Showing posts with label U.S. Adult Sailing Championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Adult Sailing Championship. Show all posts

Friday, August 30, 2013

Ventura YC Wins Mallory Trophy Championship



J/24s sailing Mallory Trophy- US Adult Championship (Rochester, NY)– The 2013 U.S. Adult Sailing Championship, hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club, came down to the wire in an epic finish on Lake Ontario Sunday. David Klatt's (Oxnard, Calif.) talented team pulled out the victory with a win in a climactic final race this afternoon to earn the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy.

Sailing J/24s fast in light air- Mallory Trophy/ US Adult ChampsKlatt had a one point lead over Pat Toole (Santa Barbara, Calif.) going into the last day and a two point advantage after Race 7. The top five teams were separated by just five points with two races to go. By the end of the day, Klatt prevailed by four points over Pat Toole (Santa Barbara, Calif.). Bryan Dyer (Fort Worth, Texas) finished nine points back in third place.  Fourth was Rodger Voss (Lake George Club) and fifth was Frank McNamara (Eastern Yacht Club).

Similar to Saturday's conditions, the J/24 fleet raced in a light southeasterly. Rodger Voss (Albany, N.Y.) won Race 7, followed by Klatt and Toole. The table was set for an exciting finale.

Toole got off the line with great speed and Klatt was directly to the leeward side of the course. Klatt took the lead around the first mark and Dyer was second, followed by Fitzgerald and Toole. The wind picked up velocity throughout Race 8. Klatt and Toole were in a match racing duel in the course's final leg, which had been extended by the Race Committee. Toole needed to pull ahead of Klatt and put two boats between him and Klatt to win championship. However, Klatt pulled away for the dramatic win to seal the title.

Mallory Trophy- US Sailing Adult Champs winners"We were in a mini tacking duel with Santa Barbara (Yacht Club) down the stretch," explained Klatt. "We rounded the top mark in second and our goal was do nothing radical, but Texas (Fort Worth Boat Club) got in the way. All three of us jibed over at once. We were able drift in to win in the race. It was a great way to finish the regatta."

"I've been competing with these guys for years now," said Klatt, the 2004 J/24 North American Champion. "We also recruited some guys like tactician Garrett Baum."

"I'd like to race again at J/24 Worlds. I haven't raced at worlds since 2007. I'll be sailing J/24s for as long as I can," he added.   Watch the J/24 Mallory Cup sailing video on YouTube.   For more J/24 Clifford D Mallory Trophy/ US Sailing Adult Championship sailing information

Monday, August 26, 2013

US Sailing Adult Championship Preview



J/24 one-design sailboats- sailing upwind on lake (Rochester, New York)-  The historic U.S. Adult Sailing Championship will unveil a new and exciting format for competitive adult women and men sailors this Friday through Sunday, August 23-25, hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club.  The teams will be contending for the historic Clifford D. Mallory Trophy on the waters of Lake Ontario. Teams will be sailing matched International One-Design J/24s in a round robin format with a minimum number of four crew including the helmsperson.

Women have always been racing in this championship, but only as crew. The new U.S. Adult Sailing Championship has no gender restrictions on helmsperson or crews.  As an "open" event, there were many women skippers in the regional qualifiers around America.  Nevertheless, this year's eight finalists all have men skippers and four of the teams have women in the crew.  In fact, many of the teams are championship-calibre J/24 sailors.

Pat Toole and his team from Santa Barbara, CA are traveling coast to coast to make their third run at the Mallory Trophy. Toole, along with Dale Turley, George Witter, and Kent Pierce finished second in the 2011 event held in Mooresville, NC and third in 2008 event in San Francisco. In June, they placed fourth at the 2013 J/24 National Championship in Lake Minnetonka, MN Toole won the 2010 J/24 North American title in Seattle, WA.

“We’ve been focused on calibrating our communication and boat handling by sailing numerous short courses,” said Toole. “The shifts and puffs we experienced in Rochester at the J24 Worlds were very challenging and very different than what we ever see in California. We are very excited about returning and giving it another try.”

Frank McNamara (Wenham, Mass.) was fifth in this year’s J/24 event at Charleston Race Week. He also placed second at the 2012 Rhodes 19 National Championships. McNamara will be sailing with crew Clinton Hayes (East Haddam, CT), Diane Economides (Ipswich, MA), and John Powley (Boxborough, MA).

“It’s just really exciting to have the opportunity to race against the level of competition you find at the Mallory,” said McNamara. “We will definitely have to sail our best to have a shot at winning, but we feel we know how to make the boats go pretty well. We need to get good starts, sail smart and avoid mistakes.”

McNamara and his team look forward to racing the J/24 this week. “The fact that the event is in J/24s this year is an added bonus because we’ve been racing J/24s for a number of years. Rochester is a fantastic venue with all the talent and resources to host a terrific regatta, as we learned when we sailed in the J/24 Worlds in Rochester last year,” he explained.

Other notable skippers in Rochester this week will be 2004 J/24 North American Champion David Klatt (Oxnard, CA) and 75 year old former Snipe Champion Russell Cook (Liverpool, NY).

The regatta is sponsored by Gill North America and Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. The championship is also a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certification event.  Twenty races are scheduled for the regatta-- it's intended for each team to race each boat one once with a maximum of five races sailed per day.  The top three teams receive US Sailing Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. Special guest Charles Mallory, grandson of Clifford D. Mallory, will present the trophy to the winning team.  For more J/24 US Adult Sailing Championship sailing information