Bill Hardesty, Erik Shampain, Steve Hunt, and Jennifer Wilson of San Diego take their first Etchells World Championship title after ending the regatta with a strong 12 place finish in race 6. After dropping a 39 point finish from their score, the team secures first place overall with a total of 30. Hardesty was the pre-event favorite having won both the Midwinters East and West.
Chris Busch, Chad Hough, Chuck Sinks, and Peter Burton, also of San Diego, came in second with 38 points followed by Jud Smith, Henry Frazer, and James Porter with 41. After protest and redress hearings at the end of today, Peter Duncan moved from 16th to tie Beadsworth/Dwyer at 56 points for 4th. Duncan won with tie breaker with his 2nd place win in today’s race.
The 6th and final race of the regatta was run today in beautiful conditions with 10-20 knot westerly winds, waves, and warm sunny weather. Bush, Hough, Sinks, and Burton took the lead on the first downwind leg, and from there they proceeded to walk away from the fleet on every leg and capture first place by a substantial margin.
“We went right on the first beat while most of our competitors went left,” Busch explained. “We were pretty behind after a bad start at the right end of the line, but we found better velocity and some good shifts on our side and we were able to work out way back through the fleet. Once you’re out front, it’s a lot easier to stay there It’s the races where you’re deep and have to fight your way back that really make the difference.”
Busch, Hough, Sinks, and Burton definitely take the role of the stealthy stars of the regatta. After a disappointing 49th finish on the first day, the team moved to 8th with a 2nd and a 4th on the second day of racing. They continued their climb up the score board with respectable finishes in races 4 and 5 which brought them up to 6th and then into the top three. With a decisive win today, the San Diego team ultimately captured 2nd place by three points from Smith, Frazer, and Porter.
Winners Hardesty, Shampain, Hunt and Wilson sailed an impressive regatta. “Our two firsts on the second day really helped. We’ve been training hard, and it paid off.” Hardesty said. With the exclusion of their 39 point drop race, the team never scored below 13th in the racing this week. On how the team managed to stay consistent in the tricky conditions Hardesty explained, “We sailed conservatively. Once we figured out what was working for us, we stuck with that strategy.”
Remarkably, with the exception of one drop race apiece, Hardesty, Busch, and Smith all posted top 20 finishes in the five races counting toward their final score. It is undoubtedly this impressive consistency, despite challenging conditions, that places these three boats on the Etchells Worlds podium this year.
The next Etchells World Championship will be held in March 2009 on Port Philip Bay, Melbourne with the host club being Royal Brighton Yacht Club. For more information log on to or www.chicagoyachtclub.org
