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Regatta Report & Rooster Gear Guide By Sam Patterson
When I signed up for Sunfish North Americans an hour before registration closed, I was definitely picturing a fun, challenging weekend of racing on Barnegat Bay, surrounded by great people who remember that at the end of the day, sailboat racing is our recreation. What I hadn’t quite imagined was 3 days of hanging on for dear life in 18+, getting absolutely humbled regarding my fitness level, and falling in love with the Sunfish all over again. I was fortunate enough to get a Sunfish for my 14th birthday, which kickstarted my love of sailing. However, that particular boat was never raced and I haven’t been in a Sunfish for about a decade (aside from one short race in 2022 where I retired after a few legs with a slowly sinking hull). My North Americans campaign officially began 13 days before the event began, with a message to Sunfish Superstar Amanda Callahan to see if I could borrow a boat; she happily let me use her 2023 hull and a great sail, I just had to provide a mainsheet and sail ties. My workout plan was simple; continue to walk my dog every morning, and do nothing at all to prepare physically for international-level competition. I’m super grateful for the work that Lee Montes has done to provide the community with educational content surrounding the boat, and without a few hours of watching his videos I would not have felt nearly as comfortable hopping into the boat for the event. My only real goals for the event were to learn as much as possible about the boat, and to try to be above midfleet in the process.
After a few mishaps involving a forgotten bag and a snapped axle, I arrived at the beautiful Lavallette Yacht Club with two boats in tow for Amanda and I, a couple of hours after the practice race as the regatta drinks were starting to flow. Racing started the next day, and we were the last boats to arrive. By flashlight, the sail got tied on and outhaul and cunningham systems were constructed. The rest was going to have to wait until the morning, as I had to get to the grocery store before they closed to get snacks and electrolytes!
Day 1 + Gear Guide
A 6:45am arrival at the venue left plenty of time to purchase some new traveler blocks, and rig my 7mm Polilite mainsheet with the 2:1 purchase system that is gaining popularity. Despite my height I’m a bit on the light side, and recently had major shoulder surgery, so the extra purchase was incredibly helpful for the weekend. I used 48’, which gave me enough to tie to the hiking strap and was perhaps a foot or two too long. I went ahead with a Jens rig halyard to depower, and did a final cleaning of the boat. At this point in the morning, the breeze hadn’t quite built and it was looking like a Chamber-of-Commerce day.
For the first time in a long time, I pulled on my Rooster Classic Hikers and started to get into race mode. It was quite hot so I wore a basic longsleeve UV shirt on top, and a Rooster Neck Gaiter around my neck. On the first day I only wore the gaiter around my neck, but found that wearing it as a full face covering on Days 2 & 3 was great for sun protection and keeping my hat on when boathandling. Rounding out my gear selections were the USCG PFD and Pro Race 2F gloves. Keeping my lunch dry was the new Rooster 3L Dry Bag, decked out with RS Fest Miami branding. I found the 3L to be a perfect size for the Sunfish gear cubby, and easily held a day’s food, some ibuprofen, and one mini can of Diet Coke.
Race 1 started in 12-14, right out of the south with a nice fetch for the chop to turn into a washing machine in a few spots. 105 Sunfish on the line makes for a huge course, and the 1/2mi starting line created a lot of opportunity, none of which I successfully claimed. The boat felt light and responsive, and it was quickly apparent that achieving my midfleet goal was going to take some work with a 57th place finish. Fouling someone at the leeward mark didn’t help! Upwind legs were set at 1.0 miles to start the event, with race time around 1 hour.
As Race 2 began, breeze built to the steady 18 that we would see for every other race but the last. I was super glad the Jens rig (a lower halyard lift point, to depower) was already set up, but I began to feel overpowered and was envious of the couple folks I saw drop a reef in. Going into maneuvers down-speed in big breeze and chop like that was disastrous, and after a few times in irons I quickly learned to be more intelligent about my tacking. Downwind was a ton of fun, and the boat’s heritage as a sail board really comes through when surfing downwind. Race 3 saw a number of the fleet retire as the breeze continued to build, and I was incredibly close to joining them. However, I felt safe and my only reason for going in would have been my incredible lack of fitness leading to me not having an awesome time. So, with nothing else on the calendar for the day I decided to get a workout in and attempt to finish every race of the event no matter the breeze. One more race was run that day, and about ½ the total fleet finished the day on the water.
Day 2
I woke up on day 2 wondering how to get Advil to sponsor the next regatta I hosted, with my quads so tight I could barely get down the stairs at the house. “Yoga for Tired Legs” was searched on YouTube, and 26 minutes later morale was on the upswing. The breeze was still up, and the courses were still long. Another four races were completed, and my Sunfish education advanced another step up on the learning curve. Race 2 was when I figured out the gooseneck adjustment, and cranked that aft to about 20”. Immediately, the boat balanced out and I felt more in-control than I had all weekend. In conditions like that there was no question that depowering to your own level was fast, and that physical fitness is key. A lot of my mistakes seemed to be larger strategic decisions that were just boneheaded in retrospect, which tracked with how much time (95%) my head was focused in the boat and not on the broader course. I seemed to make up for it on the downwind legs, passing a few folks each time this day. Submarining was a bit of an issue to start the day, which I had mild success mitigating with adjustments to daggerboard height. Downwind has never been my strong suit and I’ve spent some time working on it in other classes in the past few years, so this overall felt like a victory. I also managed to finish every race, and was beginning to think a little outside the boat by the end of the day.
Day 3
At a certain point in a heavy-air regatta, the hiking just doesn’t hurt anymore. Even the best hiking pants can’t make up for several years of neglecting fitness, and you just have to keep going. Staring upwind at whitecaps as the sequence started for the first race of the day, I just kept reminding myself I only had to finish each race. The breeze had rotated 180 degrees overnight so the fetch was marginally smaller, but a 1 mile uphill slog is still a 1 mile uphill. Going into Race 2 of that day the breeze slightly died, I started to get my head outside of the boat and snagged a top-40 finish. Race 3 saw breeze as low as 14, and I started to feel the boat move going upwind. Having spent three days pushing the absolute limits of boathandling and steering, I felt comfortable enough to get my head out of the boat and actually tack on headers reliably for the first time all weekend. The downwinds became much, much harder in the light stuff as I struggled to out-surf folks, but I managed to end the event with a 20th in the last race and a 41st overall.
The 61st Sunfish North American Championship was a regatta to remember, and I’m quite glad that I had the opportunity to learn about the class in some challenging conditions. The learning curve was exponential, and I feel insanely grateful to the entire class for being super supportive and helpful, from rigging tips to chatting about changing conditions on the water. Amanda Callahan deserves unending thanks for her commitment to grow the class and willingness to give me a boat and housing for a weekend. Thank you to Lavallette Yacht Club for hosting an excellent event, and the USSCA for organizing!