US 1D35 National Championship - Day 2

by Event Press on 20 Sep 2000 Belvedere, CA - Dan Cheresh and his team on 'Extreme' are well on their way to successfully defending their National Championship title, having collected another two bullets on the second day of racing in the 3rd Annual 1D35 National Championships, presented by Carroll Marine. The Holland, MI-based team's cumulative score of 1-1-1-1-4-1 has put them a whopping 15 points ahead of the runner-up, Bob Hughes' 'Heartbreaker'.

But anything can happen yet in the eight-race, no-throwout series, as the pack remains very tight in points going into tomorrow's final day of two races. In today's more moderate conditions of 12-20 knots, there were some newcomers to the front of the pack, including Fred and Steve Howe's San Diego-based 'Kaizen', whose 3-13-7 score showed they had the capability of getting into the front row. "We had a last-minute change in tacticians that required us to lose a lot of weight to make the weigh-in, so we didn't get really focused on sailing until yesterday," said main trimmer Larry Turner. "But today we pulled it together, so it was good to see that we can do it."

But this is no trivial effort, points out John Wylie, whose San Diego-based 'Tabasco' currently lies in tenth position. "This is the closest regatta I've ever sailed in this class," said Wylie, owner/helmsman of 'Tabasco'. "In many of our events, we have A, B, and C fleets, but not in this one - aside from the lead two or three boats that get punched out in front, it's less than a boat length between fourth and fourteenth places."

So, it's the abilities of the crews that are making the difference in performance on the water. "I'm used to bigger speed differences in the one-design class I usually sail in," said Mark Foster of Houston, Texas, guest helmsman for the week on Owen Kratz' s 'Joss'. "In this class, the concentration level is so high, and the crew work has to be so good, because there are negligible differences between the boats." Foster has had the unique opportunity to steer both 'Joss' in this event and Dick and Doug DeVos' 'Windquest' in the last 1D35 regatta in Holland, MI last month, where they finished third. When asked about the differences between the boats, Foster claimed "Aside from the crew, none at all."

Tomorrow is the final day of competition in the 3-day event, and after a day's rest on Thursday, most of the class will be returning to the race course on Friday for three more days of sailing in the St. Francis YC's Big Boat Series.

Sponsors of the 1D35 National Championships include Carroll Marine as Presenting Sponsor; Hall Spars and Rigging as Gold-level Sponsor; and the following Silver-level Sponsors: B&G Marine Electronics, Fast Track Yacht Management, Harken, High Sierra Sport Company, Lager Yacht Brokerage, Triad Trailers, Nelson/Marek Yacht Design, North Sails, One Design LLC, Protector USA , Ross Yachts, Torresen Marine, Total Yacht Management, Tiburon Lodge, Waterline Systems, and West Coast Performance Yachts.

The 1D35 is a high-performance, amateur-driven yacht built to exacting one design standards by Carroll Marine of Bristol, RI, and designed by Nelson/Marek Yacht Design of San Diego, CA. To date there are over 45 1D35's built or on order, with owners distributed throughout the US, Asia, and Europe.

For more information on the San Francisco Yacht Club, contact Anne McCormack in the Race Office on phone +1 415-789-5647, or fax +1 415-789-5648. For more information on the 1D35 Class, contact the class office on phone +1 410-263-8092, fax +1 410-263-8091, e-mail at 1D35@compuserve.com, or visit the class' website (see below).

Current Standings, 1D35 Nationals:

1. Extreme Dan Cheresh 1-1-1-1-4-1 9 points
2. Heartbreaker Bob Hughes 3-4-2-10-3-2 24
3. Windquest Dick & Doug DeVos 7-11-15-5-1-3 42
4. Rigel Don Payan 8-3-16-2-7-6 42
5. Wild Thing Kara Zylstra 2-6-8*-15-6-5 42
6. Joss Owen Kratz 11-2-7-7-5-11 47
7. Smiling Bulldog Garth Dennis 5-5-3-14-18-4 49
8. Widowmaker Nick & Tina Worth 10-12-11-10*-2-14* 59
9. Northern Bear Steve Pfeifer 4-8-14-11-15-9 61
10. Tabasco John Wylie 6-7-10*-17-10-12 62
11. Victory Buddy Cribb 9-9-12-16-8-8 62
12. Koinonia Doug Ament 14-14-5-9-16-13 71
13. Kaizen Fred & Steve Howe 15-17-18-3-13-7 73
14. Zsa Zsa Bill Wright 12-19+-8-8-11-15 73
15. KT's Choice Bud Stratton 18-13-17-4-14-18 84
16. Center of Gravity Al Lehman & Rick Johnson17-16-13-12-9-17 84
17. Avanti Frank Schinco 16-15-10-18-12-14 85
18. Avalanche Sledd Shelhorse 13-10-9-17*-17-20* 86
*I-flag penalty +DNF