AYC Hosts Star North American Championship
J
ack Jennings has been considered an up-and-coming skipper in the Star class for quite some time now. The Chicago native has posted impressive results in numerous major regattas, but had yet to come away as champion of a gold or silver Star event. Jennings and his crew Pedro Trouche finally broke through by capturing the 2022 Star North American Championship, hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC) June 13-18. Jennings, a 42-year-old who has been competing in the Star class since 2008, says, “We are quite happy to come away with the win. It was pretty unexpected, actually, because I didn’t have a great feel for the Chesapeake Bay. It was only my third time sailing here.” Principal race officer Kevin Reeds did not send the fleet out on Wednesday due to lack of wind but was able to complete three races in 15- to 20-knot southerly winds on Thursday. Jennings and Touche posted a 2-1-3 score line to take the early lead. “I think we were fortunate the wind was strong on the first day because we’re pretty good in those conditions,” Jennings said. “I think we had good boat speed in the heavy air, and we sailed fairly conservatively.” There were wind gusts up to 24 knots on Thursday and six boats suffered varying degrees of rig damage. Jennings and Trouche did not set the spinnaker pole or gybe during the last downwind leg of Race 3 to avoid any mishap. Friday brought 10- to 12-knot winds from the south, and Reeds completed two more races. The forecast for Saturday on the Chesapeake Bay was steady winds of 20-25 knots with gusts up to 30. After meeting with class representatives and the organizing authority, the race committee decided to cancel racing. Considering that six boats had sustained rig damage due to wind gusts up to 24 knots on Thursday, that announcement was well received by most of the fleet. Jennings was thrilled to receive the Royal Canadian Yacht Club Trophy
##Skipper Jack Jennings and crew Pedro Trouche sail upwind. Photos by Will Keyworth
SpinSheet.com July 2022 77