International Laser Class 2008 US National Championship Sailing
The Championships were decided in the final race
August 10, 2008 -- Long Beach, CA – Day three’s racing in the lightest conditions the regatta had seen.
There were approximately five knots of breeze at the beginning of race seven. The breeze slowly built
throughout the day and reached 14 knots of breeze at the beginning of the final race. Consistency in the
varying conditions was the key to the success of the champions in all of the fleets.
The race for the title in the Laser Full Rig division came all the way down to the very last finish. It was
not an easy ending for Chris Dold as he dropped out of the second to last race of the regatta. Dold said,
“going into the last race I really focused on sailing my own race. I was a bit rattled after fouling in the
previous race, which resulted in me using that race as my drop race. At the time I didn’t know exactly
what the scores were, but I knew I had to beat Lee.” In fact, Dold needed to beat Parkhill by two points
in the last race in order to win the championship. After a very tight race, Chris Dold of Royal Canadian
Yacht Club was able to squeak out a victory just two points ahead of ahead of Lee Parkhill of Royal
Canadian Yacht Club.
Racing in the Laser Radial division also came down to the final race. Still, Mateo Vargas of St.
Petersburg Yacht Club had great consistency that led him to win the National Championship. “The
racing was great. There was a large variety of conditions and having good boat speed allowed me to
stay consistent. I really enjoyed the warm water and the fun downwind sailing conditions.” The high
school single-handed Cressy Championship Regatta is the next major regatta on his schedule. Just
behind Vargas was Philip Alley of Lauderdale Yacht Club who finished just one point behind. Local
sailor, Chris Barnard of Newport Harbor Yacht Club finished third just six points out of the lead.
In the Laser 4.7’s, Cameron Hall of St. Petersburg Yacht Club was able to maintain his lead and took
home the title of US Laser 4.7 National Champion. The battle for second and third between Jack
Swilkart and Abby Featherstone continued throughout the day. After 9 races, Swilkart beat Featherstone
by only one point.
The regatta was sailed in Laser Full Rigs, Laser Radials, and Laser 4.7’s which are all the same one
person racing hull with varying sail sizes. For more information, results and regular updates go to:
www.abyc.org.
Laser Radial National Champion, Mateo Vargas of St. Petersburg Yacht
leads the pack to the weather mark during race nine.
The Laser Full Rig’s come off of the starting line with speed at the
beginning of race nine during the US Laser National Championship hosted
by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club of Long Beach, California.
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club
7201 East Ocean Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90803-4405
562-434-9955 Phone
562-434-2267 Fax
Cameron Hall, Laser 4.7 National Champion crosses ahead of the.Club
competition as he prepares to cross the finish line during race eight.Y
US Laser Full Rig National Champion, Chris Dold of Royal Canadian
Yacht Club gets his boat up on a plane just after rounding the weather
mark ahead of the pack during the final race of the regatta.
Press Officer-Glennon Stratton, GTSphotos
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Long Beach, CA 90814
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