Local Duo Captures U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship in Annapolis

by

Chubb Jr

 

 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (July 18, 2017) – Tuesday’s exciting final set of races on Chesapeake Bay put the finishing touches on a fun and eventful 2017 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship, hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club.

Thirty-five highly skilled young doublehanded teams from around the country convened in Annapolis, a city rich in sailing, for three days of great competition and two days of clinics in the Club 420 with top-notch coaching and instruction. There are teams from 14 different U.S. states in competition at this championship, who represented their home yacht club or sailing organization.

The returning champions from the 2016 event in Mississippi, Sarah Burn (Short Hills, N.J.) and Patricia Gerli (Greenwich, Conn.), joined this year’s fleet for a chance to defend the historic Ida Lewis Trophy. Burn and Gerli were challenged considerably throughout the championship, especially by local standouts Maddie Hawkins (Edgewater, Md.) and Kimmie Leonard (Annapolis, Md.).

Hawkins and Leonard dominated the first half of the regatta, while Burn and Gerli were the more dominant team over the final four races.

After a slow beginning to the championship on Sunday, which included only one race due to light wind, the regatta picked up the pace with four races on Monday and three on Tuesday. Hawkins and Leonard had a three point lead over Burn and Gerli going into the final race of the championship on Tuesday afternoon. Burn and Gerli’s throw-out score was a 13 versus Hawkins and Leonard’s 4. Burn and Gerli won race eight, but Hawkins and Leonard stayed close and placed second to win the championship by two points.

Final Results – Top 5

  1. Maddie Hawkins/Kimmie Leonard, Annapolis Yacht Club, 1-2-1-2-[4]-3-1-2- ; 12
  2. Sarah Burn/Patricia Gerli, Bay Head Yacht Club, 2-[13]-5-1-2-1-2-1- ; 14
  3. Emma Batcher/Sammy Pickell, Southwestern Yacht Club, [15]-1-13-3-10-8-4-7- ; 46
  4. Teagan Cunningham/Grace Austin, Barnegat Light Yacht Club, 3-9-9-21-[36/DSQ]-7-3-6- ; 58T
  5. Ella Marsden/Emma Marsden, Coral Reef Yacht Club, 4-6-7-10-[21]-9-17-5- ; 58T

Full Standings

This was Hawkins’ first Ida Lewis event and Leonard’s second. With another skipper, Leonard placed 26th at the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship in 2014, hosted by American Yacht Club in Rye, N.Y.

“We are somewhat of a new team, so this has been a good starting point for us,” said Leonard. “This event is a good way for us to see that we can do well together at this level.”

“Overall, we had good starts and had really good boat speed,” said Hawkins. “The sailing conditions in Annapolis can be very tricky when it comes to tactics and knowing where the wind is going to come from. Our boat speed put us in the best position possible, because the wind is so unpredictable.”

Skill development and high-level coaching is an important part of the experience for the participating sailors (ages 13-18). Teams participated in a two-day clinic in the Club 420 on Friday and Saturday. The clinic was led by a number of top sailing coaches from around the country.

“There were seven coaches here and they put us in groups of five, so you’re getting a lot of individual coaching and instruction,” added Hawkins. “Each day we had a different coach to train with and that gave us different insight.”

Clinic Coaches

  • Richard Feeny – Head Coach, US Sailing Junior and Youth National Championships
  • Amanda Clark – 2012 and 2008 Olympian, Women’s 470 Class
  • Elizabeth Kratzig – Seven-time US Sailing Team Member
  • Brian Clancy – Head Coach, Cornell University
  • Dillon Paiva – Head Coach, US Naval Academy
  • Charles Higgins – Assistant Coach, Old Dominion University
  • Arielle Darrow – Sailing Director, Norfolk Yacht Club

Results & Coverage

  • For Twitter feed updates, results and standings, photos (to be posted by Wednesday, July 19), and more information from the 2017 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship, please visit the event website.
  • Search #idalewis17 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
  • The C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Sportsmanship Prize was awarded to Ann Sheridan (Charleston, S.C./James Island YC) and Julianna Skoglund (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Carolina YC).
  • The Most Improved Award went to Claire Housey (Pass Christina, Miss./Southern YC)and Mallory Edwards (Gulfport, Miss./Bay-Waveland YC).

 

Social Media Highlights

Championship Notes

  • Support of the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship as well as the clinics is made possible by funds provided by the late C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. to perpetuate his unwavering dedication to junior women’s sailing. This support is intended to encourage young American women to enhance their sailing ability, with emphasis on sportsmanship, by providing the opportunity to compete in national-level competition with guidance from high-level coaching. Tom Clagett’s family continues to assist in fulfilling his vision.
  • The U.S. Junior Women’s Championships Committee annually hosts two events: a Singlehanded and a Doublehanded championship. Both championships are open events.
  • The U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship started in 1995.

Prizes

  • The Ida Lewis Trophy is the perpetual trophy presented to the winning team.
  • US Sailing Championship medals were awarded to competitors who finished first through fifth.
  • Trophies were awarded to competitors finishing in the top three places.
  • The C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Sportsmanship Prize was awarded to Ann Sheridan (Charleston, S.C./James Island YC) and Julianna Skoglund (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Carolina YC).
  • The Most Improved Award went to Claire Housey (Pass Christina, Miss./Southern YC)and Mallory Edwards (Gulfport, Miss./Bay-Waveland YC).

The 2017 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship is sponsored by Gill North America. Zim Sailing is the exclusive charter provider for this event. This US Sailing National Championship is participating in the Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas program.

Contact: Jake Fish, US Sailing Communications Manager, 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. 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.