2017 SAP 5O5 World Championship at Annapolis, USA - Day 4
by Bryan Richardson 29 Sep 2017 21:53 NZDT
20-29 September 2017
Organizers of the 2017 SAP 5O5 World Championship said from the outset that versatility would prove crucial to winning. That is because Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay figured to deliver a wide range of wind conditions over the course of a week.
Mike Holt and Carl Smit proved to be the best all-around team, which was a surprise even to them. Holt and Smit clinched the championship with one race to spare thaks to a dominant performance on the fourth day of the competition.
Heavy breeze came to the Chesapeake on Thursday and the Holt-Smit tandem sailed superbly – posting an impressive score line of 3-1-3. They were able to throw out a 15th absorbed in Race 3 and mathematically secured the title as a result.
"It's amazing, just amazing. We didn't really know for sure until we came ashore. We kept running the numbers and thinking we won, but we weren't positive until we actually looked at the scoreboard," Holt said. "It's fantastic, especially here in Annapolis. This is not a venue at which we thought we could possibly win."
This is the second SAP 5O5 World Championship for Holt and Smit, who captured their first together in 2015 off Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They have developed a reputation as heavy air specialists who did not perform well in light to moderate conditions.
"It does make us proud, because we've always been considered heavy air sailors. To come here to Annapolis and be able to win a world championship held in a range of conditions is just brilliant," said Holt, a Santa Cruz, California resident who owns a software integration firm.
Holt-Smit placed second in Race 1 in moderate wind (10-11 knots) on Sunday then won Race 2 in relatively lighter air (7-10 knots) on Tuesday. Holt was asked why the IO Integration team fared better in those types of conditions.
"I lost a bunch of weight," Holt said. "Carl was supposed to, but he failed on that mission so I did it all by myself. Actually, today Carl's weight was good. I certainly wasn't going to complain about it today."
Smit mentioned that he and Holt have worked to improve their performance in light to moderate air, traveling to Europe to compete against 505 teams that are strong in those conditions.
"We knew this was going to be a really tough venue because light air is generally not our favourite. That being said, we knew we had to get better in the light stuff to have any chance here," said Smit, a member of co-host Eastport Yacht Club. "We felt good going into today because we put some decent results on the board in the lighter conditions. It was tough sailing today as well because there were still some big shifts, some big puffs. We're just so psyched to win this championship. It's just a great feeling of accomplishment."
This is the third SAP 5O5 World Championship for Holt, who won in 2014 with Rob Woelfel as crew. Considering the caliber of competition in Annapolis, the British native never imagined clinching the regatta with one day of sailing remaining.
"That's just crazy, completely crazy. Our goal going into the week was to simply have a chance on the final day," Holt said. "Those last days are always scary, so to avoid having to worry about the last day is just fantastic."
All the heavy air specialists were thrilled to wake up on Thursday morning and hear the forecast for 15-20 knot winds. That proved accurate, although significant shifts and large holes tested the 87-boat fleet.
Defending world champions Mike Martin and Adam Lowry had their best day of the regatta with results of 2-6-1. Martin and Lowry showed off their heavy air chops with tremendous boat speed and almost flawless manoeuvrers.
"Super tough, super tricky conditions because there was sort of two breezes, one coming out of the river and one coming down the bay," Martin said. "It was up and down, back and forth – just really challenging. So we're pretty happy with our finishes today."
Martin and Lowry, who list Mill Valley, California as home port and are St. Francis Yacht Club members, used a perfect gybe set while rounding the first windward mark to take the lead in the opening race on Thursday. They led until the seventh and final leg, but fell into a hole and were passed by the German team comprised of Kai Bertallot and Jan Reifferscheidt.
"On the final run, the Germans gybed before us, caught a big puff and carried down," Martin said. "We were going well and suddenly the wind dropped out on us."
Martin and Lowry would not be denied in Race 7 – getting a great start and stretching out on every leg in winning by 150 meters.
