Etchells North American Championships at Houston - Overall

30 Etchells for the North American Championships on Galveston Bay © Sue Bodycomb / www.YachtShots.com

Jud Smith received his sixth Etchells North American Championship trophy Saturday evening at the Houston Yacht Club following his dramatic win with a 14-point lead over his closest competitor on Galveston Bay. This regatta, sailed Thursday through Saturday, May 3–5, marks the fourth consecutive North American win for the reigning Etchells World Champion.

Hank Lammens and Chris Busch tied for second place, and the spot went to Hank who scored a bullet in the second race of day one, which beat out Chris’s bullet from the first race. The second annual Corinthian Cup, awarded to the top-finishing boat sailed by an all-amateur crew as determined by ISAF ratings, was awarded to Hank and his crew Dwayne Smithers and Peter McKenna.

While the diverse conditions on Thursday of the North Americans tested a range of boat-handling skills for the fleet, all three races sailed Friday were an exercise in catching shifts and finding pockets of pressure. The sky was overcast and the water flat when the breeze came in Friday morning out of the south at eight to 10 knots, but the wind only had enough staying power to provide the sailors with a consistent first race until the seabreeze filled in out of the east for the last race. Jud took first place in all three races sailed. Hank Lammens, who began Friday in second place trailing Jud by only four points, dropped down to third overall after a disappointing first race of the day. And Chris Busch moved into the second-place position by sailing consistently throughout the wind shifts and finishing with two fourths and a fifth.

Only one race was left to sail of the seven-race series on Saturday. The boats got off in a strong 14- to 16-knot southeasterly breeze, and Marvin Beckman took an immediate lead around the first windward mark which he held onto through the finish. Jud rounded the first mark in seventh, but fought his way up to second by the next windward rounding. Hank Lammens and Jud dueled for the second-place spot around the next two roundings, and ultimately Hank held onto it for the finish, putting Jud in third.

A complete list of competitors and the final results are available online at www.etchellsnorthamericans.com/index.php?pageID=4

The 2007 Etchells North American Championships hosted 30 sailboats and more than 100 sailors, event volunteers and members of the race committee. The event was sponsored by the Houston Yacht Club and the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, North Sails One Design, First American Title, Hall Spars and Rigging, Gulf Coast Composite, KO Sailing, Classic Cafe, Pusser's Rum, and Marblehead Rigging. Last year the event was held in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Further information about the 2007 Etchells North American Championships is available online at www.etchellsnorthamericans.com

The International Etchells class, established in 1967, is comprised of dozens of fleets located around the world, including 34 fleets across North America. Almost 1400 boats have been built and sailed globally. For more information about the International Etchells Class, visit the website at www.etchells.org

Overall Results: