Snipe US National Championship at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 1
by San Diego Yacht Club 13 Jul 2022 05:56 BST
July 11-15, 2022
Snipe US National Championship at San Diego Yacht Club day 1 © Matias Capizzano
Last night, 50 skippers and their crews made their way to the San Diego Yacht Club to kick-off a week of epic Snipe sailing in the Pacific Ocean. After prepping for day one of the Snipe US National Championship with a cocktail or two, hors d'oeuvres on the Sail Wash Lawn, and live music by the Snipe Fleet Band, the fleet was ready for the action out on the water.
Day one of the regatta started with a light breeze, averaging 6-9 knots, and clear skies - not an unexpected prediction for San Diego weather. Skipper Augie Diaz and Crew Christine De Silva finished strong in the first race, followed by Bradley Adam and Nikki Bruno close behind in second, and Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke in third.
"We were very fortunate today. We had great positioning for the first start and were able to tack right away and get going. The right was favored, but it was dicey at times, tempting me to get across and go left. We were side by side with Bradley the whole time. Christine made a lot of really good calls downwind. It turned out to be a day where you really had to be patient," commented Diaz.
Diaz and De Silva did not let up on the second and final race of the day, earning their spot at the top of the scoresheet after day one with two bullets. Race two saw some of the same conditions, but the competition got even tighter. Rodriguez and Tocke stayed close with a second place finish, and Enrique Quintero and Charlie Bess made their way into third place to finish the day. Quintero and Bess got in the game for race two and finished fourth, despite their 13th place finish on race one.
Diaz, Rodriguez, and Quintero have been training partners for this regatta, which makes the stakes for the win even more personal between the three.
Keeping up with the Senior Fleet and finishing 15th out of 50 boats was Skipper Justin Callahan and Crew Aiden Hoogland. The duo sits in first place on the Juniors scoresheet and took 6th against the seniors in race two. In second place for Juniors is Diego Escobar and Ximena Escobar, followed by Peter Busch and Cam Spriggs in third.
Representing both juniors and seniors today was father/daughter duo Eric and Lorelei Heim. Lorelei is by far the youngest competitor in the fleet at only 10 years old! The two finished in the top 20 of the fleet. "We had pretty good scores and good speed. Our first start was terrible but we came back and persevered," stated Eric. The two agreed that tomorrow the plan is better and "crispier" tacks in South Bay.
After racing, competitors were invited to a typical San Diego Taco Tuesday on the Lawn with live music by the Finn Band. Thank you to our beverage sponsors Bay City Brewing Co. for providing kegs and to Old Harbor Distillery for generous cocktails!
Racing will continue tomorrow, Wednesday, July 13 back on the South San Diego Bay course, with a 1200 warning signal. Check back tomorrow evening for the daily race update and photos.
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