Hyer and Kleinschrodt Surge in Front at U.S. Men's and Women's Sailing Championships

Contact:
Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
jakefish@ussailing.org
401.683.0800 x614

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (October 8, 2011) - Skippers David M. Hyer and Amy Kleinschrodt took complete control of their respective fleets on Saturday at day two of the 2011 U.S. Men's and Women's Sailing Championships, hosted by the Lake Norman Yacht Club in Mooresville, N.C.

Kleinschrodt (Mobile, Ala.), the 2009 U.S. Women’s Champion, won all five races in the women’s Flying Scot fleet after winning the final race on Friday. She has a nine point lead over Heather Rowe-Ambrose (North Ferrisburgh, Vt.) through eight races. Kleinschrodt sails with Sarah Hall (Mobile, Ala.) and Kara Kimbrell (Tgeodore, Ala.). Hall sailed with Kleinschrodt in 2009 and 2010. Rowe-Ambrose returns both crew from the 2010 team that finished second, including Christina Bronger (South Burlington, Vt.) and Suzy Colburn (South Hero, Vt.). Rowe-Ambrose posted a scoring line of 3-6-2-2-4 today.

Hyer (West Islip, N.Y.), along with his crew and father David A. Hyer (West Islip, N.Y.) and Gregory Schneller (West Islip, N.Y.) also used positive momentum from Friday’s results to take a big lead on Saturday in the men’s Ultimate 20s fleet. After winning the final race on Friday, he won the first three races today and finished with a third and fifth place finish. Hyer leads by 11 points over Charles Quigley (Winthrop, Mass.), Jason Maher (Marblehead, Mass.) and Deidra Colcord (Marblehead, Mass.). Skipper Paul Wilson (New York, N.Y.) was in a tie for the lead after Friday’s three races. He dropped back to third place and trails now by 14.

Moderate and shifty breezes swept through Lake Norman, which forced course changes and shortened races late this afternoon. The men’s fleet has three races scheduled for tomorrow and the women’s fleet has two races to complete. Similar conditions forecasted for Sunday.

The women’s fleet is racing for the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Cup, originated in 1924 and believed to be the first women’s championship ever held in the world. Past winners of the Adams Cup include sailing icons Betsy Alison, Sally Lindsay Honey, Allison Jolly, Timothea Larr, Cory Sertl and Jody Swanson.

The men’s fleet will compete for the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy, founded in 1952. The Mallory Trophy has been won by sailing legends such as Buddy Melges, Jr., Cornelius Shields, John Kolius, Dave Ullman and six-time champion Scott Young.

The U.S. Men’s and Women’s Sailing Championships is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Gill North America. Please visit the event website at http://bit.ly/usmwsc11 for results, standings, daily reports and more. Also, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/ussailing and for regular updates from Mooresville, N.C. The Championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.

Championship Notes:

• Sailors qualified for these national championships through Area Eliminations or by resume.
• The regatta will be conducted using a round-robin format for the Men’s Championship. If possible, each team will race each boat once. The Women competitors will draw a new boat each day and sail that boat for the day. All Flying Scots are new including sails and will be tuned identically.
• Eleven races are scheduled for the men's fleet and 10 races are scheduled for the women's fleet.
• Courses will be Windward-Leeward.
• Racing area will be on Lake Norman in the vicinity of Marker D7.
• There are no throwouts in this championship.

U.S. Women’s Championship:

• 1st place will be awarded the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Cup.
• 2nd place team will be awarded the Mrs. Willis D. Wood Trophy.
• 3rd place team will be awarded the Alexander Gest Trophy.
• The Frances McElwain Wakeman Sportsmanship Award will be awarded to the skipper or crew who best exemplifies sportsmanship both on and off the water.
• US SAILING medals will be awarded to the skippers and crews finishing in the top three positions.
• A Shipshape Award may be presented to the Team with the greatest number of points for neatness and general shipshape condition of borrowed boats.

U.S. Men’s Championship: 

• 1st place team will be awarded the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy and Gold medals.
• US SAILING medals will be awarded to the skippers and crews finishing in the top three positions.
• The Royal Victoria Trophy is awarded for excellence in Seamanship.
• The Staton J. Peele, Jr. Trophy voted upon by the sailors is awarded for Sportsmanship.