(Sausalito, CA)- The Regional qualifiers for the US Match Racing
Championship (Prince of Wales Bowl) began on June 1-2, 2013 at Sausalito
Yacht Club for US Sailing Areas GHJL. Eight teams of four sailors each
competed in a blustery and challenging weekend of racing on the nearly
new fleet of J-22s supplied by the St. Francis YC. 
Just
off a flight from London, where she competed on the St. Francis team
that crushed the competition in two-on-two team racing in J-80’s at the
Cornerstone Cup at Cowes, three time All-American skipper Nicole Breault
and her talented team of St. Francis members Evan Brown, Chris Trezzo
and Hannah Burroughs nearly ran the table with only one loss in 14
matches. This was an remarkable feat given the experienced competition
and frequent 60 degree wind shifts, with winds ranging from zero to 25
kts on the course set off Belvedere Point at the entrance to Richardson
Bay, an arm of San Francisco Bay.
PRO
Jeff Zarwell kept the program rolling and managed to get off all the
matches with few delays despite the radical conditions. In second place
was another college sailing All-American, Jackson Benvenutti, who
coaches high school teams at San Francisco Yacht Club. Third place was
nabbed by Redwood High School senior Scotty Buckstaff, who will be
attending Stanford in the fall. In winning this event, Breault qualified for the US Match Racing Championship finals to be held at Sail Sheboygan on September 18-22. San Diego YC will host the next GHJL Qualifier on June 15-16, also in J-22s.
Next up for Breault is the Grade 2 New York Women’s Invitational Match Racing event at Oakcliff Sailing Center, the US stop for the Women's International Match Race Series." Thanks for contribution from Bruce Stone. Sailing photo credits- Roxanne Fairbairn's "RoxShots"
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