Dave Peck and his crew lost the Atlantic Class National Championship last year on a tiebreaker.

This year, things were on the quiet side aboard the boat, "Miss April," as the team representing Niantic Bay Yacht Club sailed to a title that has been floating around the Peck family since Dave's father, Norm Peck Jr., first won it in 1973.

Dave Peck, his sister Diane Peck Rothman, their uncle Tom Peck and fellow Niantic Bay member Bill Healy, who served as tactician, finished first in the 91st annual regatta held Aug. 15-17 at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport with seven points. Peck won four of the six races, giving "Miss April" a comfortable margin this time.

Stephen Benjamin in "Cassidy," last year's champion, was second with 14 points.

It is Dave Peck's third overall Atlantic title as a helmsman and the 21st overall for the Peck family, highlighted by the 16 championships won by Norm Peck Jr. (15 of those for which Dave Peck served as a crew member).

"I thought we sailed pretty well last year, but you've got to do better," Peck said Friday. "My Uncle Tom, Diane and I were part of the team with my dad; there's so much familiarity. It's an annual pursuit and a tradition. It's been in the family since I was a baby. It's fun to assemble a good team and sail well.

"A national champion is not one person. A national champion is a team of four. Everybody did their job and because everybody did their job well, the team was able to excel."

"Miss April" finished first in the opening two races of the six-race series, followed by a third. The team won the fourth race, was fifth in the fifth race which was eventually thrown out, and won the final race.

Also competing from Niantic Bay were Jeff Shay in "Papa," fifth; Norm Peck III in "Nonesuch," sixth; Hal Peatfield in "Au Revoir," 14th; George Atwood in "Redfish," 15th; and Richard Morris in "Liberty," 23rd.

Peck said his dad, who no longer competes, was on the towboat at the regatta overseeing things.

"It's competition," Peck said of the regatta. "This particular team was a pleasure to sail with. The boat was very quiet and there was a lot of confidence."

Peck also won titles Atlantic Class titles — Atlantics are a 30-foot one-design boat — in 1987 and 2015.

v.fulkerson@theday.com