Saturday, January 11, 2014

Wilson & Roble #1 US Match Racers!

Stephanie Roble sailing match race off Chicago(Chicago, IL)- Don Wilson and Stephanie Roble start off 2014 as the #1 One US Match Racers in Open & Women's Divisions, respectively!  Like their friend Taylor Canfield, Don and Steph have lots of experience sailing on various J’s over time on their way to becoming top match racers. Wilson sailed J/105s for years in Chicago and on his J/105 CONVEXITY won the J/105 North American Championships in Chicago, IL.  Steph was a top Opti sailor winning such events as the Orange Bowl Regatta and was a College All-American when she was on the Old Dominion University Sailing team.  Her sailing experiences have included sailing J/22s and J/70s in various events both in college and later.  Steph will be sailing on Jud Smith’s J/70 AFRICA in the upcoming J/70 Midwinters being sailed at Key West Race Week.

Step Roble and team sailing Chicago Match RaceFinishing 2013 as the number one U.S. Open Match Racer is Don Wilson (Chicago, IL), sailing from the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC), who finished the year strong by winning the Carlos Aguilar Grade 2 Match Race in the U.S. Virgin Islands (sailed in the modded J/24s (IC-24s) that Canfield grew up on.

Wisconsin native Stephanie Roble (East Troy, WI) and her EPIC RACING TEAM also finished the year as the number one U.S. women’s match racer. Notably, Steph also ended up 5th in the Open (combined Men & Women) rankings for 2013!  On the women’s side of the equation, the skippers who Steph beat out for top spot reads like a “rogue’s gallery” of the top women sailors in America, including 2nd Anna Tunnicliffe, 3rd Sally Barkow (fellow Wisconsin native), 4th Genny Tulloch, 5th Nicole Breault and 6th Sandy Hayes.  Another interesting fact, ALL six skippers have raced J/22s extensively in both fleet racing as well as match-racing.  For more Chicago Match Race Center sailing information