2015 Etchells North American Championships – Final day

by Steve Girling on 14 Sep 2015 The battle of Western Long Island Sound, Whales and all…! And the feeding frenzy continues…and no, that’s not Steve Benjamin’s Terrapin team, but the magnificent display of sea life being devoured by a humpback whale in the middle of the race track! Sailors were greeted by a fading NNE to E breeze on the final day of racing and a hopeful forecast.

Race six - Course four, four - seven KTS, Flood Tide, Breeze 075-100 going to 175…!

Donny Dowd’s American Yacht Club RC were on station and ready to go after a brief postponement. With a flooding tide, this determined fleet was called all clear for the first start of the day. With the pin half of the line the place to be, it was a challenge to get into the front row in light airs and foul current. Pre-race, there had been bursts of left pressure and shift and right pressure and shift, so it was clearly going to be a tough beat to call!

Off the line, the teams with the best starts flipped onto port and began the march towards streaky right pressure. Bischoff and crew were furthest right, Girling came off the middle and Gavin, Kauffman and Kneulman made good escapes from closer to the pin. Generally the boats to the right made gains, except for Bischoff, who was unfortunate not to connect with the pressure inside him. At the weather mark, Kneulman tacked in under Kauffman, Gavin and Girling, and managed to squeak in ahead on a private Canadian puff…!

Down the run, there was a lot of temptation to gybe early, to go back out to the first beat pressure. However, this move also forced Kauffman and then, Gavin, who followed a couple of minutes later, under the Starboard lay-line snow fence, and so Kneulman and Girling, who had extended further right, gained distance.

At the leeward mark, Kneulman led to the favored right gate, Girling followed, rounding second and Kauffman and Gavin (who had been joined by Kevin Grainger and Wade Edwards, who had both sailed a nice run) split three left and one right.

Up the second beat, it was the dark raining cloud in the top left corner that brought the best looking pressure, although, noticeably, the boats in the bottom right corner also found pressure and a right shift to stay in the game. At the top mark, things got flakey. Kneulman managed to stay just ahead of Edwards, who marched in from the top left, while Kauffman, Gavin, Grainger, Dieball, Brush and Bush all sailed around Girling (on both sides) who parked in a private hole.

The full shut down continued on the ‘run,’ which turned into a pole-forward port reach as the new breeze built in from the South over Long Island. The biggest gains were made by Dieball, Bush and Siegel, but it was Kneulman over Edwards and Gavin for the top three places.

Race seven - Course four, twelve - seventeen KTS, Start of the Ebb, Breeze 155-180

With rigs wound up and some changes to heavier jibs, the fleet was away clean in race seven. Girling and Benjamin fought for the best start at the pin, with the two coming off the port biased line and able to cross the fleet. Benjamin continued all the way right, while Girling played the shifts middle left. At the weather mark it was Benjamin, Hornos and Kneulman from the right and Girling from the left.

Down the first run, Hornos and Girling gybed early to set up for the left gate, while Benjamin and Lammens went to the right. The next band of pressure and shift came to Girling and Hornos, with Benjamin still just ahead.

The leaders chose their sides into the weather mark about halfway up the track with Hornos and Girling working right and Benjamin, choosing the left and putting a loose cover on Knuelman, for the overall scores.

Hornos rounded ahead of Girling and Benjamin, but it was Benji who picked the right time to gybe and converted the new pressure and shift into a 50 yard gain. This same pressure also brought Grainger into the picture, with Hornos unlucky having lost ground. At the finish it was Benji with a comfortable win, Girling by a hair over Grainger and Hornos right on their transom. Peter Duncan sailed a solid second lap to claim fifth.

Race eight - Course four, fifteen - seventeen KTS, Start of the Ebb, Breeze 145-175

Off the line in the final race of the regatta, it was a strong band of left shift and pressure that split the top 15 boats away early from the right side pack. This was the largest (20 degrees) shift of the afternoon and lasted for two thirds of the first beat.

This observer was in the cheap seats for this race in the right half pack, so with apologies to those competing, I have no idea what the mark rounding sequences were, but it looked like great racing…!

Scott Kauffman and team sailed a fantastic couple of laps for the victory. Don Brush finally put it all together for a fantastic second and Steve Benjamin and team closed out the regatta with a creditable third and a 15 point overall regatta win.

So the 2015 North American Championships is a wrap. Steve Benjamin, George Peet, Luke Lawrence and Julian Sudofsky are the new champions after sailing a solid regatta for a decisive win. Dirk Kneulman, Hank Lammens and Kent Paisley sailed a solid last day for second overall. Michael Gavin, Bill Abbott, Guy Rittger and Austin Schaefer sailed an excellent series for third. In the minor placings, Kevin Grainger, Scott Norris and Max Skelley pulled through the pack with a boat of the day performance for fourth overall and Steve Girling, Zeke Horowitz and David Lutian were fifth.

Thank you again to Commodore Peter Duncan and the entire regatta organizing team, race committee and shore-based American Yacht club team and staff for their excellent work both on and off the water. Everyone received a great reception from a great club, and all competitors felt exceptionally well supported!

