2011 U.S. Singlehanded Championship Day Two Recap

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

CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. (July 23, 2011) – In a significant contrast to Friday's outstanding sailing conditions on the Columbia River Gorge, insufficient breezes on Saturday forced a five-hour postponement to the start of racing at the 2011 U.S. Singlehanded Championship, hosted by the Columbia Gorge Racing Association. Racing began for the men's and women's fleets at 4:00 p.m. PT, when the shifty winds increased to 6 to 9 knots from the west. Both fleets managed to sneak in three races.

Frederick Vranizan (Shoreline, Wash. / Seattle YC) picked up where he left off from Friday and continued his dominance. Vranizan excelled in the light breezes today and won the first two races. He ended the day's third race by finishing fifth. He improved on his nine point lead from Friday to take a resounding 14 point lead in the Laser fleet. Once again, Vranizan was impressive with his clean starts. He is followed by Michael Karas (Kirkland, Wash. / Seattle YC) who won race seven. Vranizan raced on the St. Mary's College of Maryland sailing team and has been campaigning for the Olympics in the Laser since graduating.

The leaderboard in the women's Laser Radial fleet was shaken up on Saturday several times. Christine Neville's (Oakland, Calif. / ILCA) six point lead after Friday's four races evaporated after race five. Sky Adams (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Barbara YC) gained a tie for the lead when she finished third in race five and Neville was ninth. She took a four point lead over Neville after posting another third place finish in race six. However, Adams took a hit when she finished 17th out of 18 in race seven to drop behind leader Hanne Weaver (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Seattle YC) by eight points. Weaver has had top four finishes in six of the seven races. Today she posted another consistent scoring line, 4-4-3. She leads by four over Neville and Callie Naughton (Marblehead, Mass. / Eastern YC). Weaver finished sixth out of 57 at the 2011 U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship in June.

The final day of racing at the Championship begins Sunday at 9:00 a.m. (racing times subject to change). Three races are scheduled for both fleets. The forecast predicts 10 to 15 knots.

For more details on the U.S. Singlehanded Championships, including a list of competitors, results, standings, recaps, photos, Notice of Race, Preliminary Sailing Instructions, history and more, please visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USSinglehandedChampionship.htm.

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The U.S. Singlehanded Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., LaserPerformance, Gill North America and Hobie Polarized. The Championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.

Championship Notes
The U.S. Singlehanded Championship is a US SAILING qualification and select invitation event... Last year marked the first-ever women’s division for the U.S. Singlehanded Championship… A maximum of 12 races are scheduled… Competitors took part in Rolex Clinics on Thursday, July 21… US SAILING Medals will be awarded to the top three in each division… The winning skipper of the Men’s Division will have his name engraved on the George O’Day Trophy.