2012 US Nationals Day 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Andy Bates

I14 PAC RIM Regatta Chair

avbates@att.net

+1 808-630-0224

2012 International 14 US National’s Day Three Recap

Kaneohe, H.I. (Oct 17, 2012) – The third and final day of the International 14, US National Championship races were sailed in picture perfect 14-18 knots steady Hawaiian Trade winds. Races eight and nine concluded the series. After a short delay racing started at 12:15. Series leaders, (AUS 672) Hayter/Neighbour were seventh around the first mark in race #8, and managed to crawl their way back up the fleet to finish first. They had better speed up and down the course in the stronger winds. Terry Gleeson and Brian Buffalo lead at the first mark and ended finishing second to the Aussies. Bersch/Hanseler were third, and Bundy/Lanzinger sailing consistently in the stronger breeze were fourth.

Race number nine, the final race saw a slightly building breeze favoring the right side of the course. Bersch/Buffalo were first at the weather mark, Rutz/Radjowski (USA 1162) were second, and Goodson/Diercks (USA 1159) were a close third at the weather mark.  Hayter/Neighbour were sixth at the first mark but showed great speed downwind, rounding the leeward mark in second place.  Half way up the second beat four boats had separated themselves from the fleet.  Hayter/Neighbour, Rutz/Radjowski, Goodson/Diercks, and Gleeson/Buffalo fought it out for the rest of the race exchanging places well ahead of the rest of the fleet. On the third and final beat Goodson/Diercks found a massive shift on the right side that separated them from the other three competitors and put USA 1159 in the lead by 2 minutes at the final weather mark rounding. They went on to finish in first place. Hayter/Neighbour were second wrapping up the US National Title, Gleeson/Buffalo were third moving them in to fifth place for the series, and Rutz/Radjowski were a close fourth. By finishing the last race in first place Goodson/Diercks gained a tie for third place that was broken in their favor as a result of their first place finish in the final race.

In summary, the series winners, Dave Hayter and Trent Neighbour from Adelaide, Australia dominated the fleet in their brand new beautifully built “out-of-the-box” Bieker 6 with local Aussie built sails, and a Bieker rig. Their superior speed and skills became apparent early in the week during the Long Distance race that was sailed on Sunday. They finished with the fastest elapsed time in breeze that ranged from four knots to 15 knots. The 15-mile course took the sailors out into the ocean and around six buoys on the flat waters inside Kaneohe Bay. The Aussies sailed fast in all conditions and displayed outstanding boat handling skills and sound tactics. Brad Ruetnik and Patrick Murray sailed a strong series but were just off the pace that Hayter/Neighbour set from the first day. Shelly James, (another Aussie!) from the local Hawaii Fleet beat Elise Leroux out for the first woman home Trophy and 72-year old Alan Laflin won the Old Goat prize and the Hawaii State Championship Pursuit race. Keep on sailing Alan!!! We all look forward to seeing you and Eric Arens in Toronto in 2013!  

Final scores; nine races with one discard;

1         Hayter/Neighbour               9 points (Seven bullets)

2     Ruetnik/Murray                 26 points

       3.    Goodson/Diercks                33 points

       4.    Bersch/Hanseler                 33 points

       5.    Gleeson/Buffalo                  38 points       

       6.    Bundy/Lanzinger               46 points

       7.    Henderson/Andrews          54 points   

       8.    Rutz/Radjowski                  56 points

       9.    Twardowski/Hamilton       61 points

      10.   Arnold/Gremaux                82 points

      11.   Laflin/Henderson               86 points

      12.   Rogers/Burks                      93 points

      13.   Schumaker/Johnson          101 points

      14.   Reinsch/Shenstone             102 points

      15.   Pochereva/James                109 points

      16.   Leroux/Gordon                   117 points

      17.   Hey/Keefe                            144 points