Gamecock claims IC37 North American Title
by Stuart Streuli / NYYC 23 Sep 2024 16:14 NZST
September 20-22, 2024
Gamecock wins the 2024 IC37 North American Championship © Scott Trauth / NYYC
Most continental sailing championships are a marathon, with numerous races spread out across three or more days, often with varying conditions. The 2024 IC37 North American Championship, however, was a sprint.
Gale-force winds prevented any races from being completed on the first two days of the three-day regatta. So the championship came down to four windy races over the course of six hours earlier today, a blur of starts, mark roundings and on-the-edge downwind sailing.
"It was really windy out there, and it was super variable," says Peter McClennen, skipper of Gamecock, which won the regatta by 7 points. "We were up [between Prudence and Hope islands] which is a very interesting place to race, where you have all the geography. For us, it was just be fast off the line. We tried to minimize maneuvers, and then when we get the kite up, go as fast as we can, hitting speeds of 16, 17 knots. It was absolutely fantastic."
Steve Liebel's New Wave finished second and Hannah Swett and Ben Kinney's MO took third. Chris Lewis skippered Qubit to fourth while first-time IC37 skipper Patrick Shanahan finish fifth in a fleet of 21 boats.
The IC37 North American Championship was hosted by the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I., from September 20 to 22. The regatta was the final event of the summer 2024 IC37 regatta calendar and featured 21 Corinthian teams battling for top honors on Narragansett Bay. The IC37 class was created by the New York Yacht Club to promote one-design competition for amateur sailors. The high-performance 37-foot keelboat was designed by Mark Mills, and strict class rules ensure the most-level playing field in big-boat sailing. The class's fourth North American Championship was sponsored by Helly Hansen, Peters & May, Safe Harbor Marinas and Hammetts Hotel.
While the strong winds that kept the fleet from racing on Friday and Saturday had lessened, today was by no means a light-air day. The breeze varied between 15 and 25 knots and moved around quite a bit, forcing the race committee to regularly adjust the course during races and opening up passing lanes upwind and downwind.
"Many times we rounded out of the top five," says McClennen, "and then it was just a matter of staying connected with the puffs and going fast downwind. We had a number of new people on the boat this weekend, and so we had to quickly get them up to speed. So sometimes our rounding and sets were a little different, but it's just great, great competition and great fun."
The Gamecock program has a reputation among IC37 sailors for going out to practice in all conditions, even when the wind exceeds the class-mandated maximums for racing.
"Yeah, it's comfort in the conditions, having seen them all, and then it's also just always being fast," says McClennen of the benefits of high-wind practice. "When it's windy, you can't get slow, ever. And this boat rewards teamwork. Our team just did an awesome job keeping the boat fast at all times."
The IC37 North American Championship was the final event of the 2024 summer schedule. Winning the season title was Daniel Thielman's Kuai team, which won the National Championship in July and took second in class in the Annual Regatta in June.
"We had a great summer," says Jen Canestra (third from right), who does bow for the team. "We won the Nationals and had pretty good results most of the other races. Today was pretty hard. It was just one day, four races for regatta, and the wind was all over the place, up and down. And there was a lot of managing those shifts and good crew work. We found ourselves a little further back than we would like, but we had a great day."
Forced into a comeback mode in multiple races today, Kuai still managed a seventh overall to clinch the season title.
"We had a little more consistency with our crew this year," says Canestra. "Last year, we had a different main trimmer every event, a different tactician every event. [This year] our main trimmer was with us all season, and we had a little more stability with our tacticians. The crew work matters. When you bring somebody new onto the boat, you're always spending a day or two getting to know each other."
"It's so competitive, and the racing is really top notch. The boats are so close together. And everyone is really friendly, and people are really interested in helping each other out and bringing the whole class up together. So it's a really good class."
Overall Results:
1. Gamecock, Peter McClennen, USA - 3 -1 -1 -3; 8pts
2. New Wave, Steve Liebel, USA - 2 -4 -8 -1; 15pts
3. MO, Hannah/Benjamin Swett/Kinney, USA - 7 -2 -4 -4; 17pts
4. Qubit, Chris Lewis, USA - 1 -10 -3 -7; 21pts
5. Bronco, Patrick Shanahan, USA - 5 -3 -5 -15; 28pts
6. Balthasar, Louis Balcaen, USA - 4 -9 -7 -8; 28pts
7. Kuai, Daniel Thielman, USA - 6 -6 -13 -5; 30pts
8. Vigilant, John Hele, USA - 9 -5 -10 -6; 30pts
9. Defiant, Lance Fraser, CAN - 8 -15 -9 -2; 34pts
10. Glory- USCGA, US Coast Guard Academy, USA - 13 -8 -12 -9; 42pts
11. Drumfire, William Gammell, USA - 12 -7 -11 -14; 44pts
12. Kashmir, Michael Mayer Steve Henderson, USA - 11 -13 -6 -16; 46pts
13. BRIZO, Vicky wiseman, USA - 20 -12 -2 -17; 51pts
14. Fast Forward, Andy Giglia / Rob Fear / Blythe Daly, USA - 14 -11 -14 -13; 52pts
15. Team Pine Pointe, Stephen Kircher, USA - 15 -16 -16 -10; 57pts
16. Turkey Bone, Barry Parkin Jens Mueffelmann, Avery Whidden, USA - 10 -17 -18 -18; 63pts
17. YMO, Blaire McCarthy, USA - 16 -18 -19 -11; 64pts
18. Gallant, Nick Gibbons, USA - 17 -20 -15 -12; 64pts
19. Vatn, Kathryn Thomson, USA - 19 -14 -17 -21; 71pts
20. Res Potentia, Thomas Newman, USA - 18 -19 -20 -20; 77pts
21. Gleam, Andy Tyska, USA - 21 -21 -21 -19; 82pts
Top Corinthian Boat: MO, Hannah Swett & Ben Kinney
2024 IC37 Season Awards:
Season Champion: Kuai, Daniel Thielman
Corinthian Season Champion: MO, Hannah Swett & Ben Kinney