2024 INSA Junior Sabot Nationals at San Diego Yacht Club - Overall
by Courtney Wendleton 5 Aug 12:16 PDT
July 29 - August 1, 2024
The 2024 Junior Sabot Nationals has concluded with San Diego Yacht Club's very own Cameron Schnoor as champion. Cameron has been part of the SDYC Sailing Program for quite a few years now and sails with SDYC member Dave Vieregg on several boats. Cameron was greeted at the docks by all of his SDYC sailing friends and family, who enthusiastically dumped a bucket of water over his head in celebration.
As Cameron's biggest fan, Vieregg was emotional as Cameron pulled into the docks. "He put a 2 and a 1 on the board on the last two races, sailed consistently and didn't make any mistakes. He did wonderfully and is very deserving of the title of National Champion."
After the Iron, Bronze, and Silver fleets had wrapped up their racing for the week, the Gold fleet took center stage with a tight group of sailors in contention for the title. Cameron took a strong hold of first place, finishing 2nd in race 5, and then left no doubt with a runaway victory in the final race. Sean Kaseburg (MBYC) finished 2nd, followed by 2023 champion Will Ramsay (NHYC) in 3rd. Both Cameron and Will posted top 10 or better in all races.
In a quick interview, Cameron mentioned that his biggest challenge was rebounding after a couple of tough races on Wednesday. Despite these setbacks, he managed to come in second for the day. His main goal was to avoid fouls, do his best, and mentally prepare for whatever happened. His tactics included hitting the right shifts and catching good puffs. He noted that his smart sailing allowed him to maintain high speed and gain positions.
Thursday's conditions were influenced by monsoonal moisture, causing the wind to fluctuate. This made a big difference, favoring the better sailors who could smoothly get on and off the rail and adjust their sail controls as it got lighter and windier.
Loki Barrett (MBYC) excelled in the Silver fleet, winning 2 races, finishing 2nd in 2 others, and winning the fleet while discarding his last race. 2nd place in Silver went to Taj Lewis (LBYC), winner of the first and last race in the fleet, followed by Emerson Shoemaker (BCYC) in 3rd.
The Bronze fleet was up for grabs until the final race. Blake Brodsky (LBYC) needed to finish in the top 5 and ahead of Hudson Perich (SDYC) to claim the fleet win and was able to do it with a 4th place finish. Hudson finished 2nd in class followed by Kyren Shirar (BCYC).
In the Iron fleet, Ruckus Choate (BYC) jumped up to the top of the standings with a 2, 2, and 3 on the final day racing. Chloe Schuh (SDYC), sailing in her first Jr Sabot Nationals, won 2 Iron fleet races to finish 2nd, followed by Charlie Kozak (MBYC) in third.
Two of the more prestigious awards at the Junior Sabot Nationals are the Jessica Uniack Memorial Trophy, awarded to the outstanding junior sportsman, and the Peggy Lenhart Perpetual Trophy, awarded to the most improved junior sailor from the previous Nationals. The sportsman award went to Madeline Perich (SDYC) as voted by her peers, and the most improved to Charlie Krause (NHYC), who jumped from a lower Iron fleet finish in 2023 to 12th in the Silver fleet in 2024.
This was the first time since 1962 that the Junior Sabot Nationals were held in the La Playa Basin just in front of SDYC. Naples Sabot Class Secretary Jerelyn Biehl, along with many others at SDYC, were very excited to host the event. "I don't think that we have ever had racing this close to the docks. La Playa is unique with its theater-style viewpoints where you can watch from three different angles. It gave parents the ability to cheer them on from the docks, which were about 50 feet from the start and finish line."
Event Chair Will Stout and his committee of superheroes put on an amazing regatta with social events for the kids and adults and a variety of raffle prizes for every competitor. The event also featured a number of past Junior Sabot National Champions (Greg Reynolds, Chuck Sinks, Danny North, Tyler Pruett) to commentate on the livestream alongside host Alli Bell. With a yacht club full of famous sailors and equally talented members, the committee was committed to making this an unforgettable and next-level juniors event. They really leaned on their connections to add extra amenities and perks, such as the livestream.
The trio that managed to set up, rig, and fabricate a successful broadcast were SDYC members Ray Tofolo, Eric Heim, and Brian Stanford. What they thought would be an easy wireless connection and camera setup quickly turned into an engineering project that was almost out of reach, but their determination and ingenuity made it a success. They spent triple-digit hours building and troubleshooting the video streaming equipment, which included connecting to Starlink, rearranging specific boats in the marina to prevent interference with the view or the connection, and making small changes daily to ensure the best production.
Ray explained that the volunteers and SDYC wanted to showcase just how incredible the La Playa racing venue truly is. Eric Heim, a former Sabot champion, co-host of the broadcast, and parent of two sailors in the regatta, added, "We wanted to put an exclamation point on this venue by adding the livestream so that people can see that it is a very viable venue." While spectators could easily watch the action live from the SDYC docks or the beach, the video stream offered another layer of accessibility for parents, grandparents, friends, and others to watch the action from all over the country. SDYC aimed to let people see the kids hiking and competing from a whole new angle, featuring them and making them feel like superstars. by the final day of racing there were over 1300 viewers from all over including the US, United Kingdom and South Africa.
SDYC's race committee of about 20 people kept the course tight, square, and fair. PRO Bruce Golison mentioned earlier in the week that it was an event he was excited to be part of. "The venue has interesting conditions that are challenging to the sailors and the committee. We reset the course every race on Wednesday so that we kept it fair. We wanted the best course for these sailors even if that meant it would take an extra couple of minutes to do so."
Throughout the week, there was a lot of breeze and a few lulls, but never a lost race or any postponements. In summary, it was an extremely well-run regatta, with a ton of extremely qualified volunteers, and excellent conditions!
San Diego Yacht Club would like to thank all of the volunteers who made this event possible. Additionally, thank you to all of our sponsors and donors who made it possible to get a raffle prize to every single one of the competitors. The smiles on all of their faces were priceless!
The Naples Sabot class will look forward to another year of competition leading towards the 2025 Championship to be hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club.
We would like to thank all of the volunteers that make this event possible!
Also, a huge thank you to our sponsors and donors for contributing to making this a fun event for the juniors and the parents!