Pos | Sail No | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
1 | USA979 | Bill Hardesty, Erik Shampain, Steve Hunt & Jennifer Wilson | 7 | 1 | 1 | -39 | 8 | 13 | 30 |
2 | USA969 | Chris Busch, Chad Hough, Chuck Sinks & Peter Burton | -49 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 38 |
3 | USA102 | Judson Smith, Henry Frazer & James Porter | 15 | 9 | -41 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 41 |
4 | USA1327 | Peter Duncan, Thomas Blackwell & William Barton | 17 | 22 | 10 | 5 | -51 | 2 | 56 |
5 | IRL1375 | Dave Dwyer, Andy Beadsworth & Simon Fry | -40 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 56 |
6 | GBR1352 | Graham Bailey, Stephen Bailey & David Heritage | 24 | 7 | 3 | -64 | 7 | 18 | 59 |
7 | USA706 | Artie Means, Will Stout & Chuck Skewes | 13 | 3 | (84\OCS) | 13 | 17 | 16 | 62 |
8 | CAN1349 | Hank Lammens, Dirk Kneulman & Dwayne Smithers | 35 | 27 | -43 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 86 |
9 | USA1227 | Vincent Brun, Ben Mitchell & Jeff Pape | 4 | 5 | 5 | -51 | 25 | 47 | 86 |
10 | USA1310 | Robert Wray, Scott Nixon & Mike Wolfs | 37 | 4 | 9 | 34 | 6 | -50 | 90 |
11 | USA1224 | Kurt Winkelmann, Larry Ledgerwood & Brad Boston | 2 | 48 | -61 | 3 | 30 | 9 | 92 |
12 | USA1228 | Brian Camet, Eric Doyle & Brian Terhaar | 22 | 6 | 31 | -40 | 21 | 15 | 95 |
13 | NZL1058 | Andrew Wills, Anatole Masfen & Alastair Gair | 14 | 8 | (43\SCP) | 24 | 41 | 8 | 95 |
14 | USA1238 | Gary Gilbert, Mark Mendelblatt, Stu Argo & Mark Strube | 27 | 23 | 33 | 10 | 4 | -34 | 97 |
15 | GBR1329 | Julia Bailey, Dylan Potter, Anna Bailey & Pedro Rebelo de Andra | -28 | 18 | 25 | 20 | 11 | 23 | 97 |
16 | NZL716 | Simon C Minoprio, Ryan Houston, Mike Buckley & Kelly McKenna | 30 | -58 | 23 | 17 | 9 | 19 | 98 |
17 | USA1296 | Jeffrey Siegal, Jeff Madrigali, Willem Van Waay & Becky Nygren | -66 | 19 | 30 | 27 | 22 | 10 | 108 |
18 | USA701 | Aaron Housten, Daniel Somers & John Harford | 3 | 30 | 12 | 21 | 46 | -56 | 112 |
19 | USA1168 | Peter Vessella, Tracy Usher & John Callahan | -34 | 13 | 13 | 33 | 28 | 26 | 113 |
20 | USA1229 | Argyle Campbell, Jack Jakosky & Dwight Belden | 9 | 56 | 6 | 45 | -73 | 4 | 120 |
21 | USA1306 | Thomas Hughes, Ron Rosenberg & Curt Oetking | 20 | 11 | 46 | -59 | 23 | 20 | 120 |
22 | USA1232 | Marvin Beckmann, Matt Cunningham & Timothy Banks | 12 | 26 | 28 | -58 | 38 | 17 | 121 |
23 | USA1308 | Senet Bischoff, Colin Gordon & Ben Kinney | 8 | 50 | 17 | 1 | -59 | 48 | 124 |
24 | GBR1333 | Ante Razmilovic, Jez Fanstone & Stuart Flinn | -57 | 25 | 29 | 6 | 39 | 25 | 124 |
25 | USA1285 | Bruce Golison, Steve Flam & Steve Girling | -76 | 14 | 7 | 32 | 69 | 5 | 127 |
26 | IRL1015 | David Burrows, Peter Coad & Dan O'Grady | -55 | 16 | 19 | 48 | 10 | 36 | 129 |