"Adam did a really good job of looking for pressure. We started left because we thought there was pressure there and picked up a nice lefty," Martin said. "We stayed in pressure the whole time and that seemed to work."
Three terrific results jumped Martin-Lowry up to fifth in the overall standings. They struggled in the light stuff on Tuesday, suffering back-to-back results of 21 and 25.
"It's always fun sailing in breeze," Martin said. "It would just be nice to do well in all conditions. If we had sailed better on the lighter days we'd be in better position overall right now. A lot of stuff happened today. We'll look at our scores and figure out our plan for tomorrow."
Bertallot and Reifferscheidt, residents of Kiel, Germany, had a tremendous day on the water – tying Holt and Smit with seven points on the day. As previously mentioned, they passed Martin and Lowery on the final downwind leg to win Race 5 then passed Holt and Smit to place second in Race 7.
To be able to pass two world champions on the same day was pretty cool for us. Just very, very exciting," said Bertallot, the driver.
This is the third SAP 5O5 World Championship for the Germans, who finished 25th in Kiel (2014) and 24th in Weymouth, England (2016). They currently sit in seventh place and are hoping a good result in the eighth and final race on Friday will maintain or improve that position.
"Top 10 would be a really big jump for us," Bertallot said. "We are a bit heavier than many of the other crews so today was our type of conditions. We had very good speed both upwind and downwind and sort of figured out the shifty winds. Sometimes we were lucky to pick up some favourable shifts."
Andy Smith and Roger Gilbert led the regatta going into Thursday's action and were still right there after posting a fifth and a third to start off. However, a 15th in Race 7 proved costly and forced the British team to keep the 10th it took in Race 1.
"I think we just have to keep sailing the way we have been and hope for the best," Smith said when asked about securing runner-up status.
Principal race officer Sandy Grosvenor will hold just one race on Friday and there figures to be further shuffling of the standings since a second throwout will come into play with the completion of an eighth race.
Results after Day 4:
Pos | Sail No | Noat Name | Helm / Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts |
1 | USA 9072 | IO Integration | Mike Holt / Carl Smit | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
2 | GBR 9088 | Gill Race Team | Andy Smith / Roger Gilbert | 10 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 29 |
3 | USA 9091 | Its Big Its White | Edward Conrads / Brian Haines | 9 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 6 | 33 |
4 | GBR 9190 | P and B Race Team | Ian Pinnell / Dave Shelton | 4 | 4 | 8 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 38 |
5 | USA 9106 | Mike's Boat | Mike Martin / Adam Lowry | 8 | 21 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 44 |
