Sailors Rise to the Occasion on Final Day at U.S. Youth Sailing Championship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
401.683.0800 x614
jakefish@ussailing.org 
NEWPORT, R.I. (August 18, 2011) – Thursday was the final of four days of racing on Narragansett Bay at the 2011 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship in Newport, R.I. This US SAILING National Championship regatta consists of top young sailors from around the country in four classes, including the Club 420, Laser, Laser Radial and 29er. The four leading skippers after Wednesday held on to their respective leads to win this elite championship. Lily Katz (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Fiona Walsh (Rye, N.Y.) won the 36-team Club 420 fleet; Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, won the 23-boat Laser Radial fleet; Olin Paine (San Diego, Calif.) won the 18-boat Laser fleet; and Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Conner Kelter (Newport Beach, Calif.) took the 10-team 29er fleet.
Club 420 Fleet Recap
Katz and Walsh began distancing themselves from the fleet beginning with race six of the Championship. Through 11 races total they won two and finished second twice. They never finished worse than 10th. Today they were third and sixth in the two races and won by a 15 point margin. Axel Sly (Weston, Fla.) and J.P. Silvestri (Stuart, Fla.) finished second and had a big day on the water. They posted second and first place results today. Hear what Katz and Walsh had to say about their impressive win in the 36-team fleet.
Laser Radial Fleet Recap
Reineke a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, proved to be too much for the 23-boat Laser Radial fleet. After a seventh place finish in the first race of the regatta on Monday, she never finished worse than fifth. Reineke was remarkably consistent throughout. She sealed the win by bulleting the first race of the day and she added a second place in the 10th and final race of the Championship. Juan Perdomo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) finished second overall and nine points back. Earlier this year, Reineke won the girl’s division at the 2011 Laser Radial Youth World Championship. He was fifth and first today. She finished eighth in last year’s event. Hear what Reineke had to say about her winning performance.
Laser Fleet Recap
The Lasers also fit in two more races today and 10 for the Championship. Paine was fifth and fourth today and won the 18-boat fleet by an eight point margin over Greg Martinez (Houston, Texas), a US Sailing Development Team member. Paine won a pair of races and finished second twice. He finished fifth in last year’s event. Hear what Paine had to say about his win this week.
29er Fleet Recap
Henken and Kelter were dominant throughout the Championship and finished as strong as they could by winning the last two of the four races conducted on Thursday. Henken and Kelter won by an 18-point margin over the second place team of Jack Jorgenson (Pasadena, Calif.) and crew A. Tucker Atterbury (Santa Barbara, Calif.). Over 15 races, Henken and Kelter posted five bullets and three second place finishes. They finished fifth in last year’s fleet and are members of the US Sailing Development Team. Hear what Henken and Kelter had to say about their outstanding Championship.
Sailors raced in winds that ranged from 10 to 15 knots and sunny skies with temperatures in the 80s.
Visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth/US_Youth_Champs.htm for daily recaps, standings, results, videos, photo galleries and more. To get up-to-the-minute updates from the championship, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
The U.S. Youth Sailing Championship is hosted by Sail Newport, Ida Lewis Yacht Club and New York Yacht Club. US SAILING’s U.S. Youth Sailing Championships is sponsored by Sperry Top-Sider, LaserPerformance, Gill North America and SWITLIK Survival Products. The Championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.
Championship Notes
• The David M. Perry Perpetual Sportsmanship Trophy was awarded to Korbin Kirk (Long Beach, Calif.) and Ryan Davidson (Costa Mesa, Calif.) of the Club 420s, Patrick Snow (San Diego, Calif.) and Storm Brown (San Diego, Calif.) of the 29ers, Stephen Long (Santa Barbara, Calif.) of the Lasers and O.J. O’Connell (Niantic, Conn.) of the Laser Radials.
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
www.ussailing.org
.
About Sperry Top-Sider
Since 1935, Sperry Top-Sider has been the leading brand of footwear for those with a Passion for the Sea. From its introduction of the world’s first siped rubber outsole for non-marking traction, to advanced technical fabrication to combat the elements, Sperry Top-Sider remains the vanguard of high-performance amphibious footwear. Available through independent, marine, outdoor and department stores, Sperry Top-Sider is the official footwear of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regattas, Key West Race Week, the Salt Water Sportsman seminar series and the National Safe Boating Council. Based in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, Sperry Top-Sider is a division of The Stride Rite Corporation, a subsidiary of Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE:PSS). For more information, please visit www.sperrytopsider.com.
About LaserPerformance
LaserPerformance is a global company formed from a merger between Vanguard Sailboats and Performance Sail craft Europe. LaserPerformance is the world’s largest supplier of recreational and high performance sailboats. LaserPerformance products include the Sunfish and the Olympic class Laser, two of the most recognized brands in the sailing world. LaserPerformance has offices in Portsmouth RI (US), Long Bucky (UK), Melbourne (AU), Middle East (UAE), and Hong Kong. For more information on LaserPerformance, call 401-683-0960 or visit their website at www.laserperformance.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/contactLance Jones at Gill NA, (678) 730-5581 / e-mail: lance@gillna.com.
About SWITLIK Survival Products
SWITLIK is proud to be a sponsor of the U.S. Youth and Junior Sailing Championships, the pinnacle of performance dinghy sailing for America’s young adults. These fine young sailors exhibit the same type of drive, performance and perseverance that goes into every SWITLIK product.
Established in 1920, SWITLIK has been family owned and operated for four generations. Known worldwide as a manufacturer of the highest quality personnel safety and survival products for the marine, aviation and military/government markets, SWITLIK products are designed and manufactured in the USA to meet the toughest performance standards. From the world's finest race marks to the most trusted survival equipment and technical protective clothing, SWITLIK products are defined by Quality, Performance and Innovation, every day, in all we do. SWITLIK - Simply the best for over 90 years. For more information, please visit www.SWITLIK.com.