Two races on Day One: George Szabo with Guy Avellon are the best of the day and overall leaders.
Newport Harbor in Los Angeles, California, has put on a great show for Day One of the 2024 Star North American Championship. The breeze ranged from light to above 10 knots, allowing the 26-boat fleet to finish two fair races with lots of lead changes and tight competition.
Race One started with a nice 11-knot breeze after an abandonment, a few general recalls, and course adjustments. George Szabo with Guy Avellon were the leaders from start to finish, followed by Will Stout and Parker Mitchell, and Eric Doyle with Payson Infelise. The wind increased to 13 knots for Race Two, which did not have a clear winner from the beginning. Eventually, the bullet went to Brian Ledbetter and Brian Terhaar. Arthur Anosov and Quinton Gallon came in second, with John Dane III and Dave Martin finishing third.
George Szabo and Guy Avellon finished this race in fourth and closed the day as the overall leaders. “We're near the tight pack and luckily we are in front and were able to hold that through Race One. That was good fun!” commented George Szabo at the end of the day. “We then scored a fourth in the second race. It was just hard as the left was going well, but the right would also go well and the current is changing back and forth. We were up to third in that race, but I tried to do something different and it didn't go so well. But it was a good day where the boat was going well, and Guy was hiking hard today. It was good fun and came out okay. We’re very pleased.”
Two more races are scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, August 9th, and on Saturday, August 10th when the 2024 Star North American Champions will be crowned.