29er North America

RECENT NEWS
29ers in Miami With the support of Sturgis Boat Works and the great leadership from Max Fraser (5th at 29er Worlds) and Leandro Spina (Olympic Coach), Miami Yacht Club organized an introduction to the 29er clinic in the waters of Miramar Bay. Saturday started with gray skies and a good but shifty breeze of 11 knots. With 19 sailors and 4 coaches we were able to sail for several hours, making it possible for everyone to sail the boats and try both skipper and crew positions. Optimist, Laser and 420 sailors from 11 to 17 years of age and from as far as 80 miles away came to Miami and had a blast planing up and downwind through the bay. Wipeouts and Spiderman stunts were par for the course on Saturday!
On Sunday, in strong (14-15kts) but now steady breeze, the sailors, now with some good experience under their belts, sailed without much capsizing and could be seen "racing" down the course! Those who felt comfortable in the boat, ventured out "unaccompanied" and had great fun sailing around! Special thanks go to the assistant coaches Matthias Roberts, Chanel Miller, and Timmy Zenderman, who tirelessly coached each one of the sailors throughout the day!
The Miami Clinic Group.
3/5/10
29ers in Texas Sturgis Boat Works and the Houston Yacht Club hosted a very successful introductory 29er Clinic over the weekend. SBW provided 3 boats and coaching was provided by Billy Gooderham (Canadian 49er Olympic Team Skipper) and Mike Vorbeck (Head Coach at Corpus Christi Yacht Club). Special thanks to Allan Coutts (Head Coach at HYC) for organizing the clinic and taking great care of both sailors and coaches.
Sailing conditions over the weekend were perfect for an introduction to skiff sailing. Saturday started with a light northerly at 8 knots building to 10 as the day progressed. Flat water and consistent breeze made it easy for a combination of Optimist, Laser and 420 sailors to get a great feel for the boats. Everyone had a chance to sail the boats and try both skipper and crew positions. Billy spent some time in boats with the smaller, less experienced sailors and did a great job bringing them up the learning curve. It was great to see pairs of Optimist sailors, as young as 10 years old successfully sailing 29ers. The video debrief was a big hit as well.
Sunday morning looked weak with flat calm at 8 AM but, by the time the clinic started at 10 AM the wind was clocking around and looking better. By 11 AM we had a southeasterly breeze at 12 knots building to about 14 or 15 by the end of the day. These conditions made for a perfect stepping stone to medium air technique and really ramped up the speed. In just two days, every sailor was trapping, tacking and jibing with relative ease. Good conditions and great coaching make all the difference!!
By the end of the clinic, everyone was excited to get a fleet off the ground. And this being Texas, they didn't waste a lot of time taking it to committee and wondering what the governing bodies of sailing might think, they just did it. 3 Teams bought boats by the end of the clinic and 3 more the next day. Plus, at least one used boat will be joining the fleet and another coming out of mothballs. So, it's safe to say that Texas has a burgeoning 29er fleet and we can expect to see sailors from the Lone Star State at some of the upcoming summer regattas in California and New England. This new fleet will have a chance to show its stuff next year. See you there!
3/3/10
It's time to renew your 29er class membership for 2010! Please go to 29er.org and scroll down the left side until you see the Pay Dues button . . . click it and you will be whisked through the renewal process in no time! Renew it today!
2/25/10
29er Midwinters East / Canadian Youth World Qualifier This past weekend at the 29er Mid Winters East we saw it all, wind, no wind, postponement ashore, and postponement on the water. Anyone who has sailed out of the US Sailing Center Martin County (USSCMC) knows if it's challenging conditions not only with it's winds but with it's hidden shoals all over the river. Day one we had perfect conditions, with 10-12 knots, 5 races and a great start to the regatta. The competition level was high and the attitudes on the water were fierce during the races, but friendly on land. Day two was a little bit lighter around 6-8 knots with 5 races and cold weather around 65 degrees. Day three however was a little bit different. All of the sailors arrived around 8:30-9:00am to see a glassed off river, not a stitch of wind in sight. We all waited patiently in hopes of something to come. Around 11am the race committee made the call to break until 1:30pm, and with that everyone headed to the beach. At 1:30 around 4-6 knots of breeze arrived and they sent us out. Three races were completed. Day four was the same story, no wind in the morning, but instead of postponing us on land they sent us out. Luckily, Max Faser, Justin Lewandowski, and Brandon Cairnes brought out their skim and wakeboards to keep us all entertained while we waited for the glassed off river to show us something good. When it finally came it brought 8-9 knots with it and from then on the races began. Four races were completed and the end of the regatta came.
Placing 1st overall was Emily Tsang and Lauren Laventure, 2nd Place overall was Chanel Miller and CC Childers, and Placing 3rd overall, also gaining title of ISAF youth World Qualifier Winners were Erin Berry and Jessica Round. Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to all of the competitors, whom all sailed a fair regatta, and especially to the USSCMC race committee who called the line perfectly and gave us all a great racing experience.
-CC Childers
