Day 1 Recap – Friday, June 29
Notes from today’s start to the 2018 U.S. Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup
- Report by Francis George, Oakcliff Sailing
Fourty of the nation’s best youth sailors are gathered in Oyster Bay through Sunday for the 2018 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup, a US Sailing National Championship. The event is being co-hosted by Oakcliff Sailing and Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.
Day one of racing began hot and windless for the early part of Friday. We saw signs of a Southerly in the afternoon and the sailors launched in Seawanhaka’s Sonars were towed out to the race course. While we waited for the wind, the sailors kept cool and had some fun with an unofficial flip and dive contest. When the breeze filled in around 1pm, it was blowing 4-6 knots from the Northwest.
“Trust your eyes!” was the advice from coach Dave Perry who shouted to the competitors as they prepared for the first flight of the day. With a fluky four knots of breeze, the teams that could spot the pressure came out on top.
“I would identify the puffs and the favored side, relay that back to the rest of the crew, and then we would all talk about it,” said Cameron Feves’ trimmer, Tanner Chapko. Feves and his team from Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club went undefeated all day.
Another winning strategy was leading back to the line in the prestart. “A lot of competitors have been starting late but it’s too costly in this light wind,” said Feves’ bowman Lukas Kraak. “Most of our races were won at the start.”
Jack Parkin and his team from Riverside Yacht Club, who also went undefeated, employed the same strategy. In their Flight 5 match against Porter Killian they hit the line in the lead with speed and that’s where the race was won.
Day two of three will commence Saturday, June 30 at 10:00 am. The current standings from Round Robin action are available at: http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/16679#_newsroom+results
Media & Coverage
- For a list of competitors and more information from the 2018 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship, please visit the event website.
- For regular updates, follow along on Facebook.
- Hashtag – #RoseCup18
The U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship is sponsored by Gill North America.