(Annapolis, MD)- Anna Tunnicliffe (Team Maclaren USA and Rolex
Super-Girl of the Year) took four exciting flights to win the 21st Santa
Maria Cup. Second place went to Julie Bossard (France) and third place
to Becca Dellenbaugh (USA). There were consistently strong winds on
the final day of the Championship accompanied by choppy water. In the
third flight of the final, Elodie Fauve of Team Bossard fell overboard
and quickly recovered but with the strong winds it meant a chilling
finish. Team Ferris-Choat (Canada) finished fourth, Team Baylis (USA)
was fifth, Team Lehtinen (Finland) was sixth, Team Ruhlman (USA) was
seventh and Team Silve (Argentina) was eighth.
The
racing in the Santa Maria Cup women's match racing championship was a
great success for the Quarter-Finals; all races scheduled were
completed. With light and shifty winds, in the early races downwind
legs were a challenge, but the breeze began to build, clocking in at 11
knots by 1130. With the steady breeze, the matches stayed close. There
were a few breakdowns during the day, including a torn kite, and the
women had the added obstacle of dodging debris in the water, still ample
from the heavy rains of the past few weeks.The Quarter finals began with freshening breeze from a new direction, once the pins were reset there was a delay due to a repair on the one of the first boats scheduled for the QF. PRO Mark Murphy, moved the first race of the QF to the fourth. Dellenbaugh, Tunnicliffe, Bossard and Ferris-Choat were winners in the first flight.
The morning of third day of racing was plagued with light winds, causing several postponements. However, the breeze did fill in around 11:00, allowing the second flight of quarterfinal racing to begin, with Julie Bossard (FRA), Anna Tunnicliffe (USA), Becca Dellenbaugh (USA) and Sharon Ferris-Choat (CAN) grabbing the wins.
The light air continued into the third flight, but competition was still close, Tunnicliffe taking a penalty after fouling Silva at the leeward mark, leaving Silva with the win. A tiebreaker of the Tunnicliffe/Silva match followed as the quarterfinal winner needed 3 points to continue. Tunnicliffe won the tiebreaker and moved on to the semi-finals, along with Bossard, Dellenbaugh and Ferris-Choat.
In the first flight of the semi-finals, the racers continued the aggressive pace after a long day on the water. Bossard, Tunnicliffe took the wins, as did, Lehtinen and Baylis also grabbed the wins in the 5th to 8th place sail-off.
The Gay Lynn Trophy is given annually to the skipper of the top finishing Santa Maria Cup skipper in her first Santa Maria Cup. The 2011 winner is Becca Dellenbaugh. A second special Santa Maria Cup award is the Eleanor Ruth Wilcox Memorial Trophy for the Bowperson on the winning team. This award was given to Liz Bower Lewin, who dedicated her trophy to Team Maclaren and spoke too modestly of her role in the team’s victory.
At the Eastport Yacht Club's "Prize-giving and Farewell Party" tonight, Eastport YC Commodore, Rich Jackson, expressed deep appreciation for the contributions of volunteers, competitors and umpire in making this an exceptional Santa Maria Cup Championship. He also thanked the EYC Race Committee and all the Santa Maria Cup subcommittees for their hard work and generous support of women’s match racing.
Both Commodore Jackson and Regatta Chair, Susan Nahmias, thanked the sponsors of the 2011 Santa Maria Cup. These include BoatUS, SpinSheet, Go The Airport Shuttle, Eastport Yacht Club Foundation, Boatyard Bar & Grill, Heineken, Gosling’s Rum, Evolution Sails, Dean’s Yacht Repair, West Marine, Historic Annapolis Foundation, National Sailing Center & Hall of Fame and Hell Point Seafood. Each ticket for this event included a complimentary Gosling’s Dark n Stormy and Annapolis area restaurants and caterers donations supported the event through generous contributions of food. Sailing photo credits- Walter Cooper For more Santa Maria Cup sailing information
