(Report submitted by Anna Tunnicliffe (USA))

(Event website: http://www.ussailing.org/)

The first of four days of racing at the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship got under way today at the Bayview Yacht Club in light conditions with Debbie Capozzi from Long Island’s Sayville YC on hand to defend the championship she and her crew won last year.

We are racing in three-person Ultimate 20 trailer boats. These high-performance 21-footers are very lively and responsive and my crew and I spent an intense hour and a half yesterday getting a feel for the boat and learning the best way to trim sails and handle the spinnaker. I have a great crew in Ali Sharp and Liz Bower, although Liz is sailing under a bit of a handicap. She broke her thumb a week ago and her arm is in a cast. She’s done a super job despite this and I know she’ll tough it out.

There are 11 top-notch teams racing here but only six boats, so the volunteers from Bayview have been rotating the crews through the boats for the opening round. That meant our crew sat around most of the day and didn’t get onto the water until 4:30 PM but that’s OK. It made it a little tough to maintain focus but I got plenty of practice in sitting still and waiting while I was in Qingdao, China.

We only completed two races but we won both of them which leaves us with a perfect, if rather small score. The only other skipper with no losses is last year’s runner-up, Katy Lovell, from Southern YC in New Orleans, La., with a 5-0 score.

Debbie, the US Yngling sailor who was with me in Qingdao for the Pre-Olympic Regatta, and Charlie Arms from Vellejo, Calif., both have 3-1 scores.

Tomorrow the forecast calls for breeze at 15-20 knots and rain, so it should make for plenty of racing and some good action.

Day One Results (after 9 Flights):

Katy Pilley-Lovell, New Orleans, La. (Southern YC), 5-0
Charlie Arms, Vellejo, Calif. (Southwestern YC), 3-1
Debbie Capozzi, Bayport, N.Y. (Sayville YC), 3-1
Elizabeth Hjorth, Marina del Rey, Calif. (California YC), 3-2
Angela Scheibner, Grosse Pointe, Mich. (Bayview YC), 3-3
Anna Tunnicliffe, Plantation, Fla. (North Cape YC), 2-0
Elizabeth Baylis, San Rafael, Calif. (San Francisco YC), 2-2
Lauren Knoles, Grosse Ile, Mich. (Bayview YC), 2-3
Kathy Lundeen, Sheboygan, Wis. (Sheboygan YC), 2-7
Rebecca Beard, San Francisco, Calif. (St. Francis YC), 1-3
Susan McDowell, Bay Village, Ohio (Edgewater YC), 1-4