This past July, 97 (ninety seven) C420 teams gathered at the Buffalo Canoe Club for the 2022 C420 North Americans. The trip was a long one, but it was well worth it for the incredible conditions we got on Lake Erie. We had great wind all but one day, where it took a long time to build to a raceable condition. Peter and Cam were impossible to beat in the light wind, they were just so much faster than the whole fleet. Dylan and Nathan Sih also had a great first two days in the other fleet, finishing with huge gaps behind them. The light wind was slightly frustrating, more from the crazy amount of bugs than anything else, but we kept going no matter what.
The third day had the most wind, followed by the fourth. Both days saw 20 or so knots with crazy sea state. I never thought I would see huge waves on a lake, but I was VERY wrong. It was very tricky decided whether to send it left for even more wind, or to hang on the right where it was more protected from the swell. The downwinds were crazy, we had to jump all over the boat to keep our mast in the air!
The wind in combination with the waves made it very difficult to keep boat speed up, which became apparent very quickly. When we’d round the windward mark, the fleet would already be very spread out behind us, and it would continue to do so throughout the rest of the race. The key to staying fast was to just work the boat harder than everyone else, which required a lot of physical strength and stamina. My skipper, Blake Behrens, was being super active on the main to make sure I could stay “locked in” on the wire and stay as low as possible. On the reach legs, Blake was hiking super hard and working the boat up and down through the puffs and lulls. Our whole bodies were completely dead by the end of the last day.
Sailing up in the front near the Diemars and the Sihs was incredibly intimidating, because they had the weight advantage, but we never stopped working the boat and were actually faster than them at times. I remember one upwind we were flying upwind next to the Diemars and Drew D’Orsi. All three of us were launched. Griggs eventually put the bow down and rolled over us, and he looked back at us, smiling, when he did it. It made me notice that I was also smiling. Knowing that we were hanging with some of the best junior sailors in the country felt incredible.
Our regatta actually came down to the last race, assuming we both continued to finish in the top 8, it all depended on who placed above who with the Sihs. We were at a disadvantage, since we had already used our throw out on a breakdown, and the Sihs hadn’t had a bad race. But we were determined to see this through to the end. We started near them and kept them close on the beat. Everything was looking good until we saw the left-most boats flying up to the mark on a massive lefty! Both of us were on the right, so we had a rough race, not finishing in the top 8 like we needed to get second. We were so stoked for the Sihs though! It was a great feeling to stand next to our teammates on the podium!
The regatta was overall a huge success, and I am so proud of everything Blake and I were able to accomplish. We are both extremely satisfied with our third place, I wouldn’t change the way it all went for the world.
Congrats to the Diemars for winning both the North Americans and the triple crown overall, and a huge congrats to Peter and Cam for getting 6th at NAs and second in the triple crown!! Everyone worked so hard this summer, and it’s awesome to see how it all paid off. I hope to see everyone out there on the water again soon!
