Quinn Wilson and Riley Gibbs win at the 2013 29er US Nationals!

Originally four races were scheduled for today however in the 3rd race of the day (race 11 of the regatta), winds increased to the low 20 knot range - which pushed some teams to their limits. The combination of having secured enough races to provide a second throwout, the challenge to some teams, and the likelihood that wind speeds would increase beyond 29er Class wind speed recommendations made it easy for the race committee to stop the regatta at 11 races. At the conclusion of the day, Quinn and Riley added two firsts and a second - which put them 22 points ahead of the next team - Nic Muller and Kai Friesecke of Lauderdale YC.

You can see the final scores at http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/7095#_newsroom+results

 As mentioned before, this is the first time the US Nationals have been held away from the US West Coast. It can't be overstated as to the importance of this milestone. In addition to "going national", it's an excellent demonstration of the rapid growth of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale into the high performance world of 29er racing - four out of the top seven teams are from the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. What made the change possible? The commitment of several families to the 29er, the support of area yacht clubs - perhaps most notably Coconut Grove Sailing Club, and last, but not least, the encouragement of US Sailing towards youth high performance sailing. There is one family that wasn't involved in this regatta but can't be ignored for their contributions to the success of the area fleet and the 29er Class as a whole - the Willifords from Ft. Lauderdale. Christopher and Duncan Williford set a very high example for others to follow. We all hope to see the both of you out on the water soon.

There are too many others to mention right now - so I'm going to just say a huge "Thank You" to all of the 29er sailors, their families, their yacht clubs in the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale area - we at the 29er Class know you've done an great job. With that I'm going to sign off - I need to get some rest for tomorrow - packing up the many 29ers that I'm towing back to California shortly.

Best sailing,

John Papadopoulos President,

US 29er Class Association

This is a repost from the 29er NA Facebook page Let me start with a recap of Day 1:

the fleet had a lot of difficulty getting itself across the start line without penalties. At the start of Day 2, the race committee considered (literally) how to start. Should they jump right into an “I” flag start - continuing where they left off on Day 1? - or should they give the fleet the benefit of any doubt and start fresh with an ordinary start? They chose the latter and the result was spectacular - an on time, high performance start. And it was like that the whole day. In fact, several aspects of the day’s racing had a magical quality about it. The wind, for example, started a tad light - about 7 knots, built up to the low teens, went back down, back up, and so on. Yet despite the changes in speed, the wind was very steady in direction over the course of the day. Despite their best efforts, the race committee could not find a wind shift big enough or long enough to warrant moving the weather mark. As an experienced race official, I can say that when that happens, it’s a special day. The fleet was also performing better around the course too; sailing more competitively, new faces showing up near the front, more tactics at mark roundings, and closer finishes between boats. It’s hard to catch those moments, even if you have a camera ready. All I can suggest is to get into a 29er and be a part of the excitement or volunteer for work on the race committee, or come and spectate. The race committee is getting race scores to the yacht club pretty quickly after each race and it’s getting online shortly thereafter.

You can read the race scores on the event site http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/7095#_newsroom+results

Once back ashore, the fleet relaxed for a while before dinner was served. During dinner, Carol Ewing ran a raffle with an assortment of gear bags, tools, clothing, gift certificates - all provided by sponsors. The raffle was immediately followed by a brief Annual General Meeting for the US 29er Class. Business limited to a few announcements about the coming season (North Americans, Worlds, Nationals) and the election of officers for the next term. Oliver Scutt, who has served as US Class President for about 5 years, wanted to retire. By unanimous vote, the new officers are: President: John Papadopoulos Vice President: Carol Ewing Secretary: Peter MacDonald

A huge thank you to out-going President Oliver Scutt for his time and effort in supporting the 29er Class. Oliver’s daughter Helena is a recent graduate of the 29er Class. She’s studying engineering at Stanford University and is campaigning a 49erFX. Oliver is busy supporting both her efforts. Best wishes to both.

Peter MacDonald has been the US 29er Class VP since 2009. Peter's son Tyler is also a 29er graduate and is now attending Roger Williams University, sailing on the college team, and campaigning a 49er.

And a bit of a bio for your new President - John Papadopuolos (that's me!). I've been the US Class Secretary since 2009, serving along with Oliver and Peter. I have served as the actual or acting US 29er Measurer since approximately 2002 and also served as an International 29er Class Measurer - managing all measurement at the 2007 Worlds. I'm probably best known as the guy that hauls 29ers back and forth (and up and down!) the country - often with just the right part or tool to keep your 29er working at regattas. Looks can be deceiving - I have many many years of experience in the management of several other one design class associations, organizing regattas, running (as PRO, etc.) regattas, and much more. I am very excited to be given the job of US 29er Class President.

Now back to racing... If all goes to plan, we’ll get the final 4 (of 12) races in tomorrow by about 3:00pm (EST). The weather forecast calls for wind in the 15knot range - maybe more!

John Papadopoulos

The 2013 (yes, that's not a typo) National Championships got underway today in Miami, FL. The regatta follows the Open Orange Bowl Regatta at Coconut Grove Sailing Club (Miami, FL), which had teams from Slovenia, Czech Republic, Canada, Denmark, and the USA - of course. Knowing these teams would like to race in the Nationals, the event was designed from the beginning to be open to all. The top US Team will be crowned the US 29er National Champion. Awards will also be provided for the top International team, the top youth team, and top all-female team. The first four of twelve races were completed today with winds ranging from 6 to 14 knots. A touch of rain, a bit of sunshine, and always warm. Despite the nice conditions, the fleet was anxious throughout much of the day; often they were not able to get off to a clean start without the harshest starting penalty - the dreaded Black Flag. For those that don't know, a boat that crosses over the start line within the last minute prior to the start is automatically disqualified from that race. Even if there is a general recall, those boats with a Black Flag Penalty must sit out the race - similar to a sprinter that is DQ'd from a race if they jump the gun too many times. Hopefully the fleet relaxes a bit more for Day 2. The results are posted online at the event website - click here to visit. The leading team is skippered by Quinn Wilson (Ojai, CA) and crewed by Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, CA). They put together a 1, 1, 4, 1 series of results - however the scores may not reflect the outcome of a protest that was filed against them by another team. Obviously, it's too early to make any predictions and if all 12 races are completed, two throw-outs will be provides. This regatta is especially important for several reasons. First, it's the very first time the 29er US Nationals have been sailed away from the US west coast. Second, it's the second and final event being used by US SAILING to select the team that gets to attend the 2014 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Portugal. Third, this event is also being used to select entrants to the US Youth Championships Regatta this August (Grosse Point, Michigan). The regatta is being organized largely by Carol Ewing - she's done a fabulous job of bringing together good volunteers, sponsors, organizing charter boats for visiting teams, and much more. A few photos are available by these links:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5qQ1SAf-6-JNnFpTkhoRWhLU0U/edit?usp=sharing%20
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5qQ1SAf-6-JQmFfYlVESTAydFU/edit?usp=sharing%20
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5qQ1SAf-6-JY191YUFBQ29sQ2M/edit?usp=sharing%20
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5qQ1SAf-6-JZHh6d3kzUm1fQUE/edit?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5qQ1SAf-6-JcUtsN19XNGt3X2M/edit?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5qQ1SAf-6-JdTNlRWIxRGhzOWc/edit?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5qQ1SAf-6-JeXZiMXNPTUlmUGs/edit?usp=sharing

Report by John Papadopoulos