2017 SAP 5O5 World Championship at Annapolis, USA

2017 SAP 5O5 World Championship at Annapolis, USA - Day 4

by Bryan Richardson 29 Sep 2017 09:53 BST 20-29 September 2017

Organizers of the 2017 SAP 5O5 World Championship said from the outset that versatility would prove crucial to winning. That is because Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay figured to deliver a wide range of wind conditions over the course of a week.

Mike Holt and Carl Smit proved to be the best all-around team, which was a surprise even to them. Holt and Smit clinched the championship with one race to spare thaks to a dominant performance on the fourth day of the competition.

Heavy breeze came to the Chesapeake on Thursday and the Holt-Smit tandem sailed superbly – posting an impressive score line of 3-1-3. They were able to throw out a 15th absorbed in Race 3 and mathematically secured the title as a result.

"It's amazing, just amazing. We didn't really know for sure until we came ashore. We kept running the numbers and thinking we won, but we weren't positive until we actually looked at the scoreboard," Holt said. "It's fantastic, especially here in Annapolis. This is not a venue at which we thought we could possibly win."

Mike Holt and Carl Smit win the 2017 SAP 5O5 Worlds at Annapolis - photo © Bill Wagner

This is the second SAP 5O5 World Championship for Holt and Smit, who captured their first together in 2015 off Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They have developed a reputation as heavy air specialists who did not perform well in light to moderate conditions.

"It does make us proud, because we've always been considered heavy air sailors. To come here to Annapolis and be able to win a world championship held in a range of conditions is just brilliant," said Holt, a Santa Cruz, California resident who owns a software integration firm.

Holt-Smit placed second in Race 1 in moderate wind (10-11 knots) on Sunday then won Race 2 in relatively lighter air (7-10 knots) on Tuesday. Holt was asked why the IO Integration team fared better in those types of conditions.

"I lost a bunch of weight," Holt said. "Carl was supposed to, but he failed on that mission so I did it all by myself. Actually, today Carl's weight was good. I certainly wasn't going to complain about it today."

Smit mentioned that he and Holt have worked to improve their performance in light to moderate air, traveling to Europe to compete against 505 teams that are strong in those conditions.

"We knew this was going to be a really tough venue because light air is generally not our favourite. That being said, we knew we had to get better in the light stuff to have any chance here," said Smit, a member of co-host Eastport Yacht Club. "We felt good going into today because we put some decent results on the board in the lighter conditions. It was tough sailing today as well because there were still some big shifts, some big puffs. We're just so psyched to win this championship. It's just a great feeling of accomplishment."

2017 SAP 5O5 Worlds at Annapolis - photo © Bill Wagner

This is the third SAP 5O5 World Championship for Holt, who won in 2014 with Rob Woelfel as crew. Considering the caliber of competition in Annapolis, the British native never imagined clinching the regatta with one day of sailing remaining.

"That's just crazy, completely crazy. Our goal going into the week was to simply have a chance on the final day," Holt said. "Those last days are always scary, so to avoid having to worry about the last day is just fantastic."

All the heavy air specialists were thrilled to wake up on Thursday morning and hear the forecast for 15-20 knot winds. That proved accurate, although significant shifts and large holes tested the 87-boat fleet.

Defending world champions Mike Martin and Adam Lowry had their best day of the regatta with results of 2-6-1. Martin and Lowry showed off their heavy air chops with tremendous boat speed and almost flawless manoeuvrers.

"Super tough, super tricky conditions because there was sort of two breezes, one coming out of the river and one coming down the bay," Martin said. "It was up and down, back and forth – just really challenging. So we're pretty happy with our finishes today."

2017 SAP 5O5 Worlds at Annapolis - photo © Bill Wagner

Martin and Lowry, who list Mill Valley, California as home port and are St. Francis Yacht Club members, used a perfect gybe set while rounding the first windward mark to take the lead in the opening race on Thursday. They led until the seventh and final leg, but fell into a hole and were passed by the German team comprised of Kai Bertallot and Jan Reifferscheidt.

"On the final run, the Germans gybed before us, caught a big puff and carried down," Martin said. "We were going well and suddenly the wind dropped out on us."

Martin and Lowry would not be denied in Race 7 – getting a great start and stretching out on every leg in winning by 150 meters.

