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Articles: 2009 Nacra North American Championship Wrapup
2009 NACRA North American Championship
The 2009 Nacra North American Championships was held in Fort Walton Beach, Florida the week of October 12-15, 2009 and was sponsored by Performance Sports, Inc, the manufacturer of NACRA racing catamarans, Annapolis Performance Sailing, Harken USA, Emerald Sails, and ZHIK USA. The event was hosted by the multihull friendly Fort Walton Yacht Club on beautiful Choctawhatchee Bay. The North American Championships, or NAs, was open to the Nacra 20 class, the Nacra F18 class, and the Nacra F17 class. However, the Nacra F18 class decided not to attend leaving only the 20s and F17s to mix it up on the bay. Four races a day were scheduled for the 4 day event.
DAY 1 – Monday, October 12th
Monday dawned with sunny skies and a south to south west wind building to 8-12kts. The FWYC Commodore said a few words welcoming all the teams and after skippers meeting, the sailors finished rigging their boats and set sail for a 1200 start. The order of starts for the week was the 20s first followed by the F17s not on a rolling start. The courses were US Sailing multihull courses 5G and 6G with an upwind finish leaving one more chance to be a hero or a zero!
After the fourth race of the day in the 20 fleet, Alex Shafer/Nigel Pitt wrapped up the day with finishes of 1, 1, 1, 2 to lead the fleet. Wisconsin favorite Guy Selsmeyer was not far behind with finishes of 2, 2, 3, 6. There was a big collision at the start of race 1 involving Kirk Newkirk and Chris Blake resulting in one of Kirk’s rudders coming off the boat. Chris quickly sailed up to Kirk and the crews swapped boats. Nice!! Kirk went on to sail scoring a 4th and setting up a redress situation for the end of the day while Chris headed back to the beach for repairs.
In the F17 fleet, former 2 time class champion Bob Curry showed the way with an awesome first day score of 1, 1, 1, 1 followed by Jim Leonard with a score of 2, 3, 2, 2. Curry was challenged at 2 A mark roundings and 1 gate by Bill Gillispie. The battle line was being drawn between Jim and Bill as only 2 points separated them after the day’s racing. It wasn’t very long after the races were concluded that the boats were washed off by mother nature.
Lots of Event Pictures Available on the FWYC webiste, click here.
DAY 2 – Tuesday, October 13th
The day woke up with a completely different look. Skies were overcast, temps were cooler and the wind was out of the northeast with oscillations and speeds of 5-8kts. The sailors were off the beach earlier this day as the rest of the week racing began at 1000.
Race 1 began for both fleets in shifting conditions and velocity changes. As the clouds began to dissipate, the wind speed dropped and the oscillations became too unmanageable for the RC. The sailors patiently waited out this clearing trend and once the sun fully broke through, the wind settled down and 3 more races were completed. The 20 fleet again saw Shafer/Pitt in the lead with a 3, 1, 1, 1 followed by Mark Smith/David(DJ) Johnson with 2, 4, 2, 4. The F17 fleet was getting quite out of hand as Bob Curry dominated the day with another string of firsts followed by Jim Leonard with scores of 2, 5, 2, 2 and Bill Gillispie with scores of 3, 2, 3, 3. Again, only 2 points separated these two going into day 3.
DAY 3 – Wednesday, October 14th
This time the early bird sailors awoke to glass calm waters. By 0830, a light southerly had begun giving promise to the day. The teams dutifully headed out for the 1000 white flag.
Racing began in a light south wind shifting to southwest finishing up with everyone almost drifting to the finish line for the conclusion of race 1. With no wind in sight for a while, the sailors were all towed back to the FWYC for a quick break and a chance to enjoy some lunch. Approximately one hour later, the southwesterly wind appeared and the sailors were called off the beach.
Two more races were completed in the light winds. With the A mark and finish line tucked up into the southwest corner of the bay, it proved very challenging to the sailors to navigate the course. Sometimes the more inshore right layline was the preferred track because of the angle and sometimes the outside left layline was better because of more wind. Only 3 races were completed because of the advance of thunderstorms from Alabama marching towards the coast. As it would work out in the 20 fleet, Shafer/Pitt once again had a great day with scores of 1, 2, 3 and Smith/DJ had another good day with scores of 4, 3, 1. The F17 fleet was again masterfully handled by Curry with yet another string of firsts and the fight continued between Leonard with scores of 2, 3, 2 and Gillispie with scores of 3, 2, 3. 5 points now separated them going into the last day.
The regatta banquet was held this night providing an opportunity for everyone to enjoy a great sit down meal and the giving away of some really fantastic door prizes!
DAY 4 – Thursday, October 15th
Pre-frontal thunderstorms were all around the FWYC when the sailors awoke from their slumbers. A large rain shower completely doused the boats around 0800 leaving all the spinnakers wet! Hmm, maybe this was an omen to the day. By 0900, the wind had not yet materialized and by 1000 the postponement flag went up the flag pole. At 1100, after multiple consultations with the local weather wizards, the agonizing decision was made to cancel racing for the day concluding the regatta.
The 2009 Nacra Championship week concluded with the teams thoroughly challenged for the hardware. Choctawhatchee Bay has a distinct reputation of making even the best sailors a bit more humble than they arrived. But as fate would have it, the cream clearly rises to the top. PRO Phil Pritchett gave us an outstanding series never compromising on the winds and directions. FWYC Fleet Captain Sam Grant and his wife Jennifer helped to lead the many volunteers and committees behind the scenes. The staff at the FWYC took great care preparing the fantastic meals throughout the week. The bartenders were always on station when the sailors came off the water and kept the bar open well past closing time. After a brief finger-food lunch, the 2009 North American Championship trophies were awarded. The trophies went five deep per class and a master’s trophy was awarded in the F17 fleet. Results per class (5 deep) are below:
Nacra 20
- Alex Shafer – Nigel Pitt
- Mark Smith – David Johnson
- Guy Selsmeyer – Todd Boutan
- Kirk Newkirk – Glenn Holmes
- John MacDonald – Chris Amador
Nacra F17
- Bob Curry
- Jim Leonard
- Bill Gillispie
- Joe Buchert
- Mike Wizniewski
Master’s Trophy – Rick Adams
After trophies, the sailors finished breaking down their boats and saying their farewells to all their friends. A few stayed behind one more day to enjoy some “southern” hospitality. On behalf of the FWYC, all the sponsors, PRO Phil, and all the volunteers, we hope everyone had a great time and had a very safe journey home! We will see you again in the futureJ.
Regards and best wishes,
Bob Curry
2009 Nacra North American Championship Event Chairman
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