The Mighty KRAKEN Annihilates J/70s(Youngstown, NY)- Last weekend, the Youngstown Yacht Club hosted the CanAm Challenge, a one-design and pursuit class event that emphasizes a friendly rivalry between the United States and Canada, with each country vying for bragging rights. 92 boats registered for this inaugural event; split between 12 One Design divisions as well as 2 Pursuit classes, spinnaker and non-spinnaker. Beginning on Friday evening, boats descended upon Youngstown, NY from as far away as San Diego in the U.S. and Ottawa, Ontario in Canada.
While the Regatta was sailed in winds on the lighter sides, the Regatta PRO’s did an exceptional job with most courses sailing six good races with great competition. Competitors from both the US and Canada had impressive results in the various classes which featured four “J” divisions- J/22s, J/24s, J/70s and J/88s, as well as spinnaker and non-spinnaker Pursuit classes.
To determine the winner of the CanAm Challenge, the racing was so close that there was only a 1 point spread between US and Canada to determine the winning country. In the end, the 2014 CanAm perpetual trophy winner goes to Team Canada.
The week leading up to the actual racing was highlighted with clinics and a “Junior CanAm Challenge” sailed in Lasers, 420s and Optis. Quantum Sail Design group had representatives hold J/70 and J/88 clinic’s focusing on rig tuning, on the water practice starts, and debriefs. The Junior CanAm ran on Tuesday and Wednesday with crews representing Yacht Clubs from Western and Central NY as well as Southern Ontario.
The twelve-boat J/70 class was taken over by the scarily smart, fast team on the mighty KRAKEN. Starting off with three 1sts, Gary Tisdale & Adam Burns simply smoked the fleet, counting four 1sts in their six race scoreline for a total of 9 points. Second was well-known yachtsman Travis Odenbach sailing HONEY BADGER with 21 pts. A Toronto & New York team on USA 410 was sailed by John Goller and Brian Hill, taking two bullets in races 4 & 5 to quickly pull themselves into contention and grab a third overall. Four was Paul Cannon in USA 302 and fifth was Tim Finkle sailing the famous JUNIOR.
In the J/24s, the top boat was the Canadian team of A1 skippered by Tom Taylor, winning by a country mile with five 1sts and one 2nd for just 7 pts total. Second was the American team of Gabriel Lewis (also top woman sailor in the entire regatta) sailing HANG LOOSE and third was another Canadian team, Rick Sherk’s IN THE MOMENT.
The J/22s also saw Canadian teams dominate the fleet. Paul Davignon’s THREE’S COMPANY won by sweeping the last three races with three bullets! Second was fellow Canadian Darcy Fuller on PROST, just one point back. Third was the American team of TRAINWRECK sailed by Adam Masters.
The Can Am Challenge was an all-inclusive event that helped build camaraderie amongst the crews, as well as helped to keep costs down for the sailors. The entry fee included on-grounds wristband for skipper and their crew and provided breakfast treat and coffee on Saturday and Sunday mornings before racing, a chicken dinner on Saturday night, and pizza before the awards ceremony. This on top of already discounted beer and rum drinks!
While this event is new to YYC, hosting great regatta’s is not and many of the friendships that began at past events like the Level Regatta were rekindled, as well as many new traditions. In addition to great music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the event also hosted a Street Hockey Tournament to continue the friendly rivalry between the US & Canada! Multiple teams competed for their country but in the end, just like on the water, Canada came out on top! This is sure to become a tradition that you will not want to miss.
The Youngstown Yacht Club is thankful to all our sponsors that made this event such a great success including Towne Auto, First Niagara, Mount Gay Rum, Double Cross Vodka, Haarstick Sailmakers, Quantum Sails, Ullman Sails, RCR Yachts, Brown & Brown Insurance, Sail 22, APS, Alpha Ropes, and RBS Battens. In addition, the YYC is grateful to all of the volunteers who pitched in to make this first time event one to remember! If you couldn’t make it to this year’s CanAm Challenge, we hope to see you at next year’s event. For more CanAm Challenge Regatta sailing information
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