2019 Snipe North American Championship at San Diego Yacht Club - Overall
by Casey Allocco 9 Sep 2019 18:04 AEST
6-8 September 2019
One race today completed this weekend's Snipe North American Championship at the San Diego Yacht Club - and that one race curated some bizarre results on the score sheet.
Eleven Snipe's competed in a series of seven races over three days. Each day saw a variety wind speeds that scrambled up the positions at the end of each day. Today, however, was particularly tricky. Due to very light winds on the course, the teams had to adjust the techniques they had been using the previous two days.
Enrique Quintero and crew Kathleen Tocke were able to finish first overall, staying in the top three of the fleet through the entire weekend. The real competition was between the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place sailors that kept trading positions. Peter Commette and Allie Shand, George Szabo and Dianna Waterbury, and Doug Hart and Diego Escobar might as well have been in a three-way match race through all seven races.
The final race was the last chance for one of those teams to finish second overall. The second place trophy went to Commette and his 12 year-old crew, Shand. "We helped make some of our own luck today. We stood up and looked at the smoke coming off a freighter waiting to come in to dock. The smoke was dead to the left of our wind, so we went left on the first beat. We came in second. I don't know what Jimmy Grubbs saw, but whatever he saw, he saw it better," joked Commette.
The most outstanding finish for the day was Jim and Barrett Grubbs. After staying in the back of the fleet in 8th for the first three races and receiving a DNC for races four through six, Grubbs took their one and only bullet of the weekend in the final race.
Finishing in third place overall was Szabo and Waterbury, who finished tied with Hart and Escobar with 21 points. Szabo's scores from the rest of the week granted him third overall.
"Today it mixed up a lot. You had people in the front that hadn't been in the front before, and that's really good for the class," said Tocke.
Quintero chimed in on what made their weekend so successful. "The key to our success today was boat speed and just staying focused. Basically, just being able to get on the next shift before everyone else."
SDYC Commodore Jerelyn Biehl was the Chair behind the Snipe North American Championship. "The San Diego Yacht Club was proud to host the Snipe North American Championship as a part of the Olympic Classes Regatta. The last day was a bit challenging for the Race Committee but the competitors were patient and we got races in! We're already planning for next year and are looking forward to hosting the Snipes and other Olympic class fleets again."
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Skipper | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 31114 | Enrique Quintero | Kathleen Tocke | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ‑3 | 9 |
| 2 | 31442 | Peter Commette | Allie Shand | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | ‑6 | 3 | 2 | 19 |
| 3 | 31441 | George Szabo | Dianna Waterbury | 4 | 2 | 5 | ‑8 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 21 |
| 4 | 31297 | Doug Hart | Diego Escobar | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ‑6 | 21 |
| 5 | 30733 | Packy Davis | Julie Calvert | 7 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | ‑8 | 27 |
| 6 | 29966 | Evan Hoffman | Gus Wirth | 6 | ‑7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 31 |
| 7 | 30800 | Rick Arneson | Sara Parker | 2 | 6 | 6 | 7 | ‑8 | 7 | 4 | 32 |
| 8 | 29780 | Jim Grubbs | Barrett Grubbs | 8 | 8 | 8 | ‑ 12 dnc | DNC | DNC | 1 | 49 |
| 9 | 109 | Matt Hecht | Rebecca McElvain | ‑ 12 dnc | DNC | DNC | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 54 |
| 10 | 29013 | Don Bedford | Treat Bedford | ‑ 12 dnc | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 72 |
| 11 | 29672 | Molly Pleskus | Grace McCarthy | ‑ 12 dnc | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 72 |