Youth movement at Snipe U.S. Nationals

Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke won the 2022 Snipe US National Championship, held on July 12-15 in San Diego, CA. After second place finisher Augie Diaz and Christine De Silva started the eight race series with two bullets, Rodriguez and Tocke took the lead after day two, posting all top six scores to claim the title with a race to spare.

“We were going into the last day with Augie a couple of points behind us,” noted Rodriguez. “But, I felt like Augie sailed better than us. In fact, I realized that in eight races, we only beat him in three. That’s how tough sailing is. It could have went either way.”

The event format provided the 50-boat fleet with two venues which offered two days on South San Diego Bay with flat water and shifty winds, and two days on the ocean course off of Point Loma with a swell and kelp to contend with.

There was the full age-range and team dynamics amongst the fleet with a strong youth contingent, many of which would soon be attending the 2022 Snipe Junior World Championship on July 27-31 in Portugal. Taking the youth title while finishing seventh overall was Justin Callahan and Aiden Hoogland, followed by Trevor Davis and Ale Torres with Peter Busch and Cam Spriggs in third.

“I don’t think the Juniors here are the future, I think they’re the present,” noted Rodriguez. “They were giving us a hard time at every rounding mark. I’ve heard comments from a few juniors telling me how they didn’t realize how good the Snipe is and how tough the fleet is. I think they’re going to be here for a while.”

Event details – Results – Facebook