2015 Etchells North American Championship - Preliminary Cumulative Results

Bow   Sail Number Yacht Name Yacht Design Skipper/Crew Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 T O Total North American Championship Racing One Design Division International Etchells 1. 28 USA 1228 Terrapin Etchells Steve Benjamin / George Peet / Luke Lawrence / Julian Sudofsky 1 11 4 2 1 16 1 3 [16] 23.0 2. 81 NZL 1381 NZL 1381 Etchells Dirker Kneulman / Hank Lammens / Kent Paisley 11 5 3 1 28 1 9 8 [28] 38.0 3. 5 USA 1305 Clean Execution Etchells Michael Gavin / Michael Gavin / Bill Abbott / Guy Rittger / Austin Schaefer 13 2 2 7 9 3 7 15 [15] 43.0 4. 20 USA 1208 Gumption3 Etchells Kevin Grainger / Scott Norris / Max Skelley 4 1 20 14 36 4 3 10 [36] 56.0 5. 0 USA 1200 Lion heart Etchells Steve Girling/Zeke Horowitz /David Lutian 6 4 10 9 12 15 2 29 [29] 58.0 6. 97 USA 926 Etchells Peter Duncan / Jud Smith / Tom Blackwell 2 14 6 10 16 18 5 5 [18] 58.0 7. 8 USA 1408 Lifted Etchells Jim Cunningham / Jeff Madrigali / Alan Nakanishi / Bryn Bachman 9 8 7 6 3 20 23 6 [23] 59.0 8. 85 USA 1198 America Jane 11 Etchells Scott Kaufman / Lucas Calabrase / Victor Diaz / Grant Simmer 17 16 5 5 30 7 13 1 [30] 64.0 9. 96 CAN 1396 Aretas Etchells Jon McClean / Skip Dieball / Jeff Eiber 3 7 37/BFD 11 22 5 14 12 [37] 74.0 10. 4 USA 1414 Skanky Gene Etchells Jay Cross / Marcus Spillanz / Mike Buckley / Lauren Gilooly 15 10 24 15 2 13 18 4 [24] 77.0 11. 98 USA 988 Destiny Etchells Tomas Hornos / Charlie Proctor / Duncan Swain / Paula Grasberger 14 37/DSQ 13 12 4 10 4 27 [37] 84.0 12. 15 USA 1415 La Tormenta Etchells Shannon Bush / Brad Boston / Curt Oetking 8 15 14 4 24 6 20 20 [24] 87.0 13. 21 USA 1221 Riva Etchells Wade Edwards / Grant Matthews / Will Pelleteri 22 13 8 23 14 2 19 11 [23] 89.0 14. 49 USA 1349 KGB (Corinthian) Etchells Senet Bischoff / Ben Kinney / Clay Bischoff 7 9 1 13 11 27 24 25 [27] 90.0 15. 29 1296 1296 Etchells Tom Burnham / Jeff Siegal / Willem van Waay / Sarah Callahan 21 3 23 16 5 8 15 23 [23] 91.0 16. 41 USA 1341 USA 1341 Etchells Chuck Poindexter / David Dyson / Lincoln White 12 19 19 8 20 11 8 24 [24] 97.0 17. 68 CAN 968 Northern Etchells (Corinthian) Etchells Jerry Wendt / Irek Zubko / Alex Baker 20 12 16 20 8 30 11 21 [30] 108.0 18. 71 USA 1371 1371 Etchells Ken Womack / Watt Duffy / Dan Peckham 26 20 37/BFD 3 19 23 10 9 [37] 110.0 19. 30 USA 1308 1308 (Corinthian) Etchells John Edenbach / TJ Pascalides / Will Christenson 5 17 15 26 33 28 6 16 [33] 113.0 20. 35 USA 1309 Landed Gentry (Corinthian) Etchells Don Brush / Ken Felis / Rick Stevens 31 6 26 21 32 12 27 2 [32] 125.0 21. 32 USA 1012 Natasha (Corinthian) Etchells Ted Hardenbergh / Jamie Hardenbergh / Mark Hardenbergh 16 23 22 17 13 17 22 18 [23] 125.0 22. 14 USA 1363 1363 Etchells Michael Goldfarb / Mark Brink / David Brink 30 24 28 32 18 9 12 7 [32] 128.0 23. 88 USA 1388 Annnie (Corinthian) Etchells Gary Gilbert / Jordan Smith / Ridgely MacKenzie 32 25 9 18 7 21 33 19 [33] 131.0 24. 22 USA 1222 Marx Bros (Corinthian) Etchells Chris Marx / Tom Marx / Dan Ronan 28 21 12 27 17 19 25 14 [28] 135.0 25. 47 CAN 1247 Rain (Corinthian) Etchells Allan Leibel / Mike Hren / Breck Mcfarlane 33 37/BFD 25 28 10 14 17 13 [37] 140.0 26. 60 USA 1260 Playmaker (Corinthian) Etchells Alan Kelly / Evan Aras / Ron Thompson 25 27 17 30 15 25 30 17 [30] 156.0 27. 64 CAN 1264 1264 (Corinthian) Etchells Erik Yeo / Darrell Suderman / Phil Jager 10 30 18 31 29 22 34 26 [34] 166.0 28. 