Don Corey of Cornelius, NC, with crew Allyson Young and Clint Milner, turned in a rock-steady performance in difficult conditions to win the Ultimate 20 National Championship. Sailing on Lake St. Clair, the threesome never finished below third place through seven races. Conditions were challenging; most of the racing was held in winds over 15 knots with a short, steep chop.

“The conditions were almost to the point of being extreme, we probably had some winds in the mid-20’s,” Corey said, “but it was a lot of fun. With a crew that’s well tuned to the boat-timing and crew communications-there’s nothing better. We’ve sailed together for four years.” Corey competes on Lake Norman, NC, and had previously won U20 class events at the Sailing World St. Petersburg NOOD and the East Coast Championship in 2001.

Challenging Corey’s team into the closing race was Bob Aman of Albany, OR, with crew Andy Carson of Nashville, TN, and boat owner Charley Smart of Chicago. Aman was leading the fifth race when the team sailed to a wrong mark in the finish area, dropping three places. “We spent a lot of time climbing out of a hole,” Carson said, referring to the finish error and an OCS restart.

Aman’s team finished 4 points in arrears and 18 points ahead of Michigan sailor Lauren Padilla from the host club.

-Doran Cushing

Click here to see the photo gallery from the 2002 nationals