US Nationals – Final
Mission Bay, August 10-14, 2015. (photos courtesy of Bob Betancourt - Snipe USA) Regatta report by Nikki Bruno San Diego. Home of beautiful breeze, sunshine, swell, and the 2015 US Snipe Senior Nationals! Ok and lots of kelp too. Hosted this year by Mission Bay Yacht Club, the regatta had 43 entrants - with a couple of them deciding to join at the very last second, or leave before the last second... The women, juniors, and special juniors had their turn on August 8th and 9th. Taking first at the women's nationals was Lisa and daughter Lexi Pline of Severn Sailing Association. Winning the Juniors was local Scotty Sinks and crew Greer Wattson. The top placing special junior was local Shane Tillson with father David, who won against his brother Cole by 3 points. Monday, August 10th was the first of five days of racing for the Senior Nationals. The breeze hung around 7-8 knots for the day, shifting ten or so degrees around due west. A classic five-leg windward-leeward was the first course of choice, and continued to be for the rest of the regatta. ...
Mission Bay, August 10-14, 2015.
(photos courtesy of Bob Betancourt – Snipe USA)
Regatta report by Nikki Bruno
San Diego. Home of beautiful breeze, sunshine, swell, and the 2015 US Snipe Senior Nationals! Ok and lots of kelp too. Hosted this year by Mission Bay Yacht Club, the regatta had 43 entrants – with a couple of them deciding to join at the very last second, or leave before the last second…
The women, juniors, and special juniors had their turn on August 8th and 9th. Taking first at the women’s nationals was Lisa and daughter Lexi Pline of Severn Sailing Association. Winning the Juniors was local Scotty Sinks and crew Greer Wattson. The top placing special junior was local Shane Tillson with father David, who won against his brother Cole by 3 points.
Monday, August 10th was the first of five days of racing for the Senior Nationals. The breeze hung around 7-8 knots for the day, shifting ten or so degrees around due west. A classic five-leg windward-leeward was the first course of choice, and continued to be for the rest of the regatta.
…
Raul Rios of Puerto Rico and Kara Voss of Miami (but now a SD local!) led around the course most of Race 1, but was passed on the last beat by Jensen McTighe of Ft. Lauderdale and Nikki Bruno of New Jersey. McTighe, who’s still a junior, didn’t even plan on coming to the nationals until the afternoon before, when Nikki’s skipper had to bail on short notice. It seemed to work out quite well for them! After McTighe and Rios finished, locals Chuck Sinks and Emma Batcher took third.
The mark was moved as the wind shifted right for Race 2 but still hung around 8 knots. Rios finished first, followed by McTighe and this time locals David and Barb Tillson took the third.
At the end of the day Rios and McTighe had 3 points each, though Rios broke the tie as he rounded more marks first. Sinks hung in third overall with 7 points. The evening concluded in true California style: with a taco bar and live band.
Day two of the regatta had three races scheduled. The breeze was basically identical – clouds in the morning, slowly burning off as a light sea breeze filled in from the west.
Augie Diaz and Kathleen Tocke of Miami led the fleet around the course during Race 3, followed by Rios and locals Randy Lake and Maddy McGrath.
Rios took the lead around the course during Race 4 and finished first, followed by McTighe and Diaz. It was starting to become evident that these three, who regularly race against each other in Miami, would be the top contenders this year. But this is the sport of sailing after all, and no one is safe at the top for long.
During Race 5, one boat was OCS, one received a Z-flag penalty, and one didn’t finish. Enrique Quintero of Miami and crew Vera Mariani led most of the course, but was taken over by locals George Szabo and Daisy Holthus who ended up finishing first. Rios took third but McTighe and Diaz ended up in 7th and 8th respectively. Point proven.
At the end of the day, the top three spots were still held by Rios, McTighe, and Diaz with a point spread a little too close for comfort. Awards were given to team Rios / Voss for winning the Crosby Series after Race 4.
