2016 District 11 Championship Results
Jon Deutsch
The District 11 Championship was held at Severn Sailing Association (SSA) in Annapolis, Maryland this year, in conjunction with their annual Sunshine Open Regatta. Conditions were fairly typical for this early season regatta with intermittent rain and breezy conditions forecast for Saturday and sunshine with diminishing winds for Sunday. Thirty nine sailors were registered for the event, twenty seven full rigs and twelve radials. One of the best events to kick off the east coast sailing season, the Sunshine Open is a long standing regatta dating back to the 70’s when the Laser was first introduced by Bruce Kirby.
Saturday began with intermittent rain and a strong breeze out of the north northwest. Twelve to fourteen knots of wind with overcast skies and temps in the 60’s greeted the sailors as they sailed out to the course in Whitehall Bay, just below the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Strong outgoing current and shifty conditions kept most of the fleet on the left of the course in the early races. The first day saw Leo Boucher, an up and coming Junior sailor from Severn Sailing Association, battling it out with a former District 11 Champion, James Jacob, for first in the Full Rig Fleet. Conditions were challenging, with the strong current and the intermittent swells from passing freighters creating big waves across the course, and the wind driven swells adding to the mix. Saturday ended with James Jacob in first, Leo Boucher close behind and Scott Williamson in third. The Radial Fleet had Kim Couranz in first, Jaques Kerrest in second and Dorian Haldeman in third.
As the sailors made their way back to SSA the sun came out and treated all to a beautiful sunset, with the Naval Academy and the Maryland Statehouse in the background. A dinner of Maryland crab cakes and a great local band capped off a fun evening.
Sunday dawned bright and cool with better than forecast breeze promising another great day on the water. The ten knot breeze that greeted the sailors on the way out to the course soon began to waver and go right. After two challenging races with shifty conditions in a dying breeze Leo Boucher came through with two bullets (1-1-2-1-1) to capture first place in the Full Rig Fleet, followed by James Jacob (2-2-1-1-3) in second and Eric Reitinger, from Brant Beach, in third. Mike Russom (previous District 11 Champion) and Scott Williamson filled in at fourth and fifth place. District 11 Champion, Leo Boucher was also the First Junior sailor and June Rose Futcher was the First Woman finisher in the Full Rig Fleet. In the Radial Fleet, three Severn Sailing Association members took top honors, Kim Couranz (1-1-1-1-2) finished in first with Dorian Haldeman (2-4-2-2-6) in second and Bill Lawson in third place. Susan Taylor and Jacques Kerrest, both of Severn Sailing, rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth respectively. Kim also took top honors as the First Woman in the Radial Fleet.
All in all it was a great event with competitors from up and down the east coast attending and many sailors returning year after year.