Lake Michigan SuRF Newsletter - LMSRF

Chicago Match Race Center Autumn B Grade 3 Regatta
Chicago Match Race Center, Chicago, Illinois
September 29-30, 2012
Capping off four consecutive days of match race sailing off Belmont Harbor comprising two Grade 3 Match Race series, a new winner emerged from the
Chicago Match Race Center. Chicago’s Don Wilson won an exciting 3-1 Final against US Virgin Islander Tyler Rice, his second Grade 3 win of the season after
being victorious in the CMRC's Spring Invitational in May. Wilson sailed this event with Sally Barkow, Tod Reynolds, Eric Shampain, and his sister Jennifer
Wilson.
Saturday’s light and shifty conditions did not stop race managers from adjusting the courses enough to complete all but one flight of the Double Round Robin
raced among seven teams from three nations. Wataru Sakamoto's team from Japan dominated this stage of the event, winning all but one match in 12 flights,
and looked poised to avenge his loss on Friday in the Finals of the Autumn (A) event. But then disaster struck. In conditions that started as big waves created
by a brisk northerly breeze, Sakamoto's main trimmer Daichi Wada sustained an injury to his rib severe enough to take him off the boat to seek medical help.
CMRC event coordinator Maggie Shea stepped in to help the team, but despite Shea having extensive experience from her recent Women's Olympic match
racing campaign, the language barrier proved too high and Sakamoto fell to Rice 0-3 in their Semi-Final series.
Wilson meanwhile went 3-0 in his Semi-Final match against Chicagoan Val Smith to advance to meet Rice in the Final. While Rice ultimately did not win
against Wilson, his runner-up finish in the event puts his team from Brown University in good position in next weekend's Qualifier to the Inter-Collegiate
Sailing Association Match Race National Championship to be held at the Ft. Worth Boat Club in November. Likewise, Wilson's win helps him build momentum
to defend his title at his next important match racing event, the Richardson Trophy.
Final Results
1. Don Wilson (USA)
2. Tyler Rice (USVI)
3. Val Smith (USA)
4. Wataru Sakamoto (JPN)
5. Nathan Hollerbach (USA)
6. Will Holz (USA)
7. Eric Christman (USA)
Chicago Match Race Center Autumn A Grade 3 Regatta
Chicago Match Race Center, Chicago, Illinois
September 27-28, 2012
After two days of near-perfect conditions off Chicago's Belmont Harbor, US Olympian Anna Tunnicliffe won the Autumn A Grade 3 Invitational, the first of two
ISAF Grade 3 events held back-to-back at the Chicago Match Race Center. Tunnicliffe and her coed team of Debbie Cappozzi, Mike Rehe, and Tyler Black
defeated runner-up Wataru Sakamoto from Japan in a clean-sweep 3-0 Final.
In Thursday’s 6-12 knots with a lot of lumpy seas left over from the previous day's strong northerly breeze, Tunnicliffe's road to the top did not start out as
strong as Wilson's, who won all but two matches in the double Round Robin. This gave Wilson the right to choose Sakamoto as his Semi-Final opponent,
leaving Tunnicliffe to face Connecticut-based David Storrs. In defiance of a light air forecast, the breeze today built from the north and ranged from 10-16
knots with huge swells. This made for interesting pre-starts and lots of gains downwind from the huge surf building along the Belmont Harbor waterfront.
"Today, the wind was quite stable, but the waves were a bit of a nightmare at times," said Tunnicliffe. "You really had to pick your spots to tack, be on top of
your timing in the pre-start and work hard downwind to catch waves. It was nice to have the wind, but it was definitely hard work." That hard work paid off
for Sakamoto, he and his Japanese team prevailed on a 3-2 score against Wilson to advance to the Finals, while Tunnicliffe outlasted Storrs on a score of 3-0.
Wilson then went on to defeat Storrs 2-0 in the petite finals while Tunnicliffe handily took the final series 3-0 against Sakamoto.
Final Results
1. Anna Tunnicliffe (USA)
2. Wataru Sakamoto (JPN)
3. Don Wilson (USA)
4. David Storrs (USA)
5. Mike Whitford (USA)
6. Judge Ryan (USA)
7. Jack Jennings (USA)
Red Flannels Lightning Regatta
Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club, Chicago, Illinois
September 22-23, 2012 8 boats
1 Bill Faude/Ernie Dieball/Jared Drake 2-1-1-3 7
2 Todd Wake/Kristine Wake/Doug Wake 1-5-2-1 9
3 David Stix/SteveDiaz/AmySimonson 4-2-3-6 15
4 Doug Steffenson/Brandon Holton/Jonas Andersoon 6-3-4-4 17
5 Peter Orlebeke/Imberly Orlebeke/Cole Orlebeke 8-4-6-2 20
6 Jeff Schmahl/AndrewSchmahl/David Schmahl 5-6-5-5 21
7 William Gibson/Steve Jenkins/Baily Dolan 3-7-7-8 25
8 Stu Webster/JR Kendall/Kiersa Brenner 7-8-8-7 30
Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation 38 November 2012 Newsletter