Day three started out sunnier and breezier, topping out around 12kts and still a little northwest. Rios took first place Race 6, followed by locals Doug Hart and Jon Rogers. The Tillsons took third. Three boats never made it to the finish, including McTighe who suffered a broken outhaul and retired after the first leg to jury-rig it.
Race 7 started with 41 boats on the line, and meant the competitors would receive their first drop. Hart crossed first, followed closely by McTighe in second (with clew tied to the boom in lieu of an outhaul), and Diaz in third. Thanks to the drop, the top three teams remained: Rios in first, McTighe in second, and Diaz in third, and still with room to move up.
San Diego Yacht Club hosted a delicious dinner Weds night, thanks!
Day four was even sunnier, but a little lighter ranging between 6-10kts and a breeze around 290. Race 8 was led by Diaz and contender McTighe was right behind, but he was notified at the windward mark that he was OCS at the start, so he retired. There went the second throw out! Diaz finished first, followed by Hart and then Szabo. Rios finished fourth.
As the wind built up to 12kts, Diaz, McTighe, and Rios duked it out for the top spot in Race 9. Determined to rise up to second overall, Diaz took another first, making him the only competitor to take two in a row. Despite yet another technical setback – a broken vang – all 245 lbs of McTighe and Bruno hiked to another second place, followed closely by Rios.
At the end of the day, Rios had already won the regatta. Considering the two throwouts, he still had the lowest score no matter what happened the last race. As for the other two, the tables turned and Diaz slipped into second place with 18 points. McTighe was delegated to third with 20. In order to win back second, he’d need to put two boats between him and Diaz the next day, as well as keep a good distance from fourth place contender Hart.
The last day featured only one race. Spirits were lifted for those of whom had done well so far, and for those completely ready for the after-party. The breeze was 8 knots from due west. It was kelpy as usual. The water was relatively calm.
Rios decided he wanted to crew instead, so Voss took the helm, and they sailed to a casual mid-fleet finish.. even though they forgot to tell anyone important so it didn’t even count. It’s California, who cares, already won…
Diaz’s goal was to hold onto his spot; McTighe’s was to reclaim his (and say a few Hail Mary’s). Both told each other they’d ‘sail their own race’ anyway. And so they went.
McTighe was first around the windward mark, followed closely by Hart. Then.. yet another technical mishap (I know, right??). So Hart took over the lead. Meanwhile, Diaz had fallen a few boats behind.
Hart lead all the way to the finish, sealing his fourth overall. McTighe chased him the whole time, finishing second. Diaz took a chance and shot for a port finish, but it didn’t pay off. Szabo then Tillson crossed third and fourth, followed by Diaz in fifth.
The final scores for the top 3:
Raul Rios / Kara Voss – 17
Jensen McTighe / Nikki Bruno – 22
Augie Diaz / Kathleen Tocke – 23
Immediately following the end of the Senior Nationals began the world-famous GFU, which stands for ‘Go Fast Upwind,’ 24-Hour Regatta. Most of us didn’t go fast upwind. Also it doesn’t really stand for that, but you knew that already.
After McTighe had yet another technical difficulty in the form of a total jib failure mid-lap…. Team Prestige went on to claim total victory at 10am the next morning!
John Fretwell and his band rocked the house that night, the food was great, and yes my boat really did capsize at the GFU.
Mission Bay Yacht Club and all the San Diegans who ran this show deserve all the thanks in the world for giving us such a great time!
