FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Liz Walker
401-683-0800

FLORIDA TEAM WINS U.S. JUNIOR TRIPLEHANDED CHAMPIONSHIP
AND US SAILING’S OLDEST TROPHY

Detroit, Mich. (August 9, 2006) – Three young sailors representing Team FOR (Florida Oceanic Racing) from Sarasota, Fla. have won the U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship by only one point and the Sears Cup, US SAILING’s oldest trophy. It was a hard-fought battle for Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.), Katrina Salk (Miami, Fla.) and Zeke Horowitz (Sarasota, Fla.), who were in second place behind Mission Bay Yacht Club, the youngest team at the event, before the final race. This is the second win for Strammer, who first took home the Sears Cup in 2004 racing for Venice Youth Boating Association.

“There were a lot of things that went wrong in a couple of the races, so it was really close on points.” Strammer commented. “Both teams had bad starts the last race. We began a tacking duel to put boats between us and Mission Bay.” That did the trick and drove the Mission Bay team deep into the pack. The result was Mission Bay finished three boats behind Team FOR. Strammer now joins just six other skippers who have won US SAILING’s Sears Cup twice, the last being Ron Rosenberg in 1983 who is one of Strammer’s coaches.

Winning the Judges Trophy (for second place) was Mission Bay Yacht Club. The team of fourteen year old twin brothers, Scott and Evan Hoffmann (Escondido, Calif.) and fifteen year old Eric Alamillo (Spring Valley, Calif.), with Scott at the helm, were neck and neck with Team FOR up to the end.

Equally close was the battle for third place with host Bayview Yacht Club’s team of Blake Griffin (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), Kevin Ginnebaugh (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Nick Ridenou (Birmingham, Mich.) narrowly beating the Shewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club team Scott Layton (Wayside, N.J.) , Brett Arnheiter (Little Silver, N.J.) and Ryan Riddle (Shrewsbury, N.J.) by one point.

For complete results and photos, visit the event website at www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/usjr/triple.

The U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship is part of US SAILING’s Chubb U.S. Junior Championships, which also include the U.S. Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships. A national sponsor of the Junior Championships, the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies have played a major role in helping these young sailors achieve their goals of competing in these National Championships. Throughout the year, Chubb has provided racing clinics at the regional qualifying levels, giving these aspiring national champions access to some of the best coaches nationwide.

About Chubb
Member insurers of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies form a multi-billion dollar organization providing property and casualty insurance for personal and commercial customers through 8,000 independent agents and brokers worldwide. Since its founding in the seaport district of New York City in 1882, Chubb has been a leading insurer of marine-related operations. Chubb provides insurance and loss control services to marina operators, charterers, ship repairers, stevedores, terminal operators, wharfingers and vessel builders. It also insures yacht owners. Chubb’s global network includes branches and affiliates throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. More information on Chubb can be obtained at www.chubb.com.  

About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing and sailboat racing. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization’s mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

1. Fred Strammer/Katrina Salk/Zeke Horowitz (Sarasota, Fla.)(Area D) 1-1-7-5-(8)-5-1-4-2-3 29 total points
2. Scott Hoffman/Evan Hoffman/Eric Alamillo (San Diego, Calif.)(Area J) 4-4-2-4-6-6-2-1-1-(7) 30 points
3. Blake Griffin/Kevin Ginnebaugh/Nick Ridenour (Detroit, Mich.)(Area E) (9)-9-1-1-7-2-4-5-4-2- 35 points
4. Scott Layton/Brett Arnheiter/Ryan Riddle (Oceanport, N.J.)(Area C) 2-3-4-7-2-(8)-7-2-8-1 36 points
5. Lauren Berk/Charlotte Bauer/John Riddle (Vermillion, OH)(Area E) 3-(7)-5-2-5-1-5-6-6-6 39 points

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