomstine, Erie, PA              51      43      52      21      41      70DNC 278.00  44
 45 US    105  40 David Mills, Cleveland, OH              30      32      70DNF   70DNC   42      40    284.00  45
 46 US   4171  07 Chuck Hibben, Denver, CO                40      40      39P20   28      70DNC   70DNC 287.00  46
 47 US   1386  47 Douglas Turner, Menasha, WI             60      70PMS   55      32      35      38    290.00  47
 48 US   3697  39 Mike Paramore, Galesville, MD           57      64      48      42      43      41    295.00  48
 49 US   3962  70 David Desanto, Chicago, IL              49      49      42      70DNF   47      48    305.00  49
 50 US   5173  25 Jim Keesling, Denver, CO                41      34      21      70DNF   70DNC   70DNC 306.00  50
 51 US    419  68 Dan Claxton, Erie, PA                   56      56      38      20      70DNC   70DNC 310.00  51
 52 US   3936  44 Cathy Graf, Cleveland, OH               57P20   36      34      70DNF   48      70DNC 315.00  52
 53 US   5020  30 Lambert Lai, Walworth, NY               37      26      70DNF   70DNC   70DSQ   45    318.00  53
 54 US   3483  51 Matt Gregory, Mt Holly NC               46      24      47      70DNF   70DNC   70DNC 327.00  54
 55 US   4597  69 Lynn Bruss, Chesterland, OH             70P50   60      57      44      49      47    327.00  55
 56 US   3457  26 Doug Zimmerman, Richland, MI            66      53      54      39      53      70DNC 335.00  56
 57 US   4046  62 H. Stackpoole, Grosse Pt Pk, MI         63      62      50      41      52      70DNC 338.00  57
 58 US   3608  60 Paul Aaron, Rockey River, OH            53      47      56      70DNF   50      70DNC 346.00  58
 59 US   4278  55 Reid Stava, Rochester, NY               43P20   70P50   35      70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 358.00  59
 60 US   1166  31 Brad Rohloff, Clawson, MI               70PMS   30      70DNC   70DNC   51      70DNC 361.00  60
 61 US   2277  46 Dick Baker. Willowick, OH               61      58      70DNF   70DNC   36      70DNC 365.00  61
 62 US   3133  18 J.A. Witter, Sandusky, OH               31      59      70DNF   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 370.00  62
 63 US   4739  54 Bob Netkowicz, Erie, PA                 52      45      70DNF   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 377.00  63
 64 US   3577  34 Erica Fanberg, Minapolis, MN            45      55      70DNF   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 380.00  64
 65 US   4198  29 Pat Huntley, Edinboro, PA               70P50   48      70DNC   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 398.00  65
 66 CA    504  57 Al Kozun,     Hamilton, ON              64      61      70DNF   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 405.00  66
 67 US   3276  12 Lori Delfosse, Waukesha, WI             58      70P50   70DNF   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 408.00  67
 68 US   3890  48 Jim Pier, Cleveland, OH                 65      63      70DNF   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 408.00  68
 69 US   4290  49 Leroy Leeman, Indianapolis, IN          70DNF   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC   70DNC 420.00  69