U.S. Junior Sailing Champs Ends with Close Racing

San Diego, CA (August 15, 2016) – The 2016 Chubb U.S. Junior Sailing Championships, hosted by Mission Bay Yacht Club, finished today in San Diego. The single-, double- and triplehanded fleets completed their last day of racing in picture perfect conditions.

U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship (Laser Radial) – Smythe Trophy
Joseph Hou (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) had finishes of 1, 3 to move 16 points ahead of Charlotte Rose (Houston Yacht Club) who had a 3, 2 today, jumping ahead of Skylar Bayman (Houston Yacht Club) who finished in third, just one point out of second. Hou has won six of ten races this weekend, securing the win.

“Conditions were windier today that the first two days, probably 10 to 12 knots with choppy seas, but in the Laser today we were all fully powered up,” said Hou.

Top 5
1. Joseph Hou, Newport Harbor YC, 1-2-[4]-1-4-1-1-1-1-3 ; 15
2. Charlotte Rose, Houston Yacht Club, 2-8-2-[11]-1-4-2-7-3-2 ; 31
3. Skylar Bayman, Houston Yacht Club, 3-1-5-2-2-6-3-[8]-2-(10) ; 32
4. Lucas Pierce, Santa Barbara Yacht Club, [10]-7-1-5-5-2-5-5-8-7 ; 45
5. Caleb Robinson, SailMarine, 4-10-7-4-13-(21 DSQ)- 7-4-7-5 ; 61

U.S. Junior Doublehanded Champinship (Club 420) – Bemis Trophy
The teams of Nicholas Marwell (San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco Yacht Club) and J. Noble Reynoso (Mill Valley, Calif./San Francisco Yacht Club) and Ian Moran (Rocky River, Ohio/Edgewater Yacht Club) and Abie Griggs (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Edgewater Yacht Club) each had 20 points at the top of the leaderboard entering today’s crucial races. Marwell and Reynoso won Race 9 to Moran and Griggs’ seventh place finish. Moran and Griggs won Race 10, but Marwell and Reynoso kept close with a third to win the championship by four points.

“Winning this meant a lot for me because the qualifier for this event was the first time I raced a 420,” said Reynoso. “It’s rare you get an event, like this, where everyone can play on a level playing field.”

“We hadn’t sailed together much before this event,” mentioned Marwell. “We’ve both been sailing parallel to each other with different people. Years ago we sail sailed together and thought maybe this could be someday, but at the time we needed to train our separate ways. This is our four years coming full circle.”

Top 5
1. Nicholas Marwell/J. Noble Reynoso, San Francisco Yacht Club, 2-4-5-[16]-1-4-3-1-1-3 ; 24
2. Ian Moran/Abie Griggs, Edgewater Yacht Club, 1-1-1-[8]-5-7-1-4-7-1 ; 28
3. Cole Harris/Tanner Chapko, San Diego Yacht Club, 5-6-2-[9]-2-2-5-2-8-5 ; 41
4. Conner Bayless/Kimmie Leonard, San Diego Yacht Club, 7-11-6-3-(21 OCS)-6-2-7-2-7 ; 51
5. Jack Reiter/Dot Obel, San Diego Yacht Club, 4-9-7-1-4-1-4-[21/OCS]-12-10 ; 52T

U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship (Lightnings) – Sears Cup
The busiest fleet, the Lightnings, completed eleven total races. Porter Kavle, Jake Vickers and Will Comerford (Annapolis Yacht Club) maintained their lead coming into today, securing a the Sears Cup by winning both races. Tanner Probst, Maya Weber and Jenna Probst (Buffalo Canoe Club) came in second overall, 8 points behind the winner. Dane Byerly, Carson Shields and Laura Masterson (Lakewood Yacht Club/Texas Corinthian Yacht Club) finished third.

Top 5
1. Porter Kavle/Jake Vickers/Will Comerford, Annapolis Yacht Club, 2-3-6-5-1-[7]-1-1-4-1-1 ; 25
2. Tanner Probst/Maya Weber/Jenna Probst, Buffalo Canoe Club, 1-2-2-3-4-2-[7]-4-7-3-5 ; 33
3. Dane Byerly/Carson Shields/Laura Masterson, Lakewood Yacht Club, 4-5-5-1-[12/OCS]-1-3-6-3-4-2 ; 34
4. Cameron Feves/Soenke Jordan/Sean Tallman, Cabrillo Beach YC, 3/RDG-1-1-8-5-6-5-[11]-1-7-6 ; 39
5. Grant Gridley/Conor Chapman/Claire Siegel-Wilson, Willamette Sailing Club/ CGRA, 9-4-4-6/RDG-[10]-3-2-2-2-6-3 ; 41

The top two Youth Champs eligible single- and doublehanded teams will receive early acceptance to the 2017 U.S. Youth Championships in a boat of their choice.

Sailors took part in onshore and on-water clinics on Friday to hone their skills and acclimate themselves to the racing conditions and the boats. The following coaches have been on site working with the sailors throughout the championship:
Richard Feeny – US Sailing Junior National Coach
Jon Rogers – Head Coach, Coronado Yacht Club
Kevin Burnham – 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist
Brett Davis – Five-time US Sailing Team Member
Sarah Lihan – 2012 Olympian

Sportsmanship and Seamanship Awards
* Singlehanded – Faye Bennet Sportsmanship Award – Lucas Pierce
* Doublehanded – Bemis Sportsmanship Award – Noble Reynoso
* Triplehanded – Cox Sportsmanship Award – Grant Gridley
* The Seamanship Trophy to the triplehanded Team that receives the greatest number of points for neatness and general ship-shape condition of their boats – Porter Kavle, Jake Vickers, Will Comerford

Event Website – Results – Photo Gallery

About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

Source: US Sailing