16 Oct Fighting ‘Til The Finish at the US Match Racing Championship
Fighting ‘Til The Finish at the US Match Racing Championship
David Storrs and his crew after winning the championship: Hayden Goodrick, Laurie Jury, Tom Powrie, and Sam Bell.
OYSTER BAY, NEW YORK (October 15, 2017) – David Storrs and his international team won the Prince of Wales Bowl but it was second-place finisher Pearson Potts and the Yankee Creole Race team who walked away with the title of US Match Racing Champion. Chris Kennedy and the Oakcliff crew took third and Janel Zarkowsky took fourth.
View full results and crew list.
The score line shows shut-outs in semis, petites, and finals but none of the races were won until the finish. The deciding race of the finals saw an exhausting back-and-forth between Potts and Storrs. They split at the leeward gate with Potts leading but Storrs came back on starboard to start a dial down and Potts reacted late. Both boats ended up head to wind, bow to bow, with jibs down. Potts got a penalty and Storrs cleared ahead for the win. Heart rates were high all around. Potts’ strategy going into the finals was to “keep his cool and focus on boat-handling” but Storrs’ crew-work was unbeatable.
Kennedy let loose a relentless spree of starboard attacks in the prestart with Zarkowsky in their final match of petites. He forced her out beyond the pin and tacked back over to start with a two boat-length lead. She stayed hot on his heels for the rest of the race but couldn’t catch him. “We’re getting better every race. We’re ready to carry this momentum all the way to the top,” said Kennedy who landed a spot on the podium with a third-place victory.
The 73-year old winner, David Storrs, eloquently thanked all involved including Oakcliff, US Sailing, and especially his crew. “It’s been the greatest relationship I’ve had in sailing and I thank all of you for it,” he said of them.
Check out Oakcliff’s Facebook page for play-by-plays on all the action or head to the event page to see T2PTV’s daily recap videos thanks to Heron Wealth. We’d also like to extend a big thanks to our event sponsors: Hobie Polarized, Gill, and Old Pulteney.