Cameron Feves, Cabrillo Beach YC wins 2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup

L to R: Taylor Milefchik, Lukas Kraak, Justin Zmina, Cameron Feves - 2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship © US Sailing

Cameron Feves (Long Beach, Calif.) and his team representing the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club won the 2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup. Feves and crew, including Lukas Kraak, Justin Zmina, and Taylor Milefchik earned the title on Sunday, following three days of closely contested match racing between 10 teams on San Diego Harbor.

Feves' team won the Finals on Sunday afternoon, 3-0, over Porter Killian (Newport Beach, Calif.). They also swept the semifinal series, 3-0, over Jeffrey Petersen (Santa Ana, Calif.) and defeated Sidney Gathrid (Los Angeles, Calif.), 3-1, in the quarterfinals. Feves posted a 5-4 record in the round robin stage.

The win was sweet for Feves who came up just short of the Rose Cup in 2018. Feves was the Runner-Up in last year's U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship in Oyster Bay, N.Y.

Killian's second place team from the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club featured Kelly Hanlon, Amanda Majernik, and Chris Sharpless.

David Wood (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) of the Balboa Yacht Club and the 2017 Rose Cup Champion, finished third overall after a 2-0 win in the Petit Finals over Petersen. Wood's team includes Max Mayol, Marbella Marlo, and Daniel Pegg.

Conditions were light and fluky in the morning, with a large wind shift from the left side of the course. Once the conditions settled, the wind was a steady 10 knots for most of the racing under sunny, blue skies.

The Nick Scandone Sportsmanship Award - Voted on by the competing sailors:

• Christophe Chaumont, Fort Worth Boat Club
• Peter Vaseliades
• Celia Houston
• Taft Buckley

"The weekend went pretty well. We started out pretty slow, but we won when it mattered. We were a little better in the lighter stuff. It was breezier on Saturday and right when it mattered it died down quite a bit. We won a few races and that was great for us."

"The final race was quite simple. We used the same technique as the last six races. We started on the starboard entry and came out of the dial up, went around the media boat, started on the hip of the other boat and tacked away. We went up the course with better speed than them and just stayed ahead."

The 10th Annual 2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship was hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club. Sailing Illustrated provided Facebook Live video coverage on Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30, featuring commentators Andy Rose, Tom Ehman, Allie Blecher, and Josh Toso.

Ten teams of four, consisting of at least one female and one male crew per boat, raced the J/22. Coaching and instruction played a major role in these sailors' experience. Five-time U.S. Match Racing Champion, Dave Perry, led a North U Advanced Match Racing Clinic on Wednesday and Thursday, June 26 and 27. Perry was assisted by match racing experts, Mike Pinckney and Scott Dickson.

This invitational event for 16 to 20 year olds has served as an outstanding training ground for U.S. youth sailors who are passionate about match racing and focused on competing at the next level.