2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 1
by Courtney Wendleton 30 Jul 06:15 PDT
July 29 - August 1, 2024
2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals at San Diego Yacht Club Day 1 © Simone Staff
The 2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals have officially kicked off at the San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC). The club welcomed juniors from all over Southern California and beyond. Competitors have been practicing for this event over the last few months with events like the Dutch Shoe Marathon and the SCYYRA North Series.
With over 140 registered competitors, La Playa Basin was filled with junior competitors who were eager to get out on the water and warm up in the tricky La Playa venue. It was an especially sporty and shifty day out in the basin with occasional gusts between 16-18 knots—testing the limits for Sabots. Ideally, the small boats do best in 10-12 knots.
The gusts sent quite a few sailors into the water keeping the coaches busy rescuing Sabot sailors who capsized while baring way around the offset mark on the northwest side of the basin.
While patiently waiting in the water for the coaches to come help them turn their boat over, a Mission Bay Yacht Club competitor joked that he was now part of the "Mission Bay Swim Club" as his teammates passed him in their boats. Even while soaking wet, these sailors' spirits were not dampened by the challenging conditions!
Emerson Shoemaker with Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club reflected on her time out on the water:
"The breeze was on, I had some good starts and finished in the top 5 in every race. It was overall a really fun day." What was her biggest challenge? Covering the fleet and not having any boats pass her. She wanted to make sure that she was ahead of the majority of the fleet the entire time. She kept her head out of the boat to catch every favorable shift, maintain her position and work to gain boats. She is excited to see what the rest of the week brings; there are a lot of very talented sailors and it's really anyone's game!
Stay ahead of the competition by watching the race live every day. Visit the event website or click the link below. Don't forget to follow SDYC social media pages for the latest updates and highlights!