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SAILORS USING SELDEN CROWNED 505 NA CHAMPIONS

31/10/2007 00:00:00

Seldén would like to congratulate 505 sailors, Erik Boothe and Ethan Bixby who have succeeded in winning the 2007 505 North American Championships using Seldén spars.

The fleet descended upon Annapolis for the 2007 International 505 North American Championship. Competitors hailed from as far away as Germany, the UK, Canada, and the West coast of California.

Tyler Moore and Jesse Falsone took race 1 in a day typical of Annapolis conditions that featured a long postponement for breeze and shifty conditions once the wind arrived. On Day 2, in a lumpy 7-10 knot southerly, Ethan Bixby and Erik Boothe skillfully ripped off three bullets to take a four point lead to the disappointment of Moore and Falsone. To everyone’s much relief, Day 3 brought a consistent 12 knot southerly breeze. With breeze strong enough for reachrunning, the Race Committee opted for a long Worlds course. Californians Mike Martin and Jeff Nelson, reknown for their heavy-air dominance, took the fifth race. Following that race, the southerly dropped off a bit, and Bixby and Boothe secured their lead in the regatta overtaking the German team of Boris Herrmann and Julien Kleiner for the bullet. With Boothe and Bixby’s scores, they mathematically locked up the title even with one race remaining. Friday’s final race brought breezy conditions allowing Mike Martin to rip off an incredible lead with the Kattack showing Martin with a 1-knot speed advantage over the other competitors.

This marks the fourth North American Championship for Bixby and the first for Boothe. Bixby is no spring chicken to the fleet, winning his first title 31 years ago, but his last win of the title was back in 1989 with Cam Lewis when Boothe was just ten-year-old opti kid back on the Gulf-Coast.

Top 5 finishers are as follows:

Bixby / Boothe
Herrmann / Kleiner
Moore / Falsone
Martin / Nelson
Miller / Allen

Photo: credit Allen Clark of PhotoBoat.com