Afternoon Delight at 2017 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships

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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (June 26, 2017) – The Corpus Christi sky held off more ominous Texas-sized storms on Tuesday and the 177 young sailors enjoyed another afternoon out on the bay in light breeze.

For the second consecutive day, morning racing was postponed. On Sunday, thunderstorms put a damper on the start of the 2017 U.S. Youth Championships. Storms passed in the afternoon and the breeze picked up on Corpus Christi Bay. The Laser, Laser Radial and International 420 fleets completed two races, while the 29er, Nacra 15 and Techno 293 Plus tallied three races.

On Monday, light breezes in the 1-5 knot-range forced an early delay to racing. As the sailors patiently waited for more breeze on the bay, the wind picked up considerably in the afternoon at 10-15 knots for good racing conditions.

“The conditions, so far, have been a little different than we expected of Corpus Christi, which is famous for its strong sea breeze,” said John Pearce, Youth Director of US Sailing. “The rain and storms have slowed that down a bit. It’s shaping up to be a balanced test for all conditions, so versatility is going to be important, especially for the high performance classes. It’s about being really dynamic and sailing fast angles and high speeds.”

“Youth Champs is the place to be. We have the top sailors in the country here, as well as US Sailing provided coaches who provide excellent instruction, tips and mentorship for these young sailors,” added Pearce. “This is a great place for sailors to up their skill level, challenge themselves and be exposed to a high level environment, as they prepare for their summer sailing season.”

Windsurfing – Techno 293 Plus

The windsurfing division completed two more races this afternoon. Michael Cramer (Miami Beach, Fla.) and Manual Nores (Miami Beach, Fla.) are at the top of the leaderboard, with Maverick Putnam (Palm Harbor, Fla.) just one point back.

“We are looking for improvement throughout the week in this growing class,” said Solvig Sayre, windsurfing coach and three-time US Sailing Team member. “Our focus is more on encouragement and less about setting a certain standard coming into this event.”

“Some kids are working on very basic downwind planing, to more advanced downwind planing, and others are working on tactics and how to round the windward mark.”

“We have two different groups out here, Miami and Clearwater. The Clearwater group is showing up strong in the lighter wind and the Miami kids would like to see a stronger sea breeze.”

Standings – Top 6
1. Michael Cramer, Miami Yacht Club, 1-3-[6]-1-2- ; 7T
2. Manuel Nores, Miami Yacht Club, [2]-2-2-2-1- ; 7T
3. Maverick Putnam, Clearwater Community Sailing Center, 3-1-1-3-[4]- ; 8
4. Dominique Stater, Miami Yacht Club, 4-[5]-3-4-3- ; 14
5. Alexander Temko, Clearwater Community Sailing Center, [5]-4-4-5-5- ; 18
6. Gabriel Varra-Gonzalez, Miami Yacht Club, 6-[7/DNS]-5-6-6- ; 23
Full Results

Open Multihull – Nacra 15

The team of Mark Brunsvold (Sarasota, Fla.) and Dylan Heinz (Sarasota, Fla.) have excelled in the first two days of racing, as the Nacra 15 fleet posted four races today. They lead Nicolas Martin (Houston, Texas) and Chase Sabadas, and Luke Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Kyle Collins (San Pedro, Calif.).

Standings – Top 5
1. Mark Brunsvold/Dylan Heinz, Sarasota Youth Sailing, 2-1-[3]-1-1-3-3- ; 11
2. Nicolas Martin/Chase Sabadash, Seabrook Sailing Club/Royal Vancouver YC, 3-2-[13]-4-4-1-1- ; 15T
3. Luke Melvin/Kyle Collins, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, 1-4-1-2-3-4-[7]- ; 15T
4. Jake Mayol/Maxwell Mayol, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 4-3-2-[5]-2-2-4- ; 17
5. Palmer Galt Oliver/James Tucker McElwaney, Red Gear Racing, 6-6-5-6-[8]-6-2- ; 31
Full Results

Skiff – 29er

The 29er fleet finished four more races on Monday. David Eastwood (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Sam Merson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) have a one point advantage over Neil Marcellini (Lafayette, Calif.) and Ian Brill (San Diego, Calif.). Catherine Lindsay (North Palm Beach, Fla.) and Jana Laurendeau (Billerica, Mass.) are the top girls team and fifth overall.

Standings – Top 5
1. David Eastwood/Samuel Merson, Santa Barbara Yacht Club, 3-2-3-5-[7]-1-2- ; 16
2. Neil Marcellini/Ian Brill, Richmond Yacht Club, 2-[6]-4-2-4-2-3- ; 17
3. Robert Shelley/Severin Gramm, 2Ninner Skiff Squad, [11]-10-1-4-1-3-1- ; 20
4. Harry Melges/Finn Rowe, Lake Geneva Yacht Club/ BMSC, 5-5-5-[8]-2-7-6- ; 30
5. Catherine Lindsay/Jana Laurendeau, 2Niner Skiff Squad, [12]-4-6-1-3-10-9- ; 33
Full Results

Singlehanded Dinghy – Laser Radial

Josheph Hou (Newport Beach, Calif.) asserted himself again today to take a commanding lead following four more races. He leads Asher Zittrer (Seabrook, Texas) by nine. Charlotte Rose (Houston, Texas) is the top sailor in the girls division and she is fifth overall.