"Adam did a really good job of looking for pressure. We started left because we thought there was pressure there and picked up a nice lefty," Martin said. "We stayed in pressure the whole time and that seemed to work."

2017 SAP 5O5 Worlds at Annapolis - photo © Bill Wagner

Three terrific results jumped Martin-Lowry up to fifth in the overall standings. They struggled in the light stuff on Tuesday, suffering back-to-back results of 21 and 25.

"It's always fun sailing in breeze," Martin said. "It would just be nice to do well in all conditions. If we had sailed better on the lighter days we'd be in better position overall right now. A lot of stuff happened today. We'll look at our scores and figure out our plan for tomorrow."

Bertallot and Reifferscheidt, residents of Kiel, Germany, had a tremendous day on the water – tying Holt and Smit with seven points on the day. As previously mentioned, they passed Martin and Lowery on the final downwind leg to win Race 5 then passed Holt and Smit to place second in Race 7.

To be able to pass two world champions on the same day was pretty cool for us. Just very, very exciting," said Bertallot, the driver.

This is the third SAP 5O5 World Championship for the Germans, who finished 25th in Kiel (2014) and 24th in Weymouth, England (2016). They currently sit in seventh place and are hoping a good result in the eighth and final race on Friday will maintain or improve that position.

"Top 10 would be a really big jump for us," Bertallot said. "We are a bit heavier than many of the other crews so today was our type of conditions. We had very good speed both upwind and downwind and sort of figured out the shifty winds. Sometimes we were lucky to pick up some favourable shifts."

2017 SAP 5O5 Worlds at Annapolis - photo © Bill Wagner

Andy Smith and Roger Gilbert led the regatta going into Thursday's action and were still right there after posting a fifth and a third to start off. However, a 15th in Race 7 proved costly and forced the British team to keep the 10th it took in Race 1.

"I think we just have to keep sailing the way we have been and hope for the best," Smith said when asked about securing runner-up status.

Principal race officer Sandy Grosvenor will hold just one race on Friday and there figures to be further shuffling of the standings since a second throwout will come into play with the completion of an eighth race.

Results after Day 4:

