2019 North American Championships, Flying Dutchman Class
September 20 -22, Richmond Yacht Club
This year’s championships took place on the West Coast at Richmond Yacht Club in the San Francisco Bay Area, concurrently with the annual Totally Dinghy event.
The Competitors:
Five boats competed in the races:
• Buzz Ballenger with Evan Diola on USA 1453
• Doug Dommermuth with Michael Manning on USA 153
• Zhenya Kirueshkin-Stepanoff with Chris Wrenn on USA 1
• Mike Meszaros with Gerhard Panuschka on USA 88
• Gordon Doller with Michael Spranger on USA 1454
The Venue:
The RYC Totally Dinghy event is set for Saturday and Sunday. Our bylaws call for three-day racing on North American Championships, so RYC accommodated the FDs with that third day of racing.
RYC overall went out of their way to provide a wonderful regatta event: the club is set up for dinghies, the cranes worked as they should, and the club house, which was recently refurbished, kept the sailors comfortable before and after the races with clean restrooms and showers. The in-house kitchen had great food at a very reasonable prices, and there is also a nice bar. Free food and beer were available on Saturday after sailing and Sunday at the reward ceremony.
The Racing:
On Friday we had two races. The wind took its time to fill in from the usual direction through the “slot” at Golden Gate, increasing to not more than first clew – good opportunity to get re-acquainted with our boats.
Saturday saw more wind in the afternoon, and we had three races. Buzz found his pace with two firsts and a second.
On Sunday, wind was blowing in the morning already. Before going out on the water, we held a member meeting with all teams present. We discussed some current affairs, such as:
• New US FD website
• Request for a 2022 Worlds in the US
• International President election
• New dues structure
Gerhard also handed out the latest Bulletin issues that he brought back from his recent Europe trip.
After our meeting, we had one race under increasing and challenging conditions: two FDs capsized. So the race committee moved us to another race area with less wind, where we had the final race in light conditions.
The Results:
Here are the results of the 2019 North American Championships in the Flying Dutchman Class:
| Pos | Sail | Make/Model | Team | Yacht Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA 1453 | Lindsay | Buzz Ballenger & Evan Diola | Santa Cruz | (3) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | USA 153 | Mader | Douglas Dommermuth & Michael Manning | MBYC | 4 | (6/DNF) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| 3 | USA 1 | Lindsay | Zheny Kirueshkin-Stepanoff & Chris Wrenn | Encinal Yacht Club | 2 | 1 | 4 | (6/DNS) | 6/DNS | 1 | 3 | 17T |
| 4 | USA 88 | Pacific Flying Dutchman | Michael Meszaros & Gerhard Panuschka | Inverness Yacht Club | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | (6/DNF) | 6/DNF | 17T |
| 5 | USA 1456 | Lindsay | Gordon Dollar & Michael Spranger | (6/DNF) | 4 | 6/DNS | 6/DNS | 6/DNS | 6/DNC | 6/DNC | 34 |
Here are some images from the Awards Ceremony:
Congratulations to Buzz and Evan!
Conclusion:
The racing was close, with good opportunities for all competitors, and a wonderful setup by RYC. Those who did not make it, well, you missed a great event!
Gerhard Panuschka
US Flying Dutchman Class Secretary/Treasurer