3 USA 1303 Wizard (Corinthian) Etchells Keith Longson / Donald Weld / Sergio Vinelli 23 18 21 25 27 26 26 37/RET [37] 166.0 29. 63 USA 1063 Entourage (Corinthian) Etchells John Amendola / Nick Amendola / Curt Jazwieki 24 26 27 24 21 33 16 30 [33] 168.0 30. 74 USA 1074 Pete (Corinthian) Etchells Dan Smith / Sara Smith / Greg Hoyt / Fred Treffeisen 18 31 31 29 6 31 29 37/DNS [37] 175.0 31. 7 USA 1307 Nemesis Etchells Jeff Nehms / Ezra Culver / Stu DeLisser 19 29 11 19 26 35 37/DNC 37/DNC [37] 176.0 32. 24 USA 1224 Lakota Etchells Peter Sulick / Robby Brown / Matt Shankweiler 27 28 37/BFD 22 35 24 21 22 [37] 179.0 33. 9 USA 1209 Tithonus (Corinthian) Etchells David Smalley / Gregory Smalley / Brian McCloskey 29 22 30 33 23 32 37/RET 37/RET [37] 206.0 34. 31 CAN 931 Impudence (Corinthian) Etchells David Lowther / Anthony Lowther / Andrew Lowther 34 33 29 34 25 36 28 28 [36] 211.0 35. 27 USA 427 Flame (Corinthian) Etchells Henry Gaillard / John Hencken / Tim Ponter 35 32 32 35 34 29 31 31 [35] 224.0 36. 6 USA 1206 Frisbee (Corinthian) Etchells John McConnell / Mark Hennelly / Erin Sprague 37/DNC 37/DNC 37/DNC 36 31 34 32 32 [37] 239.0   2015 Etchells North American Championship Corinthian Teams - Preliminary Cumulative Results Bow   Sail Number Yacht Name Yacht Design Skipper/Crew Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 T O Total North American Championship Racing One Design Division International Etchells 1. 49 USA 1349 KGB Etchells Senet Bischoff / Ben Kinney / Clay Bischoff 7 9 1 13 11 27 24 25 [27] 90.0 2. 68 CAN 968 Northern Etchells Etchells Jerry Wendt / Irek Zubko / Alex Baker 20 12 16 20 8 30 11 21 [30] 108.0 3. 30 USA 1308 1308 Etchells John Edenbach / TJ Pascalides / Will Christenson 5 17 15 26 33 28 6 16 [33] 113.0 4. 35 USA 1309 Landed Gentry Etchells Don Brush / Ken Felis / Rick Stevens 31 6 26 21 32 12 27 2 [32] 125.0 5. 32 USA 1012 Natasha Etchells Ted Hardenbergh / Jamie Hardenbergh / Mark Hardenbergh 16 23 22 17 13 17 22 18 [23] 125.0 6. 88 USA 1388 Annnie Etchells Gary Gilbert / Jordan Smith / Ridgely MacKenzie 32 25 9 18 7 21 33 19 [33] 131.0 7. 22 USA 1222 Marx Bros Etchells Chris Marx / Tom Marx / Dan Ronan 28 21 12 27 17 19 25 14 [28] 135.0 8. 47 CAN 1247 Rain Etchells Allan Leibel / Mike Hren / Breck Mcfarlane 33 37/BFD 25 28 10 14 17 13 [37] 140.0 9. 60 USA 1260 Playmaker Etchells Alan Kelly / Evan Aras / Ron Thompson 25 27 17 30 15 25 30 17 [30] 156.0 10. 64 CAN 1264 1264 Etchells Erik Yeo / Darrell Suderman / Phil Jager 10 30 18 31 29 22 34 26 [34] 166.0 11. 3 USA 1303 Wizard Etchells Keith Longson / Donald Weld / Sergio Vinelli 23 18 21 25 27 26 26 37/RET [37] 166.0 12. 63 USA 1063 Entourage Etchells John Amendola / Nick Amendola / Curt Jazwieki 24 26 27 24 21 33 16 30 [33] 168.0 13. 74 USA 1074 Pete Etchells Dan Smith / Sara Smith / Greg Hoyt / Fred Treffeisen 18 31 31 29 6 31 29 37/DNS [37] 175.0 14. 9 USA 1209 Tithonus Etchells David Smalley / Gregory Smalley / Brian McCloskey 29 22 30 33 23 32 37/RET 37/RET [37] 206.0 15. 31 CAN 931 Impudence Etchells David Lowther / Anthony Lowther / Andrew Lowther 34 33 29 34 25 36 28 28 [36] 211.0 16. 27 USA 427 Flame Etchells Henry Gaillard / John Hencken / Tim Ponter 35 32 32 35 34 29 31 31 [35] 224.0 17. 6 USA 1206 Frisbee Etchells John McConnell / Mark Hennelly / Erin Sprague 37/DNC 37/DNC 37/DNC 36 31 34 32 32 [37] 239.0