US Women’s Nationals – Final

Winthrop, MA, Aug 9-10, 2014. Report by Carol Cronin, photo gallery (courtesy of Alex Pline)

The 2014 Women’s Nationals drew 15 teams to Boston Harbor for two days of mostly light air racing. With supermoon ebb tides running upwind and lots of powerboat chop, keeping the boat going on the leeward legs was the key to winning the event. 

In the closest possible scoring, Aine McLean Fretwell and Claire Riedman won a tie with Carol Cronin and Linda Epstein. Each team posted 3 firsts and 2 seconds, so it came down to who won the final race. The breeze had finally filled in enough to sail dead downwind against the current, making for a tight battle among five boats on the first run. When Cronin/Epstein had a dramatic jibe/near capsize, Fretwell/Riedman solidified their lead and protected the favored left side the rest of the race.

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Friday’s clinic attracted a variety of Snipe experience, from first timers to the regatta winners. Jimmy Bowers walked the group through tuning, boathandling, and then on the water drills. It was a great start to the event. 

PRO Susie Schneider said, “This is one of my favorite events to run, and this year we saw Corinthian sailing: fair racing, and boats out to have a great time. We don’t do tea parties, we do this instead—and it’s a lot of fun.”

Bids are still open for the 2015 event.