Thank you so much for your help at this year’s Snipe Nationals and Junior Nationals. The nationals were two great events held in Miami, FL, and we (Nevin Snow and Claire Riedman) were exceptionally lucky to be there for both of them.
Junior Snipe Nationals is always held on the weekend before the Snipe Nationals and this year was no exception. The two days of practice that we had beforehand in Biscayne Bay were held in fairly light breeze, especially considering the Junior Nationals themselves were held in a consistent 15-18 knot sea breeze. Day one of the Jr. Nationals began on time with three races scheduled and we made sure to come out of the gates strong because only 5 races were scheduled total. We won the pin in the first race and never looked back. In the second race we finished a solid second and rounded off the day with a third. We had executed our plan to stay consistent and in the top group. Going into the final day we had a two-point lead over the current North American champion Raul Rios from Puerto Rico.
Day two of the Jr. Nationals started off rocky not because we weren’t prepared but because of a skipper error which lead to the non-functionality of the whisker pole in the first race. This would end up being our throw out race, and between races we had to rig a clip system up with spectra, a carabineer, and endless amounts of electrical tape, but it worked. We needed to beat Rios to have a shot at maintaining the lead as he had won the first race handily and was sailing very well in the 17 knot southeasterly breeze. In the final race we finished a decent fourth place but it was not enough to keep off Rios who had two bullets on the day. We ended up second overall in the Snipe Junior Nationals, and as a first major regatta as a team we were very pleased moving into the Snipe Nationals.
The Snipe Nationals lasts for the five days following the Jr. Nationals and this year may have just been the most competitive fleet in recent history. With about 50 boats on the line, more than half the fleet had the skills to be in the top 5 at any given time. Days one and two were much like what we had seen at the Jr. Nationals but even windier. Windspeed averaged 17-22 knots and after four days of hiking and two days of Snipe Nationals we were sitting in 16th place. We were not totally mad at ourselves given the competition, but we knew we could do better and the top ten was not out of reach. However, the next challenge was the weather and in the next three days we would only sail one day and complete three moderate air races.
We ended up finishing 16th overall at the Snipe Nationals and were the second junior team there as well. It was a great experience sailing in Miami and sailing snipes against the best teams from not only the United States, but also Brazil, Ecuador, Italy, and Puerto Rico. In the end we were the top qualifying American team for the Junior Snipe Worlds in Rio de Janeiro in September 2013. Thank you so much to the Competition Syndicate Fund and it was an honor to represent SDYC at such a high profile event, we look forward to making you guys proud in Rio.
Sincerely,
Claire Riedman and Nevin Snow