North American Championship 2022, Final Day 3
North American Championship 2022, Day 3
Day 3 will be remembered as something very different from the rest of the regatta. A cold front came through, which tore down the regatta tent in one storm cell and lowered temps by more than 20 degrees (for those still on the imperial system). Summer ran away and Fall stood up with authority. Sailors geared up with multiple layers and then huffed and puffed while launching and doing basic manoeuvres, most of them convinced that their thicker wetsuits had somehow shrunk over their bellies since last winter….
There was a bumpy side swell and confused chop coming from the east, combined with a north wind from 4 to 20 knots which made for some unsettled conditions. The shifts were in the 40 degree range, often coming with radical changes in velocity. You'd be sitting on the beam upwind one minute trying to fly a hull, and a minute later flat out with all control lines pegged, leaping over the waves. Downwind was a crazy affair for the foilers going OK on starboard with the waves but more into them on port. Sailing at 25kts into chop straight into a 4kt lull led to plenty of fresh dunkings, as if anyone needed to be cooled off! The Classics were no different, with modes ranging from mild, to wild, to trap running, oftentimes changing modes several times on a leg.
Bailey managed to take away Bruce’s perfect score by using his lake skills to get far ahead in Race One. Bruce showed his champion backbone by minimizing the set back to one additional point by aggressively foiling his way back to 2nd and posting another 1st in the final race.
The air temperature was below the lake temperature which provided some numb hands and feet for the southern boys and girls. The Canadians were pretty excited though and all three Woods brothers showed their local knowledge by sailing very quickly in the tough conditions.
In the Classic Discipline, Bob Webbon maintained his lead in Race One and furthered it in Race Two. Woody Cope sailed a great regatta but had a bit of drama on the last start and opted to retire from the race, ending his challenge for the win but still securing 2nd place. Bob Orr sailed a very good regatta as well, and hung in there on Friday to secure 3rd place. He credits his success to some training he did with the Admiral Ben Hall over the summer, and Bobby said he could still hear the Admiral in his head telling him to trap lower and sheet on!
The regatta produced three sets of scores. The first set is for the overall North American Champion. This set is not scored by Open or Classic designation and any boat could win it. The second and third sets are for the classic and open disciplines. These sets score each boat by its finish within its fleet rather than its finish with all boats on the water.
Top Equipment Open:
1. Bruce Mahoney 2021 AD3/Mischa Sails
2. Bailey White 2020 AD3/Glaser Sails
3. Cam Farrah 2021 AD3/Glaser Sails
Top Equipment Classics:
1. Bob Webbon 2022 AD3/Mischa Sails
2. Woody Cope Nikita/Sail Technologies
3. Bobby Orr Nikita/Glaser Sails
All photos by Doreen Hilliard
