Travis Leads Kuryla at Day One of U.S. Offshore Championship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
jakefish@ussailing.org
401.683.0800 x614
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (September 23, 2011) – Seven top notch teams completed three races on Chesapeake Bay in Navy 44 sloops on Friday at day one of the U.S. Offshore Championship. Skipper Steve Travis (Mercer Island, Wash.) and his crew of seven from the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle took a one point lead over defending champion Bruce Kuryla (Milford, Conn.) of the New York Yacht Club.
The day of racing finished better than predicted, at least as far as wind was concerned. Sixty-three soggy sailors returned to Santee Basin at the US Naval Academy this afternoon after racing in light to medium winds and sporadic rain showers.
Travis won the first race of the day by getting off to a great start and going wire to wire for the win. He followed up with two second place finishes. Kuryla won race two and finished second in race one and third in race three. He picked up an OCS in race three. Kenneth King (Charleston, S.C.) of Charleston Ocean Racing is three points behind Travis after winning the third and final race on Friday.
PRO Bruce Bingman and his Race Committee crew from the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron Volunteer Corps worked to stay ahead of the wind shifts and did an admirable job pulling off three four leg windward leeward races.
Competition continues Saturday and Sunday with the hope to complete seven races including a distance race between 15 and 30 miles in length. The forecast is calling for more of the same for Saturday.
The U.S. Offshore Championship is hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy Sailing Squadron in Annapolis, Md. Each team consists of a crew of nine, including one skipper and seven crew members, plus one U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman provided from the varsity offshore racing team. Teams were invited based on resume. A minimum of five members from each team (including the skipper) must have raced together in at least five regattas.
Seven buoy races are scheduled and a low point scoring system with no drops will be used. Courses are windward leeward with legs approximately 0.8 to 2.5 nautical miles long. The distance race, point to point, will be anywhere from 15 to 30 miles long. Racing is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday (race times are subject to change).
The Lloyd Phoenix Trophy will be engraved with the winning skipper's area and name, and will remain in the Sailing Hall of Fame at the United States Naval Academy. US SAILING medals will be provided to the skippers and crews of the top three teams.
Visit the event website at bit.ly/ussoffshorechamps for daily recaps, standings, results, photo galleries and more. To get up-to-the-minute updates from the Championship, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/ussailing.
The U.S. Offshore Championship is a US SAILING National Championship event sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Gill North America. The Championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit us at
www.ussailing.org
.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing, offshore, one-design and women's events. For more information, please visit us at www.rolex.com.
About Gill North America
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, Ga. is the sole distributor and licensee of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, Central America, US and Canada. Gill is an apparel and accessories leader in the worldwide marine industry for over three decades and specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company tests, designs and markets a variety of performance-oriented, award-winning apparel and accessories for virtually every type of boating activity with product lines that include foul weather gear; interactive layering systems; footwear; gloves; bags; junior gear; scholastic gear and team wear. Available through hundreds of dealers nationally, Gill NA is the sole distributor and licensee of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America, where it is the top selling yachting clothing brand. For more information on Gill NA, visit the company website at http://www.gillna.com/orcontact Lance Jones at Gill NA, (678) 730-5581 / e-mail: lance@gillna.com.