54th International Knarr Championships at St Francis Yacht Club
by Michelle Slade 10 Sep 10:51 NZST
August 31 - September 7, 2024
Twenty-five teams from the United States, Denmark and Norway competed in the 54th International Knarr Championships © Chris Ray
Jens Christensen and his team from Denmark prevailed after a week-long race series in the 54th edition of the International Knarr Championships (IKC) held at St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, California.
With a scorecard that included two firsts and three seconds over 10 races, the Danish Olympian (Star Class, 1980) had an edge on the local fleet throughout the week aided by two significant throw-outs—a U flag penalty and an undesirable 18th place. Nonetheless, the battle was close going into the final day, with Christensen one point behind Randy Hecht (USA). The Danish team finished the final race in second, happily sliding into first place overall. Don Jesberg (USA) won the final race to end the regatta in third, just one point behind Hecht.
Racing was held September 1-7. The regatta rotates between clubs in the United States, Denmark and Norway, with each country sending their top Knarr sailors to compete using the host country's fleet. Boat assignments are made by draw and owners cannot compete in their own vessels.
Christensen returns to Denmark with his second IKC title. "When you end up winning, well of course we have had a great week!" said Christensen. "We got an over early call but that is part of the game, then we had another bad day where we had two bad starts and a slow boat. But, the past two days we had some good sailing. Today we were fortunate that we got a good start, and we had a good boat. The wind was very tricky just after the start, but things went our way. We were in third around the top mark and moved into second to finish first overall. We are very happy and have enjoyed being here so much."
Going into Friday with three races left to sail, Hecht needed three good starts in a row to take the regatta; there was no room for slippage. "Throughout the regatta we were the fastest consistent boat upwind, we had the starts we wanted, and I think the other guys had the starts they wanted," said Hecht. "It was the closest final day I can remember. With just one race to sail, we had a perfect pin end start but a massive wind shift came down that negated that. A big puff got to others before it got us, and they pushed out ahead. The racecourses are narrow, it's tough to pass people in large numbers so that was it."
Sailing with Hecht, Russ Silvestri, also a former Olympian (Finn Class, 2000) added, "It's been a great week; we didn't get worse than ninth and the boats we drew were all good. We just didn't get the luck of the puff on the final race! The Technical Committee's Mike Peterson kept everything together and we want to congratulate him for his efforts, and Mark Dahm did a really great job as Regatta Chair."
"It was the closest final day I can remember." — Randy Hecht
Jesberg, racing in his third IKC and the first time on home waters, enjoyed the close racing and the convivial spirit that's a touchstone of Knarr sailing.
"Going into the final race today any one of the top six boats could have won the regatta," he said. "Randy was ahead, Jens was second and the Perkins' and my boat were all tied for third—it was a very close regatta and that is the way it should be. We focused on consistent starts and trying to sail in clear air. The conditions were good all week. The camaraderie was excellent—to have close course racing, tacking up the Cityfront with 25 boats and at the end of the regatta have no protests, that is polite, good sailing."
In a regatta where competitors do not sail their own boats, sometimes results come down to the luck of the draw. Fortunately, as noted by Thomas Nilsson, PRO from the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club in Norway, the San Francisco Knarr fleet is solid.
"We've had a good week of racing and I think all the sailors were happy," said Nilsson. "It's a little unusual here when you are going in close to the shore all the time because of the current but we also had some races that played out differently, like today in the lighter breeze. The Race Committee was extremely good, so it was very easy to be the PRO. We had a few breakdowns in the first few days but after that we didn't have any. It's a good fleet of boats!"
The stamina required on the water was equally in demand shoreside with a busy post-racing social schedule. This year's regatta honored Knud Wibroe, who first brought the event to San Francisco Bay in 1969 and passed away earlier this year, as well as other past Knarr sailors Tim Dowling, Duane Hines and Phil Perkins. At the midweek dinner at the Italian American Club on Washington Square, regatta and class volunteers were recognized and all enjoyed the Knarr tradition of midweek leaders—this year the Niuhi crew— drinking a bottle of champagne from the Georg von Epecrom Trophy presented by Jon Perkins, last year's champion.
"It's been a fantastic week; it's one of those regattas that takes a lot of luck and perseverance and patience to make happen," said Dahm. "The social part of the calendar takes just as much endurance as the racecourse. The highlight of the week was the Thursday country western party where we had a sold-out crowd for Mitch Polzak and the Royal Deuces, who rocked the house. Kudos to St. Francis Yacht Club for the great hospitality, and a big shout-out to the Technical Committee and Mike Peterson for keeping 28 boats healthy and reasonably equal."
Full results available here.