Pos	Sail No	Noat Name	Helm / Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Pts
1	USA 9072	IO Integration	Mike Holt / Carl Smit	2	1	15	5	3	1	3	15
2	GBR 9088	Gill Race Team	Andy Smith / Roger Gilbert	10	3	6	2	5	3	15	29
3	USA 9091	Its Big Its White	Edward Conrads / Brian Haines	9	6	7	1	4	20	6	33
4	GBR 9190	P and B Race Team	Ian Pinnell / Dave Shelton	4	4	8	21	10	7	5	38
5	USA 9106	Mike's Boat	Mike Martin / Adam Lowry	8	21	25	6	2	6	1	44
6	USA 9173	Team Rooster	Tyler Moore / Rob Woelfel	3	25	27	15	6	2	8	59
7	GER 8929	8929	Kai Bertallot / Jan Reifferscheidt	15	9	35	29	1	4	2	60
8	USA 9003	Toxic Asset	Jesse Falsone / Chris Behm	17	16	3	8	DNF	16	12	72
9	USA 9160	Frozen Banana	Howard Hamlin / Andy Zinn	1	5	4	41	8	18	DNF	77
10	USA 8995	blue boat	Kevin Taugher / Reeve Dunn	5	20	19	10	11	DNF	16	81
11	USA 8970	Bessy	Christopher Segerblom / Eric Anderson	29	8	23	25	14	8	7	85
12	GBR 9180	Ovington Boats	Nathan Batchelor / Norman Byrd	23	2	11	4	27	32	20	87
13	FRA 9175	505	Philippe Boite / Florian Corbel	11	18	30	7	13	19	19	87
14	USA 9102	SUP	Douglas Hagan / Shane Illidge	6	7	9	9	38	27	33	91
15	GER 9043	Bikini Atoll	Angela Stenger / Skipper: Nikola Birkner	19	10	1	14	20	DNF	28	92
16	USA 9007	License to Kill	Matthew Barry / Thomas Barrows	22	12	18	19	24	17	4	92
17	USA 8715	Pressure Drop	Ethan Bixby / Parry Barclay	18	19	2	22	36	5	27	93
18	USA 8681	Park Miller LLC	Stuart Park / Ryan Cox	7	31	41	27	9	13	9	96
19	GER 9169	compensation‑partner.de	Tim Boeger / Finn Boeger	14	11	38	55	7	25	11	106
20	AUS 9167	Soaked	Nigel Lott / Bob Franks	24	14	31	17	23	10	23	111
21	USA 8830	NESS	Drew Buttner / Mark Zagol	21	36	47	3	18	26	13	117
22	USA 9095	Highway 95 Revisited	Macy Nelson / Russell Miller	32	62	29	12	15	24	17	129
23	GBR 9178	bottle of red bottle of white	chris lewns / Jarrod Simpson	30	45	40	20	21	9	14	134
24	GER 9146	Magic Marine	Jens Findel / Johannes Tellen	46	43	12	DSQ	17	12	10	140
25	AUS 9191	Swear jar	Malcolm Higgins / Marcus Cooper	16	24	26	37	31	23	24	144
26	USA 9005	USA 9005	Gordon Russell / Martin Goult	44	35	13	18	56	11	26	147
27	GBR 9179	The Mechanic	Tudor Owen / Thomas Bruton	41	27	55	13	30	22	18	151
28	USA 8913	USA8913	Dan Herlihy / Austin Powers	12	26	17	31	48	62	22	156
29	USA 909	IBIYCYHI	A.J. Conrads / Richard Mundell	20	28	43	39	16	34	21	158
30	AUS 9110	OCCY 2	Mark Stowell / Adam Brenz‑Verca	28	50	24	16	28	31	34	161
31	USA 8831	Big Red Dog	Kerry Poe / Paul VonGrey	13	42	33	60	12	33	30	163
32	AUS 9028	Earle Grey	Earle Alexander / Ian Gregg	25	22	34	36	25	29	32	167
33	IRL 8987	Lookadatla	Peter Scannell / John Dunlea	33	49	45	24	29	14	29	174
34	USA 8851	USA 8851	Ted Huebner / Mike Komar	27	47	22	26	35	35	35	180
35	FRA 9150	KE ATAO IV	Herve de Kergariou / Guillaume de Kergariou	50	17	20	11	46	54	43	187
36	AUS 9134	Boaty McBoatface	Curtis Hartmann / Michael Quirk	39	34	50	DSQ	26	15	36	200
37	CAN 7200	More Desperate Measures	Jeff Boyd / Rachael Boyd	60	33	14	30	42	51	38	208
38	USA 904	904	Benton Amthor / Doug Amthor	31	DSQ	16	33	52	38	42	212
39	USA 9041	Bench Mark	Henry Amthor / Dustin Romey	26	71	52	40	34	21	41	214
40	USA 9172	Tamaki	Paul Scoffin / Brendan Heussler	49	44	37	42	22	36	37	218
41	USA 8631	FB Incognito	Tom Crawford / Pierre Jeangirard	55	15	73	32	32	43	50	227
42	USA 8814	Sojourner	Lin Robson / Matthew Gardiner	57	32	5	44	51	72	46	235
43	AUS 9115	SailingBits.com	Dean Souter / Brad Clarke	54	13	21	34	DNF	DNF	31	242
