Full on at US Youth Sailing Champs

Arapahoe, NC (October 10, 2021) – With two of three full days of racing under their belts, the 156 young sailors competing at the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship are making their positions known within their respective fleets. The regatta saw its second day of strong breeze and bumpy conditions on the water.

The regatta is not only a chance for these sailors to test their skills against some of the best young talent in the country, but is also a development and educational opportunity, with world-class coaches supporting the athletes.

“Today was a super challenging; a double black diamond kind of day,” says John Pearce, US Sailing Director of Sport Development. “Winds 15 to 25 knots and cross waves made it a very tough racecourse. The sailors really stepped up to the challenge. There were toe to toe battles at the front of each fleet, and everyone pushed themselves and learned a lot.“

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The catamarans made up for a slow start yesterday, with three races today in the seven-boat fleet. Kay Brunsvold and Cooper Delbridge (Sarasota Youth Sailing) kept the lead, starting the day with a second and finishing with two bullets. Winning the first race were Tanner DeMarzo and Luke King (Sarasota Youth Sailing), who now sit in second overall. Dorothy Medelblatt and Ian Ilse-Lee (St. Petersburg YC/Red Gear Sailing) round out the top three heading into the final day of competition tomorrow.

“We played our controls well and looked at the wind coming at us,” says Brunsvold of their efforts today. She and Delbridge have been sailing together for just two months, and Delbridge is a recent 29er transplant into the class.

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Atlanta YC/Lauderdale YC’s Daniel Escuerdo continues to lead the 11-boat fleet, with a perfect scorecard after six races. Guthrie Braun (St. Petersburg YC) follows with all second-place finishes, save one third place, and the top spots in the fleet are rounded out by Humberto Porrata (Key Biscayne YC).

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In the largest class in the regatta, with 68 boats, the leaderboard remains unchanged from day one. Chapman Petersen (Lake Geneva YC/Lauderdale YC) remains on top, with a total of 11 points, followed by Robby Meek (Severn SA/Lauderdale YC) with 18 points, and Benjamin Smith (Lauderdale YC/Carolina YC) with 27 points.

29er
Ian and Noah Nyenhuis (San Diego YC) lead the 29er class with a remarkably consistent performance after seven races, with six bullets and a single second. Clark Morris and Noah Zittrer (2NINER Inc.), and Anton Schmid and Peter Joslin (San Diego YC) are second and third, respectively.

“Today was a pretty exciting day out on the water,” says Noah. “The day started with waves and 20-25 knots, but it was really fun. Really shifty, really funky with all the storm cells moving through, but fun and exciting racing.”

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The 20-boat fleet saw a shake up in the top of the fleet today, with Thomas Sitzman and Luke Woodworth (Sail1Design), taking the lead thanks to three bullets and making up for their withdrawal from race two yesterday. Vanessa Lahrkamp and Katherine McNamara (LISOT Sailing Foundation, Inc.) sit in second, followed by Peter Foley and Liam O’Keefe (OUTFIT).

Racing is planned at YMCA Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer for October 9-11.

Event information – Race details – Results

Source: US Sailing