THE LOG | October 15 - October 28, 2021 | 21
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Sailing
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The United States team narrowly avoided the British team capsizing in the winner-takes-all final.
U.S. SailGP Places Second in Spain Sail Grand Prix By: JORDAN B. DARLING
SPAIN — The last day of the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Cadiz had a dramatic finish with Australia returning to the top of the SailGP Season Championship with their third win of the season after defeating the United States and Great Britain in the winner-takes-all final. The weekend was full of dramatic turns that included strong winds that
made maneuvering tricky. Spain was completely taken out of the race after their Victoria F50 was severely damaged when they capsized during practice. Britain capsized in the finals, losing out to the United States Australia. This weekend, United States won 9 points coming in second place on the podium and an overall second place seat in the championship, Japan dropped to third, and Britain dropped to fourth place after the accident on Sunday. This
is the United States’ fourth podium race of the season, after taking evasive action to avoid colliding with the British team’s capsize at the start of the race. “Today was definitely on the edge. You’re really in avoidance mode,” said CEO and Driver Jimmy Spithill in an Oct. 10 press release referring to the 20plus knot winds and sea state. “As we all came off the start line [in the final race] and saw Ben do a huge nosedive, we bowed out to avoid them, which caused
us to crash. It triggered our emergency stop systems, effectively shutting the boat down. While we restarted the systems, Tom [Slingsby, Australia SailGP Team] was already far down the line.” The win takes the United States one step closer to the Grand Final in San Francisco, which will see the top three teams in the Championship race for $1 million.
U.S. Champs Set Sail For North Carolina By: KATHERINE CLEMENTS NORTH CAROLINA — The U.S. Youth Champs has been the U.S. sailing’s pinnacle youth regatta for 40 years. The team features the nation’s top youth competitors who compete in high-performance sailing competitions. After the cancelation of the 2020 completion, due to the pandemic, the 2021 edition was held Oct 9-11 in Arapahoe, NC. The event took place at Camp Sea Gull and Seafarer, founded by the YMCA. 156 sailors, 19-years-old and younger, contested the regatta in the 29er, International 420, ILCA 7 (Standard), ILCA 6 (Radial), and Nacra 15. Chapman Peterson, the 2019 Youth
Sailing Champion in the Laser Radial, returned to defend his Youth Championship title. “We haven’t had a national event in many months, so I expect to see some brand-new names at the top of the Radial fleet. It’s always exciting to see who has been putting in work since the last event,” said Peterson to Scuttlebutt Sailing News. In addition, the event hosted six coaches who support the regatta’s mission to facilitate education and development opportunities. Those coaches included: - Richard Feeny, Youth Champs Head Coach, U.S. Sailing - Mitch Brindley, Head Coach, Old Dominion University
- Robbie Daniel, Head Coach, Red Gear Racing - Dane Wilson, US Sailing Team athlete, 49er Class - Wa rd Cromwell, Head Coach, College of Charleston - John Pearce, Sports Development Director, U.S. Sailing The regatta is usually held in the Spring. Still, due to the pandemic, the event was postponed early on in 2021, providing the sailors with more time to practice before the October competition.
The view from the pier that sits on Neuse River, where Camp Sea Gull and Seafarer is located.
