Jens Christensen and his team from Royal Danish Yacht Club prevailed after a week-long race series in the 54th edition of the International Knarr Championships held at St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, California. With a scorecard that included two firsts and three seconds over 10 races, the Danish Olympian (Star Class, 1980) had an edge on the local fleet throughout the week aided by two important throw-outs—a U flag penalty and an undesirable 18th place. Nonetheless, the battle was close going into the final day, with Christensen one point behind local Randy Hecht. The Danish team finished the final race in second, happily sliding into first place overall. Don Jesberg won the final race to end the regatta in third, just one point behind Hecht.

Racing was held September 1-7. The regatta rotates between clubs in San Francisco, Denmark and Norway, with each country sending their top Knarr sailors to compete using the host country’s fleet. Boat assignments are made by draw and owners cannot compete in their own vessels. Other ICOYC Members included sailors from Royal Norwegian Yacht Club and San Francisco Yacht Club.

Christensen returns to Denmark with his second IKC title. “When you end up winning, well of course we have had a great week!” said Christensen. “We got an over early call but that is part of the game, then we had another bad day where we had two bad starts and a slow boat. But, the past two days we had some good sailing. Today we were fortunate that we got a good start, and we had a good boat. The wind was very tricky just after the start, but things went our way. We were in third around the top mark and moved into second to finish first overall. We are very happy and have enjoyed being here so much.”

Going into Friday with three races left to sail, Hecht needed three good starts in a row to take the regatta; there was no room for slippage. “Throughout the regatta we were the fastest consistent boat upwind, we had the starts we wanted, and I think the other guys had the starts they wanted,” said Hecht. “It was the closest final day I can remember. With just one race to sail, we had a perfect pin end start but a massive wind shift came down that negated that. A big puff got to others before it got us, and they pushed out ahead. The racecourses are narrow, it’s tough to pass people in large numbers so that was it.”

Sailing with Hecht, Russ Silvestri added, “It’s been a great week; we didn’t get worse than ninth and the boats we drew were all good. We just didn’t get the luck of the puff on the final race! Mike Peterson kept everything together and we want to congratulate him for his efforts, and Mark Dahm did a really great job as Regatta Chair.”

Jesberg, racing in his third IKC and the first time on home waters, enjoyed the close racing and the convivial spirit that’s a touchstone of Knarr sailing.

“Going into the final race today any one of the top six boats could have won the regatta,” he said. “Randy was ahead, Jens was second and the Perkins and my boat were all tied for third—it was a very close regatta and that is the way it should be. We focused on consistent starts and trying to sail in clear air. The conditions were good all week. The camaraderie was excellent—to have close course racing, tacking up the Cityfront with 25 boats and at the end of the regatta have no protests, that is polite, good sailing.”

In a regatta where competitors do not sail their own boats, sometimes results come down to the luck of the draw. Fortunately, as noted by Thomas Nilsson, PRO from Denmark, the San Francisco Knarr fleet is solid.

“We’ve had a good week of racing and I think all the sailors were happy,” says Nilsson. “It’s a little unusual here when you are going in close to the shore all the time because of the current but we also had some races that played out differently like today in the lighter breeze. The Race Committee was extremely good, so it has been very easy to be the PRO. We had a few breakdowns in the first few days but after the first few days we didn’t have any. It’s a good fleet of boats!”

The stamina required on the water was equally in demand shoreside with a busy post-racing social schedule. The midweek dinner at the Italian American Club on Washington Square where regatta and class volunteers were recognized, and the Knarr tradition continued of midweek leaders—this year the Niuhi crew— drinking a bottle of champagne from the Midweek Leader Perpetual Trophy presented by Jon Perkins, last year’s champion.

“It’s been a fantastic week; it’s one of those regattas that takes a lot of luck and perseverance and patience to make happen,” says Dahm. “The social part of the calendar takes just as much endurance as the racecourse. The highlight of the week was the Thursday country western party where we had a sold-out crowd for Mitch Polzak and the Royal Deuces, who rocked the house. Kudos to St. Francis Yacht Club for the great hospitality, and a big shout-out to the technical committee and Mike Peterson for keeping 28 boats healthy and reasonably equal.”

Full Results

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