U.S. Men's Sailing Championship in California

by Marlieke de Lange Eaton on 16 Sep 2008 The U.S. Men's Sailing Championship (USMSC) for US SAILING's Clifford D. Mallory Trophy, sponsored by Rolex Watch, U.S.A. and Dry Creek Vineyard, will be held from September 16-20 at San Francisco Yacht Club (Belvedere, Calif.). Eleven teams, skippered by some of the country's top male sailors, will race J/24s on windy San Francisco Bay.

In line with the long tradition of the event - founded in 1952 with past winners including sailing legends such as Buddy Melges, Jr., Cornelius Shields, John Kolius and Dave Ullman - this year's fleet is stacked with talented sailors and champions.

Among the veteran competitors in the 2008 USMSC are Scott Young (Austin, Texas) who has won the title five times, twice as crew and three times as skipper, and placed third in 2007; Paul Wilson (New York, N.Y.) who finished fourth at both the 2006 and 2007 events; and Peter Sauer (Kalispell, Mont.) who placed third in 2002.

Past and present J/24 class champions will be well-represented by David Klatt (Oxnard, Calif.), who placed second at the 2007 J/24 North Americans and first at the 2004 U.S. J/24 Championship; Ian Trotter (Chula Vista, Calif.) who took first place at the Sperry Top-Sider San Diego NOOD Regatta in the J/24 class earlier this year; and Michael Whitfield (Orinda, Calif.) who finished tenth at the 2007 J/24 North American Championship.

Rounding out the fleet will be teams skippered by Ken Kleinschrodt (Mobile, Ala.), Gregg Delany (Greenwich, Conn.), Alan Bock (Helena, Mont.), Pat Toole (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Les Beckwith (Wolfeboro, N.H.).

Complete results, daily reports, and photos from the event will be posted on the event website at www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/usmsc. The U.S. Men's Sailing Championship for the Clifford D. Mallory Cup is part of US SAILING's National Championships series. For more information about these events, visit www.ussailing.org/championships.

About the Event Sponsors
As with all US SAILING Adult National Championships, the U.S. Men's Sailing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. Dry Creek Vineyard sponsors several U.S. Championships, including the U.S. Men's Sailing Championship.

About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. 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 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.