2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 3
by Courtney Wendleton 1 Aug 15:43 UTC
July 29 - August 1, 2024
2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals at San Diego Yacht Club Day 3 © Simone Staff
Day 3 of the Junior Sabot Nationals was marked with competitive racing and frequent wind shifts, all while battling a strong ebbing current.
Sabots are known for their sensitivity to sail control settings and weight placement, requiring sailors to maintain sharp focus even in the most stable conditions. In challenging conditions like these, any racer aiming to take home a trophy needs to bring their A-game.
The results of Tuesday's Flight Selection racing grouped the 125 sabot sailors into Iron, Bronze, Silver and Gold fleets to continue the Championship on Wednesday. Each fleet will sail 6 races to determine fleet winners and the overall national champion. Wednesday featured 3 races for the Bronze and Iron and 4 races for Silver and Gold.
Haven Giordani (NHYC) won the first race of the day in the Iron fleet and leads the fleet after 3 races, while Hudson Perich (SDYC) won race #2 in the Bronze fleet and leads his fleet as well.
SDYC Coach Jon Rogers was in awe with the sailors being able to navigate through the interesting conditions. He notes that "typically there isn't wind coming from both sides of the course, it makes it harder to decide which side of the racecourse to go to. Then you add the current coming out and it makes it very difficult to get back up to Bessemer beach where the mark was. It is very unusual for La Playa."
This year's regatta is being live streamed on San Diego Yacht Club's YouTube channel thanks for a monumental effort from Ray Tofolo. SDYC Rear Commodore Alli Bell is hosting the broadcast along with a variety of co-hosts throughout the racing days. SDYC Staff Commodore and 1974 Junior Sabot National Champion Chuck Sinks took a turn on the broadcast Wednesday afternoon and shared his insights on the competition. "La Playa threw everything it had at the sailors - big growler puffs coming down the hillside then light spots and lulls." Both he and Rogers commented on the interesting wind pattern which evened out on either side of the course. "We would see sailors go around both gates, but they would come back to the same spot. Eventually, in the later afternoon the left was favored."
Though Tuesday was full of general recalls, the competitors shaped up for Wednesday's races. PRO Bruce Golison has raced sabots for years and had done race committee for the nationals three times before. When he heard that Nationals were being held at SDYC, he jumped at the opportunity to be PRO. He was excited to be part of something that hadn't been held in La Playa since 1962.
Reflecting on the day's events, Golison noted, "Today was flukier than the other days - very shifty even for La Playa. For race management, it was very hard. We had to move the starting line every single race because it was shifting 20 degrees, and we also had to move the weather mark. We did this to keep it fair. We had 14 starts and the kids did a great job today with maybe only one general recall for the day." His magic tool for the day was his stabilizing binoculars, which helped him call out specific boats quickly and efficiently.
The race committee took advantage of the excellent racing conditions and ran a 4th race for both Silver and Gold on Wednesday afternoon. In the Silver Fleet, Oliver Stanford had just come off the water excited to have finished second. He described the day as pretty windy at 10-12 knots but was able to stay on the lifted side and wait for shifts from the left side, keeping him at the top of the fleet. Loki Barrett (MBYC) won two races and leads the Silver fleet with 2 races to come on Thursday.
In front of neighboring Southwestern Yacht Club, the Sabot C3 sailors competed in the Cove Cup. This serves as an introduction for younger sabot sailors to be a part of the festivities and help them prepare for future competition as they progress through the sport. Congratulations to Connor Albertson (CorYC) who posted first place in the final 3 races to win this year's Cove Cup. Cove Cup Results.
As the Junior Sabot Nationals head into their final day, the excitement and challenges of La Playa's unique conditions continue to push young sailors to demonstrate their skill and resilience. With only one more day of racing ahead, the competitors are ready to tackle whatever the weather brings next. The energy and determination on the water promise an exciting finish to this prestigious event. Tomorrow's final races will determine who will emerge as this year's national champion, who will be crowned on SDYC's famous Front Deck.
Stay tuned to the live stream on San Diego Yacht Club's YouTube channel for ongoing coverage and on our socials for on the water action.