U.S. Youth Sailing Championships concludes in Corpus Christi

by US Sailing on 29 Jun 2017 The sun cascaded upon Corpus Christi Bay this morning for the fourth and final day of competition at the 2017 U.S. Youth Championships, hosted by Corpus Christi Yacht Club.

This US Sailing National Championship featured 177 of America’s top youth sailors, boys and girls under 20, with qualification for the 2017 Youth Sailing World Championships on the line in four of the six classes. Most of the championship events were up for grabs entering Wednesday’s finale and when the dust settled several lead changes occurred on an exciting finish to the regatta.

Boats launched at approximately 9:00 am in hopes of morning breeze, but racing was postponed for several hours due to insufficient wind (under five knots). After a long day of patience, the signal sounded for racing at approximately 1:45 pm.

The race committee set up two race courses, one for the International 420, Laser and Laser Radial on Course A, and a second course for the 29er, Nacra 15 and Techno 293 Plus on Course B. Due to a wind shift, the race committee had to stop the race and re-set the course. Nonetheless, all six classes completed their only race of the day in five to ten knots.

Skiff – 29er

Neil Marcellini (Lafayette, Calif.) and Ian Brill (San Diego, Calif.) moved into first place with a critical win today. Tuesday’s leaders, David Eastwood (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Sam Merson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), were tied in points with Marcellini and Brill but lost on the secondary tiebreaker of more second place finishes. The top women’s team, Catherine Lindsay (North Palm Beach, Fla.) and Jana Laurendeau (Billerica, Mass.), placed fourth overall and third place today.

“We’re actually the heaviest team here, so we were expecting to go fast in heavy air, but we’ve been doing well in lighter air recently, so that’s awesome for us,” said Marcellini.

“Leading up to the Worlds, this is a feeler to see where the rest of the U.S. fleet is and the competition has gone up over the past year. So, it was really tight and really fun,” said Eastwood.

“One of our strengths is our ability to get our heads outside of the boat and I think that was really important,” said Lindsay. “You have to think on your feet to be successful in this boat and I like the athleticism the boat demands.”

Standings – Top 5:

1. Neil Marcellini/Ian Brill, Richmond Yacht Club, 2-6-4-2-4-2-3-6-1-[19/OCS]-1- ; 31T
2. David Eastwood/Samuel Merson, Santa Barbara Yacht Club, 3-2-3-5-[7]-1-2-1-4-3-7- ; 31T
3. Robert Shelley/Severin Gramm, 2Niner Skiff Squad, [11]-10-1-4-1-3-1-8-9-1-2- ; 40
4. Catherine Lindsay/Jana Laurendeau, 2Niner Skiff Squad, [12]-4-6-1-3-10-9-3-3-4-3- ; 46
5. Harry Melges/Finn Rowe, Lake Geneva Yacht Club/ BMSC, 5-5-5-8-2-7-6-[9]-2-2-8- ; 50

Singlehanded Dinghy – Laser Radial:

Joseph Hou (Newport Beach, Calif.) placed seventh in today’s race and it was more than enough to win the championship. He won by a 17-point margin. Ricky Welch (Long Beach, Miss.) had a strong showing and moved up to second place after winning the race, his second bullet of the regatta. Hou won five of the nine races this week.

“There was a lot of frontal breeze, so there’s more tricky conditions and it takes a lot more mind power to get through the day,” said Hou. “I tried to keep an even keel kind of attitude, making sure nothing gets to me. If a good race happens, it’s on to the next one.”

“For this summer, I’m focused on the Worlds in The Netherlands and Nationals later this year will be fun in Tahoe. Looking forward to Youth Worlds as well. I’m just always training for the next event.”

Charlotte Rose (Houston, Texas) won the women’s division and eighth overall.

Standings – Top 5:

1. Joseph Hou, Newport Harbor YC/Alamitos Bay YC, 6-1-1-1-1-10-[12]-1-7- ; 28
2. Ricky Welch, Long Beach Yacht Club/ Gulf Coast Youth Sailing Association, 8-8-6-8-[46/UFD]-7-1-6-1- ; 45
3. Asher Zittrer, Lakewood Yacht Club / GCYSA, 12-4-4-4-5-2-2-13-[15]- ; 46T
4. Leo Boucher, Severen Sailing Association, [27]-6-17-2-3-3-4-5-6- ; 46T
5. Chase Carraway, Carolina Yacht Club North Carolina and Lauderdale Yacht Club, 3-3-23-7-[46/UFD]-5-19-2-2- ; 64
6. Skylar Bayman, Houston Yacht Club, 2-12-2-12-[46/UFD]-8-27-7-4- ; 74T

Multihull – Nacra 15:

Mark Brunsvold (Sarasota, Fla.) and Dylan Heinz (Sarasota, Fla.) had a two point lead with one race go. They placed second today and Jake and Maxwell Mayol (Newport Beach, Calif.) finished first, but it was not enough to overcome the narrow deficit in the highly competitive fleet.