| SailNo | HelmName | CREWName | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Total | Nett | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Senior | 29841 | Raul Rios | Kara Voss | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 67.0 | 17.0 | ||
| 2nd | Junior | 30017 | Jensen McTighe | Nikki Bruno | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 110.0 | 22.0 | ||
| 3rd | Master | 30288 | Augie Diaz | Kathleen Tocke | 4.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 38.0 | 23.0 | ||
| 4th | Master | 29941 | Doug Hart | Jon Rogers | 5.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 46.0 | 28.0 | ||
| 5th | Master | 30109 | David Tillson | Barb Tillson | 3.0 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 73.0 | 45.0 | ||
| 6th | Senior | 30337 | George Szabo | Daisy Holthus | 10.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 15.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 81.0 | 49.0 | ||
| 7th | Master | 28225 | Chuck Sinks | Emma Batcher | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 80.0 | 51.0 | ||
| 8th | Master | 28854 | Randy Lake | Maddy McGrath | 7.0 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 85.0 | 59.0 | ||
| 9th | Senior | 30759 | Enrique Quintero | Vera Mariani | 6.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 20.0 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 15.0 | 123.0 | 75.0 | ||
| 10th | Junior | 28687 | Scott Sinks | Bruno Mello | 6.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 125.0 | 75.0 | ||
| 11th | Senior | 28858 | Nick Kaschak | Krystal Treiberg | 14.0 | 21.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 4.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 7.0 | 134.0 | 85.0 | ||
| 12th | Senior | 29248 | Aine McLean Fretwell | Claire Reidman | 8.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 11.0 | 14.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 142.0 | 94.0 | ||
| 13th | Master | 30629 | Gavin O’Hare | Holly O’Hare | 9.0 | 14.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 18.0 | 147.0 | 99.0 | ||
| 14th | Senior | 28679 | Eric Heim | Melissa Denman | 9.0 | 17.0 | 19.0 | 18.0 | 8.0 | 17.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 171.0 | 105.0 | ||
| 15th | Senior | 30800 | Rick Arneson | Diana Waterbury | 11.0 | 22.0 | 21.0 | 13.0 | 12.0 | 6.0 | 15.0 | 12.0 | 167.0 | 112.0 | ||
| 16th | Master | 29315 | Ken Redler | Julie Redler | 19.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 18.0 | 16.0 | 19.0 | 160.0 | 118.0 | ||
| 17th | Senior | 31114 | Seth Siegler | Jesse McKnight | 23.0 | 6.0 | 18.0 | 6.0 | 17.0 | 19.0 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 172.0 | 119.0 | ||
| 18th | Master | 30618 | Don Bedford | Willem Perry | 16.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 4.0 | 18.0 | 15.0 | 22.0 | 18.0 | 176.0 | 120.0 | ||
| 19th | Master | 30904 | Lee Griffith | Hillary Noble | 17.0 | 5.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 23.0 | 21.0 | 19.0 | 26.0 | 201.0 | 143.0 | ||
| 20th | Senior | 29013 | Chris Wright | Lauren Wright | 25.0 | 16.0 | 22.0 | 12.0 | 23.0 | 13.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 202.0 | 145.0 | ||
| 21st | Master | 30733 | Packy Davis | Julie Calvert | 11.0 | 16.0 | 22.0 | 20.0 | 13.0 | 21.0 | 22.0 | 21.0 | 200.0 | 146.0 | ||