6 | USA 9173 | Team Rooster | Tyler Moore / Rob Woelfel | 3 | 25 | 27 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 59 |
7 | GER 8929 | 8929 | Kai Bertallot / Jan Reifferscheidt | 15 | 9 | 35 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 60 |
8 | USA 9003 | Toxic Asset | Jesse Falsone / Chris Behm | 17 | 16 | 3 | 8 | DNF | 16 | 12 | 72 |
9 | USA 9160 | Frozen Banana | Howard Hamlin / Andy Zinn | 1 | 5 | 4 | 41 | 8 | 18 | DNF | 77 |
10 | USA 8995 | blue boat | Kevin Taugher / Reeve Dunn | 5 | 20 | 19 | 10 | 11 | DNF | 16 | 81 |
11 | USA 8970 | Bessy | Christopher Segerblom / Eric Anderson | 29 | 8 | 23 | 25 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 85 |
12 | GBR 9180 | Ovington Boats | Nathan Batchelor / Norman Byrd | 23 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 27 | 32 | 20 | 87 |
13 | FRA 9175 | 505 | Philippe Boite / Florian Corbel | 11 | 18 | 30 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 19 | 87 |
14 | USA 9102 | SUP | Douglas Hagan / Shane Illidge | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 38 | 27 | 33 | 91 |
15 | GER 9043 | Bikini Atoll | Angela Stenger / Skipper: Nikola Birkner | 19 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 20 | DNF | 28 | 92 |
16 | USA 9007 | License to Kill | Matthew Barry / Thomas Barrows | 22 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 17 | 4 | 92 |
17 | USA 8715 | Pressure Drop | Ethan Bixby / Parry Barclay | 18 | 19 | 2 | 22 | 36 | 5 | 27 | 93 |
18 | USA 8681 | Park Miller LLC | Stuart Park / Ryan Cox | 7 | 31 | 41 | 27 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 96 |
19 | GER 9169 | compensation‑partner.de | Tim Boeger / Finn Boeger | 14 | 11 | 38 | 55 | 7 | 25 | 11 | 106 |
20 | AUS 9167 | Soaked | Nigel Lott / Bob Franks | 24 | 14 | 31 | 17 | 23 | 10 | 23 | 111 |
21 | USA 8830 | NESS | Drew Buttner / Mark Zagol | 21 | 36 | 47 | 3 | 18 | 26 | 13 | 117 |
22 | USA 9095 | Highway 95 Revisited | Macy Nelson / Russell Miller | 32 | 62 | 29 | 12 | 15 | 24 | 17 | 129 |
23 | GBR 9178 | bottle of red bottle of white | chris lewns / Jarrod Simpson | 30 | 45 | 40 | 20 | 21 | 9 | 14 | 134 |
24 | GER 9146 | Magic Marine | Jens Findel / Johannes Tellen | 46 | 43 | 12 | DSQ | 17 | 12 | 10 | 140 |
25 | AUS 9191 | Swear jar | Malcolm Higgins / Marcus Cooper | 16 | 24 | 26 | 37 | 31 | 23 | 24 | 144 |
26 | USA 9005 | USA 9005 | Gordon Russell / Martin Goult | 44 | 35 | 13 | 18 | 56 | 11 | 26 | 147 |
27 | GBR 9179 | The Mechanic | Tudor Owen / Thomas Bruton | 41 | 27 | 55 | 13 | 30 | 22 | 18 | 151 |
28 | USA 8913 | USA8913 | Dan Herlihy / Austin Powers | 12 | 26 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 62 | 22 | 156 |
29 | USA 909 | IBIYCYHI | A.J. Conrads / Richard Mundell | 20 | 28 | 43 | 39 | 16 | 34 | 21 | 158 |
30 | AUS 9110 | OCCY 2 | Mark Stowell / Adam Brenz‑Verca | 28 | 50 | 24 | 16 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 161 |
31 | USA 8831 | Big Red Dog | Kerry Poe / Paul VonGrey | 13 | 42 | 33 | 60 | 12 | 33 | 30 | 163 |
