Tight finish at J/70 US Youth Nationals

Eleven teams vied for the third annual J/70 US Youth National Championship, held November 22-24 in St. Petersburg, FL. The 11-race series was dominated by the teams of San Francisco Yacht Club/Annapolis Yacht Club, led by James Golden, and Cal Maritime, led by Kyle Collins.

Tied on points heading in the final race, it was Golden’s team who earned the victory by four points, with Luke Koerschner, Hannah Sellers, and Caleb Yoslov. They ended with 23 points to Collins’ 27. Golden and Koerschner are from Annapolis YC; Sellers and Yoslov from San Francisco YC.

Light winds prevented racing on the first day but conditions over the next two days allowed for the intended schedule which had a series of 11 races with each entrant sailing 10 races and sitting out one bye race. Each youth team was permitted up to five crew, age 20 or younger as of December 31, 2019.

The goal of the event is to help develop and build junior keelboat sailing programs across America, with local J/70 expert Marty Kullman conducting on-water coaching and classroom lessons. The 2019 edition attracted teams from nine states, and used identically rigged and tuned provided boats from St. Petersburg Yacht Club with class sails.

Final Results
1. San Francisco YC/Annapolis YC, James Golden, 23 points
2. Cal Maritime, Kyle Collins, 27
3. St. Petersburg Yacht Club, Heather Kerns, 30
4. Brown Sailing, Jack Murphy, 41
5. Augusta Sailing Club, Nathan Bowen, 49
6. South Carolina YC, James Thurlow, 66
7. Lauderdale Yacht Club, Joey Meagher, 67
8. Cooper River YC, Zachary York, 67
9. MudRatz Youth Team, Lily Flack, 70
10. Little Traverse YC, Trip Wagner, 81
11. Eastern YC, Haley Andreasen, 86

Event details: https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=9667

Source: J/70 Class