Thanks to Stacey Childers for taking another excellent round of photos! See them here. .....Final Results
Top three finishers L to R: Emily Tsang and Lauren Laventure, Erin Berry and Jessica Round, Chanel Miller and CC Childers.
2/23/10
Southern California Midwinters Go Off As Planned 9 races were completed over the weekend in South Bay. Coronado Yacht Club put together a great regatta with courses that were once or twice around windward/leewards. Conditions were 14 knots on Saturday with a decrease to about 7 for the last two races. Sunday was the opposite with about 8 knots for race one and then a solid build to 16 knots. The San Diego fleet is quite even with lots of teams all in their first year as a team. The group as a whole sailed a clean regatta with no collisions and very few fouls. All the sailors took advantage of Coach Jon's pre-race boat demonstrations and suggetions to get better together. Paris Henken/Connor Kelter battled all weekend with Brady and Lusela Sih for 1st place. 3rd place went to Katie Everett/Alex Ranum on a tie breaker over Esteban Forrer/Greg Dair. Both 3rd place teams moved up several places on Sunday as Katie got her pointing back and Esteban and Greg (his 1st time in 29er) started to figure out the boat. Welcome to class newcomers Nick Rasdal sailing with Zach Downing, and Greg Dair. .....Results
2/22/10
29er Montreal Spark Team Keen sailors needed! PS2000 and 49er.CA have just announced that they will be sponsoring a new 29er sailing team. Read more here: English or French
2/19/10
CORK $1 Charters Once again this year CORK Sail Kingston, who will be hosting the 29er North Americans and the 29erXX NA's right after, is making available to 29er sailors its incredible offer of $1.00 (yes one dollar!) charters. To qualify, sailors must not be from the local area and must be coming from overseas, or an excessive driving distance, and the 29er sailors BRING THEIR OWN SAILS. (If you are interested in a new set of sails, they will be delivered to CORK free of shipping.) Anyone chartering boats for the 29er NA's may also keep the boat for the 29erXX NA's but would have to charter the XX rig, sails and gunwale extensions for US $900.00. However, if you have your own 29er, the XX rigs and sails are available for a $1.00 charter. You can have one or the other for $1.00 but not both! There is no guarantee on the number of 29ers or XX rigs available and the offer is therefore strictly limited on a first come, first served basis with bona fide 29er owners who are registered Class Members receiving first priority.
CORK has requested that PS2000 manage all the charters and all request should go to Peter Bjorn at: peter@ps2000.ca or Tel 514 363 5050. Please do not contact CORK for charter information.
2/19/10
29erXXs sprouting in the west An early, el nino spring has sprung on the west coast and along with it came a growing 29erXX fleet. New owners can be found from San Diego to Victoria, BC. At least 4 new rigs are headed west to bring the west coast fleet total to 6+. A schedule is being organized by the fleet members for clinics and racing this year. Contact Jen Morgan to join the group.
2/19/10
San Diego "Luff-In" series off to a strong start San Diego Area Yacht Clubs (SDAYC) hosted the 29er fleet in their youth development "Luff-In" regatta series. Southwestern Yacht Club hosted the first of the 2010 series last weekend (Feburary 8th) and sixteen SoCal area teens paired up and raced eight (8) 29ers on beautiful, sunny San Diego Bay. There were five races with 7 -13 knot breeze, Lots of "oohs and ahhhs" from other classes as the 29ers came ripping through the course. Esteban Forrer and Chuckie Eaton won the starts of race 1 and 2 and held position to take bullets in each race. As race 3 got started the breeze built to 11-13 knots and several of the new 29er sailors set their all time speed records and had that familiar smile that skiff sailors get just before they realize they're "hooked". Excellent improvements from Zach Downing and Duncan Swain. A special welcome to 29er "newbies" Madeline Brownsea/Scott Hoffman of MBYC, Trevor and Matt Hecht from MBYC, Reece Bernet and Jessie O'Dell of SWYC, Charlie Welsh of NHYC crewing for class veteran Patrick Powell of CorYC and Kyle Sutter sailing with Patrick Snow, both from SDYC. We look forward to seeing all of you at the next Luff-In regatta on June 5 at Mission Bay YC.
2/18/10
CORK dates!! CORK 2010 dates have been posted, and the original dates posted on the 29erNA calendar have been updated. Make sure to take notice the 29er and 29erXX schedule for the 2010 CORK. 29ers will be racing the first week to avoid the conflicts school. The 29erXXs will be racing in the 2nd week, so any 29er sailors wishing to stay and race the second week will be able to as well. .....CORK website
2/17/10
2011 Worlds - Get Excited Already! The 2011 Worlds will be in Mar del Plata, Argentina. They're already working hard to put on a great event for us. Take a look at the promo video to get a taste of what the 2011 Worlds will have to offer. Make your plans to attend now! .....2011 Video
2/12/10
US Youth Worlds Qualifier Antoine Screve and James Moody sailed smart, fast upwind legs in heavy air, steep chop and a cross course swell during a critical day one of the Youth World Championship Qualifier, scoring four straight bullets which set the stage for an exciting closing day battle with Sterling and Hans Henken. Day two brought a moderate 7 to 10 knot southwesterly breeze which, given their two bullets and two seconds, suited the Henken brothers quite well. The epic 29er battle continued to the very last race of the 3 day regatta, where Antoine and James finished first and qualified for US SAILING's 2010 Youth World Team.

