U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships at Galveston, Texas

U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships © US Sailing

U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships © US Sailing

The 2014 U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships wrapped-up on Saturday under challenging conditions. The singlehanded 2.4 mR and triplehanded Sonar divisions completed two more races after a postponement on the final morning. Offats Bayou featured white caps and strong breezes at 18 to 26 knots.

As expected, the 2.4 mR fleet came down to the wire. Three-time U.S. Disabled Singlehanded Champion Charles Rosenfield (Woodstock, Conn.) had a one point lead over Daniel Evans (Miami, Fla.) through eight races going into Saturday. Evans won his third consecutive race and fifth overall for the championship in Race 9. His fourth place finish in Race 10 was discarded, and despite finishing in a tie for points at 16 with Rosenfield, Evans won the tiebreaker to claim the U.S. Disabled Singlehanded Championship for the Judd Goldman Trophy.

Closing out a fantastic week in Galveston was the team of Steven Hammer (Riverview, Fla.), Kathy Champion (Gulfport, Fla.), and Brian Bohne (Boulder, Colo.). They won the U.S. Disabled Triplehanded Championship for the Gene Hinkel Trophy by 12 points in a strong Sonar division. They won 6 of 10 races this week.

Quotes:

Nathan Deneault (Lakeland, Fla.) - "Our team started off a little slow and then we began to gel and got in the groove. It wasn't about winning or losing for us, it was about the camaraderie and fellowship instilled in us by participating in this event. Thanks CWVC (Combat Wounded Veterans Challenge) and SSBG (Sea Scout Base Galveston)."

Daniel Evans - "It was a really close finish at the end. Conditions were extremely shifty and we had to be technical out there. A little bit of luck out there too."

Overall Results:

U.S. Disabled Singlehanded Championship, 2.4mR
1. Daniel Evans, 1-2-3-3-1-3-1-1-1-[4]-; 16T
2. Charles Rosenfield, 2-1-1-1-[3]-2-2-2-2-3-; 16T
3. Timothy Ripley, [3]-3-2-2-2-1-3-3-3-1-; 20
4. Kevin Holmberg, [5]-4-5-5-5-4-4-5-5-2-; 39T
5. Audrey Kobayashi, 4-5-4-4-4-5-[6/RET]-4-4-5-; 39T

U.S. Disabled Triplehanded Championship, Sonars - A Fleet (top 5)
1. Steven Hammer/Kathy Champion/Brian Bohne, 1-2-1-1-1-1-1-1/RDG-2-[8/DNS]-; 11
2. Dylan Young/Christopher Childers/John Wallace, 2-3-3-2-2-[4]-2-4-3-2-; 23
3. Sarah Everhart-Skeels/Cindy Walker/Hugh Freund, [4]-1-2-3-4-2-4-3-4-3-; 26
4. Gary Pierce/Patrick LoDuca/Charles McClure, 5-5-[8/RET]-4-5-3-5-2-1/RDG-1-; 31
5. Chris Livesay/Scott Ford/Sammy Lugo, 7-7-[8/RET]-5-3-5-3-1-3/RDG-4-; 38

Sonars - B Fleet
1. Nathan Deneault/Brian Dean/Ryan Moore, 1-2/RDG-2-1-1-1-[6/DNF]-1-; 9
2. JR Hudson/Brian Miller/Eric Von Culbertson, 2-1-1-2-[3]-2-1-2-; 11
3. Arbie Parnell/Edward LeRoy/Ken Patterson, [5]-2-3-4-4-3-3-3-; 22
4. Peter Cabral/Chris Doggett/Anthony Webster, 3-3-4-[5]-5-4-2-4-; 25
5. David Wear/Arthur Montross/David Whitely, Austin, TX, 4-4-[5]-3-2-5-4-5-; 2

To increase participation and drive more awareness to the opportunities in adaptive sailing, US Sailing incorporated a new development regatta earlier this week. These participants were also encouraged to race in the championship if they wish. US Sailing's Paralympic Coach Betsy Alison also conducted a clinic in conjunction with this event.

This US Sailing National Championship is one of the oldest sailing regattas in the U.S. for sailors with disabilities. The talented field included Paralympians, US Sailing Sperry Top-Sider members, and new contenders. This year's championship consisted of a Sonar and 2.4 mR fleet, all of which are adapted for disabled sailing.There is also a Sonar B-fleet.

First established in 1986, the U.S. Independence Cup became US Sailing's National Championship for sailors with disabilities in 1989. In 2007, the regatta moved under the championships division of US Sailing and was renamed the U.S. Disabled Sailing Championship. Many competitors at the U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships have gone on to represent the United States at the Paralympics Games including Nick Scandone, gold medalist at the 2008 Paralympics, and Jennifer French, silver medalist at the 2012 Paralympics.

For results and standings, photos, Twitter updates, and more information on the 2014 U.S. Disabled Championships, please visit the event website.

The U.S. Disabled Sailing Championship is sponsored by Gill North America and is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certified event.