| 22nd | Junior | 30111 | Jack Jorgensen | Marissa Golison | 12.0 | 8.0 | 20.0 | 28.0 | 23.0 | 22.0 | 15.0 | 24.0 | 229.0 | 152.0 | ||
| 23rd | Senior | 29439 | Gene Ratliffe | Blaire Herron | 19.0 | 23.0 | 26.0 | 24.0 | 26.0 | 19.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 223.0 | 158.0 | ||
| 24th | Junior | 30181 | Andre Guaragna | Johnny Fewell | 15.0 | 17.0 | 19.0 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 27.0 | 23.0 | 20.0 | 241.0 | 171.0 | ||
| 25th | Master | 30113 | Bob Bowden | Gus Wirth | 20.0 | 25.0 | 16.0 | 17.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 25.0 | 31.0 | 240.0 | 173.0 | ||
| 26th | Senior | 28464 | Akane Nakagaki | Nobufumi Nakagaki | 28.0 | 26.0 | 27.0 | 27.0 | 30.0 | 9.0 | 28.0 | 14.0 | 268.0 | 189.0 | ||
| 27th | Junior | 30550 | Matt Cappetta | Austin Tipp | 18.0 | 28.0 | 25.0 | 27.0 | 11.0 | 24.0 | 27.0 | 29.0 | 259.0 | 189.0 | ||
| 28th | Senior | 29811 | Scott Dalin | Meghan Sheehan Dalin | 34.0 | 33.0 | 30.0 | 34.0 | 18.0 | 14.0 | 17.0 | 13.0 | 267.0 | 193.0 | ||
| 29th | Junior | 28955 | Matt Hecht | Marianna Shand | 29.0 | 13.0 | 31.0 | 19.0 | 31.0 | 29.0 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 261.0 | 198.0 | ||
| 30th | Master | 29109 | Stuart Robertson | Cassandra Shand | 32.0 | 25.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 33.0 | 28.0 | 297.0 | 222.0 | ||
| 31st | Master | 31256 | Ed Machado | Jon Robertson | 33.0 | 31.0 | 23.0 | 14.0 | 34.0 | 30.0 | 31.0 | 32.0 | 306.0 | 228.0 | ||
| 32nd | Senior | 29646 | Aimee Heim | Julie Servais | 30.0 | 20.0 | 26.0 | 32.0 | 30.0 | 33.0 | 33.0 | 26.0 | 303.0 | 230.0 | ||
| 33rd | Senior | 30262 | John Coolidge | Christian Cyrul | 21.0 | 32.0 | 34.0 | 29.0 | 29.0 | 20.0 | 36.0 | 34.0 | 307.0 | 235.0 | ||
| 34th | Master | 29672 | Albert Pleskus | Molly Pleskus | 34.0 | 33.0 | 37.0 | 32.0 | 35.0 | 27.0 | 20.0 | 22.0 | 315.0 | 240.0 | ||
| 35th | Master | 28470 | Stefan Irgens | Monica Irgens | 30.0 | 34.0 | 33.0 | 37.0 | 34.0 | 31.0 | 25.0 | 24.0 | 327.0 | 248.0 | ||
| 36th | Master | 30336 | Gonzalo Diaz | Patti Bess | 38.0 | 27.0 | 32.0 | 40.0 | 39.0 | 29.0 | 16.0 | 38.0 | 347.0 | 259.0 | ||
| 37th | Master | 30477 | Gene Soltero | Laura Dahl O’Leary | 37.0 | 37.0 | 36.0 | 21.0 | 36.0 | 30.0 | 37.0 | 25.0 | 339.0 | 259.0 | ||
| 38th | Master | 24702 | Jeff Lenhart | Brad Thompson/Becky Lenhart | 27.0 | 35.0 | 24.0 | 23.0 | 28.0 | 44.0 DNC | 44.0 DNC | 44.0 DNC | 357.0 | 269.0 | ||
| 39th | Master | 29702 | Lanny Coon | Katharine Bowman | 31.0 | 38.0 | 39.0 | 26.0 | 31.0 | 26.0 | 35.0 | 44.0 DNC | 358.0 | 270.0 | ||
| 40th | Master | 28472 | Cliff Wright | Kira Wright | 39.0 | 37.0 | 32.0 | 35.0 | 38.0 | 32.0 | 29.0 | 37.0 | 359.0 | 279.0 | ||
| 41st | Master | 29356 | Craig Storms | James Ozaki | 36.0 | 40.0 | 35.0 | 33.0 | 37.0 | 36.0 | 38.0 | 36.0 | 372.0 | 291.0 | ||
| 42nd | Senior | 30510 | Keisha Meyer | Josh Meyer | 42.0 | 43.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 37.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 | 406.0 | 320.0 | ||
| 43rd | Master | 26114 | Dale Bull | Jason Brooks | 42.0 | 42.0 | 42.0 | 39.0 | 41.0 | 39.0 | 41.0 | 40.0 | 413.0 | 326.0 |
Leave a reply
Your email address will not be published. Your comment will be revised by the site if needed.
0 comments