2014 Snipe Western Hemisphere & Asia Championship

It doesn’t get closer than this. Skipper Raul Rios and his crew Fernando Monllor won the Snipe Western Hemisphere and Orient Championship by a single point.

Going into the final day of racing, Rios was one of three teams with a real shot at nabbing the coveted title of champion. With the Organizing Authority’s announcement of an ocean course, competitors knew to be nervous as the Puerto Rican skipper has raced notoriously well on open water throughout the regatta.

Argentinian skipper Luis Soubie and crew Diego Mini Lipszyc have been steadily climbing the ranks throughout the first four days of racing at the Snipe WH&O Championship. The pair held the third overall position after day two, moved to second place on day three and now at the end of day four are sitting as the current regatta leaders. With nowhere else to go up, Soubie and Lipszyc will now have to focus on keeping tomorrow’s scores low enough to hang on to their top spot.

The Puerto Rican duo of Raul Rios and Fernando Monllor kept a tight hold on their position as the leaders of the Snipe WH&O on the third day of racing. Not only has the pair proven that they are fast, but they have also shown that they are consistent. Competitors became eligible to drop their worst race of the regatta after Race 5. With the drop, Rios and Monllor have two first-place finishes, two third-place finishes and their worst race is a fourth-place finish. What’s their plan for the rest of the regatta? “Just to go out and sail,” says Rios. So far, the plan has been working well.

Though it was a quintessential day of San Diego sailing with beautiful skies and a solid breeze, there was no home water advantage for any of the local competitors. While both the top two positions after day one were held by San Diegans, the second day of sailing has brought a new bunch to the top of the scoreboard.

A strong pack has emerged from the 43 teams that took to the water after day one of the Snipe Western Hemisphere and Orient Championship. Of the top six scoreboard leaders, no team has a double-digit finish in either of the races. The competition is tight with only a seven point spread across the top six teams.

It’s an international affair at the San Diego Yacht Club as 43 teams from 12 different countries gear up to compete in the 2014 Snipe Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship. The regatta has been contested biennially since 1950, when the first WH&O took place in Havana, Cuba. With its year-round sailing facilities, San Diego was the perfect place for the 2014 competition to take place.

The Snipe Western Hemisphere and Orient (WH&O) Championships are coming quickly it’s time to get the final plans in place to pull off this great regatta.  The Chief Measurer for this event, Gus Wirth, is tasked with allowing only Real Snipes ™ to participate. To that end, Gus and a team of volunteers, will have to get 50 boats measured over the course of the three days before the event, 5-7 September.

We are thrilled to have you with us at the San Diego Yacht Club for the 2014 Snipe Western Hemisphere and Orient Championship regatta.

On behalf of my fellow Flag Officers, Board of Directors, members and the entire staff of the San Diego Yacht Club, it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to San Diego. As a long-time Snipe sailor, I have great appreciation and respect for your accomplishment in qualifying from your home country to participate in this fantastic event. We will do everything in our power to make your stay in San Diego memorable and fun. Volunteers from our membership and Snipe Fleet 495, have worked for over a year and invested countless hours to make this year’s WH&O Championship truly representative of our mantra: “Serious Sailing, Serious Fun” – you can expect all of that this week.

The Snipe Western Hemisphere and Orient (WH&O) Championship Regatta will be held in sunny San Diego this fall, hosted by San Diego Yacht Club, Sept 5 – 12, 2014. SDYC is honored to host the competition, which has been contested biannually since 1950, the first in Havana, Cuba. The Championship has been held in venues throughout North and South America and Asia. The Organizing Authority for this year’s WH&O have been hard at work planning a fantastic week of sailing and regatta events.