The second week of September, four SDYC women ventured to Northern California for the US Womens Match Race Championships. The event was an invitation only event and had competitors from all over the nation. The four day event was hosted by St Francis Yacht Club and the racing took place on their fleet of J22s with the finish line right in front of the yacht club.
We started the competition with the completion of one whole round robin plus one match in typical San Francisco weather, 8 knots to start and finishing with 25-30 knots. Of course there was significant current to think about as well! It was a very long first day, especially with a capsize or two to add to our not very stellar finishes. After a first tough day we rallied and won some matches and had some more really close ones. The organizers decided to change the format from a double round robin to a triple round robin and then a knock out series. They figured the more sailing the better!
After the culmination of the round robins we were in fourth for the knock out rounds, so no place to go but up! By Sunday the race course was very one sided- with the first team to go left won the race. For the semi finals we were paired with the first place team who were undefeated. We had great matches but didn’t end their undefeated streak.
Our result was significantly enhanced by having the J22s here at SDYC to practice on. We practiced a few times a week for a couple months before the event, and the ease of having the boats in the water ready to go made it great! Thanks to everyone that went out to spar against us!
We finished the event in fourth and had a great time! San Francisco lived up to its reputation for great sailing and StFYC was an excellent host for this event. Needless to say we were quite tired by the time the racing was completed but had an awesome time. Major thanks to SDYC, Steve and Lucy Howell, our sparring partners all summer and Charles and Millie Froeb our host family in Tiburon. Thanks too to my awesome team! Julie Mitchell (bow), Samantha Treadwell (tactics) and Tammy Fowles (trim).