The 2017 505 North American Championship was contested over four June days on the beautiful Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts. The event was hosted by the Community Boating Center in New Bedford, and all the competitors left with big smiles on their faces as the venue, the race management, the social schedule, and the bay delivered.
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| Historic Fort Taber |
25 teams made historic Fort Taber their home base for the long weekend, which meant a short 15 minute sail to the starting line. Situated on the lee side of a point at the base of the sea breeze, Fort Taber offered an ideal location to launch from. The New Bedford Whaling Museum hosted everyone Thursday night and gave everyone a look back into the 1900's whaling community. Racing during the event was spectacular with four very different days.
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| Fleet on the second reach leg of a Worlds Course, Day 1 |
Day 1 was champagne sailing with 12-15 knots and sunny skies. A mixture of 505 worlds courses (W/L, Triangle, W/L) and double W/L courses were sailed throughout the regatta. Races were generally 50-70 minutes long allowing for sufficient time to pass and to be passed; many races were decided on the last downwind leg which provided adequate passing lanes. 3 races were held with Howie Hamlin and Andy Zinn asserting their early dominace on the fleet. Craig Thompson and Mike Curtin put together a solid first day to hold 2nd place going into day 2.
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| Hamlin and Zinn finish close in front of Thompson and Curtin in Race 3 |
Day 2 brought 20-25 knots and enormous waves launching many 505s into the air exposing both blades as they skipped over the waves upwind. Two races were held with the wind opposing the tide, until the breeze freshend further turing the sail back to the fort into a true test of seamanship. The volunteers and the CBC staff did a fantastic job on the water ensuring all boats, including those that had equipment damage, made it safely back to shore. Howie and Andy and Ted Conrads and Jeff Nelson both set themselves apart from the fleet in the big breeze, with finishes of 2-1 and a 1-3 respectively.
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| Conrads and Nelson proved fast and proficient in big breeze and big waves |
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| Kivney and Russell getting some air time around the top mark |
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| Barry and Barrowes had great speed on day 2 |
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| Hamlin and Zinn approaching the finish at speed |
Day 3 was a light 5-7 knots, with two races held after a postponement on shore. Chris Behn and Jesse Falsone put together a solid day with two third place finishes putting them in striking distance of the top three going into the final day.
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| Day 3 was a much different condition, testing the sailor's all-around skills |
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| Behm and Falsone proved to be quick in the light air |
Day 4 saw 10-15 knots with heavy fog. two races were held in a tricky condition with large disparity between the puffs and the lulls. Limited visibiity also made for some interesting strategy in deciding which side of the course to favor. 505 newcomer Chris Segerblom and Eric Anderson won the day with finishes of 3-1 securing their 8th place overall and the "top young team" award of a brand new jib donated by North Sails. While the winners of the event had already been determined, the fight for second place came down to the last run of the regatta. Thompson and Curtin rounded the last top mark in 3rd place, but opted for a standard set onto starboard. Behm and Falsone gybe-set onto what proved to be the heavily favored side of the course downwind and had a great run to finish 4th in the race and secure 2nd place overall. Conrads and Nelson finished out 1 point back in third overall.
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| From left to right: Andy Herlihy (regatta chair), Andy Zinn, Howie Hamlin, Sam Vineyard (PRO) |
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| Top young team Eric Anderson and Chris Segerblom |
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| Third place team of Ted Conrads and Jeff Nelson |
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| Second place team of Jesse Falsone and Chris Behm |
The race management lead by Sam Vineyard handled the changing conditions perfectly. In the end, the team of Howie and Andy proved to be faster, smarter, and more consistent than the balance of the fleet and were crowned the 2017 505 North American Champions. Howie and Andy have won 3 of the last 4 North Americans and are certainly looking like strong contenders going into the
Annapolis Worlds in September.
All photos courtesy of
C A Hill Photo. Full
gallery of photos can be found here.
Full Results:
| Place, Skipper, Crew City, State, Country, Results, Total Points |
1. Howard Hamlin, Andy Zinn , Long Beach, CA, USA, 1 -1 -2 -2 -1 -1 -4 -1 -[5] ; 13
2. Chris Behm, Jesse Falsone , Edgewater, MD, USA, 3 -5 -11 -5 -[14] -3 -3 -4 -4 ; 38
3. Ted Conrads, Jeff Nelson , Mill Valley, CA, USA, 5 -4 -12 -1 -3 -4 -1 -9 -[13] ; 39
4. Craig Thompson, Mike Curtin , Rye, NH, USA, 4 -2 -3 -6 -7 -2 -[10] -8 -8 ; 40
5. Tyler Moore , Rob Woelfel, Hampton, VA, USA, [26] -11 -4 -3 -8 -6 -2 -2 -6 ; 42
6. Michael Quirk, Curtis Hartmann , Kensington, MD, USA, [10] -3 -8 -4 -2 -5 -8 -7 -10 ; 47
7. Mark Zagol, Drew Buttner , Westwood, MA, USA, 7 -7 -1 -[16] -12 -8 -15 -5 -3 ; 58
8. Chris Segerblom, Eric Anderson , Mountain View, CA, USA, 9 -10 -[13] -11 -4 -9 -13 -3 -1 ; 60
9. Henry Amthor, Reeve Dunne , Hampton, VA, USA, [16] -13 -10 -8 -9 -7 -7 -6 -2 ; 62
10. Matthew Barry, Thomas Barrows , New York, NY, USA, 2 -6 -6 -10 -6 -10 -6 -17 -[18] ; 63
11. Macy Nelson, Russell Miller , Baltimore, MD, USA, 6 -9 -5 -15 -[26] -16 -5 -10 -9 ; 75
12. Thomas Kivney, Gordon Russell , .Williamstown, MA, USA, 8 -8 -9 -9 -5 -19 -[22] -12 -11 ; 81
13. Michael Komar, John Ingalls , Newport, RI, USA, 11 -17 -15 -7 -[26] -15 -9 -11 -12 ; 97
14. Lin Robson, Unknown , St. Petersburg Beach, FL, USA, 17 -12 -7 -17 -11 -18 -14 -[20] -19 ; 115
15. Barney Harris, Unknown , arlington, va, USA, 19 -14 -[20] -12 -10 -20 -16 -15 -17 ; 123
16. Duane Delfosse, Stuart Park , Windham, NH, USA, 12 -19 -14 -[26] -26 -12 -17 -14 -14 ; 128
17. Dan Herlihy, Jay Smith , Richmond, VA, USA, 13 -16 -[26] -26 -26 -13 -12 -16 -15 ; 137
18. Peter Scannell, Tom Hurwitch , Saratoga Springs, NY, USA, [26] -26 -26 -13 -13 -22 -19 -13 -7 ; 139
19. Catherine Guiader, Chris Brady , Annapolis, MD, USA, 18 -20 -18 -[26] -26 -11 -11 -18 -20 ; 142
20. Marek Balinski, Unknown , Toronto, Ont, CAN, 21 -21 -16 -14 -[26] -14 -21 -21 -21 ; 149
21. Doug Watson, Gabe Watson , Baltimore, MD, USA, 14 -18 -21 -[26] -26 -21 -20 -19 -16 ; 155
22. Marie Gendron, Unknown , St-Zotique, Quebec, CAN, 20 -22 -19 -[26] -26 -17 -18 -22 -26 ; 170
23. Michael Breton, Unknown , Charlestown, RI, USA, 15 -15 -17 -[26] -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 ; 177
24. Bill Platt, Unknown , Madison, CT, USA, [26] -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 ; 208
25. Mike Martin, Adam Lowry , Mill Valley, CA, USA, [26] -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 -26 ; 208
