2011 U.S. Match Racing Championship

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PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (October 11, 2011) – Several of the top match racing skippers in the country will be in Corona del Mar, Calif. to compete for the Prince of Wales Bowl this week at the 2011 U.S. Match Racing Championship, hosted by the Balboa Yacht Club. Twelve teams will race in Governor’s Cup 21 boats over four days of racing. This International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 3 event begins on Thursday, October 13 and ends Sunday, October 16.

Highlighting this year’s event are three-time Champion Dave Perry (Southport, Conn.), Collegiate All-American Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas, USVI) and defending 2010 Champion Shawn Bennett (Tiburon, Calif.). Five of the top six teams from the 2010 U.S. Match Racing Championship have returned to race again this year.

Perry is the top ranked U.S. match racing skipper in the country by ISAF. He’ll be representing the Pequot Yacht Club (PYC) this year. Perry won this Championship on two occasions while representing PYC in 2008 and 2006, and once for the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club in 1982. He finished fourth last year with a 7-6 record after losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Shawn Bennett in Detroit, Mich. Perry lost in the finals in 2009. He’ll be sailing with familiar crewmates Mark Rehe (Harper Woods, Mich.) and Chris Museler (Portsmouth, R.I.), who won with Perry in 2008 and 2006.

Bennett had an impressive run to the Championship last year. After upending Perry in the semifinals 2-0, he defeated Canfield 3-0 in the finals to go 11-3 for the week. Bennett, a representative of the St. Francis Yacht Club, is the third ranked U.S. match racer in the country. In August, Bennett finished fifth at the Knickerbocker Cup and fifth with Perry as crew at the ISAF Nations Cup in Sheboygan, Wis. last September. Bennett’s crew includes Tom Purdy (Tiburon, Calif.), Melissa Purdy (Tiburon, Calif.) and Ryan Davidson (Costa Mesa, Calif.). Tom and Melissa Purdy crewed for Bennett at last year’s Championship.

Canfield will sail on behalf of the Chicago Match Race Center this week. The senior from Boston College won the U.S. Grade 2 Trifecta, a series of three consecutive U.S. based ISAF Grade 2-ranked events in August. He won the 2010 ICSA National Match Racing Championship for Boston College. He also finished third at the Chicago Cup, hosted by the Chicago Match Race Center last month. Canfield is hoping to improve upon his second place finish in last year’s U.S. Match Racing Championship. He was 10-5 overall last year in Detroit. Canfield is sailing with crewmates Tod Reynolds (Chicago, Ill.), Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) and Jennifer Wilson (Chicago, Ill.).

Skipper Brian Angel (El Segundo, Calif.), a U.S. Match Racing Championship veteran, will return to compete for another Prince of Wales Bowl. Angel won this Championship in 2005 and 2007, when the event was hosted by his home club, King Harbor Yacht Club in Redondo Beach, Calif. Angel will be racing with crewmates Michael Delanty (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Steven Natvig (Redondo Beach, Calif.). Delanty won with Angel at the 2007 U.S. Match Racing Championship.

The winning skipper of this event will receive an invitation to race in the 2012 Knickerbocker Cup, a Grade 2 event and World Tour Qualifier. Also, the highest placing skipper at the 2011 U.S. Match Racing Championship who does not receive an invitation to the Congressional Cup will receive an invitation to race in the 2012 Ficker Cup, a Congressional Cup Qualifier and Grade 2 event.

The U.S. Match Racing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Gill North America, Hobie Polarized Sunglasses and Old Pulteney Single Malt Whisky. Please visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USMRC.htm for results, standings, daily reports and more. Also, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/ussailing for regular updates from Corona del Mar, Calif. The Championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.

Championship Notes:
• Eligible skippers qualified or were offered a select invitation to compete.

• The intended format for this event is:
• Stage 1 - A single round robin. Places 9 – 12 will advance to Stage 2. Places 1-8 will advance to Stage 3.
• Stage 2 – A single round robin to determine places 9-12 in the regatta.
• Stage 3 – A knockout round for Stage 1 places 1-8, first to score at least three points. The four winners will advance to Stage 4. The others will be places 5-8 in the regatta.
• Stage 4 - A semi final knockout series, first to score at least 3 points. The winners will advance to Stage 6. The others will advance to Stage 5.
• Stage 5 – A Petit Final knockout series, first to score at least 2 points, to determine places 3-4 in the regatta.
• Stage 6 – A Finals knockout series, first to score at least 3 points, to determine places 1-2 in the regatta.

• The course will be windward/leeward, windward/leeward, with starboard rounding, finishing downwind.
• Racing to begin at 11:30 a.m. pt (subject to change).
• Racing will be conducted in the Pacific Ocean adjacent to Newport Beach.
• The skippers and their crew members placing first, second and third in this regatta will be awarded US SAILING Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, respectively.

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The 2011 U.S. Match Racing Championship Gets Underway Off Newport Beach



CORONA DEL MAR, Calif. - (October 13, 2011) – Patience paid off on Thursday for the 12 teams competing at the 2011 U.S. Match Racing Championship, a US SAILING National Championship event hosted by the Balboa Yacht Club in sunny Corona del Mar, Calif. Due to light breezes, just two flights were completed in Stage One’s single round robin. The Race Committee and competitors waited for sufficient wind for three hours off Newport Pier, before finally finding light gusts of 3 to 4 knots, north of the Pier towards Santa Ana River. Racing began at approximately 3:00 p.m.

