2023 Sunfish North Americans

Sixty-eight sailors came out for the 2023 Sunfish North American Championship June 9-11 held on Lake Springfield in Springfield, IL. Conner Blouin (USA) dominated the 7-race series, winning four races to take the title by 20 points over Lee Parkhill (CAN), with Luke Ramsay in third.

The event was also used by US Sailing as the U.S. Singlehanded Championship for the George D. O’Day and Helen Hanley trophies and as the Sunfish USA Men and Women Pan American Trials Qualifier.

“I’m so excited to have to have won the O’Day Trophy and am excited to represent the US at the Pan Am Sunfish trials soon!” said Blouin. “I also want to thank the race committee – they were presented with a lot of challenges with the weather, but were able to make the right calls… I felt the racing was great because of them, and I am so grateful to them and the yacht club for hosting.”

Maria Jose Poncell of Chile won the women’s division with 66 points. Sabrina Hernandez of Venezuela finished second with 118 points. Third place finisher Elaine Parshall (USA) was the top female American sailor IN 21st place, winning the Helen Hanley trophy and the title of U.S. National Singlehanded Champion.

“It’s been an amazing two weeks,” said Parshall. “I’ve been doing a lot of traveling and sailing, and have been able to get great insights and training tips from my fellow competitors.”

The Peter J. Barnett Sportsmanship Award was given to Andre Patin, who at 15 was one of the youngest competitors on the starting line. Patin jumped in the water to assist a fellow competitor who had capsized and was unable to continue sailing during racing.

The competitors saw a wide range of conditions throughout the event. Friday, sailors were held ashore with no racing due to light wind. Saturday saw four races in light to moderate breezes and challenging, unpredictable shifts and velocity changes. Conditions picked up Sunday after a cold front moved through central Illinois, with a 10-14 knot building breeze and gusts over 22 knots, according to PRO Russ Saboto.

For the USA, the top three men and women finishers were extended invitations to compete in the qualifying trials for the 2023 Pan Am games. Canada used the event to select its representative, with Parkhill and Ramsay finished equal on points, with Parkhill getting the bid on countback.

• Results: https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=15966
• Photos: https://usst.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000dXwDX545Zt8/2023-US-Singlehanded-Championships