GER 1 Koch, Hasenclever and Brase US champions

written by Matias Collins  on  September 11  of  2023 and read by 598

Team Kwindoo GER 1 US Champions
@ Steven Betz

A perfect setup at Wilmette, Illinois, the Sheridan Shore Yacht Club hosted a superb US Championship with a friendly welcome, the weather played its part, on Friday first day of racing 15 to 20 knots of wind from the North, big and shaking waves, a fun surfing mode for the Soling crews, a challenge battle to all those that were rusty with their hiking. On Saturday the wind dropped to 8 knots, but sunny and shiny and the wave intensity dropped, Sunday the wind faded away and races were held in 5 to 7 knots from the South.
All 8 races scheduled were raced, teams from San Diego, Milwaukee, Connecticut and Germany joined the local fleet.

Team Kwindoo GER 1 sailed by a happy Roman Koch, Alex Hasenclever and Joe Brase all the way from Munich on first day did a great job, but it was USA 782 with the Golden State boys John Walton, Andy Folx and Alex Perry winning two bullets and finishing ahead the Friday who had team Crab Cake USA 834 Paul McGuan, Jenna Kozal and Mark Keast finishing three times third.
When wind decreased for the second day, the next three races left a top battle in between USA 782 and GER 1 was clear as each one pulled a bullet in the day and a second but team Kwindoo managed a third while team Mission Bay USA 782 a fifth. But the title battle were there.
Despite not racing the first race team USA 853 sailed by Matias Collins, Joe Copak and Judd Vincent pulled two seconds, at that point it was the team with less races sailed, since on Friday they missed the first race, finished a 5th and the could not finish the third race because they lost the jib sheet control line into the bulkhead… and again they missed to start the first race on Saturday, always fixing things at the boat.

On Sunday two more races were raced, but team Mnission Bay had its issue while launching the boat to the water, their mast fell forward, and while placing it back the main halyard skied into the mast, making loose valueable time and missing the start of the first race, triggering an easy way to team Kwindoo GER 1 into a bullet for the day and the crown at the US Championship, team USA 832 with Ashley Henderson, Jon Bailey and Arielle Henderson got their second place followed by USA 853, the second race team Mission Bay USA 782 were out there to sail and the granted their overall second place after winning the bullet followed by USA 853 and team Crab Cake USA 834.

It was the first significant victory for double World champion Roman Koch at this time sailing with the Argentinian kido Alex and the veteran Joe, Gratulieri .

The sailing weekend was perfect as tune up for the upcoming Worlds, with all sort of winds and waves, the Friday party and the Saturday roasted pig made social fun and relax, a big thanks from the fleet to the harbor master Kate, the race officer Skip Dieball and already famous Soling lover John Kennedy who couldn't sail but managed to put his boat out in Ross Richards hands, helped the race committee in his activities while coordinating the social part of the event.



Complete Results

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The nice downwinds at the second day
@ Steven Betz

Team Mission Bay the Golden State boys USA 782 leading the way
@ Steven Betz

tight finishing
@ Steven Betz