It was a great start for skippers Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas, USVI), Chris Nesbitt (San Diego, Calif.) and Nevin Snow (San Diego, Calif.), who went a perfect 2-0. Canfield defeated Mark Johnson (Appleton, Wis.) and Scotty Dickson (Long Beach, Calif.). Nesbitt beat Shawn Ryan (Metairie, La.) and Spencer Powers (Boston, Mass.). Snow defeated Dan Aeling (San Diego, Calif.) and Brian Angel (El Segundo, Calif.).

Hear what Canfield had to say about the day of racing and the expectations he has for his team at this year’s U.S. Match Racing Championship.

Other notable contending skippers include three-time Champion Dave Perry (Southport, Conn.) and defending 2010 Champion Shawn Bennett (Tiburon, Calif.), who each went 1-1. Ryan defeated Perry and Johnson beat Bennett in Flight Two. The single round robin is scheduled to resume on Friday at 11:30 a.m. pt.

Stage One - Single Round Robin Results
Flight 1:
Brian Angel def. Bruce Stone
Taylor Canfield def. Mark Johnson
Shawn Bennett def. Scotty Dickson
Dave Perry def. Spencer Powers
Chris Nesbitt def. Shawn Ryan
Nevin Snow def. Dan Aeling

Flight 2:
Taylor Canfield def. Scotty Dickson
Shawn Ryan def. Dave Perry
Nevin Snow def. Brian Angel
Mark Johnson def. Shawn Bennett
Chris Nesbitt def. Spencer Powers
Dan Aeling def. Bruce Stone

Teams are racing for the Prince of Wales Bowl this week in Governor’s Cup 21 boats through Sunday, October 16. Five of the top six teams from the 2010 U.S. Match Racing Championship have returned to race again this year.

The winning skipper of this event will receive an invitation to race in the 2012 Knickerbocker Cup, a Grade 2 event and World Tour Qualifier. Also, the highest placing skipper at the 2011 U.S. Match Racing Championship who does not receive an invitation to the Congressional Cup will receive an invitation to race in the 2012 Ficker Cup, a Congressional Cup Qualifier and Grade 2 event. The U.S. Match Racing Championship is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 3 event.

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Dave Perry Wins Fourth U.S. Match Racing Championship

CORONA DEL MAR, Calif. (October 16, 2011) – Skipper Dave Perry (Southport, Conn.) won his fourth U.S. Match Racing Championship on a sunny, windy Sunday afternoon off Newport Beach. Perry, with crew Mark Rehe (Harper Woods, Mich.) and Chris Museler (Portsmouth, R.I.) defeated Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas, USVI) in the finals today 2-0, to claim his fourth Prince of Wales Bowl. This four-day US SAILING National Championship was hosted by the Balboa Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, Calif.

Perry advanced to the finals after edging skipper Chris Nesbitt (San Diego, Calif.) earlier this afternoon in six thrilling matches. After winning the first match, Nesbitt battled back to win the next two. In match three, a 0.75 penalty deduction was applied to Perry for causing boat damage during contact on a Rule 14 violation by Nesbitt. Perry was forced to win three straight matches to advance, which his team achieved due to their great starts. Team Perry went 14-5 this week overall.

In a first-to-two-wins finals series between two generations of match racers, Perry won two straight over the number one seed Canfield in the finals. “This time the old prevailed over the new, so the young guys still have to go through us,” smiled Perry. “I love aggressive sailors who love to win and hate to lose and Taylor is one of those guys. He has beaten me before and I know how good he is. We need guys like him in the sport.”

Canfield sailed with Tod Reynolds (Chicago, Ill.), Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) and Jennifer Wilson (Chicago, Ill.) this week. They were 15-1 overall, including the Single Round Robin, First Knockout Series and this afternoon’s semifinal three-win sweep over skipper Brian Angel (El Segundo, Calif.). Also, Canfield defeated Perry in a first round match on Friday.

Angel, a two-time U.S. Match Racing Champion, and crew Michael Delanty (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Steven Natvig (Redondo Beach, Calif.) defeated Nesbitt and crew Travis Wilson (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Steven Pickel (San Diego, Calif.), 2-1 in the Petit Finals to finish third.

Perry, the top ranked U.S. match racing skipper by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), won his first U.S. Match Racing Championship back in 1982. He also won in 2006 and 2008. The 2011 Championship marks his third title representing the Pequot Yacht Club (Conn.). Museler won with Perry at the 2006 and 2008 Championships. Perry is also the women’s match racing coach for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.

Sunday was the best day of sailing all week for the competitors. Breezes ranged from 10 to 12 knots throughout most of the day with heavy chop. Racing was conducted between Balboa Pier and Newport Pier.

Perry received an invitation to race in the 2012 Knickerbocker Cup and 2012 Ficker Cup, two Grade 2 events and World Tour Qualifiers.

The U.S. Match Racing Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Gill North America, Hobie Polarized Sunglasses and Old Pulteney Single Malt Whisky. Please visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/USMRC.htm for results, daily reports, photos and video highlights and interviews. The Championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certification event.