Olympic class fleets set to compete in second annual San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta
by Casey Allocco 7 Aug 15:54 BST
7-8 September 2019
2018 San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta © Cynthia Sinclair
Nine fleets have been invited back to San Diego for the 2nd annual San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta (SDOCR) on September 7-8, 2019. With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games in sight, the San Diego Yacht Club introduced this new event in 2018 to provide a venue for sailors to train and compete in international, high-performance classes. The regatta will include two courses in Coronado Roads, allowing for national level management and competition.
Invited Fleets: 29er; 49er; Finn; I420; Laser; Laser Radial; Nacra 15; Star; Snipe.
Winners from the inaugural event in 2018 included Eric Anderson (Finns), Ian and Noah Nyenhuis (29ers), Justin Lim and Patrick Mulcahy (I420s), Christopher Barnard (Lasers), Gavin Malcolm McJones (Laser Radials), and Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke (Snipes).
Sailors of all ages came out to participate in the exciting new regatta. Among some of the younger competitors were SDYC's Ian (12) and Noah (14) Nyenhuis sailing in the 29er fleet. "I love the SDOCR because it's another chance to bring together all of the sailors in Southern California to race at some of the highest levels. It helps to improve the Southern California fleet so we can race nationally, hopefully giving us more chances to advance into Olympic class boats. My goal for the future is to go to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics with my brother, Ian," explained Noah.
In addition to the SDOCR, the Snipe Fleet will be doubling the regatta as their Snipe North American Championship. The Snipe North American Championship will begin one day prior to the SDOCR event, on Friday, September 6, 2019. Please see the Notice of Race for the Snipe event here.
Prior to the regatta, SDYC is hosting a weekend clinic from Friday, August 23, 2019 to Sunday, August 25, 2019 to help youth sailors prepare for the SDOCR. The Pre-SDOCR clinic will feature many coaches including JJ Fetter (1992 Women's 470 - Bronze, 2000 - Silver), Giselle Camet Nyenhuis (1992 Olympic competitor), Nevin Snow (currently campaigning in the 49er fleet for 2020 Tokyo Olympics), and Dane Wilson (campaigning with Snow).
JJ Fetter speaks on the importance of the skills that the sailors are learning. "The high-performance, double-handed boats that are included in SDOCR as the Olympic Development classes (i420, 29er, Nacra15) teach skills like how and why to adjust sail shape, apparent wind sailing, advanced spinnaker and trapeze techniques, how to prep a boat for racing, etc. In my opinion, these are essential skills that our top juniors should learn in order to become life-long sailors and be able to race everything and anything from an Etchells to an i14 to Pac52s to even Olympic boats if they are so inclined," she stated.
San Diego's history of Olympic sailing achievement will hopefully inspire sailors to participate and perhaps reach for the pinnacle of success in the sport of sailing. Competitors in the invited classes that feed into the Olympic path and current competitors in the classes are encouraged to attend.
SDOCR onsite registration and check-in for competitors will be held on Friday, September 6, 2019 between 0900-1200 and 1300-1700 and on Saturday between 0830-0930 at the San Diego Yacht Club. After check-in on Friday, at 1800, there will be a welcome reception and competitors meeting on the Sail Wash Lawn. Races will begin at 1200 on both Saturday and Sunday. The awards ceremony featuring the Lowell North perpetual trophy will be held at the SDYC Pavilion on Sunday following the close of the protest deadline.
To find out more or register for the regatta, please visit www.sdyc.org/sdocr.