A-Class North Americans 2014 @Sail NC: Day 1

Images Sail NC. 50 Boats for a North American is being reported as the highest number ever for the event. But even better is the fact on having Jeremy Herrin (first pic above) and his custom/home built A-Cat doing so well. Jeremy has won at FL this January on his boat. Check his blog for the building process at ah-sailing.blogspot.com (scroll down for building posts). A Class where home builts are encouraged and can perform in hands of a good sailor/builder like Jeremy will always have an added appeal.

Pity he was using yesterday carbon stays as reported by Rachel below. He scored a 2 and a DNF on a stay failure. 
The other great fact of the day was having 65 yrs Woody Cope standing second place overall with his Nikita after Bruce Mahoney on a Dna.

Top ten below , Full Results Here
Image Gallery at Sail NC fb.
Great media coverage by the hosting Club, Sail NC.  Check video & report by Rachel Jasperen / Oceanimages.co.uk below.

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Report & Press Release by Rachel Jasperen:
Capricious Wind Brings Challenging Start To North American A-Cat Champs
Sailors and Boats of All Ages And Designs In The Hunt

With wild shifts and fickle Southerly breeze all day, the largest fleet in the history of the
International A-Class Catamaran North American Championship sailed a challenging two-race day in the waters of Croatan Sound. The Outer Banks provided the usual warm weather and bright sunshine, but the big attraction to sailors – the near-constant 15-knot breezes the area is so well known for – didn’t make an appearance.

Instead, sailors contended with everything from dead calms to 12 knots of South wind, and wily veterans like Tampa’s Woody Cope sailing light-air weapons like his Nikita design thrived, the soon-to-be 66 year old riding a 5-1 scoreline to second place on the day behind Houston’s Bruce Mahoney in his state-of-the-art DNA catamaran.

“I’ve got to teach this younguns a lesson every now and again,” Cope said, though he credited his A-Cat friends from Tampa for much of his speed. “I’ve been getting beat by these guys for so long, I guess finally something rubbed off on me,” said Cope.

At the other end of the age spectrum but also from Western Florida, 18-year old Jeremy Herrin nearly won the day on a boat he built in his garage with his dad. The high school senior trailed the winning Mahoney over the line by seconds in the first race of the day, and he was ahead halfway through the second race.

“At first I thought my carbon shroud had broken, but then I saw the full tang attachment had pulled through the deck and I knew my day was over,” said Herrin. “Fortunately, I only lost one race, and I’ll have it fixed by the morning and hopefully no more trouble after that.” Herrin’s DNF in Race 2 puts him all the way back in 28th position; something that should be remedied tomorrow. “We have a drop coming in after five races, so I’ll need to make sure I have no more big gear problems and I should be in a pretty good position,” said Herrin.

A minimum of 3 races is planned for Thursday, the second day of this four-day regatta, with more Southerly breeze of up to 15 knots on forecast throughout the day.”
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Top ten below. Full Results Here