2019 San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta at San Diego Yacht Club - Overall
by Casey Allocco 9 Sep 2019 11:10 BST
September 6-8, 2019
2019 San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta © Bob Betancourt
Over 100 sailors in seven Olympic class fleets made their way to San Diego this weekend for the 2nd annual San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta. Skippers and crews of all different skill levels sailed in five races on their designated Pacific Ocean course, besides the Finn and Snipe fleets, who sailed seven races over three days.
The SDOCR was established in 2018 to provide a venue for sailors to train and compete in international, high-performance classes. With an eye towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, this allows many young sailors the opportunity to gain experience in a variety of Olympic class boats.
JJ Fetter, past Olympic medalist, was one of the many that were assisting Chair Susi Graff in making this regatta such a success. Fetter explains how important it is for sailors to gain this type of experience. "Events like this create a path to becoming a life-long sailor. You see these kids learn about preparing their boats, using tools, tuning, adjusting, and developing friendships with sailors in other classes. You never know what spark is going to make someone become passionate about the sport."
The SDOCR regatta kicked off yesterday (Saturday) with a steady breeze averaging 7-9 knots. The Race Committee was able to get in four races. Today, the final day of the regatta, the breeze never came in as forecasted, only allowing one race to be sailed on all courses.
First in fleet for the 29ers goes to Jordan and Grant Janov, brothers who have been sailing together for about a year. The Janov's ended the regatta tied with brother's Ian and Noah Nyenhuis, both with six points. Due to the Nyenhuis' fourth place standing in race three of the series, the Janov brothers were declared the winning team.
Jack Sutter and Charlotte Versavel were able to hold their positions in first for the Nacra 15 fleet. The duo won their last and only race of the day.
I420 team Gray Hemans and Michael Fineman took the win in their fleet today as well, finishing with eight points - one point over Sophia Devling and Alexandria Stauffer. "In the last race, the pressure started to develop a little more to the left, so that's where we went. We were able to gain and make space between the other boats, staying in third for the rest of the race," explained Hemans. Hemans' and Fineman's goal is to win the Triple Crown Series this year.
Dave Leuck, sailing in the Laser fleet, also came in first. "Today was pretty light and shifty. On the first beat the left paid, second beat the right paid. We tried to just manage the fleet and ended up getting a second today. Our fleet only had one junior show up. I love when the juniors show up because they always give you something to learn. This weekend was mostly master sailors," Leuck stated.
Erik Hou won first place in the Laser Radial fleet with three bullets on the score sheet for the weekend. "Staying with the fleet was definitely a priority for me, making sure that I was with the majority of the top and playing the fleet," said Hou.
SDYC Jr. Staff Commodore Michael Dorgan was able to hold his position in first for the Finn Fleet, and Enrique Quintero and crew Kathleen Tocke finished in first as well 10 points ahead of the 2nd place finisher in the Snipe fleet.
After the race, sailors and their crews enjoyed dinner and an awards ceremony at the San Diego Yacht Club. SDYC looks forward to developing this event as a part of a West Coast series as Olympic sailing races towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Full results available here.