HUGHES WINS CHICAGO OPEN "B" REGATTA
Press Release
June 7, 2010

After a slow start, Hughes peaks at the end to defeat Canfield and Mossman in first-to-two point Semi’s and Finals.

Media Inquiries:
Dobbs Davis
443-306-3620 or media@ChicagoMatchRace.com

Chicago, IL – Reigning Canada’s Cup champion Bob Hughes and his team of Torvar Mirsky, Michael Hestbaek‚ and Kyle Langford have claimed victory at the Chicago Match Race Center’s (CMRC) Chicago Open “B” Regatta. This ISAF Grade 3 event was the second of two held here over 4-7 June, with eight teams competing in each.

Being an active and successful competitor in classes such as Melges 24’s, 1D35’s, Farr 40’s, and Melges 32’s, Hughes, from Ada, MI, is accustomed to tough competition. But his 5th place finish in the Chicago Open “A” Regatta was disappointing to him, prompting him to explain that the first three days were a process of “getting the rust out” after a long hiatus of competitive sailing.

No better way to do that then with the help of last year’s runner-up in the World Match Race Tour, Australian Torvar Mirsky and his team member Kyle Langford, who helped Hughes climb the learning curve in the TOM 28’s used in the “B” Regatta. Hughes was he first to defeat the previously undefeated Taylor Canfield who had been on fire with 10 straight victories behind him. In the first-to-two point Semi’s Hughes dispensed with Canfield quickly on a 2-0 score.

Next in Hughes’ sites was Guy Mossman, winner of CMRC’s first event of the year in January, the Key West Invitational. While admittedly brand-new to the game, Mossman and team still managed to defeat CMRC’s own Don Wilson in their Semi-Final pair-up, despite Wilson being the winner of last month’s Grade 3 Spring Invitational and runner-up to Canfield in the Open “A” Regatta. But Wilson did not go down without a fight: the series went to three hotly-contested matches, with plenty of aggression in both the pre-starts and at mark roundings.

“We adjusted our gameplan all weekend,” said Hughes, “in an effort to anticipate the interpretations by the umpires when things got close. As for Guy, we had to keep an eye on him in all the races…he would seem to come out of nowhere with pace.”

Hughes described the CMRC as “ideal for match race sailing, the Four Seasons of the game.”

Mossman gave credit to his team, who got him back into the game from being behind, earning him the moniker “the comeback kid.”

While his 4th place finish was not his best effort, Wilson said he was impressed with “how the talent level and caliber has steadily grown here at CMRC events. I’m excited for the future!”

Final standings, Chicago Open “B” Regatta:

1. Bob Hughes
2. Guy Mossman
3. Taylor Canfield
4. Don Wilson
5. Kevin Teborek
6. Danielle Soriano
7. David Storrs
8. Joe Markee

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