Windy finale for US Open San Francisco

San Francisco, CA (August 15, 2021) – The final day of 2021 US Open San Francisco had winds reaching 18-20 knots and air temperatures in the low 60s.

The regatta included two race circles featuring the iQFoil and Formula Kite fleets organized by the St. Francis Yacht Club and the ILCA and I420 events being run by the San Francisco Yacht Club. The ILCA fleets launched from the Treasure Island Sailing Center.

The ILCA 4 and 6 fleets ran two separate days of racing with no results carrying over from day one to day two as the fleets ran medal races on both days. The competitor list featured mostly Olympic Development Program (ODP) athletes.

iQFoil 9
In another leaderboard shake-up, Adrien Gaillard (Cozumel, Mexico) captured the iQFoil 9 event after a strong performance today. He edged Cristobal Hagerman Haro (Bahia de Banderas, Mexico) by just one point. They had a point-share of the lead overnight.

There was a lot at stake for many of the competing sailors this week. US Open Sailing San Francisco was a Junior Pan Am Games selection event for both iQFoil events. Alexander Temko (Palm Harbor, Fla.) and Noah Lyons (Clearwater, Fla.) were in a tie for third place entering today’s racing. Temko won the last race of the regatta to take third over Lyons who was second. Temko qualified as the top American athlete in the competition.

“Today, we had some super amazing racing out here on San Francisco Bay,” said Temko. “We had some challenging conditions with the current and the wind. I was fortunate enough to qualify for the Junior Pan American Games by one point. Noah Lyons gave me a run for my money, but at the end it came down to the last race. I’m super happy to represent my country at Junior Pan American Games.”

Six countries were represented in the Men’s iQFoil event, including the United States, Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic, Colombia, and South Africa.

iQFoil 8
JP Lattanzi (Honolulu, Hawaii) was the fleet leader from start to finish over three days and 13 races. He placed 1-3-1 over three more races today to win the championship. He won 11 of 13 races this week and still only won by six points over Bryn Muller (Largo, Fla.), the top female in the fleet.

Muller qualified for the Junior Pan Am Games with her performance this week. She won three races and placed second eight times. Danicka Sailer (Honolulu, Hawaii) finished a strong weekend in third place.

Open Formula Kite
The Open Formula Kite completed three more races today and Kai Calder (Alameda, Calif.) claimed first place honors after taking over possession of first place yesterday. Calder was even on points with Johnny Heineken (Larkspur, Calif.) and Markus Edegran (Rio Vista, Calif.) on the first day. Calder won after posting a 2-(4)-1 scoring line and defeating Edegran by five points, despite wins from Edegran in Race 11 and 12. Johnny Heineken (Larkspur, Calif.) took home third place.

“It was a great three days of plenty of current and breeze out there,” said Calder. “Some tough sailing conditions and really tough battles with the top fleet. I’m really stoked about this week’s results and I think winning the event is pretty sweet. This is the first event I have won so I’m really happy to be doing it here with my friends.”

US Open Sailing San Francisco was also used in the ranking of sailors for the upcoming 2021 Formula Kite World Championships.

International 420
The I420 fleet tallied three races yesterday to start the regatta and two races today. Jack Murphy (Hillsborough, Calif.) and Sawyer Bastian (San Jose, Calif.) took an early lead after winning the first two races of the event and were even on points with the team of Sophia Devling (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Oakley Cunningham (Pacific Beach, Calif.) at the close of the regatta. Devling and Cunningham placed first and second today.

US Open San Francisco was the sixth and final event of the 2021 circuit with racing on August 13-15.

US Open information – Race details: boards – Race details: boats

Organized by US Sailing and host yacht clubs at venues in Florida and California, the inaugural 6-stage West Marine US Open Sailing Series seeks to fulfill demand for a racing and training platform based in the United States to provide a path to the Olympic Games for prospective athletes.

2021 West Marine US Open Sailing Series:
January 15-18: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
January 21-24: Miami, Florida
February 4-7: Clearwater, Florida
June 11-13: San Diego, California
July 9-11: Long Beach, California
August 13-15: San Francisco, California

Source: US Sailing