New Jersey team wins U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Sailing Championship
Skipper Sarah Burn and crew member Patricia Gerli captured the Ida Lewis Trophy on Sunday, posting the lowest score in the three-day U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Sailing Championship in the Bay of St. Louis.
Burn and Gerli finished the competition with three first-place wins, a third place, two fifth places and two sixth place finishes at the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club.
“I just had a really consistent regatta,” said Burn, who sails out of the Bay Head Yacht Club in Bay Head, New Jersey. “Every start I just tried to get the best start possible and tacking on all the shifts to stay ahead of the fleet.
“It was pretty shifty, there were lots of different oscillations coming back and forth,” Burn said of the wind conditions. “Once I got the handle, the sea breeze came from the same direction every day. After the first day I knew what to expect and was prepared.”
Gerli sails out of the Mantoloking Yacht Club in Mantoloking, New Jersey.
Burn and Gerli posted an eight-race score of 22, eight points better than the score of 30 posted by second place finishers Michelle Lahrkamp and Gabriella DelBello, who sail out of American Yacht Club in Rye, New York.
Tanner Chapko and Megan Lansdale finished third with a score of 31. Chapko sails out of San Diego Yacht Club, Lansdale sails out of Coronado Yacht Club.
Tying for fourth place were twins Aitana Mendiguren and Lorea Mendiguren, who sail out of Coronado Yacht Club in Coronado, Calif. and Amanda Majernik and Emma Batcher who sail out of the San Diego Yacht Club.
“We had 58 competitors from all around the country sailing 29 boats,” former BWYC Commodore and co-regatta chairman Boo Heausler said. “Our competitors were treated to a variety of conditions. We had light air, we had big breeze, we had some of our local squalls chase us around. But we got in eight great races over three days.
“Competitors came from all around the country. We had boats from San Diego, New York, Chicago, Florida, a few local boats in the Gulf Coast area. We want to thank our members who hosted and housed these girls while they here this week.”
Female sailors in the U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship ranged from ages 13 to 18. They were given two days of intensive coaching Wednesday and Thursday before the races started on Friday.
This story was originally published July 10, 2016 at 5:21 PM with the headline "New Jersey team wins U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Sailing Championship."