MENTOR-ON-THE-LAKE, Ohio (July 10, 2016) -The race organizers from the Mentor Harbor Yachting Club put the finishing touches on the 2016 Laser Class U.S. National Championships and U.S. Singlehanded Sailing Championships on Sunday. The four-day regatta closed out with one more race Sunday, as new champions were crowned.
Entering the day, there was little doubt who would claim both the Full Rig division of the U.S. Laser Class Championship and the U.S. Singlehanded Men’s Championship. Henry Marshall (Auburndale, Mass.) took control of the fleet on Thursday and never looked back. He won seven of 11 races for the championship in the 49-boat fleet. Placing 17 points behind Henry for second place was his brother, William Marshall. The three Marshall brothers finished in the top five, as Jack Marshall finished fifth.
Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) captured the U.S. Singlehanded Women’s Championship and placed ninth overall for the Laser Class U.S. Nationals. Consistency was the key for Weis, as she placed in the top 10 in nine of 11 races. She sealed the championship with a sixth place finish in today’s only race. Carly Broussard finished in second place for the U.S. Singlehanded Women’s Championship. Winning the outright 101-boat Radial fleet for the Laser National Championship was Andrea Aldana. Blaire McCarthy won the 4.7 fleet.
The fleets completed four races each on Friday and Saturday with two races on Thursday.
Sailors eligible for the U.S. Singlehanded Sailing Championships must be U.S. citizens and at least age 17 in the calendar year of 2016.
Weather & Conditions
- Sunday – very light air, six knots max, and sunny skies
- Saturday – wind from the west, big swells, 12-15 knots with gusts
- Friday – 8-12 knots with limited swells
Quotes & Commentary
- Henry Marshall (on his racing this week) – “Yesterday was a lot of fun with nice conditions and beautiful sailing. It doesn’t get any better than that. The chop was tough to get through. You have to use a lot of technique. I think it brought out the best sailors. It feels normal to race against my brother. We’ve been doing it for a long time. It’s cool I have both my brothers here and we are at the top of the fleet.”
- Anna Weis (on Sunday’s racing) – “Usually light air is not my best conditions, but I have the confidence I can sail well. My legs hurt after yesterday, but everyone was hurting, so you need that mental toughness to get through it.”
- Jamie Jones (PRO on the regatta) – “I think it went really well this week. We got two days of great breeze and two days of light. It was really light near the end of the first race today, so we made the call to stop racing for the day.”
- Gage Wilson (on Saturday’s racing) – “It was gnarly out there, and it was fun going down those six foot faces.”
- Joseph Hou (on Saturday’s racing) – “It (swells) was a lot heavier than the wind conditions were like. It was fun when the winds got up to 16-17 knots.”
- John Shockey (event co-chair on Saturday’s racing) – “Today was everything we hoped it would be when hosting this championship.”
Awards
- Henry Marshall received the George D. O’Day Trophy for the highest placing eligible male in Laser Full Rig.
- Anna Weis received the Helen Willis Hanley Trophy for the highest placing eligible female in Laser Radial.
- US Sailing medals were awarded to the top three positions in each fleet.
Results & Coverage
- Final results and standings (eligible sailors for U.S. Singlehanded Championships indicated with [USS])
- For Twitter and Instagram highlights, photos and more information about the U.S. Singlehanded Sailing Championship, please visit the event website.
- Follow the conversation on Twitter using hashtag – #lasernationals16.
- Local coverage in The News-Herald – National sailing regatta hits the water at Mentor Harbor Yachting Club
Social Media Highlights
Lots of sun, wind and waves @MHYC, a great day for #lasernationals16 pic.twitter.com/sZ2An7NhQJ
— BYC Singlehanded (@bycsinglehanded) July 9, 2016
A photo posted by US Sailing (@ussailing) on
#lasernationals16 pic.twitter.com/faFHoDIduh
— Mhyc Sailing (@mhycsail) July 7, 2016
#lasernationals16 Day 1 ramp launch went smoothly (some chose to launch from West Beach!) @mhycsail pic.twitter.com/IJfDWEYcuh
— Mhyc Sailing (@mhycsail) July 8, 2016
Lasers as far as the eye can see from #lakeerie shore #lasernationals16 @mhycsail pic.twitter.com/oqs2Wa0nXa
— Mhyc Sailing (@mhycsail) July 7, 2016
The 2016 U.S. Singlehanded Championship is sponsored by Gill North America, Hobie Polarized, and Switlik Survival Products. This US Sailing National Championship is a Sailors for the Sea certified Clean Regatta.
US Sailing 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 Sperry. 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.
About Switlik Survival Products
Established in 1920, Switlik Parachute Co. has been owned and operated by the Switlik family for four generations and is known worldwide as a manufacturer of the highest quality sewn and heat sealed inflatable safety and survival products for the aviation, marine, and military/government markets. Our capabilities include a wide variety of anti-exposure and anti-g suits, inflatable life rafts, inflatable life vests, inflation systems and other specialty textile-based military equipment all manufactured at our 85,000 sq. ft facility located in Trenton, NJ USA. www.switlik.com