CANFIELD WINS CHICAGO OPEN "A" REGATTA
6/5/2010

Recently crowned Collegiate National Champion goes undefeated in Semis and Finals, excels in shifty conditions; Open "B" Regatta starts tomorrow

Chicago, IL – In an impressive display of smooth and consistent sailing despite challenging conditions, US Virgin Islander Taylor Canfield and his crew of Charlie Enright, Matt Clark, and Tod Reynolds have won the Chicago Match Race Center’s (CMRC) Chicago Open A Regatta. Canfield and team lost only one match in two days of competition, an impressive feat among a diverse yet talented field of eight teams in this ISAF Grade 3 event.

Conditions in the morning today were not at all that promising, with flat calm and heavy rain forcing a 3-hour postponement ashore until the skies cleared and a light westerly filled on to the lakefront. Race managers quickly set courses to beat the time limit, though the format had to be shortened to a first-to-two point series in the remaining stages of the event. Coming off the shoreline, the lake conditions remained flat to keep the action close, but the extreme shifts, puffs and lulls made no lead safe and rewarded those who could hold their nerves under pressure.

Canfield credited his experience gained in last week’s similarly challenging conditions at the US Collegiate Nationals for his success at this event.

“Last week we learned to look for and stay in the puffs, connecting to the pressure to take it back to our opponents,” said Canfield. He also credited his team of current and recent collegiate sailors for their seamless teamwork throughout an event where any small mistake could cost the match. Racing in the Finals and Petit-Finals was held in four of the CMRC’s fleet of TOM 28’s.

Runner-up in the event was CMRC founder Don Wilson and his team of Bill Hardesty, Hans Pusch, and Ben Bardwell, who were the winners of the last CMRC event, the Spring Invitational last month. Wilson defeated Steve Lowery 2-0 in the Semi-Finals, but not without Lowery nearly bringing the series to three matches after taking the lead in a come-from-behind effort in the fluky conditions, but then losing it back in an error made in the heat of battle at the leeward mark.

“It was great to roll down in that puff and take the lead, but we made a mistake in going to the wrong mark,” said Lowery. “It shows how any mistake can cost you in this fleet.”

Lowery and his team of Rory Lewis, Mori Matias, and Jon Noller redeemed themselves, however, by winning the one-match Petit-Final for third place against Guy Mossman and his team of Mike Buckley, Chuck Norris, and Hayden Goodrick.

In the only series of the day to go to three matches, Bob Hughes defeated Danielle Soriano in the Elliott 6M’s for fifth place after losing one match due to rounding the wrong windward mark. And also in Ellliott 6M’s, Joe Markee defeated Chris Wurtz who was plagued, once again, with numerous penalties, although in good humor he conceded “At least none of our flags were black!”

Wurtz and Lowery will be replaced by David Storrs from Southport, CT, and local Evanston-based Kevin Teborek in the next field of eight teams to start tomorrow in the two-day Chicago Open B Regatta, another ISAF Grade 3 event being held here in a 2-for-1 long weekend of match race action. Racing for this event will be held only in TOM 28’s, so if conditions permit there may be more races available for the teams.

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