Podium full at U.S. Junior Sailing Championships

The 2017 Chubb U.S. Junior Sailing Championships featured three days of racing for the historic Sears Cup, Bemis Trophy, and Smythe Trophy on August 8-11 in Toms River, NJ. Nearly 100 young sailors representing their home yacht club or local sailing organization competed on Barnegat Bay in single-, double-, and triplehanded divisions. Conditions saw light to moderate breeze throughout the regatta.

Event details – Results – Photos

U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship (Laser Radial) – Smythe Trophy
In his first ever U.S. Junior Sailing Championships, James Paul (Darien, Conn./Stamford Yacht Club) made the last race of the Championship count, as he sprung into first place for good after placing fifth in today’s race. He won the Smythe Trophy by five points over the surging Maxwell Mayol (Newport Beach, Calif./Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club), who placed second in today’s race and second overall. Mayol placed second overall at the 2017 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships earlier this summer in the Multihull division (Nacra 15).

Cameron Giblin (Monmouth Beach, N.J./Surf City Yacht Club) had a two point lead heading into today’s race. His 12th place finish today dropped him to third. This is Giblin’s first summer competing in the Laser Radial.

The top three eligible athletes in the singlehanded fleet received early acceptance to the 2018 U.S. Youth Championships.

Final Standings – Top 5
1. James Paul, Stamford Yacht Club, 1-2-[11]-4-4-9-1-8-4-5- ; 38
2. Maxwell Mayol, Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 6-1-2-[21/OCS]-10-1-9-9-3-2- ; 43T
3. Cameron Giblin, Surf City Yacht Club, 2-6-[13]-6-2-5-3-5-2-12- ; 43T
4. Lucas Sawin, Hobcaw Yacht Club, 4-9-14-[16]-7-2-7-1-12-8- ; 64
5. Michael Pinto, Surf City Yacht Club, 10-10-10-2-5-4-6-4-[20]-14- ; 65

U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship (Club 420) – Bemis Trophy
The team of Maddie Hawkins (Edgewater, Md./Annapolis Yacht Club) and Kimmie Leonard (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Yacht Club) continues their triumphant summer with another big win. Just weeks following their win a the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship in Annapolis, the Maryland tandem won the Bemis Trophy by eight points over Jack Egan (San Diego, Calif./San Diego Yacht Club) and Jack Plavan (Park City, Utah/San Diego Yacht Club). Hawkins and Leonard led the regatta from start to finish. Four teams were separated by only 10 points following Thursday’s racing.

Hawkins and Leonard had a six point lead over Sarah Burn (Short Hills, NJ/Bay Head Yacht Club) and Patricia Gerli (Washington, D.C./Mantoloking Yacht Club) going into today’s final race. Burn and Gerli placed second overall to Hawkins and Leonard at the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship last month.

Hawkins and Leonard sealed the Championship with a bullet in race ten, while Egan and Plavan finished second.

“We got a good sense of the competition from around the country by competing here,” said Hawkins. “It’s really nice to race at such a high level.”

“I just enjoyed everyone’s support and we made a great group of friends this summer by competing at all of these championships. I hope to see them again.”

Final Standings – Top 5
1. Maddie Hawkins/Kimmie Leonard, Annapolis Yacht Club, 1-3-1-2-1-2-[4]-2-4-1- ; 17
2. Jack Egan/Jack Plavan, San Diego Yacht Club, [6]-2-2-3-4-1-2-3-6-2- ; 25
3. Sarah Burn/Patricia Gerli, Bay Head Yacht Club, 5-[21/RET]-3-1-5-4-1-1-2-11- ; 33
4. Ansgar Jordan/Patrick Mulcahy, Coronado Yacht Club, 3-1-5-4-2-8-3-7-1-[19]- ; 34
5. Michael Bisson/Ava Walker, Annapolis Yacht Club, 4-4-8-11-[12]-7-8-11-12-3- ; 68

U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship (Flying Scot) – Sears Cup
Cameron Feves (Long Beach, Calif./Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club), Tristan Richmond (Coronado, Calif./Coronado Yacht Club) and Brock Paquin (Coronado, Calif./Coronado Yacht Club) also went wire-to-wire to win the Sears Cup by just four points over John Kirkpatrick (Portsmouth, R.I./Sail Newport), Alden Grimes (Portsmouth, R.I./Conanicut Yacht Club) and Wyatt Fogg (Middletown, R.I./Sail Newport). Feves and crew won five of the 10 races this week. They had a three point lead after Thursday and Wednesday.

This was Feves’ third time competing at the U.S. Junior Sailing Championships. Last year he placed fourth overall in the Lightning class. The Qualifier event was the first time Feves, Richmond and Paquin had all sailed together.

“We are generally faster in morning lighter breeze,” said Feves. “As the fleet got more compact, we got off to good starts and were able to stay in the hunt the whole time.”

Final Standings – Top 5
1. Cameron Feves/Tristan Richmond/Brock Paquin, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, 1-1-3-1-4-1-[7]-2-1-4- ; 18
2. John Kirkpatrick/Alden Grimes/Wyatt Fogg, Sail Newport, [6]-3-1-2-1-6-1-1-2-5- ; 22
3. Christopher Lukens/TJ Danilek/Pierce Ornstein, Riverside Yacht Club, 2-4-2-4-2-4-4-[5]-4-2- ; 28
4. Lucy Brock/Julius Heitkoetter/Taylor Snyder, Austin Yacht Club, 3-7-4-3-6-2-2-[8]-5-8- ; 40
5. George Hambleton/Ian Hunter/William Wells, Fort Walton Yacht Club, [9]-6-5-5-3-7-3-3-3-9- ; 44

Source: US Sailing