2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 2
by Courtney Wendleton 31 Jul 2024 09:37 PDT
July 29 - August 1, 2024
2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals at San Diego Yacht Club Day 2 © Simone Staff
Day 2 of the Junior Sabot Nationals has wrapped up, showcasing an eventful day of sailing. The conditions were notably lighter than on Day 1, with classic La Playa afternoon weather setting the stage.
Tuesday's racing featured 125 sabot sailors broken up into a 6 flight rotation with each sailor racing 6 races. At the end of the day, the top 1/4 of finishers earned a spot in the Gold fleet with a chance to win the overall national championship. The next 3/4s of sailors will be placed in the silver fleet, bronze fleet and iron fleet, and will race in approximately 30-boat fleets on Wednesday and Thursday. SDYC's Fenton Wallace won all 4 races he sailed in to win the Flight Selection. Additionally, last year's national champion Will Ramsay from Newport Harbor Yacht Club was able to sit out Tuesday's Flight Selection and will use his automatic spot in the Gold fleet to join the action on Wednesday. View Championship fleets.
Sabot C3 sailors competed in the Cove Cup separate from the National Championship, with SDYC's Sutton Meggers leading the 20 boat fleet after 4 races on Tuesday. Check out the Cove Cup results. The Cove Cup serves as an introduction to Sabot Nationals for younger sabot sailors to be a part of the festivities and help them prepare for future competition as they progress through the sport.
The morning presented a unique challenge as the wind shifted slightly to the left, causing tricky conditions near Southwestern Yacht Club. Sailors had to navigate a significant wind shadow in this area, despite breezes across the rest of the course.
As the day progressed, the winds shifted to the right, a typical pattern for this course. "Competitors had to really work hard to piece together the puffs that came through" said SDYC Rear Commodore Alli Bell, who commentated the live stream and had front row to all the excitement. She continued "it really was about being in the right place at the right time, but also paying attention and looking upwind and adjusting as needed."
Due to the competitive spirit and shifting winds, there were about 18 starts for the 12-race day. General recalls occurred frequently, and the PRO deployed the I-Flag several times to manage the assertive starts. The shifting start line, influenced by the variable winds, contributed to the dynamic and challenging nature of the races.
Danny North, Sabot expert and long time sailor described the day as going "sparklingly." He started off describing how the conditions and execution were amazing, then was distracted by the last race's finish where he cheered on the young competitors. Luckily he circled back to highlight Lorelei Heim and how her pre-start that was awesome and that even though she had a challenging start, she managed to surpass 16 boats with good picks and finished the race well.
A true highlight to the day was that the change in conditions meant there were no capsizes, a stark contrast to Day 1 where 16-17 knot gusts caused multiple sailors to capsize.
With two more days of racing to go, the Junior Sabot Nationals continue to provide an excellent platform for young sailors to showcase their skills and resilience in varying conditions. Stay tuned for more updates as the competition progresses. You can watch live below and keep an eye out on our socials!