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Golison Wins 2010 North American Championship San Diego, CA (June 12, 2010) – Etchells sailors gave everyone a great show today, the last day with 2 races of the 2010 Etchells North American Championship. 41 boats were greeted with beautiful skies, decent seas, and a steady breeze of 12-15 knots all day. With tough and fluky conditions on days 1 and 2, today was a perfect ending, and the sailors provided great competition with the regatta winner not decided until the last race of the event. The first race of the day, race 7, started clear with beautiful skies and a steady 13 knots of breeze. The race was tight early on with packed mark roundings and exciting hoists. Bruce Nelson began to extend his lead, winning his first race of the regatta. With race 7 in the books, competitors were able to drop their worst race from their scores, which really shook things up! With Golison dropping a 20th place finish and earning 3rd in the race, and Campbell dropping a 27th place finish but getting a 19th, Golison took the lead for the first time in the regatta. Many times competitors on the water are not able to calculate finishes and scores after a drop is allowed, making for an even more exciting race 8 which started in about 15 knots of breeze. Sailors again provided some great mark rounding action for spectators with the entire pack of boats close at the first mark rounding. Nelson again took the lead and kept it throughout the final race, being the only competitor of the regatta to win 2 races, and back to back at that. Nelson’s strong finish, though impressive, wasn’t enough to win the championship. Bruce Golison needed to finish the last race with a 13th or better in order to win. Cutting it close with a 12th, Golison took the 2010 Etchells North American Championship. We were the lucky ones to inform him and his crew of Jud Smith, Bill Lynn, and Dina Corsi shortly after he crossed the line. The regatta proved to be great practice for the 2011 World Championship next summer, as competitors saw almost any condition that San Diego could throw at them. With the 2010 North American Championship in the books, qualifying racers can now set their sites on the World Championship next summer at San Diego Yacht Club. Close Racing on Day 3 of the 2010 Etchells North American Championships San Diego, CA (June 11, 2010) – Day 3 of the Etchells North American Championships, being held at San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC), saw the fleet of 42 boats head out onto the Pacific Ocean just beyond Zuniga Jetty and the entrance to historic San Diego harbor. This regatta is a precursor to the June 2011 Worlds, which will also be hosted by SDYC. With 6 races done over the first three days, the regatta is on schedule for completion tomorrow. Race 5, the first race sailed today, with an all clear start in 10 knots of breeze was a welcome change from the lighter breeze seen over the past few days. Big swells of 5-10 feet and an oscillating breeze made both races difficult to predict. A right shift at the top of the first beat became a consistent pattern throughout the day. Bill Hardesty, a San Diego Yacht Club sailor, led race five from start to finish, despite a late charge by Bruce Golison and Rupert Henry. The four-leg course was completed in about an hour and a half. The regatta leader coming into the day, Argyle Campbell, had a tough first leg and was unable to make significant gains through the race, damaging the significant lead he had coming into the day. In the day’s second race, the breeze measured 12 knots just prior to the start. Another all clear start saw more boats tacking quickly off the line to get into the seemingly persistent right pressure. Competitors stretched across the racecourse on the first leg, and breeze oscillations made for an extremely close weather mark rounding. Local sailmaker and SDYC sailor, Vince Brun, led at the first top mark, but was challenged and eventually passed by Bruce Burton of Bayview YC at the finish where a left shift allowed some boats to gain signficantly. The race was by far the most competitive of the regatta to this point. There is one more day of racing tomorrow with the final 2 races scheduled for completion. At this point the regatta can still be won by any number of sailors, and positions will surely shift around when the discard comes into play.Day 2 of the 2010 Etchells North American Championship is full ups and downs San Diego, CA (June 10, 2010) – San Diego Yacht Club sent 42 Etchells and crew out into the ocean off Coronado Roads for Day 2 of the 2010 Etchells North Americans. The precursor to the Worlds, to be hosted at SDYC in June 2011, is on schedule with 4 races in the books over the last 2 days. Race 3 started in light and fluky conditions, and didn’t finish much easier. The race committee set a square course and began the starting sequence, but the AP pennant went up indicating a postponement 5 seconds prior to the start. After re-setting the course and getting the boats off the line, the wind went left making the offset mark an upwind rounding. San Francisco Yacht Club team of Craig Healy, Dave Gruver and Kieth Stahnke took race 3 after holding on to their lead at each mark rounding. The 2nd race for the day began with 6 boats over early (OCS). The wind lightened up and warranted another round of course changes with a shorten course notice displayed at the first leeward mark. Challenging the sailors even more with 3-4 knots of breeze at times, the wind finally filled in for the last leg of the last race of the day at 8-10 knots. First place for race 4 went to San Diego Yacht Club sailor Will Stout with team Artie Means and Chuck Skewes, holding on to an increasingly more generous lead throughout the race. Argyle Campbell solidified his lead today with a 6 and a 3, giving him a significant lead on the regatta, 20 points ahead of his next closest competitor. With only 10 points between the next 8 boats in the current standings, and 2 more days of racing to go, the regatta is far from over! Light, Cool Day for Day 1 of the 2010 Etchells North American Championship San Diego, CA (June 9, 2010) – San Diego welcomed 42 Etchells teams with cloudy skies and cool temperatures, not quite hitting double digits for breeze on day 1 of 4 for the 2010 Etchells North American Championship. With two races scheduled per day, the regatta is on schedule and Race 1 saw a fairly steady breeze of 6-9 kts from the South-Southwest. The 5.9 mile race finished downwind with Andrew Whittome and crew Paul Terhaar taking a first place in just under an hour and 30 minutes. Shannon Bush, one of 3 female skippers in the fleet, took 2nd with her crew Mark Foster and Charlie Dickey. SDYC native Chris Snow with crew Gary Mitchell and John Rudderham finished 3rd. There was no place movement among the top 3 teams in race 1 at each mark rounding, with the 3 leaders extending their lead throughout the race. The racers were given a short and sunny lunch break before starting the second and final race of the day at 13:33. The breeze lightened up a bit between 5-8kts, however there was plenty of time in the day to get in a 7.7 mile race. Argyle Campbell with his crew Jamie Hardenbergh and Bill Mais took race 2 with a decent lead over the fleet. SDYC sailor Kjeld Hestehave with crew Dave Koenig and Andrea Andriany finished 3rd. The results after 2 races put Newport Harbor Yacht Club sailor Argyle Campbell in the lead with a 3 point cushion, after taking a 10 and a 1 for the day. Consistency pays off for current 2nd place holder Bruce Burton and crew Glenn Burton and Jon Easley of Bayview Yacht Club with a 5 and 9 finish. With only 2 points separating places 2-4, the regatta is off to a great and competitive start! Forecast for tomorrow will be similar to today with morning fog and light breeze up to 10 kts in the afternoon. For up to the minute race course action, follow the 2010 Etchells NA Championship on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/EtchellsSD The 2010 Etchells North American Championship is sponsored by SLAM, Point Loma Outfitting, North Sails One Design, Sailing Supply, CFO Connect, BusinessBooks, Etchells Fleet 13, and Harrington Studios. Regatta Website: http://etchellsna2010.com/
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