The Etchells Florida State Championship hosted by Biscayne Bay Yacht Club played host to 45 Etchells teams, and among them, a young, fresh group of representatives from the USEYT headed up by Malcolm Lamphere, Doug Wake, Rachel Daye, and Brooks Daley. Between two cancelled flights, over 24 hours of cumulative airline delays, and two crew who had never sailed Etchells, none of us knew what to expect but looked forward to a fun weekend of racing on Biscayne Bay. Day one was spent doing boat work, sail repairs, and fixing a missing tack slug, but eventually the team ended up launching and rigging by regatta’s eve thanks to the help of a number of fleet members.
Day one of racing started out with a dying and left-shifting 10-12 knot breeze. Given this being Malcolm and Doug’s first times in the Etchells, we set a goal to start clear of most boats and try to sail clean lanes. In race one, this meant a pin end start directly in between teams Proctor and Larson, who promptly squeezed us out the back and sent the team up the middle for the first beat. After rounding the first mark in 25-30, we held even on the run and second beat. After noticing a decrease in wind speed and seeing a windline on the far right side, we gybe-set, hooked into new pressure, and sailed a huge right shift to pass ten boats on the final run and secure a 15th.
Race two started in a similar fashion but with more breeze (12-15 kts) from closer to 70 degrees. We started near the pin again and were able to play the middle-left near the top of the first beat to round in 12th. After an okay run, we sailed a super strong second beat to move up to sixth around the top mark. Chris Larson and his team snuck by us at the end of the run and we finished with a strong seventh place.
Race three was a new experience in the Etchells for all of us. Shortly after the start, the eye-strap for the mainsheet turning block on the boom failed, leaving us sheeting directly from the control pedestal to the end of the boom. This, coupled with a twenty-degree right hand shift left us in 42nd of 45 at the first top mark. We recentered, and while limping around the course, passed a couple boats on the run and even more on the next beat, before capping an exciting final run in 18th place. After day one, we were in eleventh place and duking it out with top Etchells teams from around the world.
Day two was breezier, with a steady 18-22 knots of wind accompanied by classic Biscayne Bay chop. With a functional boom and high morale, the youth team set out with the goal of cracking the top ten. After a marginal start in race one, we played the middle-right and ended up mid-fleet at the first mark and held around this position for a 17th.
Given our four consistent results and incorporation of a throwout after five races, we decided to come out guns-blazing to close the regatta. Our start was acceptable, but after a bout of slow speed, we were forced to tack away to the right side. We found a favorable shift and sailed the inside of this lift across most of the fleet into sixth at the top mark. With a quick gybe and lots of physicality on the run, we scooted up to fourth by the gate and third by the final top mark. The final lap of the race was shortened as we worked hard to keep Scott Kaufman and Luis Doreste and teams behind us. After a great top of the final beat, we finished third in the final race and moved to tenth overall and top corinthian by a landslide.
In addition to the sailors on 1208 finishing tenth and top Corinthian, Youth team sailors Lars Osell and Ben Wilkinson were also sailing on the second place corinthian and third place corinthian boats respectively.
We want to extend our thanks to all the USEYT sponsors, the Brown family, and all those who helped us get our boat functional, tuned properly, or contributed to our success in any capacity.
Results: https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=9588