Standings – Top 5
1. 12/210685, Joseph Hou, Newport Harbor YC/Alamitos Bay YC, 6-1-1-1-1-[10]- ; 10
2. 33/186548, Asher Zittrer, Lakewood Yacht Club / GCYSA, [12]-4-4-4-5-2- ; 19
3. 34/157851, Leo Boucher, Severen Sailing Association, [27]-6-17-2-3-3- ; 31
4. 46/195429, Carrter Pearce, SCYC / Lauderdale Yacht Club, 10-11-[14]-3-4-4- ; 32
5. 16/211540, Charlotte Rose, Houston Yacht Club / GCYSA, [23]-14-10-9-2-1- ; 36T
Full Results

Doublehanded Dinghy – International 420

The team of Thomas Rice (Garden City, N.J.) and Trevor Bornarth (Stuart, Fla.) had a strong day on the water and took over first place by eight points over Max Anker (Old Greenwich, Conn.) and Leyton Borcherding (Greenwich, Conn.). In third place overall is Carmen Cowles (Larchmont, N.Y.) and Emma Cowles (Larchmont, N.Y.) leading the girls division.

Standings – Top 5
1. Thomas Rice/Trevor Bornarth, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club / LIMA, 1-[12]-9-2-1-1- ; 14
2. Max Anker/Leyton Borcherding, Riverside Yacht Club / LISOT, 4-[11]-1-5-5-7- ; 22
3. Carmen Cowles/Emma Cowles, LISOT/Larchmont Yacht Club, [16]-6-7-1-3-6- ; 23T
4. Joseph Charles Hermus/Walter Henry, Bellport Yacht Club, 2-5-6-6-[8]-4- ; 23T
5. Emma Kaneti/Ciara Rodriguez-Horan, Larchmont Yacht Club, [14]-4-8-3-2-8- ; 25
Full Results

Singlehanded Dinghy – Laser

Chase Burwell (Clearwater, Fla.) has been the most consistent Laser sailor through six races, leading Jake Vickers (Annapolis, Md.) by five points.

Standings – Top 5
1. Chase Burwell, Carlouel Yacht Club, [3]-1-2-3-3-1- ; 10
2. Jake Vickers, Annapolis yacht club/severn sailing association, 2-3-1-[8]-6-3- ; 15
3. Cameron Feves, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, 1-[8]-8-4-1-2- ; 16
4. John Kirkpatrick, Sail Newport, [17/OCS]-2-9-1-2-4- ; 18
5. Benjamin Rizika, Wianno Yacht Club, 6-4-10-6-[17/OCS]-5- ; 31
Full Results

Chief Judge, Rick Mallinson, discussed the first two days of the championship, including the conditions and race committee work. “The race committee did a great job getting in as much racing as they could,” said Mallinson. “It’s been a little lighter than typical expectations for Corpus Christi, but this afternoon we had much better, breezier conditions. If you look at each fleet, you have kids of different size, age and maturity, so in some respects it’s good that they are getting a little bit of everything.”

“We’d like to get another four races in tomorrow and have two more on Wednesday to finish out the regatta.”

2017 US Sailing Youth World Team qualification facts

  • The 2017 U.S. Youth Championships is the second of two Youth Worlds qualifier events for the International 420, Laser Radial, and 29er classes (men’s and women’s).
    • Second qualifier for the Laser Radial: Laser Midwinter’s East Regatta, February 23-26, 2017, Clearwater Beach, FL
    • Second qualifier for the I 420: I420 Midwinters, February 18-20, 2017, Miami Beach, FL
    • Second qualifier for the 29er: 29er Midwinters West, March 24-26, 2017, Coronado, CA
  • The 2017 U.S. Youth Championships is the sole Youth Worlds qualifier for the Nacra 15.
  • The windsurfing sailors at Youth Worlds will be selected by resume.
  • The Laser Full rig is not a Youth Worlds event.
  • More qualification details.

Coverage & Media

  • For Twitter updates from the racecourse, video highlights, results and standings, photo gallery and more information from the 2017 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships, please visit the event website.
  • Follow on Twitter and Instagram – #YouthChamps17

Social Media Highlights

 

The 2017 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships is sponsored by Gill North America and Hobie Sunglasses. This US Sailing National Championships is a Sailors for the Sea certified Clean Regatta.

US Sailing Contact: Jake Fish, US Sailing Communications Manager, jakefish@ussailing.org
Corpus Christi Yacht Club Contact: Jessie Monsivais, jessie.monsivais@gmail.com

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. 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.

About Hobie Polarized
Hobie Polarized is a leading designer, developer, marketer and distributor of polarized eyewear. The brand’s innovative lens technology allows total glare reduction, 100% UV protection, enhances contrast and provides optimum visual acuity. The company’s products are sold worldwide and are used by watermen at all skill and lifestyle levels. The Hobie Polarized headquarters is located in Plainview, New York. For further information, please visit the company’s website at www.hobiepolarized.com.