Etchells US National Championship

The 2025 Etchells US National Championship attracted 35 boats to Biscayne Bay on March 21-23 in Miami, FL. Taking the title was Chris Larson with Andrew Palfrey and Mark Mendelblatt, finishing with a nine point margin in challenging, light-air conditions.

“Due to a last-minute business conflict, Peter Duncan couldn’t make it, so he gave us the keys to the car and we made it happen in tricky and challenging conditions,” noted Larson. “There were times we felt like we had pulled a rabbit out of hat but we created our own luck.”

The final race was a showdown between Larson’s Oatmeal team and second-place finisher Freedom, a team that had posted multiple bullets throughout the regatta. With Craig Mense, Ian Liberty, and Manny Weiller onboard, Freedom added solo-sailing star Cole Brauer to their crew. Brauer, returning to the Etchells after her historic solo circumnavigation, found herself back in familiar waters—but with more voices than she’s used to.

“It was a bit of a culture shock to be so close to others on the same boat!” Brauer joked. “But my team was first class and therefore, it was easy for me to right back in and give Oatmeal a run.”

Rounding out the podium in third was Lifted, last year’s National Champion team, with skipper Jim Cunningham with crew Erik Shampain, Serena Vilage, and Lucas Calabrese.

Details: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/lCWFcy8wNo