27 | USA1350 | Bruce Burton, Glenn Burton & Jon Easley | -52 | 33 | 39 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 130 |
28 | AUS915 | Peter McNeill, David Gleadhill & Tom Woods | 58 | 15 | 2 | 46 | 13 | (84\OCS) | 134 |
29 | USA1085 | Ethan Doyle, Holt Condon, AJ Crane & Matt Hooks | 25 | 31 | 14 | 35 | -36 | 32 | 137 |
30 | USA1363 | Justin Palm, John Erik Garr & Hans Pusc Pusch | 1 | 17 | 32 | 50 | 42 | -54 | 142 |
31 | NZL1127 | Gavin Gerrard, Richard Bouzaid & John Baxter | 5 | 45 | -56 | 15 | 44 | 33 | 142 |
32 | SUI1187 | James-Se Mc-Hugh, Oliver Tache, Nick Gibbons & Anthony Kotoun | 11 | 38 | -55 | 7 | 48 | 43 | 147 |
33 | CAN1247 | Allan Leibel, Kent Paisley & Mike Hren | 32 | 28 | 11 | -66 | 18 | 59 | 148 |
34 | USA1373 | Buddy Cribb, Eammon DeLisser & Frank Atkinson | 33 | 34 | 18 | 37 | 26 | -46 | 148 |
35 | USA822 | Fred Joosten, David Williams & Niels Heemskerk | 10 | 44 | 16 | 9 | 71 | -73 | 150 |
36 | AUS1320 | Rob Bird, Graeme Johnson & Nick Gray | -69 | 51 | 35 | 12 | 16 | 39 | 153 |
37 | USA978 | Rick Kaiser, Gerri Whitley, Matt Shirilla & Libby Christy | 42 | 29 | 27 | 56 | 5 | -57 | 159 |
38 | BER1249 | Tim Patton, Patrick Siewers & Christian Monachon | 21\SCP | -74 | 45 | 26 | 65 | 7 | 164 |
39 | CAN398 | Andrew Macrae, Marcus Stone & Bruce Scott | -68 | 12 | 8 | 38 | 43 | 63 | 164 |
40 | USA1281 | Frederic Laffitte, Janet Laffitte, Lucas Laffitte & Jean-Didi Martial | 29 | 20 | 20 | 61 | 37 | -72 | 167 |
41 | USA1149 | John Pedlow, Craig Cooper & Blaine Pedlow | 47 | 21 | 52 | 18 | (84\DSQ) | 31 | 169 |
42 | USA1097 | Jose Fuentes, Greg Hryniewic & Paul Garn | 18 | 42 | 44 | -72 | 63 | 6 | 173 |
43 | USA1301 | Peter Shumaker, Michael Herlihy & Brad Swebles | -65 | 49 | 64 | 16 | 14 | 35 | 178 |
44 | AUS1356 | Michael Manford, Dean McAullay & Richard Rowell | (84\OCS) | 43 | 38 | 29 | 32 | 40 | 182 |
45 | AUS1134 | Matty Whitnall, Christian Brook & Ant Elliott | -64 | 40 | 15 | 25 | 57 | 46\ZFP | 183 |
46 | AUS1102 | Steve O'Rourke, Scott Condie & Steve Backhouse | 36 | 47 | -68 | 44 | 47 | 12 | 186 |
47 | IRL1323 | Stephen Quinn, Stephen O'Flaherty & Peter Kingston | -70 | 46 | 54 | 14 | 27 | 45 | 186 |
48 | USA1207 | Jeff Padnos, Juan Pabl Del Solar, Sam Padnos & Josh Padnos | -59 | 36 | 49 | 36 | 15 | 55 | 191 |
49 | USA928 | Bill Mauk, Michele Sumpton, Jeff Eiber & Matthew Smith | -77 | 37 | 26 | 41 | 24 | 65 | 193 |
50 | USA1008 | Michael Goldfarb, James Stewart & Mark Brink | 19 | (84\OCS) | 57 | 55 | 40 | 24 | 195 |
51 | AUS1244 | Jake Gunther, Andrew Cooper & Russell Tyson | 44 | 39 | 21 | 53 | (81\SCP) | 41 | 198 |
52 | USA1283 | Andrew Whittome, Bob Capita & William Kalmbach | 38 | 10 | 67 | 52 | 45 | (84\OCS) | 212 |
53 | AUS1355 | Bryon Ehrhart, Chris Lefferdink & Stewart Dilisser | 41 | 59 | 42 | 23 | -70 | 49 | 214 |
54 | GBR987 | Robert Elliott, Sam Richmond & Matt Adams | 48 | 32 | -66 | 42 | 50 | 42 | 214 |
55 | USA1239 | Stephen Horwitz,, Robby Brown, Erick Rodriguez & Megan Place | 28\SCP | 73 | 48 | 47 | (84\DSQ) | 29 | 225 |