32 | AUS 9028 | Earle Grey | Earle Alexander / Ian Gregg | 25 | 22 | 34 | 36 | 25 | 29 | 32 | 167 |
33 | IRL 8987 | Lookadatla | Peter Scannell / John Dunlea | 33 | 49 | 45 | 24 | 29 | 14 | 29 | 174 |
34 | USA 8851 | USA 8851 | Ted Huebner / Mike Komar | 27 | 47 | 22 | 26 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 180 |
35 | FRA 9150 | KE ATAO IV | Herve de Kergariou / Guillaume de Kergariou | 50 | 17 | 20 | 11 | 46 | 54 | 43 | 187 |
36 | AUS 9134 | Boaty McBoatface | Curtis Hartmann / Michael Quirk | 39 | 34 | 50 | DSQ | 26 | 15 | 36 | 200 |
37 | CAN 7200 | More Desperate Measures | Jeff Boyd / Rachael Boyd | 60 | 33 | 14 | 30 | 42 | 51 | 38 | 208 |
38 | USA 904 | 904 | Benton Amthor / Doug Amthor | 31 | DSQ | 16 | 33 | 52 | 38 | 42 | 212 |
39 | USA 9041 | Bench Mark | Henry Amthor / Dustin Romey | 26 | 71 | 52 | 40 | 34 | 21 | 41 | 214 |
40 | USA 9172 | Tamaki | Paul Scoffin / Brendan Heussler | 49 | 44 | 37 | 42 | 22 | 36 | 37 | 218 |
41 | USA 8631 | FB Incognito | Tom Crawford / Pierre Jeangirard | 55 | 15 | 73 | 32 | 32 | 43 | 50 | 227 |
42 | USA 8814 | Sojourner | Lin Robson / Matthew Gardiner | 57 | 32 | 5 | 44 | 51 | 72 | 46 | 235 |
43 | AUS 9115 | SailingBits.com | Dean Souter / Brad Clarke | 54 | 13 | 21 | 34 | DNF | DNF | 31 | 242 |
44 | USA 8850 | Dr. Crash | Doug Watson / Gabriel Watson | 64 | 48 | 10 | 38 | 50 | 41 | DNC | 251 |
45 | USA 8841 | Swagman | Michael Coe / Ali Meller | 35 | 29 | 28 | 35 | 40 | DNF | DNC | 256 |
46 | AUS 8877 | LEE Sails | Amy Lee / Justin Mulkearns | 65 | 41 | 42 | 49 | 33 | 53 | 49 | 267 |
47 | DEN 9079 | Little Bluenose | Jesper Bülow / Søren Asboe Jørgensen | 47 | 40 | DNS | DNC | 37 | 28 | 40 | 279 |
48 | USA 9183 | No Retreat | Dylan Breton / Matthew Breton | 43 | 72 | 49 | 53 | 19 | 71 | 45 | 280 |
49 | USA 8883 | Jane's Addiction | Kelsey Averill / Michael Renda | 42 | 57 | 66 | 43 | 43 | 47 | 48 | 280 |
50 | USA 8616 | Miami Vice | mike powell / Lee Laney | 53 | 68 | 61 | 45 | 41 | 39 | 44 | 283 |
51 | FIN 8768 | Giiamari | Petri Ebeling / Antti Salonen | 40 | 56 | 39 | 66 | 49 | 36 | DNC | 286 |
52 | USA 7359 | Hatoup | Catherine Guiader / Christopher Brady | 48 | 30 | 53 | 28 | DNF | 70 | 62 | 291 |
53 | GBR 9125 | Rock Beat | Roger Deane / Nigel Deane | 73 | 70 | 57 | 63 | 59 | 30 | 25 | 304 |
54 | USA 9116 | The Great Pumpkin | Katherine Long / Dan Ginther | 38 | 38 | 67 | 58 | 54 | 68 | 58 | 313 |
55 | GER 8988 | Larissa | Georg Mittermayer / Dirk Barteldt | 82 | 23 | 74 | 79 | 55 | 37 | 47 | 315 |
56 | POL 9132 | White Wood Sailing Team | Przemek Zagorski / Michal Olko | 34 | DSQ | 69 | 47 | 71 | 42 | 52 | 315 |
57 | USA 8930 | Blondage | Duane Delfosse / Sol Marini | 62 | 52 | 58 | 71 | 39 | DSQ | 39 | 321 |
58 | USA 8952 | FIG JAM | Jake Spracher / Jay Smith | SCP | 54 | 36 | 48 | DNF | 49 | 65 | 323 |
59 | GBR 9126 | Serendipity | Stuart Turnbull / Andy Forman | 56 | 51 | 56 | 73 | 47 | 69 | 54 | 333 |
