U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships gets underway

Galveston, TX (October 30, 2014) – The 2014 U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships, hosted by Community Sailing Center Galveston, got underway Thursday on Offats Bayou following two days of development racing in Sonars.

To increase participation and drive more awareness to the opportunities in adaptive sailing, US Sailing incorporated a new development regatta earlier this week. These participants were also encouraged to race in the championship if they wish. US Sailing’s Paralympic Coach Betsy Alison also conducted a clinic in conjunction with this event.

Three-time U.S. Disabled Singlehanded Champion Charles Rosenfield (Woodstock, Conn.) is off to another solid start in the 2.4 mR fleet. He won three of four races today to take a four point lead. Also winning three of four races in the Sonar fleet was the team of Steven Hammer (Riverview, Fla.), Kathy Champion (Gulfport, Fla.), and Brian Bohne (Boulder, Colo.), who took a five point advantage.

Sailors raced under cloud coverage, temperatures in the mid-60s, and wind at 8-10 knots.

Quote of the Day:
Peter Cabral (Somerset, Mass.), US Air Force, on his participation in the development regatta and today’s racing: “Before coming down here I told the recruiter as far as a contribution to the team is concerned I could hold on for dear life and maybe blow a whistle. But after a day of training they made me a skipper. Who would have thought!”

Results & Standings: U.S. Disabled Singlehanded Championship

2.4mR
1. Charles Rosenfield, 2-1-1-1- ; 5
2. Daniel Evans, 1-2-3-3- ; 9
3. Timothy Ripley, 3-3-2-2- ; 10
4. Audrey Kobayashi, 4-5-4-4- ; 17
5. Kevin holmberg, 5-4-5-5- ; 19

Sonars – A Fleet
1. Steven Hammer/Kathy Champion/Brian Bohne, 1-2-1-1- ; 5
2. Sarah Everhart-Skeels/Cindy Walker/Hugh Freund, 4-1-2-3- ; 10
3. Dylan Young/Christopher Childers/John Wallace, 2-3-4-2- ; 11
4. Gary Pierce/Patrick LoDuca/Charles McClure, 5-5-3-4- ; 17
5. Steven Muse/Colin Smith/Steven Edenson, 3-4-6-7- ; 20
6. John Greener/Henrik Hartz/Larry Young, 6-6-5-6- ; 23
7. Chris Livesay/Scott Ford/Sammy Lugo, 7-7-7-5- ; 26

Sonars – B Fleet
1. JR Hudson/Brian Miller/Eric Von Culbertson, 2-1-1-2- ; 6
2. Nathan Deneault/Brian Dean/Ryan Moore, 1-4-2-1- ; 8
3. Peter Cabral/Chris Doggett/Anthony Webster, 3-2-4-5- ; 14
4. David Wear/Arthur Montross/David Whitely, 4-3-5-3- ; 15
5. Arbie Parnell/Edward LeRoy/Ken Patterson, 5-6/DNF-3-4- ; 18

Event website: http://www.ussailing.org/racing/championships/adult/disabledchamps
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ussailing/sets/72157649007557471/

Source: US Sailing media