August 7th, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NUKING IN THE GORGE FOR ZHIK 29ERXX & 49ER US NATIONALS 2011 Zhik 29erXX & 49er US National Championships August 5 – 7, 2011 CGRA, Cascade Locks, OR “It has been blowing consistently over 20 knots for the past three days – and it’s amazing,” said Jon Ladha of Newfoundland, Canada, after the final race of this year’s Zhik 29erXX and 49er US National Championship. “It’s so awesome here that we’ve just decided that we’re staying another week,” he continued. That sentiment pretty much sums up what turned out to be a solid weekend of racing in the renowned Columbia River Gorge. In the end, Johnny Goldsberry & Charlie Smythe bested their Canadian training partners, Ladha & Inkpen, by one point to take the overall and US National title in the Olympic 49er class. Nevertheless, the two top boats duked it out right through the last race – which decided the title. Johnny & Charlie will be happy with this finish as they battle to stay alive for Olympic selection this December in Perth, AUS. “We had a blast here in Cascade Locks,” said Johnny. “Next year we should have our Nationals here again and we should have 25 boats! This place is incredible – the race committee got the races off quickly and sent us in when it was above 30 knots – they really know their stuff. This was great racing!” Meanwhile, in the inaugural 29erXX US National Championship, class president Kirsten Lane and Olympic medallist Charlie McKee walked away with the title, besting the hot shot Kiwi team of Alex Maloney and Molly Meach. Lane & McKee carried nine bullets over 11 races, clearly setting the gold standard for XX sailing. Despite the clear smack layed down by the winning team, all enjoyed the racing in the shadow of the Saw Tooth Mountains. Zhik is teaming up with these hot shot skiff sailors to support them and provide awesome gear to the winners. “The prizes are amazing,” added Goldsberry after kissing the US National trophy and donning his new Zhik kti. The popular sailing gear company has long been supporting high performance sailing and this event is no exception. The International 49er Class is the Men’s High Performance Dinghy for the 2012 Olympics in London. It has been an Olympic class since its selection in 1997. The class has nearly 1300 boats sailing on 6 continents. In 2009 the class adopted a modern, full carbon mast to increase its performance. It is by far the most spectacular of all Olympic class sailboats and provides some of the most exciting racing. There are over 100 49er boats across North America. For more info visit: www.49er.org . The 29erXX is the Elite version of the 29er, with a high-powered rig for the existing 29er hull. The 29erXX features a square-head main, larger jib, masthead kite and twin-trapeze which add power and excitement to the standard 29er hull. All of these upgrades fit nicely on to the existing 29er platform, so upgrading is simplicity itself. The 29erXX narrowly missed Olympic selection for 2012. Regardless, the class continues to grow worldwide as sailors enjoy the technical, tactical, physical and fast nature of the boat. For more information please visit: www.29erXX.com . Jen Morgan Glass Tej Trevor Parekh 206 715 5869 514 944 1705 [email protected] [email protected] .