Mahoney claims A-Class Catamaran North Americans

Published on June 14th, 2014

Manteo, NC (June 14, 2014) – The Outer Banks’ Croatan Sound provided perfect weather and a beautiful, 8-12 knot Northerly breeze for the 2014 SailNC A-Class Catamaran North American Championship fleet on their final day of racing.

Houston’s Bruce Mahoney found himself back on form after falling to second place overnight to Friday’s standout performer Ben Moon; the Texan led from start to finish in the first race of the day, while Tampa Bay’s Moon saw his championship slipping away. “After catching a crab pot, I found myself in something like 13th place on the first race,” said Moon. “I was able to grind back to 5th, but with Bruce winning that race and taking a 2-point lead, I knew my chances of taking my first North American title were slipping away.”

The fleet sailed two races today, with Moon’s 5th place in Race 5 proving decisive. Despite his sailing to a monster win in the sixth and final race – finishing more than 3 minutes ahead of the second place boat – Moon couldn’t overtake Mahoney’s lead.

This is Mahoney’s first North American Championship win, and he said it was one of the most challenging regattas he’s ever sailed. “We’ve had just about every condition you could possibly have in what was basically lake sailing conditions all week, and with Ben pushing me constantly, there was never a lot of room for mistakes,” said Mahoney.

18 year old Jeremy Herrin rounded out the podium, finishing 6 points off the leader, and he said he felt good about it. “I got fifth place in the North Americans last year, so this is a solid improvement and I’m pretty happy,” said Herrin.

Seattle sailor Ken Marshack earned the distinction not only of traveling the furthest of any competitor, but also the title of “North American Intergalactic Champion”, a voluntary sub-class for older boats and bodies.

Final results (Top 5 of 45)
1. Bruce Mahoney , USA – 1, (3), 2, 2, 1, 2; 8
2. Ben Moon , USA – 4, 2, 1, 1, (5), 1; 9
3. Jeremy Herrin , USA – 2, (52/DNF), 3, 3, 2, 4; 14
4. Woody Cope , USA – 5, 1, 10, (52/DNS), 3, 3; 22
5. Bob Hodges , USA – 3, (9), 4, 4, 6, 5; 22

Full results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=955
Event website: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=955