2015 505 North American Championship - Chris Love Reports

North American 505 Fleet Gets Early Preview for Worlds; Hamlin/Zinn Lead the Way

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Warm Chesapeake water coupled with a pleasant September high pressure system forced the fleet of the 2015 International 505 North American Championship into three days of on-the-water chess in consistently light and shifty wind, before the northerly kicked in for a final honking day of high octane drag racing. This one-two combo may have been mentally draining and physically demanding for the 33 boats that attended this continental championship event hosted by Severn Sailing Association and Eastport Yacht Club September 17-20, but it will surely give them a leg up on the rest of the globe when they return to these waters in two year’s time to compete for the 505 World Championship.

A compact fleet on the second day of the 2015 International 505 North American Championship

Howard Hamlin and Andy Zinn managed to stay close enough to early leaders Ethan Bixby and Christopher Brady through the light stuff that their picket fence on Day 4 put them comfortably atop the podium. “I thought Ethan was totally untouchable,” said Howard after the victory. “He was going really well in the light stuff, but he just didn’t have it in breeze. We’re more all-around.” Bixby and Brady posted their only double digit scores in all three of the final day’s races and barely held onto second. Reigning World Champions Mike Holt and Carl Smit struggled early but found their stride on the last two days and finished third.

Hamlin and Zinn have been sailing together for ten years, near their home base in Long Beach and around the world, but this was their first taste of Annapolis. “It’s a nice feeling to be a California drag racer and be able to win in a shifty light place. We’re not going to read too much into it though—we won’t necessarily see the same conditions at Worlds.”

2015 North American Champions Howard Hamlin (helm) and Andy Zinn (crew) lead the pack on the final day.

Some of the other top contenders for 2017 are taking notes now. “We all work on our speed and the boats and everything else,” said Mark Zagol, who sails with Drew Buttner and finished sixth this weekend, “but this event just shows how important the mental aspect of sailing is going to be for that regatta. Lots of lead changes, and challenging wind—gotta be ready to battle for an entire week.”

For Craig Thompson, who won the 505 East Coast Championship in August with regular crew Mike Curtin but struggled at this event, it was all about lessons learned: “In Annapolis, you can’t be one dimensional. That’s why Howard and Andy won. Big breeze, medium breeze and shifty, light wind, it doesn’t matter—they could even grind it back when they found themselves in the cheap seats.”

Mike Holt (helm) and Carl Smit (crew) showing some serious intensity on a tight reach leg.

While many 505’ers used this regatta to start preparing for Worlds, the primary focus for the 66 sailors hailing from all corners of the US and Canada was simply to perform the their very best at the pinnacle 505 event for 2015 against some of the world’s top 505 sailors. Local sailor Ramsay Key has been away from the boat for a time, but was sure to find himself a ride when he found out this regatta was coming to his hometown. “Having raced a number of different boats,” said Key, “I don't think there is a better boat that the 505: its part tactical collegiate dinghy, part high performance skiff, and part engineering.  Nothing is better than hoisting the chute in 15 to 25 knots and taking the sleigh ride downhill!”

This event caps off the major events for the class this year, but there’s plenty to look forward to in 2016. After the first three grand slam events, Key and anyone else from the International 505 fleet who can make it back to Annapolis will have another chance to tune up on the same racecourse as SSA and EYC team up again to host the 2016 505 East Coast Championship in preparation for the US to make a big showing at its home event in 2017.

