Laser Radial Women's' North American Champs and Finn Midwinter Champs

by John Payne on 9 Feb 2010
The 2010 Laser Radial Women's' North American Championship and Finn Midwinter Championship lived up to all of the hype.

Several of the world's top ranked sailors in each class battled it out in near perfect conditions in the Atlantic Ocean off Fort Lauderdale, FL. Eight races were held over three days. Americans Anna Tunnicliffe and Zach Railey took the titles in the Laser Radial class and Finn class respectively. Friday's racing began in 16 knots with some gusts to 20 knots, but with the winds from the South, and a South running current inshore, the seas had built to 6-8 feet by the start of the first race. Big wind and big waves. Exciting! Capsizes, and breakdowns were numerous. Dutch Radial sailor Marit Bouwmeester ran off a perfect string of three bullets to lead Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunnicliffe who grabbed three seconds. In the Finns, Olympic Silver Medalist, and USSTAG member Zach Railey, eked out a small lead over two Brits, Andrew Mills and Scott Giles.

Saturday saw the strongest breeze with some gusts well over 20 knots. However, due to the Northwesterly direction, the seas laid down, allowing for some fast races. On the Laser Radial side, Anna won the day with a pair of bullets, but Marit held on to the lead after dropping a 12 in the third race of the day. That drop would prove important later in the regatta. In the Finns, Zach held on to a slim one point lead over Andrew Mills.

Sunday called for two races to complete the regatta. Winds from the Northwest were strong and shifty with gusts close to 25 knots, mixed with a few lulls of 12 knots or less. Oscillations were up to 30 degrees either way. In the Radial fleet, race one saw Marit earn another hard fought bullet with Anna taking 6th. This is where the aforementioned drop came into play. Anna needed to push Marit deep in the final race, and beat her, to win the regatta. At the start Anna brought her considerable match racing skills to bear, and pinned Marit well behind the line. She then covered her around the course, pushing her back whenever possible. At the end of the race Anna, had put Marit far enough back in the fleet to take the win.

Upon further review (this is Super Bowl Sunday in South Florida after all), the ladies decided they had both fouled a third boat at the start, and like true good sports took RAF's. Anna won the regatta by 3 points with Marit Bouwmeester in second and Spain's Alicia Cebrian in 3rd. On the Finn side, Zach and Brit Mark Andrews fought an epic battle on the last downwind to the finish of race one. Watching these world class athletes pumping, rocking and jibing in such strong winds was a treat for the spectators. On the final jibe, as Zach tried to edge Mark at the line, Mark caught a small puff, and edged Zach by inches. On the second and last race of the day, Zach schooled the entire Finn fleet, winning the race by over two minutes. Thus ended a wonderful Olympic class regatta for forty-nine exhausted, but satisfied skippers. Special thanks to Lauderdale Yacht Club, who rolled out their usual hospitality, blended with expert race management, to put on a world class regatta.

Scores: http://www.lyc.org/files/radial10.html, http://www.lyc.org/files/finn10.html