2011 NAC

Half Moon Bay, CA

The 2011 edition of the North American Championship was held in Half Moon Bay in the friendliest Yacht Club for the Coronado 15 class under near perfect conditions.

The participation this year was somewhat a disappointment as only one boat came from Southern California and 3 boats came from the Sacramento area. While lightly attended, this did not affect the spirits of the racers and the local boats were thrilled to see competition visit the waters of Pillar Point harbor.

On Friday, the weather was light and remained overcast for the entire day. Yet Richard Calabrese, the PRO was able to give us enough races to complete the Syd Corp Series.Dave Rumbaugh took the lead from the beginning and never let anyone get too close. Kiersten was able to demonstrate her incredible speed going down wind and secured a 2nd place with brand C15 crew Kendall Ermshar.

Charlie Quest had difficulties with his new boat so he was unable to fully show off his local knowledge. Charlie’s boat was new in the sense that it did not look much like a boat the day before the races without a centerboard and many other critical components. In true Charlie fashion, the boat came together the morning of the race and Friday’s sea trials revealed that the centerboard did not go down to its full position.

Syd Corp Results: 1) David Rumbaugh/Claire Fishman, 4 pts; 2) Kiersten Vance/Kendall Ermshar, 11 pts; 3) Alex Fishman/Steven Fishman, 11 pts. (9 boats)

After racing, four adventurous boats decided to stay on the water fro some fun and venture outside the harbor towards the famed Maverick spot. Of course we did not go beyond one of the outside buoy, but we got a chance to experience a steep sea and get a close-up look at breaking water on the reefs immediately outside the harbor. It was a humbling reminder of the power of the ocean when the C15s disappeared between swells – almost half the mast’s height – in our estimate, it was easily an 8′ swell.

Saturday, the wind turned to westerlies and Richard was able to create a race course along the length of the harbor. The racing was excellent as the breeze built up to 11-12 kts and allowed the racers to use the trapeze under a nice warming sun during the afternoon.

Interestingly, Charlie got his boat together and was offering significant challenges to the rest of the fleet (except of course Dave). Similarly, Lucy Gillies who was sailing club boat Hakuna Matata (that was Barrett Sprout’s former boat), came in with some very strong races on the tail of the top contestants.

On Saturday, the reporters from Norcal Sailing came to visit and provided some additional coverage of the race. They wrote a nice race report that can be found at this link.

Sunday offered similar sailing conditions to Sunday and confirmed Dave lead who easily took the championship.

2011 final results:

C-15 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – A FLEET (8/13-14)
1) David Rumbaugh/Claire Fishman, 10 pts; 2) Alex Fishman/Steven Fishman, 19 pts; 3) Kiersten Vance/Kendall Ermshar, 20 pts (5 boats)

C-15 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – B FLEET (8/13-14)
1) Lucy Gillies/Hunter Gillies, 13 pts; 2) Patrick Melley/Rick Winnans, 15 pts; 3) John Powell/Alan Quest, 21 pts (4 boats)

The fleet is looking forward to sailing in Marina Del Rey for the 2012 edition.