Champions named at US Youth Champs

Wrightsville Beach, NC (June 27, 2018) – Boat speed mixed with patience and finesse proved to be the key ingredients through the range of conditions at the 2018 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships.

After racing was washed out yesterday, the race committee moved the start time up to 10:00 am ET. The 29er, Nacra 15, Techno 293 Plus and I 420 fleets got in a race this morning and another in the afternoon with stronger breeze. The Laser and Laser Radials had to wait for afternoon winds and the seabreeze to get in a race.

All events were open to male and female competitors with the doublehanded events open to mixed teams.

Racing was held from June 24 to 27.

Event details – Results – Facebook – Photos

Singlehanded Dinghy – Laser Radial
Heading into the final race of the event, Marcus Huttunen (San Diego, Calif.) trailed Asher Zittrer (Seabrook, Texas) by one point. Following the first General Recall of the race, both Huttunen and Zittrer were black flagged resulting in a last place finish for both, among other sailors. The strategy and results paid off for Huttunen who jumped into first place to win the Championship. He placed 10th in last year’s Championship in Corpus Christi. Huttunen won by two points over local standout Chase Carraway (Wrightsville Beach, N.C.) who won Race 7 from start to finish, his fourth race win of the Championship. He placed fifth last year. Ricky Welch (Long Beach, Miss.) placed third overall. He placed second in 2017.

Final Standings – Top 5
3 races Sunday; 3 races Monday; 1 race Wednesday

1. Marcus Huttunen, GCYSA/MBYC, – 6 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 7 – 6 – (BFD-47) ; 28
2. Chase Carraway, Lauderdale Yacht Club/Carolina Yacht Club NC, – 1 – 1 – 1 – 23 – 3 – (38) – 1 ; 30
3. Ricky Welch, Long Beach Yacht Club/ GCYSA, – 3 – 4 – 13 – (20) – 1 – 10 – 4 ; 35
4. Lillian Myers, GCYSA, – 10 – 7 – 5 – 8 – (19) – 7 – 5 ; 42
5. Connor Nelson, DIYC, – 7 – 8 – 7 – 9 – (23) – 1 – 16 ; 48

Singlehanded Dinghy – Laser Full Rig
Joseph Hou (Newport Beach, Calif.) carried on with his winning ways and won Race 8 today, his fifth race win the Championship. Hou won by an 18-point margin. Last year, he won the Laser Radial competition. Placing second was Caden Scheiblauer (Carpinteria, Calif.) and in third place was Cameron Feves (Long Beach, Calif.). Feves placed fourth last year.

Final Standings – Top 5
3 races Sunday; 4 races Monday; 1 race Wednesday

1. Joseph Hou, NHYC/ABYC, – 2 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – (4) – 1 ; 9
2. Caden Scheiblauer, Santa Barbara Yacht Club/GCYSA/SBYSF, – 4 – 4 – 3 – 4 – 2 – 7 – (9) – 3 ; 27
3. Cameron Feves, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club , – 5 – 5 – 5 – (9) – 3 – 3 – 2 – 5 ; 28
4. John Kirkpatrick, Sail Newport, – 1 – 1 – 2 – 7 – 7 – 5 – 7 – (10) ; 30
5. Pete McGriff, GCYSA/FYC, – 3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 5 – (9) – 5 – 7 ; 32

Doublehanded Dinghy – International 420
The New York based team of Michelle Lahrkamp (Rye, N.Y.) and Gabriella DelBello (Bedford, N.Y.) closed out a successful regatta to win the Championship by 14 points. Sarah Burn and Patricia Gerli moved up from third to second on the final day and Lachlain McGranahan (Sewickley, Pa.) and Declan McGranahan (Sewickley, Pa.) moved to third place overall.

