Snipe Colonial Cup: Packing Lots of Action into One Day
The Miami team of Ernesto Rodriguez/Taylor Scheuermann topped the fleet at this year's Snipe Colonial Cup, held May 31-June 1 at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, Maryland. Rodriguez/Scheuermann stayed consistent throughout a shifty, puffy day to finish 10 points ahead of runners-up Trevor Davis/Diego Escobar (Severn Sailing Association/Mission Bay Yacht Club). The teams of Enrique Quintero/Lorena Fundora (Coral Reef Yacht Club), Augie Diaz/Madeline Baldridge (Coconut Grove Sailing Club), and Peter Foley/Henry Tindall (CRYC/EYC) rounded out the top five.
The weather didn't cooperate for any racing for the 48-boat fleet on Saturday. By the time the fleet was getting ready to launch and head out to the race course, Race Committee reported sustained winds over 25 knots with some gusts reaching 30. The fleet was postponed for an hour to see if the breeze would abate. It did not...and then the thunderstorms came. Midafternoon, regatta organizers decided to change the focus from Serious Sailing to Serious Fun and called racing for the day.
Competitors enjoyed a great evening sharing laughs with friends old and new over crab cake appetizers and an impressive Italian buffet. Many sailors are continuing south after the weekend to Atlanta Yacht Club for Snipe Nationals on Lake Allatoona, so many conversations focused on logistical planning and sneak peeks at the weather forecast for the week.
Happily, the weather in Annapolis was much more cooperative for Sunday's racing: Mostly 10-15 knots with some puffs into the low 20s. But that's not to say it was easy sailing! The day featured a confused sea state left over from the previous day's high wind. And the breeze was highly shifty, often varying 20 degrees over the course of a leg. SSA's Race Committee, led by PRO Steve Podlich, ran four courses.
While Davis/Escobar thrived in the challenging conditions, notching first-place finishes in races 1, 2, and 4, but scored a 16 in race three. Meanwhile, Rodriguez/Scheuermann kept it solid with a 2, 2, 1, 4 scoreline.
The Snipe fleet encourages women's and junior sailing. This year's Colonial Cup included eight women's teams and five junior teams. The top women's team was Carol Cronin/Kim Couranz (Severn Sailing Association), while the top junior team was Owen Fretwell/Colin Krebs (Mission Bay Yacht Club). A special sportsmanship award, voted on by the fleet, was given to Lexi Pline and Lydia McPherson, who assisted a bachelorette party on a rental electric boat that was struggling to make headway in the high wind during one of the thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon. The fleet also included four married couple teams and two parent-child teams. How cool is that?
The event served as a qualifier for the 2026 Snipe World Championship, which will be held in Menorca, Spain. At least the top three skippers will qualify to represent the United States at that event. The next big Snipe regatta at Severn Sailing Association is the Snipe Junior National Championship (for sailors 22 and under) and Annapolis Snipe Invite U30 Regatta (for sailors under 30), August 16-17.
