Berkeley Yacht club was the host for the 2011 Nationals and it’s been 26 years since the Nationals have been hosted at Berkeley. The famous “Berkeley carpet” was the rigging venue so all the 50 competitors so they had to get along and find space to rig each day ready for the days racing.

Day 1 of racing saw four Formula races held. Winds were about 12-25 knots, with most sailors taking 10m sails. The rigging and launch area was so far away from the actual race site you had to pick a sail and go with it for at least 2 of the races. Paulo dos Reis made no mistakes and took race 1 and 2 from Wilhelm Schurmann. Later in the day two more races were held with Paulo winning again, but this time Phil McGain decided to get his act together and pulled out a second place on race 4.

Day 2 was to be a Formula and Slalom day. Race 5 and 6 were held in stronger winds than yesterday but still the same size sails for most competitors. Paulo again took two bullets while Schurmann and Phil McGain exchanged places with seconds and thirds.

The Slalom course was set for the afternoon with a 6 bouy downwind slalom. The wind was up to about 20 knots so most sailors took 7.0m to 7.8m sails. First heat McGain hit the line on zero and was off and racing however failed to spot the buoys correctly and sailed to buoy number 6 instead of bouy number 4, so it was Tyson Poor taking the first heat with Wilhelm Schurmann in second and Xavier Ferlet in third place.

Next heat saw Wilhelm and Poor get flying starts and that is the way they finished with McGain in third place. Heat 3 and 4 saw Wilhelm getting two bullets and McGain and Poor both scoring a second and third each.

MauiSails was well represented in the Women’s division with Hawaii State Champion Tamara Bockius scoring two firsts and two seconds, with Gorge sailor Shelley Gimbal also with the same scores, in third place Meredith Robert scored all third places while using her 5.9 MauiSails race sail.

Day 3 once again it was Formula and Slalom. 3 Formula races were held in the best conditions so far in the regatta.

Paulo once again showed his consistency scoring 3 first places and it was Wilhelm Schurmann and Phil McGain both fighting out the other top three places, McGain scoring 2,3 and 3 with Schurmann getting 3, 2 and 2.

In the afternoon the wind really picked up strong so this time the sailors were looking at switching down to 7.0’s for the Slalom while the women were on 5.5’s. The conditions this time were getting extreme for Berkeley but it didn’t stop Wilhelm Schurmann from scoring all bullets while Phil McGain put in another consistent performance with all second places.

Tamara had a brilliant day and secured her first place with 4 first places, in fact the conditions were so bad (or good) the other girls didn’t make it to the starting line, so full credit for Tamara for showing her Maui form come through.

Day 4. Long Distance.

Rabbit start today with a powerboat paving the way for the sailors to cross behind it and start the race. Most sailors were caught out but it was Steve Sylvester, Mike Percy, Wilhelm Schurmann and Phil McGain waiting at the windward end of the line and getting away clean. McGain lead around the weather mark which was at the end of the Berkeley pier nearly 3 miles upwind. At the bottom bouy Wilhelm Schurmann had a slight lead over McGain with Paulo close behind in third place, however Paulo rounded the wrong buoy and put himself out of the race by not sailing the correct course. McGain pulled back Schurmann by the weather mark and never looked back as he sailed to victory in the Long distance race, with Schurmann in second and the Bay Veteran Steve Sylvester in third place.

Final Day. 2 Formula races.

Slightly lighter winds today, so competitors decided to take a little bigger sails in 11m and 10.7’s. Paulo scored perfectly again with two bullets while McGain and Schurmann were fighting it out for the other two places, each scoring a 2 and a 3.

Final Formula results.

1. Paulo Dos Rios

2. Wilhelm Schurmann

3. Phil McGain- MauiSails

4. Xavier Ferlet

5. Steve Bodner

Long Distance results

1. Phil McGain- MauiSails

2. Wilhelm Schurmann

3. Steve Sylvester

Mens Slalom final results

1. Wilhelm Schurmann

2. Phil McGain- MauiSails

3. Tyson Poor

Womens Slalom results

1. Tamara Bockius- MauiSails

2. Shelley Gimbal

3. Meredith Robert- MauiSails

Junior Slalom

1. Jordan Reid- MauiSails

Photos : www.shawnrdavis.com