Congratulations Antoine Screve and James Moody! You are the Qualifier Gold Medalists and you're going to Istanbul, Turkey to represent the USA in the 40th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship! "We have a very strong team," said U.S. Sailing High Performance Director Kenneth Andreasen. "This event was a true test of skill in heavy and medium air, and these sailors demonstrated they were the strongest in their fleets. We're excited about the prospect of them winning the Volvo Youth Sailing trophy this summer."

Congratulations also to Silver medalists Sterling and Hans Henken and Bronze medalists Tyler Macdonald and Brian Bolton. Honorable mention goes to the first all women's team of Chanel Miller and CC Childers who captured a bullet in Race 9, breaking a tie with Katy Cenname and Burgess Malarkey . . . as well as the other team in the exciting battle for 4th, JP Barnes and Duncan Swain.

The 29er Fleet would like to offer a huge THANK YOU to the volunteers and staff at Clearwater Yacht Club and Clearwater Sailing Center who made this regatta a tremendous success!

Complete results can be found here.
Videos of the event can be found here
To learn more about the 40th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, go to www.isafyouthworlds.com. The 29er's open co-ed status and permanent inclusion in the Youth World Championship, not to mention it's deserved reputation as the fastest and most exciting boat on the youth circuit, is bringing great prestige to the fleet and many new racers from Florida and the Eastern half of the North American continent . . . even as the class surge in the west continues to swell the ranks.
1/20/10
2010 Worlds Wrapup The French 29er team of Kevin Fisher and Glenn Gouron sailed brilliantly and won the 2010 29er World Championship, followed by Pepe Bettini and Fernando Gwozdz of Argentina in 2nd . . . while Lorenzo Franceschini and Riccardo Camin of Italy took the bronze position on the medal stand after an intense and incredibly close battle with the USA team of Max Fraser and David Liebenberg, the Danish team of Oscar Hauman and Taus Holtug and Argentines Nahuel Fernando Martinez and Axel Vugdelija.

Among the eleven boat fleet of North American racers, Max Fraser and David Liebenberg finished the regatta in Grand Bahama style, with a 2nd and two bullets in the final three races . . . bringing their total to 100 points, a single point short of a bronze medal.

The Bahamian venue was interesting and varied, with resort front launches followed by crews visually sounding the crystal clear waters for coral heads in the shallows near the beach. Terrific camaraderie was reported among the North Americans, with U.S. Sailing’s Leandro Spina coaching and Ben Glass assisting. Cool, and later cold temperatures and brisk, shifty winds off the beach and a weather mark in waters 20 feet from shore provided a venue which required quick adaptation.

Of the eleven North American boats, seven finished in the top 20. .....Final Results
View more Fried Elliot Photos
1/13/10
archived news

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UPCOMING EVENTS
Richmond Midwinters #4	March 7	Richmond, CA
Spring Dinghy (PCC#1)	March 13-14	San Francisco, CA
Midwinters West Clinic and Regatta (PCC #2)	March 25-28	San Diego, CA
CISA Clinic	April 8-11	Long Beach, CA
Big Dinghy	April 17-18	Richmond, CA
		2010 schedule