44	USA 8850	Dr. Crash	Doug Watson / Gabriel Watson	64	48	10	38	50	41	DNC	251
45	USA 8841	Swagman	Michael Coe / Ali Meller	35	29	28	35	40	DNF	DNC	256
46	AUS 8877	LEE Sails	Amy Lee / Justin Mulkearns	65	41	42	49	33	53	49	267
47	DEN 9079	Little Bluenose	Jesper Bülow / Søren Asboe Jørgensen	47	40	DNS	DNC	37	28	40	279
48	USA 9183	No Retreat	Dylan Breton / Matthew Breton	43	72	49	53	19	71	45	280
49	USA 8883	Jane's Addiction	Kelsey Averill / Michael Renda	42	57	66	43	43	47	48	280
50	USA 8616	Miami Vice	mike powell / Lee Laney	53	68	61	45	41	39	44	283
51	FIN 8768	Giiamari	Petri Ebeling / Antti Salonen	40	56	39	66	49	36	DNC	286
52	USA 7359	Hatoup	Catherine Guiader / Christopher Brady	48	30	53	28	DNF	70	62	291
53	GBR 9125	Rock Beat	Roger Deane / Nigel Deane	73	70	57	63	59	30	25	304
54	USA 9116	The Great Pumpkin	Katherine Long / Dan Ginther	38	38	67	58	54	68	58	313
55	GER 8988	Larissa	Georg Mittermayer / Dirk Barteldt	82	23	74	79	55	37	47	315
56	POL 9132	White Wood Sailing Team	Przemek Zagorski / Michal Olko	34	DSQ	69	47	71	42	52	315
57	USA 8930	Blondage	Duane Delfosse / Sol Marini	62	52	58	71	39	DSQ	39	321
58	USA 8952	FIG JAM	Jake Spracher / Jay Smith	SCP	54	36	48	DNF	49	65	323
59	GBR 9126	Serendipity	Stuart Turnbull / Andy Forman	56	51	56	73	47	69	54	333
60	AUS 8968	Devils Haircut	matt Hansen / Crazy John McLean	81	61	59	68	44	48	57	337
61	CAN 8600	Mystery	Marie Gendron / David Brown	58	76	32	70	62	60	56	338
62	USA 910	Schneller	Kaila Pfrang / Anna Patterson	68	59	76	23	73	67	55	345
63	USA 8937	8937	Tim Murphy / Matt Merchant	51	67	71	64	61	46	61	350
64	BER 9176	Yabsta	Gary Taylor / Brett Wright	59	53	46	59	SCP	64	71	351
65	USA 8194	8194	Clark Hayes / Clayton James	36	75	64	69	65	63	59	356
66	USA 7606	Battleship	Brendan Connell / Steve Lovshin	52	37	DNF	50	DNF	44	DNC	357
67	CAN 9138	505	Marek Balinski / Barney Harris	75	64	63	65	53	40	DNF	360
68	USA 8081	Poly Styrene	Michael Parramore / Marco Giraldi	66	58	44	75	68	59	69	364
69	USA 8439	Yes Dear!	Anne Fitzpatrick / Christian Pittack	37	DNE	60	77	45	58	DNF	366
70	USA 8838	Team Trouble	Sterling Spruill / Steve Taylor	70	74	79	67	63	45	53	372
71	FRA 9086	FRA 9086	Neidhart Elisabeth / David De Monteil	45	55	51	46	DNC	DNC	DNC	375
72	AUS 9018	Eighteen	Brett Bowden / Arielle Darrow	69	65	80	54	64	61	63	376
73	GBR 9131	Ultravires	Jim McGillivray / Ian Wilson	72	63	65	76	69	57	51	377
74	AUS 9071	Red Baron	Richard Hyde / Lindsay Hyde	63	73	72	74	60	50	60	378
75	USA 8819	Noch Schneller	Christopher Pfrang / Eric Schwab	71	46	77	52	DNF	52	DNF	387
76	CAN 8260	Red Rocket	Shona Moss Lovshin / Devlin Lovshin	79	60	54	61	57	DNF	DNC	400
77	CAN 8368	Send it!	Paul Place / Nicolas Tosi	77	69	78	56	70	66	66	404
78	USA 8919	Safety Word	Bryan Richardson / Ashley Love	DNF	39	48	51	DNF	DNF	DNF	405
79	USA 8766	The Shocker	Ian Conners / Jimmie Cockerill	61	79	68	72	DNF	55	72	407
80	CAN 8755	Kryptonite	Brian Trainor / Mike Poulos	78	77	81	81	58	56	68	418
81	JPN 6999	Applesap	Shiro Noguchi / Takao Fijita	76	66	DSQ	62	67	DNF	64	424
82	USA 8822	Wicked Pissa	David Burchfiel / Bob Williams	84	82	62	80	DNC	65	67	440
83	GBR 8435	505	Patrick Mcgale / langdon junge	74	80	70	57	TLE	DNF	DNC	445
84	USA 7197	Matilda	David Neal	80	81	82	78	TLE	DNF	73	469
85	USA 8244	Hodor	Paul Andron / Chris Drury	86	84	84	84	DNF	73	70	481
86	AUS 8738	A Salt Weapon	John Macarthur‑King / Sarah Macarthur‑King	85	78	75	82	72	DNF	DNC	481
87	USA 7148	Covfefe	Eric Konieczynski / Kyra Tallon	83	83	83	83	DNC	DNC	DNC	510