Rocky Mountain Championship

Longmont, CO, USA, September 22-23, 2018

(Photo courtesy of Dirk Richter)

Report by Marcus Ward

The Snipe Rocky Mountain Championship was sailed last weekend in some of the best conditions Colorado has to offer by 22 boats.

The 736 acre Union Reservior in Longmont was home to the event. Winds were 8-12 both days, sunny, with perfect weather. Sailors local to the lake marveled at the conditions because we rarely have wind that steady, and never 2 days in a row!

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The racing started out with local untouchable Doug McKnight and his wife Rosemary taking first in the first race. Not to be outdone Gene Soltero with crew Laura Dahl O’Leary answering in kind in the second race. Up and coming expert Snipe sailor Ryan Schubert with crew Alanna Fernandez took the third race win leaving it wide open for anyone. Fourth race went back to Doug McKnight and the fifth to Gene who must have been feeling the pressure at that point. The racing was very tight and it felt like a different group was leading at each mark. Union typically has difficult conditions with patchy wind and strange shifts. While this weekend’s wind was steadier than usual it still paid off to keep an eye on the water for areas with more pressure. The first day ended with Gene Soltero in first by 9 points and second tied between Doug McKnight and Robert Pincus with crew Sonya Ropek. Robert is an incredibly consistent sailor and while he wasn’t getting first place, his sailing was solid with no finish lower than 6th.

The second day started out with similar conditions with Doug McKnight taking the first race. Gene Soltero took first in the next race. The third race was a tight contest at the front but Martin Bebb and Sheehan Comette turned in an outstanding effort to take first. Martin had been doing well during the regatta with two second places finishes.

At the end of the day, nobody could beat the solid sailing by Gene Soltero and Laura Dahl O’Leary and they took the overall win for the second year in a row. Second place went to Robert Pincus and Sonya Ropek with their consistent sailing. This regatta has no throwouts so it pays to sail well consistently which Robert and Sonya did. Third went to Doug McKnight and Rosemary McKnight. Ryan Schubert and Alanna Fernandez took fourth with Martin Bebb and Sheehan Commette taking 5th.

Big thanks to our Race Committee Curtis Rist, Nina Norman, Dirk and Yaga Richter, and Sandy Butterfield for bringing the wind and really consistent courses. Also a huge thanks to Amanda Kremer for her work organizing the regatta. It wouldn’t happen without her.

Photos and videos can be found at these links:

Final Results