2025 Etchells North American Championship Set to Kick Off Friday May 16th in San Diego
by San Diego Yacht Club 16 May 09:57 AEST
May 16-18, 2025
2025 Etchells West Coast Series © Mark Albertazzi
San Diego Yacht Club welcomes 39 teams competing in the 2025 Etchells North American Championships - a 3-day regatta May 16-18.
Local sailor Ben Mitchell will be one of 3 crew sailing with Paul Dorsey on Adjudicator this weekend. "We have about 40 boats. It is a really deep fleet. All the top teams from the US are here, so all of us local sailors will have our hands full with the competition that's here this weekend. The weather looks nice. I think we're going to have decent breeze. And I'm looking forward a really competitive event."
2023 North Americans champion Jim Cunningham and his crew aboard Lifted have been sailing together for years and are building towards a run at Jim's first World Championship title in 2026. Crew members Steve Hunt and Erik Shampain from SDYC are past World Champion crew members, and along with Serena Vilage, make up one of the strongest teams in the field. 2024 North American Champion John Dane will also be back to defend his title, which was a 1-point victory over Cunningham. The remaining 37 skippers competing are looking for their first Etchells North American championship title.
Steve Hunt shared that "We would love to win this regatta. We're preparing for the Worlds, which are here next year. We've won the North Americas before and we'd like to win it again. It'd be fun."
Local Etchells Fleet 13 is well represented with 21 of the 39 entries. Etchells racing in San Diego has remained at an internationally competitive level for years, with SDYC hosting the annual West Coast Spring Series and the National Championships in recent years. While half of the skippers will be sailing on their home waters, the West Coast Spring Series has given many other teams exposure to racing in San Diego. Race venue and conditions should be no surprise to most during this Championship event.
Each of the boats competing this weekend is equipped with Vakaros RaceSense technology, which is new for many of the local teams. RaceSense provides synchronized timing, set in advance by the Race Committee, and removes the need for each boat to ping the end of the line. Every sailor knows their precise Distance and Time to the Line during each starting sequence, and anyone who pokes their nose over the line early is notified immediately when their screen lights up with a red "OCS" message. They can quickly dip back below the line and continue to sail when the screen says "Clear." Race Sense means that Recalls and Penalty Flags are a thing of the past; sailors can focus on sailing, not on starting.
The Race Committee will post unofficial mark rounding orders live during each race for the top 12 boats around each mark and through the finish, so keyboard spectators can keep up with the competition in real time.
Regatta Chair Marnie Jenkins said "While I'll miss being able to compete myself, I'm honored to be this year's regatta chair. Racing comes first, and the forecast on the water looks excellent — but we've also planned some truly memorable social events."
Thursday night features a poolside Welcome Reception. Friday after racing sailors will gather for a North Sails & Friends race debrief session along with dinner and drinks. Saturday will serve a blazer dinner, and Sunday the awards ceremony. Each event will feature cocktails from sponsor Cutwater Spirits.
San Diego Yacht Club would like to thank the Etchells North American Championship sponsors - North Sails, Maui Brewing, The Bay Club Hotel & Marina, Vakaros and Sailors for the Sea - for making this event possible.