US SAILING’s Chubb U.S. Junior Sailing Championships

Team Hoffmann Wins Third Chubb U.S. Jr. Title; Snow and Jorgensen/Gebb Triumphant on Final Day

August 18, 2010

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (August 18, 2010) – The final US SAILING Youth National Championship of 2010 proved to be a memorable one. Only a few boats separated the top boats in the single and doublehanded fleets, while the triplehanded division was one by a familiar team.

Skipper Scott Hoffmann and his twin brother Evan of the Mission Bay Yacht Club won their third Chubb U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship in four years with a dominant performance this week. Reece Bernett (Southwestern Yacht Club) crewed this year for the Sears Trophy winning team. The triplehanded fleet (Lightnings) raced twice today. Hoffmann finished second and 12th in the final race due to a gear breakdown, with the championship already sealed. They won seven of the 11 races en route to the 14 point victory. The team of Dylan Vogel, Sam Hallowell, and Casey Brown of Sail Newport were awarded the Cox Sportsmanship Award for the triplehanded fleet. Kate Andersen, Nick Dedona, and Daniel Rosic, representing the Sausalito Yacht Club, received the Shipshape Award for taking quality care of their Lightning craft.

“This is the last junior event for us, so we wanted to enjoy it,” said Scott Hoffmann. “It’s pretty cool to win this event three times.”

In the doublehanded fleet (Club 420s), Jack Jorgensen and Samantha Gebb survived a sixth place finish in the first race of the day to win the Bemis Trophy. They rebounded by winning the final two races for the five point win. They won four of the nine races conducted this week. Kate Rakelly and Colleen Hackett of the Mission Bay Yacht Club nipped Alex Curtiss (Chicago Yacht Club) and Katie Hall (Lake Forest Sailing Club) for second place by tiebreaker. Jorgensen had a one point lead over Rakelly and a two point lead over Curtiss heading into the final race. The race committee decided to move the windward mark significantly left for the second rounding in the final race, which made for a close finish. Jorgensen won despite a rough second row start. Curtiss finished just one place ahead of Rakelly, which put them in a tie for second. However, Rakelly won the tie-breaker for sole possession of second. James Schaefer and Jason Raymond of the Cedar Point Yacht Club received the Bemis Sportsmanship Award for the doublehanded fleet.

“We had consistent boat speed, and fortunately we were on the right side when the wind shifted,” explained Jorgensen. “Other teams sailed really well, and any of us could have won.”

In the singlehanded fleet (Lasers), Nevin Snow (San Diego Yacht Club) edged out last year’s doublehanded champion Kieran Chung (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) by four points for the Smythe Trophy. Snow took a one point lead over Chung into today’s racing. His two third place results were good enough to best Chung’s fourth and fifth through three races today. They were both disqualified in race eight, which resulted in a lengthy protest. Snow had failed to keep clear to windward and Chung sailed above the proper course. Ian Beihl (Chicago Yacht Club) won the Bennet Sportsmanship Award for the singlehanded fleet.

"I played it conservative throughout and posted consistent results," said Snow. "I think that helped he gain the advantage today."

On the last day of racing, the breeze looked promising. The wind speed ranged from 13 to 15 knots for race one, but quickly died back down to 5 to 8 knots for the rest of the day. The swell also dropped, but racers were forced to manage the difficult chop as the wind decreased. However, kelp turned out to be one of the biggest challenges. 

Sailors between the ages of 13 and 18 qualified to represent their region through ladder event eliminations held among more than 1,000 yacht clubs and 150 community sailing programs across country. Competition is just a part of the experience associated with this great series. Clinics were held last weekend for each fleet, including the Gill College Night seminar on Sunday, featuring Frank Ustach, US SAILING’s Junior National Coach; Scott Ikle, head coach at Hobart and William Smith Colleges; and Mitch Brindley, head coach at Old Dominion University.

The Chubb U.S. Junior Sailing Championships were hosted by the San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs and sponsored by Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Gill North America, LaserPerformance, and Hobie Sunglasses.