60 | AUS 8968 | Devils Haircut | matt Hansen / Crazy John McLean | 81 | 61 | 59 | 68 | 44 | 48 | 57 | 337 |
61 | CAN 8600 | Mystery | Marie Gendron / David Brown | 58 | 76 | 32 | 70 | 62 | 60 | 56 | 338 |
62 | USA 910 | Schneller | Kaila Pfrang / Anna Patterson | 68 | 59 | 76 | 23 | 73 | 67 | 55 | 345 |
63 | USA 8937 | 8937 | Tim Murphy / Matt Merchant | 51 | 67 | 71 | 64 | 61 | 46 | 61 | 350 |
64 | BER 9176 | Yabsta | Gary Taylor / Brett Wright | 59 | 53 | 46 | 59 | SCP | 64 | 71 | 351 |
65 | USA 8194 | 8194 | Clark Hayes / Clayton James | 36 | 75 | 64 | 69 | 65 | 63 | 59 | 356 |
66 | USA 7606 | Battleship | Brendan Connell / Steve Lovshin | 52 | 37 | DNF | 50 | DNF | 44 | DNC | 357 |
67 | CAN 9138 | 505 | Marek Balinski / Barney Harris | 75 | 64 | 63 | 65 | 53 | 40 | DNF | 360 |
68 | USA 8081 | Poly Styrene | Michael Parramore / Marco Giraldi | 66 | 58 | 44 | 75 | 68 | 59 | 69 | 364 |
69 | USA 8439 | Yes Dear! | Anne Fitzpatrick / Christian Pittack | 37 | DNE | 60 | 77 | 45 | 58 | DNF | 366 |
70 | USA 8838 | Team Trouble | Sterling Spruill / Steve Taylor | 70 | 74 | 79 | 67 | 63 | 45 | 53 | 372 |
71 | FRA 9086 | FRA 9086 | Neidhart Elisabeth / David De Monteil | 45 | 55 | 51 | 46 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 375 |
72 | AUS 9018 | Eighteen | Brett Bowden / Arielle Darrow | 69 | 65 | 80 | 54 | 64 | 61 | 63 | 376 |
73 | GBR 9131 | Ultravires | Jim McGillivray / Ian Wilson | 72 | 63 | 65 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 51 | 377 |
74 | AUS 9071 | Red Baron | Richard Hyde / Lindsay Hyde | 63 | 73 | 72 | 74 | 60 | 50 | 60 | 378 |
75 | USA 8819 | Noch Schneller | Christopher Pfrang / Eric Schwab | 71 | 46 | 77 | 52 | DNF | 52 | DNF | 387 |
76 | CAN 8260 | Red Rocket | Shona Moss Lovshin / Devlin Lovshin | 79 | 60 | 54 | 61 | 57 | DNF | DNC | 400 |
77 | CAN 8368 | Send it! | Paul Place / Nicolas Tosi | 77 | 69 | 78 | 56 | 70 | 66 | 66 | 404 |
78 | USA 8919 | Safety Word | Bryan Richardson / Ashley Love | DNF | 39 | 48 | 51 | DNF | DNF | DNF | 405 |
79 | USA 8766 | The Shocker | Ian Conners / Jimmie Cockerill | 61 | 79 | 68 | 72 | DNF | 55 | 72 | 407 |
80 | CAN 8755 | Kryptonite | Brian Trainor / Mike Poulos | 78 | 77 | 81 | 81 | 58 | 56 | 68 | 418 |
81 | JPN 6999 | Applesap | Shiro Noguchi / Takao Fijita | 76 | 66 | DSQ | 62 | 67 | DNF | 64 | 424 |
82 | USA 8822 | Wicked Pissa | David Burchfiel / Bob Williams | 84 | 82 | 62 | 80 | DNC | 65 | 67 | 440 |
83 | GBR 8435 | 505 | Patrick Mcgale / langdon junge | 74 | 80 | 70 | 57 | TLE | DNF | DNC | 445 |
84 | USA 7197 | Matilda | David Neal | 80 | 81 | 82 | 78 | TLE | DNF | 73 | 469 |
85 | USA 8244 | Hodor | Paul Andron / Chris Drury | 86 | 84 | 84 | 84 | DNF | 73 | 70 | 481 |
86 | AUS 8738 | A Salt Weapon | John Macarthur‑King / Sarah Macarthur‑King | 85 | 78 | 75 | 82 | 72 | DNF | DNC | 481 |
87 | USA 7148 | Covfefe | Eric Konieczynski / Kyra Tallon | 83 | 83 | 83 | 83 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 510 |
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