By Shone Bowman
This past week, San Fransisco Yacht Club (SFYC) hosted the annual US Sailing Youth Championship Regatta in the Berkeley Circle, San Fransisco Bay. Hand picked youth sailors from all over the country flocked to San Fran so as to compete in their individual classes: C420, Laser, Laser Radial, and 29er. San Diego Yacht Club had a good showing of competitors in each division. In C420s, San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) was represented by Tyler Sinks, Jake LaDow, Jake Reynolds and myself. In the Laser class, Austin Evans represented SDYC. Rex Cameron and Nick Kaschak sailed Laser Radials. The SDYC 29er sailors included Judge Ryan and CC Childers. I sailed in the 36 boat C420 fleet with my crew, Cooper Scott. With all of the best youth sailors of the US competing for the win in heavy San Fransisco breeze and chop, the 2008 Youths looked to be the most exciting yet.
Day 1, the 1st clinic day, brought early morning fog and heavy winds. Throughout the day, the fog burned off and later came more breeze. The three coaches ran drills near the race venue so we could familiarize ourselves with the conditions before the event. Although it was a long day on the water, speed tuning with the best youth sailors in the country definitely had its rewards. Later, in the evening, all competitors were introduced to their host families and taken home.
Day 2 proved to be the only light air sailing the event offered. Although many of the competitors stayed ashore and worked on their boats, a few sailors participated in the practice race later in the afternoon. It was a calm and relaxing day, exactly what we needed before the upcoming 3 days of intense competition. After an awesome dinner at the yacht club and a good night’s sleep , the Youth Champs competition was under way.
Day 3 brought the sailors down to SFYC early for some last minute rigging, suiting up, and eating breakfast. After about an hour sail out to the racing venue, 3 races quickly followed. Because of a 9 race goal, only 3 races were scheduled each day. The conditions were varied and tough to sail in: 12-15 knots in the morning, quickly building to about 17-22 knots with heavy chop later in the day. At the end of the day, after 3 races, Tyler Sinks and Brianna Provancha led the C420 fleet, Cooper and I were in 4th place with the rest of the SDYC sailors close behind.
Day 4, the second racing day, proved to be more difficult than the first with a stronger sea breeze earlier and heavier chop as well. With the bigger breeze, came an earlier start time and a broader reach leg so as to allow earlier spinnaker sets. Sailing in these challenging conditions was exhilarating and and exciting with screaming reaches and violent capsizes. Upwind boat speed, overcoming the chop and planing proved to be the deciding factor for good finishes. Tyler and Brianna held onto their dominant first place while Cooper and I worked hard to overcome our smaller size and stay in the top ten. Most of the fleet suffered from capsizes or breakdowns in the extreme conditions. Everyone was exhausted and ready to crash early.
Day 5 and the last day of Youth Champs was the toughest of all and brought more chop and breeze than any other previous day. The intense racing coupled with extreme conditions taught me a lot about pacing myself and some survival techniques. It was tight racing particularly in the top 10 of the C420 fleet and top 5 in Laser Radials/Fulls. In the end, Tyler Sinks and crew Briana Provancha held their well deserved lead for a second Youth Champs victory. Close behind, Shone Bowman finished 10th, Jake Reynolds 16th, and Jake LaDow 26th. In the 29er class, SDYC also gained dominance with Judge Ryan taking home the gold. Another spectacular day of heavy air sailing in San Fransisco Bay brought the perfect close to the 2008 Youth Championship. Great job SDYC!
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