Final Standings – Top 5
3 races Sunday; 3 races Monday; 2 races Wednesday

1. Michelle Lahrkamp/Gabriella DelBello, American YC/LISOT, – 2 – 2 – 2 – 1 – (3) – 1 – 3 – 2 ; 13
2. Sarah Burn/Patricia Gerli, VMG Racing, BHYC/MYC, – 7 – 4 – (13) – 2 – 1 – 2 – 1 – 10 ; 27
3. Lachlain McGranahan/Declan McGranahan, VMG Racing , – 1 – 1 – 1 – 8 – 6 – 6 – 8 – (UFD-20) ; 31
4. Maddie Hawkins/Yumi Yoshiyasu, VMG/Outfit Sailing/Annapolis YC, – 9 – (13) – 5 – 4 – 8 – 5 – 4 – 1 ; 36
5. Justin Callahan/Mitchell Callahan, VMG/Outfit Sailing, – (11) – 9 – 11 – 10 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 9 ; 48

Doublehanded Skiff – 29er
The team of Ripley Shelley (Coral Gables, Fla.) and Severin Gramm (Delray Beach, Fla.) won a closely contested 29er event by a three point margin over Berta Puig (Miami, Fla.) and Bella Casaretto (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Shelley and Gramm improved from third place last year. David Eastwood (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Samuel Merson (Santa Fe, Calif.) finished third overall, just five points back. Eastwood and Merson placed second in last year’s Championship.

Final Standings – Top 5
4 races Sunday; 4 races Monday; 2 races Wednesday

1. Ripley Shelley/Severin Gramm, 2NINER Skiff Squad , – 3 – 2 – 1 – 1 – 7 – 1 – 5 – 4 – (11) – 5 ; 29
2. Berta Puig/Bella Casaretto, 2NINER, – 4 – 5 – 9 – (10) – 1 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 6 ; 32
3. David Eastwood/Samuel Merson, Santa Barbara Yacht Club/ Mission Bay Yacht Club, – 2 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 8 – 7 – 1 – 10 – 1 – (OCS-16) ; 34
4. Charlie Hibben/Nicholas Hardy, Great North Skiff Squad, – (8) – 4 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 4 – 6 – 5 – 3 – 2 ; 37
5. Taylor Hasson/Steven Hardee, St. Croix Yacht Club/Great Northern Skiff Squad, – 5 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 12 – 3 – 3 – 2 – 5 – (14) ; 39

Multihull – Nacra 15
The Texas team comprised of Nico Martin (Houston, Texas) and AnaClare Solé (Houston, Texas) edged Mia and Teddy Nicolosi by one point in the multihull event. Nico Martin placed fifth last year with a different crew. Matthew Monts (Bluffton, S.C.) and Carlyn Blauvelt (Marietta, Ga.) reached the podium in third place.

Final Standings – Top 3
4 races Sunday; 4 races Monday; 2 races Wednesday

1. Nico Martin/AnaClare Solé, Seabrook Sailing Club/Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, – (8) – 1 – 1 – 1 – 4 – 1 – 6 – 4 – 1 – 2 ; 21
2. Mia Nicolosi/Teddy Nicolosi, St. Thomas Yacht Club, – 2 – 2 – 4 – (5) – 2 – 4 – 3 – 1 – 3 – 1 ; 22
3. Matthew Monts/Carlyn Blauvelt, South Carolina Yacht Club/Atlanta Yacht Club, – (6) – 3 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 3 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 4 ; 25

Windsurfing – Techno 293 Plus
Manuel Nores (Miami Beach, Fla.) overcame a one point deficit to edge Alexander Temko (Palm Harbor, Fla.) in a tie-breaker to win the title. The win for Nores marks his second consecutive title at Youth Champs. Dominique Stater’s (Miami, Fla.) two wins on Monday kept her on the podium after today’s two races. Temko improved from fourth place last year and Stater was fifth in 2017.

Final Standings – Top 3
3 races Sunday; 3 races Monday; 2 races Wednesday

1. Manuel Nores, Miami Yacht Club, – 2 – 1 – 1 – 3 – 3 – 2 – 1 – (4) ; 13
2. Alexander Temko, Clearwater Community Sailing Center, – 1 – 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – (4) – 2 – 3 ; 13
3. Dominique Stater, Miami Yacht Club, – 3 – 4 – 4 – 4 – 1 – 1 – (DNF-6) – 2 ; 19

Dave Perry Sportsmanship Trophy
Laser Radial: Chase Reynolds
Laser: Brandon Cassard
I420: Sarah Burn
29er: Roxy and Charlie Snyder
Techno 293 Plus: Dominique Stater
Nacra 15: Evie Blauvelt

This Championship was the final tune-up regatta for the Youth Worlds Team prior to the 2018 Youth World Sailing Championships, hosted by Corpus Christi Yacht Club on July 14-21.