U.S. Junior Sailing Championships

The 2019 Chubb U.S. Junior Sailing Championships attracted nearly 100 competitors for racing in three divisions on August 9-11 in Redwood City, CA.

U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship for the Smythe Trophy – Laser Radial
In a highly contest singlehanded fleet of Laser Radials, Will Foox (Lafayette, Calif./San Francisco YC/Area G) came from behind to win the Smythe Trophy by one point over Daniel Escudero (Peachtree City, Ga./Atlanta YC/Lauderdale YC) and two points over Caleb Yoslov (Corte Madera, Calif./San Francisco YC).

Foox placed in the top three in eight of nine races with a sixth place finished being his worst drop score. He finished second in the final race to earn the win. The Laser Radials completed four races Friday, three on Saturday, and two on Sunday.

“I sailed my drop in the first race today and so did Daniel,” said Foox about the final day. “We were battling for the top three positions the whole regatta. It was a stressful day of sailing, I knew I had to put a boat between Daniel and myself and hope that Caleb would drop back. It was light and got tricky. Towards the end I had a boat between Daniel and I, not knowing he was over, and he passed that boat, and I thought I lost the regatta.”

The top three eligible athletes in the singlehanded fleet receive early acceptance to the 2020 U.S. Youth Championships.

U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship for the Bemis Trophy – Club 420
The team of Morgan Pinckney (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor YC/Balboa YC/Area J) and Nathan Sih (Newport Beach, Calif./Balboa YC/Alamitos Bay YC) started and finished strong this week in the Club 420 fleet, winning the title after posting bullets in five of nine races.

The fleet totaled four races Friday, three on Saturday, and two on Sunday. Placing second was Jack Egan (San Diego, Calif./San Diego YC) and Jack Plavan (Park City, Utah/San Diego YC).

U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship for the Sears Cup – Open 5.7
David Wood (Corona Del Mar, Calif./Balboa YC/Area J), winner of last year’s Smythe Trophy, stole the show by capturing the Sears Cup in 2019 with crew Daniel Pegg (Anaheim, Calif./Balboa YC) and Kenny Sherb (Fullerton, Calif./Balboa YC). The Open 5.7 fleet tallied eight races over three days including four on Friday, one Saturday, and three on Sunday.

Wood won by 3.5 points and placed first in three races. Finishing second was Owen Lahr (Foster City, Calif./Richmond YC), Connell Phillipps (Corte Madera, Calif./Richmond YC), and Wesley Seifers (El Cerrito, Calif./Richmond YC).

Sportsmanship and Seamanship Awards:
• Singlehanded – Faye Bennet Sportsmanship Award: Maxwell Roth (Honolulu, Hawaii/Waikiki YC)
• Doublehanded – Bemis Sportsmanship Award: Nathan and Michael Bowen (Washington, Ga./Augusta YC)
• Triplehanded – Cox Sportsmanship Award: Scott Sonnier (New Orleans, La./Team Gulf Yachting Association), Mallory Edwards (Gulfport, Miss./Harrison GYA-Pass Christian/Bay-Waveland YC), and Peter McGriff (Montrose, Ala./Fairhope YC/ Gulf Yachting Association)
• The Seamanship Trophy will be awarded to the triplehanded team: Casey Pickett (Portland, Ore./Willamette SC), Megan Waller (Portland, Ore./Willamette SC), and Samuel Hopper.

Sailors took part in onshore and on-water clinics with a collection of top coaches from around the country on August 8 to hone their skills and acclimate themselves to the racing conditions and the boats. The following coaches were on site working with the sailors throughout the championship:

• Richard Feeny: US Sailing Youth National Coach – Bemis fleet coach
• Kevin Burnham: 2 time Olympic medalist – Bemis fleet coach
• Adam Corpuz-Lahne: Head coach at St. Francis Yacht Club – Smythe fleet coach
• Hannah Tuson-Turner: Former Sailing Program Director at Orcas Island Yacht Club – Smythe fleet coach
• Mike Scott: Director of Youth Sailing and Head Coach at Encinal Yacht Club – Sears fleet coach

Event details – Results – Photos