Macy Nelson (helm) and Eric Anderson (crew) are blinded with spray on a beat to windward

Top ten:
1 Howard Hamlin/Andy Zinn 1, 4*, 4, 3, 3, 5*, 3, 4, 1, 1, 1, 21
2 Ethan Bixby/Christopher Brady, 2, 1, 5, 1, 2, 4, 2, 2, 15*, 12*, 10, 29
3 Mike Holt/Carl Smit , 16*, 2, 9*, 8, 4, 1, 1, 3, 4, 3, 5, 31
4 Jesse Falsone/Keith Davids, 10, 3, 13*, 7, 1, 2, 4, 1, 8, 7, 11*, 43
5 Riley Gibbs/Reeve Dunne 3, 6, 1, 15*, 16*, 6, 8, 13, 9, 2, 3, 51
6 Andrew Buttner/Mark Zagol, 4, 11*, 7, 2, 5, 8*, 5, 6, 7, 8, 7, 51
7 Tyler Moore/Rob Woelfel 5, 9, 8, 10*, 6, 3, 9, 14*, 2, 10, 2, 54
8 Stuart Park/Ryan Cox 13, 5, 17, 5, 21*, 20*, 6, 11, 3, 4, 9, 73
9 Jeff Boyd/Rachael Boyd 6, 16, 2, 4, 7, 7, 7, 12, 19*, 18, DNC*, 79
10 Henry Amthor/Dustin Romey, 18*, 22*, 3, 9, 17, 17, 10, 7, 10, 5, 4, 82

Complete results at http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=1440
All photos courtesy of Ted Morgan and Dan Phelps. Full galleries below:
Ted Morgan Gallery
Dan Phelps/SpinSheet Gallery

2015 East Coast Championship - Chris Love Reports

First Win for Thompson/Curtin Comes at Rooster Sailing and Rondar Raceboats US 505 East Coast Champs

Craig Thompson (Rye, NH) and Mike Curtin (Fairfield, CT) captured their first 505 class “Major” this weekend, the 2015 East Coast Championship at Wianno Yacht Club in Osterville, MA. The three-day regatta attracted 19 boats for eight races in a variety of challenging sailing conditions. This event is the third of the class’ annual grand-slam of major events which include the Midwinters and Pacific Coast Championships and the upcoming North American Championship in September.

The top 5 finishers plus PRO Neal Fowler. Awards and pinnies provided by Rooster Sailing.

“This season we did a lot of things well but were never able to put it all together,” said Thompson, “but at this event we were finally able to avoid mistakes that would put us in the back. We finally put the whole package together.” Thompson has been a fixture in the class since 2004 and this is his third season with Curtin, with his wife’s eldest brother. They sailed well enough in the first seven races to clinch the event before the final race on Sunday.

The closest competition for the newly crowned champions came from Augie Diaz and Drew Buttner, both established threats in their own right, but sailing together for the first time. “The 505 is largely driven by the crew, and I‘ve been very fortunate that I get to sail with superstars like Drew Buttner, Rob Woelfel, Fritz Lanzinger,” said Diaz (Miami, FL). The pair put together a string of top-three finishes, dropped a six, and won the final race on Sunday to tie the leaders on points and grab the silver podium position.

Class veterans Tyler Moore and Rob Woelfel took third, and Ethan Bixby / Erik Boothe managed a fourth place finish in a 505 borrowed from Macy Nelson, beating the provider of their charter boat by one place in the overall standings.

Weeks of perfect August weather on Cape Cod gave way to low pressure that covered much of the eastern seaboard this past weekend, leading to unpredictable sailing conditions throughout. Friday far surpassed forecasted expectations with a sunny day, big swell, and wind at 10-15 knots with gusts even higher at times. This gave the ultimate winners an early lead with four points after three races. On Saturday, the Nantucket Sound had an even worse forecast than Friday, but again surprised the fleet with a solid northerly at 10-15 knots on flat water. The three races on this day turned out to deliver the least consistent score lines across the fleet, with all boats recording at least one finish outside the top five. Sunday was the lightest of the three, beginning the day with marginal breeze, but eventually filling in to 5-10 knots for the final two races.

With warm Atlantic water from the gulf, a variety of Cape Cod sailing conditions, daily debriefs under the WYC tent, and 38 close friends gathered together, this year’s East Coast Champs had something for everyone. Several of these competitors will be back on the East Coast in a month for the 2015 505 North American Championship, September 16-20. The event is co-hosted by Eastport Yacht Club and Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD where the clubs will also host the 2016 East Coast Champs, and the 2017 World Championship.

