U.S. Disabled Championships Day 2 Report

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GALVESTON, Texas (October 31, 2014) – Offats Bayou was filled with top notch athletes again on Friday during the second of three days of racing at the 2014 U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships, hosted by Community Sailing Center Galveston.

Charles Rosenfield (Woodstock, Conn.) put together another good strong outing on the Bayou to remain on top of the singlehanded 2.4 mR fleet. However, the sailor of the day in this fleet was Daniel Evans (Miami, Fla.) who trimmed four point deficit to one with a stellar performance Friday. He won three of four races today to set up a showdown on Saturday.

The team of Steven Hammer (Riverview, Fla.), Kathy Champion (Gulfport, Fla.), and Brian Bohne (Boulder, Colo.) advanced their lead to 12 with four more wins on Friday.

Sailors raced under partly sunny skies and winds at 10-12 knots. Two more races are scheduled per fleet in Saturday’s finale.

Quotes of the Day:
“There is a lot of new sailors on the course, which is really exciting. They are amped up to keep racing too. Everyone is doing a great job out here.” – Cindy Walker (Middletown, R.I.), Sonar crew with Sarah Everhart-Skeels (Tiverton, R.I.) and Hugh Freund (Portland, Maine). The trio are US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider members.

“I’m just amazed by this facility and what these people have put together. This is an amazing place for people to come and sail. We’ve had some good, close racing in the 2.4s.” – Tim Ripley (Randolph, N.J.)

Results & Standings – U.S. Disabled Singlehanded Championship, 2.4mR
1. Charles Rosenfield, 2-1-1-1-[3]-2-2-2- ; 11
2. Daniel Evans, 1-2-[3]-3-1-3-1-1- ; 12
3. Timothy Ripley, [3]-3-2-2-2-1-3-3- ; 16
4. Audrey Kobayashi, 4-5-4-4-4-5-[6/RET]-4- ; 30
5. Kevin holmberg, [5]-4-5-5-5-4-4-5- ; 32

Results & Standings – U.S. Disabled Triplehanded Championship, Sonars – A Fleet
1. Steven Hammer/Kathy Champion/Brian Bohne, 1-2-1-1-1-1-1-[8/DNS]- ; 8
2. Sarah Everhart-Skeels/Cindy Walker/Hugh Freund, [4]-1-2-3-4-2-4-3- ; 19T
3. Dylan Young/Christopher Childers/John Wallace, 2-3-[4]-2-2-4-2-4- ; 19T
4. Gary Pierce/Patrick LoDuca/Charles McClure, [5]-5-3-4-5-3-5-2- ; 27
5. Chris Livesay/Scott Ford/Sammy Lugo, [7]-7-7-5-3-5-3-1- ; 31
6. Steven Muse/Colin Smith/Steven Edenson, 3-4-6-[7]-7-6-6-6- ; 38
7. John Greener/Henrik Hartz/Larry Young, 6-6-5-6-6-[7]-7-5- ; 41

Results & Standings, Sonars – B Fleet
1. Hudson/Brian Miller/Eric Von Culbertson, 2-1-1-2-[3]-2-1-2- ; 11
2. Nathan Deneault/Brian Dean/Ryan Moore, 1-5-2-1-1-1-[6/DNF]-1- ; 12
3. Arbie Parnell/Edward LeRoy/Ken Patterson, [5]-2-3-4-4-3-3-3- ; 22
4. Peter Cabral/Chris Doggett/Anthony Webster, 3-3-4-[5]-5-4-2-4- ; 25
5. David Wear/Arthur Montross/David Whitely, 4-4-[5]-3-2-5-4-5- ; 27

* When six or more races have been completed, a boat’s regatta score will be the total of her/his race scores excluding her/his worst score.

A sample of social media coverage from Friday’s racing:

 

Media & Coverage

  • For results and standings, photos, Twitter updates, and more information on the 2014 U.S. Disabled Championships, please visit the event website.
  • For breaking news and race results, follow us on Twitter @USSailing. Use Twitter hashtag – #USDisabledChamps – to participate in the conversation throughout the championship.

Schedule & Race Course

  • The race course has been set up on Offats Bayou directly adjacent to Sea Base Galveston.
  • The first warning signal Saturday is 10:30 am CDT. No warning signals after 1:00 pm.

This US Sailing National Championship is one of the oldest sailing regattas in the U.S. for sailors with disabilities. The talented field includes Paralympians, US Sailing Sperry Top-Sider members, and new contenders. This year’s championship consists of a Sonar and 2.4 mR fleet, all of which are adapted for disabled sailing.There is also a Sonar B-fleet.

First established in 1986, the U.S. Independence Cup became US Sailing’s National Championship for sailors with disabilities in 1989. In 2007, the regatta moved under the championships division of US Sailing and was renamed the U.S. Disabled Sailing Championship. Many competitors at the U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships have gone on to represent the United States at the Paralympics Games including Nick Scandone, gold medalist at the 2008 Paralympics, and Jennifer French, silver medalist at the 2012 Paralympics.

The U.S. Disabled Sailing Championship is sponsored by Gill North America and is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certified event.

Contact: Jake Fish, US Sailing, jakefish@ussailing.org

About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

About Gill North America
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, GA is the exclusive importer and distributor of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, US and Canada. Gill is a worldwide apparel and accessories brand serving the marine industry with over three decades of experience. Gill specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company develops and markets a variety of performance-oriented, award-winning apparel and accessories for virtually every type of boating activity with product lines that include foul weather gear; interactive layering systems; footwear; gloves; bags; junior gear; scholastic gear and team wear. Gill products are available through hundreds of independent dealers and select West Marine Stores. For further information, please contact: Gary Barker at 941-505-2111 or gary.barker@gillna.com.