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Club 420 North American Championship
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Saturday-Tuesday, Aug. 18-21
USVI's Canfield opens Club 420 title defense like a champ
Aug. 18, 2007
LONG BEACH---Taylor Canfield, the defending champion, came all the way from the Caribbean while his crew Perry Emsiek motored just a few miles up Southern California's 405 Freeway from her home in Newport Beach to team up for a strong early lead Saturday in the Club 420 North American Championship hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club.
After four of 12 races scheduled through Tuesday, their string of 1-4-5-3 finishes put them 11 points ahead of a tie between Olympic hopefuls Adam Roberts and crew Nick Martin and Keven Laube and crew Jake Reynolds, all from San Diego, with Chris Barnard and crew Chris Segerblom of Newport Beach one point back in fourth at 26 and Oliver Toole and crew Willie McBride of Santa Barbara at 29.
With three days remaining for those four teams to stalk them and other threats poised to pop into contention, Canfield, from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, took a realistic view of his position: "There's a lot of racing left," he said.
Although the wind was from the southwest it wasn't typically Long Beach --- where have you heard that before? --- because when it's that far right it's usually not as light as the 6 knots the 61 boats found for the first two races. Although it built to 9 or 10 before day's end, it continued to defy the conventional wisdom to hit the right side at Long Beach when the wind is from that direction.
"We played the shifts the whole day," Canfield said. "There wasn't a favored side, [so] we never really banged the corners but tried to be conservative."
Roberts offered an explanation of the conditions as "a monsoonal" thing down south affecting local weather that should play itself out before the event is over.
The fleet sailed a windward-leeward course set inside the Long Beach outer harbor inside the breakwater. As the wind remained light, principal race officer Chris Ericksen shrank the course from two laps for 3 1/2 miles to somewhat less and finally a one-lap windup.
Canfield, 18, and Emsiek, 17, met at last year's Club 420 North Americans at Bellport, N.Y. when they were sailing with different partners.
Canfield said, "We became good friends, and her other skipper didn't want to go to some of the other regattas that she did."
In this event all competitors must be 21 years of age or younger through 2007.
The 420 is the doublehanded boat of choice internationally and for collegiate programs across America and Canada. The boat has set the standard for development of sailing skills needed to transition into international competition and the men's and women's International 470 Olympic Classes.
This is the first time a West Coast venue has hosted the C420 North Americans.
The leaders (after 4 of 12 races): 1. Taylor Canfield/Perry Emsiek, St. Thomas YC, U.S. Virgin Islands/Balboa YC, 1-4-5-4, 14 points. 2. Tie between Adam Roberts/Nick Martin, San Diego YC, 5-8-3-9, and Keven Laube/Jake Reynolds, Mission Bay YC/San Diego YC, 6-6-10-3, 25. 4. Chris Barnard/Chris Segerblom, Newport Harbor YC, 2-10-12-2, 26. 5. Oliver Toole/Willie McBride, Santa Barbara YC, 11-5-6-7, 29.
Complete results and photos: www.abyc.org
Rich Roberts [email protected] 310.835.2526 cell 310.766.6547