Nice wind and plenty of racing were just two of the themes from the 36-boat District 11 Championship and US Sailing Singlehanded Championship Area C Elimination at Fishing Bay Yacht Club May 14-15. John MacCausland, from Cooper River Yacht Club, posted 4 bullets and 3 seconds to win the standard rig District 11 Championship and the berth at the US Sailing Singlehanded National Championship in July. Eric Reitinger from Brant Beach Yacht Club finished second while Luke Shingledecker from Severn Sailing Association finished 3rd.

Radial Start by Stephen Boling Photography

In the Radial fleet Mathew Schofield’s (AYC/SSA) consistency with all top 3 finishes pushed him to the podium as the top Radial and top junior. Austin Powers was the top Fishing Bay Yacht Club sailor finishing second while Ben Buhl, also from Fishing Bay Yacht Club round out the top 3. Dorian Haldeman from Severn Sailing Association was the top woman and won the Women’s berth in the US Sailing Singlehanded National Championship.The racing on Saturday saw overcast skies and winds hovering in the 12-14 range most of the day from the south east. All of the starts were clean on the generous line. The first 3 races were 5-leg windward lewards. The wind increased briefly for the 4th race of the day and a triangle was run with some pretty screaming reaches. The final race of the day was another Windward-Leward.

The sailors and race committee were treated to great food and camaraderie Saturday night. We were lucky to have all of the rain come through in the evening hours rather than while racing.

Standard rig mark rounding by Stephen Boling Photography

Sunday was another beautiful day with mostly sunny conditions and a little less wind this time from the south. While the shifty winds might have given the RC a few fits trying to set a square starting line, they were no match for locals Dan Herlihy and Jon Deutsch winning 2 and 1 of the 3 races on Sunday respectively.

The front of the Radial fleet was hotly contested between Matthew Schofield, Ben Buhl and Austin Powers all racing in a tight pack up top. Dorian Haldeman put 9 points between her and runner-up Karen Long (SSA) to secure her title. Cheryl Ryan finished 3rd in the Women’s division.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend of racing. The weather cooperated, the racing competitive, the food fantastic and the sailors had a lot of fun. David Lee and his crew on Race Committee did an excellent job running races. We’d like to thank Fishing Bay Yacht Club for hosting our District Championship and we’re looking forward to having the Laser sailors back October 14-15 for the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Regatta.

Complete Results can be found here.

Some off the water photos are posted here and on-the-water photos by Steven Boling Photography will be posted by mid-week.

1st Radial & 1st Junior Matthew Schofield; 1st Woman Dorian Haldeman; Event Chair Jon Deutsch; 1st Standard John MacCausland