Top ten:
1 Craig Thompson, Mike Curtin, 2, 1, 1, 6, 1, 3, 2, 14*, 16
2 Augie Diaz, Drew Buttner, 3, 2, 2, 3, 6*, 2, 3, 1, 16
3 Tyler Moore, Rob Woelfel, 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 8, 9*, 2, 25
4 Ethan Bixby, Erik Boothe, 4, 5, 4, 2, 5, 13*, 5, 3, 28
5 Macy Nelson, Zack Marks, 6, 4, 5, 7, 8, 4, 1, 9*, 35
6 Henry Amthor, Dustin Romey, 7, 7, 6, 11*, 7, 1, 10, 10, 48
7 Tom Kivney, Gordon Russell, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 7, 13*, 12, 58
8 Ben Greenfield, Matt Gowell, 8, 8, 7, 13, 15*, 11, 14, 4, 65
9 Tom Sitzman, Jesse Falsone, 20*, 20, 20, 1, 3, 6, 12, 5, 67
10 Mike Komar, Ervin Grove, 20*, 9, 20, 12, 2, 12, 6, 7, 68

Full Results: http://www.usa505.org/home/2015ecc
Media Contact: Chris Love, 774-217-3394, http://chrisloveproductions.com/

Rob Woelfel (on wire) and Tyler Moore (helm) take the stern of the gate start boat on Friday

Craig Thompson (helm) and Mike Curtin (crew) take a wave going upwind against steep chop on Friday.

Headcam view from Rob Woelfel and he and Tyler Moore win Race 1 of the regatta on Friday.

The fleet blasts downwind in flat water on Saturday. Photo by Jerry Woelfel.

Andrew Jones (helm) and Arielle Darrow (crew) are all smiles upwind on Saturday. Photo by Jerry Woelfel.

Craig Thompson (helm) and Mike Curtin (crew) douse the chute ahead of the fleet. Photo by Jerry Woelfel.

The 2015 East Coast Champions, Craig Thompson (helm) and Mike Curtin (crew.) Photo by Jerry Woelfel.

2015 Pacific Coast Championship - Chris Love Reports

Big Guns at 505 Pacific Coast Championship

The West Coast contingent of the American 505 Class showed off its big guns as well as its infantry this past weekend at the Pacific Coast Championship, hosted by Santa Barbara Yacht Club May 15-17. Though the 505 is a dinghy, the boat’s technical prowess and penchant for speed apparently qualified the fleet of 17 for entry to SBYC’s yearly Santa Barbara Skiff Festival, sharing the water with slightly smaller fleets of International 14’s and 29ers.

The fleet gets up to speed in a medium-light air start.

Even in the boat park, the favorites were known to all. Perhaps the most notable this spring is Santa Cruz, Cal. skipper Mike Holt who successfully defended his world championship in South Africa in April, and his crew Rob Woelfel, who was also in the front of the boat when Holt won worlds the first time around in 2014. Howie Hamlin, who sailed with his regular crew Andy Zinn, has been the driving force of the class since the 1970’s, and has won several major trophies along the way including the 1999 505 Worlds in Quiberon, France and the 2002 JJ Giltinan Championship, known as the world’s championship of 18ft Skiff Racing. Mike Martin of San Francisco won his first world championship crewing for Hamlin in 1999, then claimed the title again as helmsman in 2009. Martin and his crew, Adam Lowry, had planned to challenge Holt at the 2015 worlds, but were unable to get there due to unforeseen shipping complications. Another San Franciscan, Ted Conrads, who finished third at the recent Worlds, arrived with fill-in crew David Kenny, an accomplished part-time 505’er. Needless to say, these teams are intimately familiar with each other.

