Great Day of Racing on Galveston Bay at the U.S. Team Racing Championship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

SHOREACRES, Texas (September 30, 2011) – Ninety sailors and 15 talented teams settled on Galveston Bay today in Vanguard 15s for the first of three days of racing at the 2011 U.S. Team Racing Championship for the George R. Hinman Trophy. Friday marked the start of the stage one, a Single Round Robin. The U.S. Team Racing Championship is hosted by the Houston Yacht Club.

A total of 51 races out of the 105 scheduled in the Single Round Robin stage were completed on Friday. Not all teams raced an equal amount of races. The top six teams from the Single Round Robin qualify for the Championship Stage, which is a Double Round Robin, featuring 30 races. Teams finishing 7th through 15th will compete in the Consolation Stage, another Single Round Robin. The plan for Saturday is to complete this round in the morning and start the Championship stage in the afternoon.

Three teams completed 11 races, including Minor Threat who went 8-3 and Team Trouble finished the day 7-4. This is Minor Threat’s first attempt at claiming the Hinman Trophy. All six members of Minor Threat have been an ICSA (Intercollegiate Sailing Association) All-American at least once. New York Yacht Club Team Extreme also had a good day by going 6-2. They won this Championship in 2009.

Wind speed ranged from 10 to 18 knots for most of the day coming from the northwest. Breeze lightened by the afternoon clocking from the southeast. The forecast for Saturday is similar to Friday’s conditions - easterly winds at 10 to 15 knots.

Skipper Matt Duggan of Who Dat had this to say about the competition, “There are some very talented teams here competing. This is the best team racing championship of the year.”

The U.S. Team Racing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., LaserPerformance, Gill North America and Old Pultney Single Malt Whiskey. Please visit the event website at http://bit.ly/ustrc11 for results, standings, daily reports, photo galleries, videos and more. Also, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/ussailing and for regular updates from Houston. The Championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.

Read the 2011 U.S. Team Racing Championship preview. For an inside look at the event, read the US SAILING Blog, featuring Kelly Stannard of Minor Threat.

Championship Notes:
• Each competing team consists of three skippers and three crews.
• Racing will be conducted on upper Galveston Bay, southeast of Houston, Texas.
• The intended course is a digital “N”.
• US SAILING medals for permanent possession will be awarded to the top three placing teams.
• The winning team will receive the George R. Hinman Trophy, which they will have appropriately engraved and may hold until 60 days prior to the following year championship.