56 | AUS1150 | Terence Steele, Jameson Buxton & Bradley Moore | 6 | 60 | 71 | -78 | 34 | 58 | 229 |
57 | USA1044 | David Whelan, Jake Scott & Joshua Knapp | -73 | 66 | 50 | 30 | 19 | 69 | 234 |
58 | USA1315 | John V Gilmour II, Andrew Mirkwitz & Patrick Vincent | 31\SCP | 54 | 70 | 43 | -78 | 37 | 235 |
59 | USA1307 | Jeffrey Nehms, Ezra Culver & Fred Chandler | 50 | 41 | 47 | -69 | 53 | 44 | 235 |
60 | USA1199 | William Mills IV, Christoph Constant & William Mills III | 53 | 69 | 36 | -70 | 49 | 38 | 245 |
61 | GBR1354 | David Franks, Graham Sunderlan & Mark Watson | 71 | 35 | 24 | -75 | 61 | 61 | 252 |
62 | USA1137 | Shannon Bush, David Thomas & Charlie Dickey | 61 | -67 | 59 | 63 | 52 | 22 | 257 |
63 | GBR962 | Rob Goddard, Garth Britton & Dave Freemantle | 54 | (84\OCS) | 53 | 65 | 66 | 27 | 265 |
64 | USA21 | Doug Scheibner, Tom Norsworthy & Angela Scheibner | 43 | 61 | 51 | 49 | 64 | (84\DNS) | 268 |
65 | USA1342 | Thomas Dawson, Chris Clark & Don Maxwell | 51 | 57 | -65 | 62 | 62 | 39\ZFP | 271 |
66 | USA1076 | Ray Harrington, Karl Fjeld & Don Brush | 56 | 70 | -76 | 28 | 58 | 60 | 272 |
67 | USA668 | Richard Sidell, Ed Coyne & Paul Mahon | 39 | 52 | -78 | 74 | 35 | 75 | 275 |
68 | USA980 | Jack Bernhardt, John Powell & Marc Simmel | 62 | 71 | -74 | 22 | 56 | 66 | 277 |
69 | USA1211 | Kevin Boyle, Mike Considine & Steve Outlaw | 31 | 65 | 69 | -73 | 68 | 51 | 284 |
70 | USA1069 | Elizabeth Altman, Ed Furry, Doug Nickel & Vickie Matthews | -75 | 62 | 34 | 67 | 54 | 67 | 284 |
71 | CAN1053 | Allan Gray, Gregg Rolston & Matt Skafel | -74 | 53 | 40 | 60 | 60 | 74 | 287 |
72 | IRL1271 | Mary O' Loughlin, Katie Dwyer, Karena Knaggs & Alice Cowman | 63 | 79 | (84\DNF) | 68 | 29 | 53 | 292 |
73 | IRL1252 | Alexander Lacy, Paul Derham & Jonathon Carroll | (78\SCP) | 63 | 73 | 76 | 31 | 52 | 295 |
74 | CAN898 | Jerry Wendt, Darrell Suderman & Bryan Milne | 79 | 55 | 58 | -80 | 33 | 70 | 295 |
75 | USA1241 | Ken Womack, Marc Holdaway & Andrew Lee | 21 | 76 | 60 | -79 | 75 | 64 | 296 |
76 | CAN1154 | Glenn McKay, Brian McKay, Richard Weld & Michelle Skutelsky | 67 | 77 | 62 | 54 | 55 | (84\DNS) | 315 |
77 | USA583 | Kers Clausen, Bob Branstad & Alson Silva | 45 | 75 | -77 | 71 | 67 | 62 | 320 |
78 | AUS1360 | Jan Muysken, Steve Tracey & Ed McCarthy | 60 | 68 | 72 | 57 | (84\DNF) | 71 | 328 |
79 | USA1313 | Patricia Stadel, Patrick Sloan & Mark Toso | 46 | 64 | 75 | (84\DNF) | 76 | 78 | 339 |
80 | ITA942 | Marco Cimarosti, Peter Bellingham & Charles Winstone | (84\SCP) | 84\DSQ | 79 | 31 | 80 | 68 | 342 |
81 | USA1166 | Gretchen Sullivan, Ralph Carpenter, Brent Sullivan & Sarah Callahan | 80 | 72 | 63 | -81 | 72 | 76 | 363 |
82 | AUS917 | Stephen Ingate, Andrew Jeffery & Nick Smith | 78 | 80 | -81 | 77 | 79 | 77 | 391 |
83 | USA1299 | Jerry Fulp, Randall White & Marie Hansson | 82 | 78 | 80 | (84\DNF) | 77 | 84\OCS | 401 |