Friday’s racing kicked off in a spirited 10-12 knots and the veterans Hamlin/Zinn got off to a quick start with two bullets. The breeze dropped throughout the afternoon, culminating in a floater for part of race three, and a tough race for both Hamlin and Holt’s boats. Martin/Lowery took the win and the lead. With expectations high for more breeze, Saturday delivered a somewhat disappointing 6-8 knot choppy race course, but it was enough for Hamlin/Zinn to get back on track with two more first place finishes and top the leaderboard going into the final day. Sunday morning didn't look promising, but after an onshore postponement, the fleet went out for what turned out to be another two good, closely fought light air races.

Crowded starting line in light air.

Besides the roster full of sailing rock stars duking it out in the front, this regatta offered plenty of memorable moments for the entire fleet. SBYC’s deck was the perfect location for post-racing debriefs along with good beer, classic margaritas and even a stiff martini served under the guise of a "Cold Remedy,” loosening tongues and making for fun conversations between competitors. Sailors reported sightings and close calls with gray whales each day. In one instance, the local whales looked to be ducking the fleet on port tack. “In hindsight we should have lee-bowed them and lead them over to the right instead of crossing through to the left. Clearly whales are smarter than we are!” says Richard Mundell of Royal Victoria Yacht Club in British Columbia, Canada.

One boat served as the fleet’s recruiter, unexpectedly bringing on new sailor’s each day. On Friday Jeff Sharp jumped in to crew for Bob Tennant while crew Richard Mundell desperately sought some back therapy in downtown Santa Barbara. Then on Saturday and Sunday local youth sailing rock star and current 49er campaigner Dane Wilson gave 505s a try for the first time, driving for Rich (Bob had to fly home). Four people in one boat in one weekend!

When it was all said and done, it was the veterans Hamlin and Zinn who stood atop the podium with an impressive four race wins in seven total races. Next were Holt and Woelfel, edging out Martin and Lowery by a single point when factoring in the drop of their worst race. Not far behind in 4th were Kevin Taugher of Alamitos Bay, Cal. and local Don Smith, considered by the fleet to be an SBYC “founder” on account that he can remember when the current clubhouse was built, back in 1966. Their only race win came on the final race, putting the pair ahead of Ventura Yacht Club’s Ryan Cox and Garrett Baum on the tiebreaker.

Impressive distances traveled by sailors hailing from San Diego, Seattle, and even Hawaii made this a strong showing for the west coast fleet.Their ability to mix it up with the reigning world champion and have a great time doing it bodes well for the group as they look ahead to the North American Championship on the other coast, to be co-hosted by Severn Sailing Association and Easport Yacht Club in Annapolis, Maryland, September 16-20, 2015.

 Doug Hagan (helm) came from Hawaii to part the Santa Barbara waves with Paul Von Grey (crew).

Eben Russell (helm) and Brendan Teague (crew) skimming off the top of waves not far from the Santa Barbara shoreline.

Event Website: http://sbycracing.org/2015-skiff-festival/
Full results: http://sbycracing.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Skiff_Fest_2015D32.htm

Top ten:
1 Howard Hamlin, Andy Zinn, 1, 1, (7), 1, 1, 5, 2, 11
2 Mike Holt, Rob Woelfel, 3, 2, (5), 2, 3, 1, 3, 14
3 Mike Martin, Adam Lowery, 2, 3, 1, 3, 4, 2, (6),15
4 Kevin Taugher, Don Smith, 6, (7), 2, 4, 5, 4, 1, 22
5 Ryan Cox, Garrett Baum, 4, 5, 4, (6), 2, 3, 4, 22
6 Jeff Miller, Pat Diola, 5, 4, 3, 5, 6, (12), 5, 28
7 Douglas Hagan, Paul Von Grey, 7, 6, 11, 7, (18 OCS), 6, 8, 45
8 Robert Tennant, Rich Mundell, 9, (15), 12, 9, 11, 7, 7, 55
9 Pierre Jeangirard, Antoine Laussu, (14), 9, 9, 12, 12, 8, 10, 60
10 Edward Conrads David Kenny, 8, 14, 6, 10, 10, (18 DNC), 18 DNC, 66

2015 Midwinter Championship - Chris Love Reports

505 Class All-Stars Rumble at Midwinters

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Mark Zagol (Stonington, Conn.) and Drew Buttner (Westwood, Mass.) bested the nation’s top 505 sailors to win the class’ 2015 Midwinter Championship this weekend, breaking a three-way tie in the final race.  For the entire six-race series the tricky St. Pete breeze kept the top six boats guessing, constantly trading places and often finishing within only a few boat lengths of each other, a rarity for a class whose focus on boatspeed is known to see splits times of minutes not seconds.