Standings – Top 5:

1. Mark Brunsvold/Dylan Heinz, Sarasota Youth Sailing, 2-1-3-1-1-3-3-3-[5]-2-2- ; 21
2. Jake Mayol/Maxwell Mayol, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 4-3-2-[5]-2-2-4-1-2-1-1- ; 22
3. Luke Melvin/Kyle Collins, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, 1-4-1-2-3-4-[7]-2-1-5-4- ; 27
4. Helen Horangic/Charlotte Versavel, Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation, 5-7-4-[9]-6-5-5-4-4-4-3- ; 47
5. Nicolas Martin/Chase Sabadash, Seabrook Sailing Club/Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, 3-2-13-4-4-1-1-6-10-[14/DNF]-10- ; 54

Windsurfing – Techno 293 Plus:

In a three way race atop the leaderboard, Manuel Nores took over first place with his third place finish today. Tuesday’s leader, Maverick Putnam (Palm Harbor, Fla.) slipped to second place after finishing fourth. Alexander Temko (Palm Harbor, Fla.) finished strong and won today’s race, including the final two races of the regatta.

Standings – Top 6:

1. Manuel Nores, Miami Yacht Club, 2-2-2-2-1-[3]-1-3-3- ; 16
2. Maverick Putnam, Clearwater Community Sailing Center, 3-1-1-3-[4]-1-2-2-4- ; 17
3. Michael Cramer, Miami Yacht Club, 1-3-[6]-1-2-2-4-4-2- ; 19
4. Alexander Temko, Clearwater Community Sailing Center, [5]-4-4-5-5-5-3-1-1- ; 28
5. Dominique Stater, Miami Yacht Club, 4-[5]-3-4-3-4-5-5-5- ; 33
6. Gabriel Varra-Gonzalez, Miami Yacht Club, 6-[7/DNS]-5-6-6-6-6-6-6- ; 47

Doublehanded Dinghy – International 420:

Max Anker (Old Greenwich, Conn.) and Leyton Borcherding (Greenwich, Conn.) jumped ahead two places into first place after finishing second today. Tuesday’s leaders, Thomas Rice (Garden City, N.J.) and Trevor Bornarth (Stuart, Fla.) slipped to third with an 18 on Wednesday.

Moving up to fourth place was Carmen Cowles (Larchmont, N.Y.) and Emma Cowles (Larchmont, N.Y.), who won today’s race and the women’s division.

Standings – Top 5:

1. Max Anker/Leyton Borcherding, Riverside Yacht Club / LISOT, 4-11-1-5-5-7-[17]-1-2- ; 36
2. Joseph Charles Hermus/Walter Henry, Bellport Yacht Club, 2-5-6-6-8-4-[12]-2-4- ; 37
3. Thomas Rice/Trevor Bornarth, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club / LIMA, 1-12-9-2-1-1-3-14-[18]- ; 43T
4. Carmen Cowles/Emma Cowles, LISOT/Larchmont Yacht Club, [16]-6-7-1-3-6-11-8-1- ; 43T
5. Eduardo Mintzias/Declan McGranahan, Coral Reef Yacht Club, 11-9-[12]-7-4-2-4-4-6- ; 47

Singlehanded Dinghy – Laser:

Chase Burwell (Clearwater, Fla.) finished strong with a fifth place score today and won the regatta by nine points over Jake Vickers (Annapolis, Md.). Burwell placed in the top five in all nine races this week.

Standings – Top 5:

1. Chase Burwell, Carlouel Yacht Club, 3-1-2-3-3-1-3-[5]-5- ; 21
2. Jake Vickers, Annapolis yacht club/severn sailing association, 2-3-1-8-6-3-5-2-[13]- ; 30
3. John Kirkpatrick, Sail Newport, [17/OCS]-2-9-1-2-4-13-1-2- ; 34T
4. Cameron Feves, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, 1-[8]-8-4-1-2-6-6-6- ; 34T
5. Gabriel El Hajji, Waikiki Yacht Club, 5-7-5-7-11-9-2-[15]-3- ; 49