The Dutch Shoe Marathon (DSM) marks a special moment in a junior sailor's life. A right of passage, it's known for. The day where you sail for hours, the longest distance yet, against friends and peers, with family or for most - totally solo. Winning the Dutch Shoe Marathon gives the champion more than just bragging rights. It gives them the practice, experience, and confidence that they will carry with them on the water for years to come. This year, the 49th DSM Champion title goes to C Fleet's Ronan Servais!
Ernesto Rodriguez and Kathleen Tocke are officially the winners of the 2022 Snipe US National Championship! Over the past four days, this duo has proved themselves worthy of the champion title. Rodriguez and Tocke placed in the top three in six out of the eight races of the regatta. They're not deemed the SSL Snipe World Ranked no. 1 team for nothing.
50 skippers and their crews have 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.
This past June I got the great opportunity to sail an at home match race regatta, that being the USMRC. My primary goal in this event was to switch my brain back on to match racing, as I had not competed in this discipline in 2022. Additionally, I will be sailing the Governor's Cup, hosted by Balboa Yacht Club at the end of July. The Governor's Cup is an international match race regatta hosted in custom “Gov Cup 22s” which occurs each year, and is invitation only.
San Diego provided some great early summer conditions, with perfect match racing conditions both days. As per usual, San Diego did a great job running the event and the J22s were a great platform. After day one I was leading the round robin, but unfortunately did not have the same success on the second day as I finished third overall. The event as a whole had a great energy to it, and attracted sailors from across the country to compete. Thanks to the competition club and San Diego Yacht Club for their continued support, and I’ll be back on the water soon!
Summer Update: Long Beach Youth Worlds Training Camp, West Marine US Open Sailing Series / 29er Nationals, and US Sailing Youth Championships
We have just wrapped up a three-week training and racing session that was made up of 5 days of training in Long Beach, 3 days of racing in San Diego at the West Marine US Open Series / 29er Nationals, 3 more days of practice in San Diego, and 3 days of racing in Mission Bay at the US Sailing Youth Championships.
The first stop in the West Marine US Open Sailing Series’ California tour comes to San Diego Yacht Club this week, June 17-19. Supported by Title Sponsor West Marine and National Sponsors Gowrie Group a Division of Risk Strategies and Gill Marine, this event features the ILCA 7, ILCA 6, 470, 29er, Finn, and Snipe.
Orca Bowl dates back to the mid 80s when Bill Munster, one of the original San Diego Etchells Fleet members and some would say, “Killer Whale” created the Orca Bowl as one of the most competitive events on the West Coast for the Etchells schedule. This year was not unlike other years with a nice turn out of boats and plenty of tight racing. The culmination in the 2022 West Coast Spring Series, the Orca bowl had it all on the line with essentially a 3 way tie for the WCSS with US 1481-Team Louise, skippered by Tom Carruthers leading by one point over US 1411-Team Elizabeth skippered by Chris Busch and 1404-Team Lifted, skippered by Jim Cunningham another point back but not competing in the final event. 1411’s only chance of winning the WCSS was to win the ORCA Bowl so it was all on for a final weekend battle.
The 50th Yachting Cup has officially named the overall winner: Jim Bailey's ID35 Destroyer. For being Destroyer's first time on the water since a total refit, Bailey and his crew handled the PHRF-3 Class just as good as (and apparently better) than the seasoned boats in the fleet.
"We came into this regatta without a lot of expectations because we just got the boat on the water. This is Destroyer's first regatta," started Bailey. Bailey is sailing with a great crew, including his three sons, Charlie, Danny, and William.
North Sails and Etchells experts Alex Curtiss and Eric Doyle dive into an in-depth talk on sail trim.
Also view Episode 1
The conclusion of the Etchells Midwinters West this weekend means only one more regatta in the Etchells West Coast Spring Series... and the top overall positions are a close call. Jim Cunningham on Lifted earned a first place win this weekend after staying consistently in the top three for the previous two races in the Series. However, Cunningham and his crew are unable to sail in the final event, the Orca Bowl, leaving the battle between Chris Busch's Elizabeth and Tom Carruthers' Louise for the overall Series winners.