It was the first Midwinters win for the pair, adding to a handful of regional and North American titles captured since they began sailing together in 2012. “It’s hard to beat the Floridians,” said Buttner, referring to accomplished class veterans like former world champion Ethan Bixby (sailing with Chris Brady), who finished one point behind Zagol/Buttner, and Augie Diaz (sailing with 2014 world champion crew Rob Woelfel) who took third.

Some of the champions’ success, says Buttner, can be attributed to the training sessions Wednesday and Thursday, run by some class members from the east coast. On those days St. Pete delivered colder temperatures and big breeze up to 25 knots. While this regatta is traditionally sailed in the open water of the Gulf of Mexico, swells left over from a storm earlier in the week relegated the fleet to Tampa Bay, which brought unique challenges for the three race days. Friday saw excellent flat-water conditions for the first three races, but Saturday became trickier, leading to a couple of abandoned races. Sunday offered shorts and flip flops weather, but not enough wind to go sailing, so the fleet got an early start on their trips home.

This mid-winter meeting of the 505 class is not only a pleasant way for snowbound sailors to stretch their trapezing muscles, but is also a training event for some big time upcoming regattas. Reigning World Champion Mike Holt (Soquel, Calif.) booked his cross country trip to St. Pete knowing he would have plenty of quality sparring partners. “Great week of training, full range of conditions, fun group, great racing. It was a perfect way for us to get some time on the water before the 2015 worlds in South Africa next month,” said Holt, speaking of his longtime crew Carl Smit. While the pair have finished second sailing together at multiple World Championships, Holt earned his 2014 honor with crew Rob Woelfel.

Also coming down the pike are the 2015 North American Championships in Annapolis, Md. and the 2017 World Championships at the same location. This could be the start of the East Coast ramp-up to Worlds, says Buttner. All six of this regatta’s top finishers have their sites set on that event, but this class has a culture of teamwork, and the 505 American Section will be working together to make a strong showing on its home waters.

While this year’s fleet was stacked with top talent, overall the fleet was a little short on size expectations, partly due to the breakdown of a three-boat trailer carrying entries from Annapolis. One of the three pairs was able to borrow local sailor Zack Marks’ boat and compete. Alexander Meller recalls, “pulling frogs, lizards and a snake out of Mark’s boat.” with his skipper Lauren Schone. “The snake was pulled out Saturday morning, so had raced with us Friday,” said Meller. “The snake had no comments about 505 racing.”


Top 10 Finishers:

1    Mark Zagol & Drew Buttner 13
2    Ethan Bixby & Chris Brady 14
3    Augie Diaz & Rob Woelfel 18
4    Macy Nelson & Reeve Dunne 19
5    Tyler Moore & Patrick O'Brien 19
6    Mike Holt & Carl Smit 22
7    Nick Nelson & Kelsey Averil 33
8    Henry Amthor & Dustin Romey 33
9    Arnie Heubner & Ted Heubner 35
10   Lin Robson & Stephen Long 45

Full results at http://www.505tanktalk.com/2015/02/2015-505-midwinter-championship-final.html

 Above: Macy Nelson drives with Reeve Dunn on the trapeze, training before the 2015 505 Midwinters

 Above: 505 Midwinters Champions Mark Zagol (skipper, right) and Drew Buttner (crew, left.)

Above: 505 Midwinters Champions Mark Zagol and Drew Buttner on a fast reach while training before the event.