2018 Formula 16 North American Championships
Mark your calendars for November 2,3,4 and 5!
We're going back to Clearwater, Florida for the 2018 Formula 16 North American Championships.
And I expect Red Gear Racing will be offering training opportunity prior to the racing days. Details on that will be announced as they become available.
Once again we will be including the Nacra 15s in our event, to contribute to the development of youth catamaran sailing, and to gain exposure for the F16 among teams who may eventually step up to the F16.
Same as 2017, we will be racing together with a single start, though the fleets will be scored separately. Yes, there is potential that boats not racing against each other could get tangled up, but it's the same possibility for all competitors. It's really nothing to fret about, so bring your best stuff and join us for a great time!
In 2019, I am very hopeful that the stars will align, and the Formula 16 and Formula 18 Fleets will come together for a combined North American Championships. There would be many advantages both for organizers and competitors. The North Cape Yacht Club in Michigan has been discussed as a potential venue for such an event. For a regatta this large, racing might take place as separate fleets on separate courses, but it sure would be fun to bring all these North American cat sailors together in one place. It's happening in other parts of the world, so let's keep the dialog flowing. The 18s will be together for their Worlds in Sarasota in October, and we'll be together for our NAs in November. Hopefully both groups will be behind the idea after those events and we'll break new ground in 2019!
That's all I've got for now.
Happy New Year to all!
Best,
Daniel Hearn
USF-16 Chairman
Old Dogs Rule at 2017 F16 North American Championships
(Submitted by Daniel Hearn, Class Chairman)
Four of the top five spots at the event recently completed in Clearwater, Florida were captured by teams tipping the half century mark at both helm and typically crew. After three consecutive 4-race days in double trapeze conditions, the team of Robbie Daniel (Florida) and Gary Chu (Wisconsin) came out on top with six bullets and no other finish lower than a three. Second Place was captured by husband and wife team, Matt and Gina McDonald (Florida), with impressive throws of just a three and a four. Defending Champions, and the only Top Five team without gray hair on board, were youth team, Mark Brunsvold and Dylan Heinz (Florida) finishing in Third. The single-handed Champion was Ken Marshack (Washington).
Embracing the importance of attracting more youth to catamaran sailing, the Formula 16 Fleet invited the Nacra 15s to participate in the event. The two fleets shared a single start, amounting to 23 boats on the line. The youth teams sailed exceptionally well, gathering valuable bigger fleet experience. Matthew Monts (South Carolina) and Carlyn Blauvelt (Georgia) claimed First Place in the N15 Fleet. Great sportsmanship was displayed by all sailors throughout the event, as evidenced by the fact that the Protest Committee was not called upon a single time throughout the week. The Race Committee also conducted a flawless event, much appreciated by all participants. Special thanks go out to lead sponsor, Red Gear Racing, and to Jill Nickerson for her never-ending support.
At the Class Meeting, which preceded a spectacular dinner, the new leadership team was nominated and elected. Meeting Minutes will be published at USF16.org soon detailing all agreements. Plans are also in the works for a 2018 Championship. The leadership team expects to make an official announcement before year-end.
http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=14935&show_divis
ions=1&show_crew=1
Registration Deadline
Dear F16 and N15 Sailing Friends:
Wow, time flies! October 1 is just around the corner, and that marks the last day before the late registration fees go into effect. If you're registered, but haven't paid your fee yet, please do so now. If you were on the fence wondering if everything was a go, post hurricane, wonder no more, as Clearwater, thankfully, came through with little damage.
Our season here in the north is all but over, so we're looking forward to extending our season in sunny Florida the first week of November. See you there!
For your convenience, here's the registration link: Regatta Network Registration Link
Best,
Daniel Hearn
(Acting) USF-16 Chairman
Madison, WI
USF-16 News
Dear US Formula 16 Sailors and Interested Parties:
The European Formula 16 Championships are underway this week in Switzerland with more than 40 entries. Our German friend and International Class Chairman, Tomas Konig, will be leading the international class meeting during the event. (Unfortunately, Tomas and crew, Katrin, will not be able to race, as Tomas is recovering from surgery to repair a torn bicep. Because Tomas has big guns, the recovery period is rather extended). Attached is the agenda for that discussion, which includes the individual reports from our fleets around the world. You'll find my report about the US fleet within this document. If you have any comments about any of this, please let me know.
Our friends in the Formula 18 Class just completed their World Championships in Denmark last week. The Flying Dutchman, Mischa Heemskerk, won the event working his way back up the leader board after dropping his mast in an early race. Interestingly, Mischa was using a deck sweeper mainsail, consistent with his sail development for the A-Class catamaran. It will be interesting to see if deck sweeper mains now become "all the rage" in the beach cat community. Mischa was also sailing on relatively new F18 called the Scorpian, which I believe is made in Poland by the same builder as the Exploder A-Class catamaran. At the top of the Silver Fleet is a familiar name from the F16 community, Andreas Lutz, of Switzerland. Congrats to him!
Here in Wisconsin, we're typically getting from 12-20 F16s and F18s racing together at each of our regattas. We've found that the two classes are very competitive with each other, even boat-to-boat, though some of our F18 friends seem to think that the new Portsmouth numbers enacted by US Sailing two years ago may be tipping things more favorably to the F16. We generally believe that a well-sailed boat will win regardless, but we're still keeping an eye on actual/adjusted times and submitting our data to US Sailing, so that the handicap numbers can be as fair as possible. Our focus remains on having a great time and racing as evenly as possible within a handicap system. (We all know that's never perfect).
PLEASE GET SIGNED UP FOR OUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS EVENT!
- Racing Days are Friday through Monday, Nov. 3-6
- Clearwater Community Sailing Center
- Clearwater, Florida
- Sponsored by Red Gear Racing (Contact Jill Nickerson to learn about training and accommodation options: funinthesunweb@gmail.com)
Special shout out to our Florida Youth Teams and their parents. The original dates of our event were modified to accommodate our youth teams, but as yet, we haven't seen any of our young stars show up on the list. Show us some love and get on the list.! You don't even have to pay yet, just let us know you're coming. Here's the link: Rock Star Registration Link . Remember, Nacra 15 Teams are also strongly encouraged to bring their boats to race in the event. Let's get our F16/N15 Youth Teams more big fleet experience!
Best,
Daniel Hearn
(Acting) USF-16 Chairman
More Articles ...
- USF-16 North American Championships 2017
- 2017 US Formula 16 Nationals: November 3-6, 2017 in Clearwater, FL
- F16 North Atlantic Championship
- 2016 US Formula 16 Nationals
- 2015 US Formula 16 Nationals
- US Youth Sailing Championship
- 2014 F16 World Championship
- 2013 U.S. Youth Championships - deadline!
- US F16 Nationals
- US F16 Nationals, Day 1
