Robbie Daniel, of Red Gear Racing, shows that he still has it, sweeping the F16 Nationals and the F18 North American Championships!

The Woman Behind the Racers from CriticalEnds Productions on Vimeo.

For the past 2 years, Robbie Daniel has been semi retired from the active cat racing circuit due to his busy schedule with Red Gear Racing coaching programs around the world and some recent injuries.  For a change of pace, he jumped back into the racing ranks for the F16 Nationals at the West River Sailing Club in Galesville, MD this past Sept 9-11, followed by the F18 North Americans in Hyannis, MA,  Sept 20-24th.

Although the F16 event was in a great location, great club with great company, the wind  was horrible and almost non existent. 18 F16’s from around the country gathered for what ended up being 3 VERY light races.   Robbie Daniel teamed up with one of his Olympic Campaign crews, Enrique Rodriquez, to win the event.   Although they took a lot of ribbing as the OLD MAN TEAM, the old men, showed them how it was done, winning 2 out of the 3 races on their Viper by a large margin.  They were followed by two of the teams Robbie coaches on the Viper. Coming in second place on their Viper was 16 year old Taylor Reiss driving and 18 year old Matthew Whitehead crewing, and in third place, on their Viper were Norman Chu driving and Gary Chu crewing. Vipers pretty much swept the fleet taking 1,2,3,4,6,7,9 of the top 10 boats.

Robbie had just finished a month long coaching and racing trip in France and Croatia with Taylor Reiss and Matthew Whitehead.   Taylor and Matthew finished 3rd at the F16 World Championship, representing the USA with flying colors.

The next stop was the F18 North Americans.   From the moment they arrived it was game on as 56 boats kept coming and coming.  Most arrived early to go thru measurement and to get an early test of the waters off the coast of Hyannis, MA.

The AHPC C2 dominated the fleet both in numbers and results, with AHPC having a bit more than half the fleet and taking 8 of the top 11 spots in the results.  The Hyannis event did a fabulous job with the electronic technology of the event.   On line spectators were treated to a live race with GPS tracking devises on all the boats and tons of video and interviews.  www.f18northamericans.com   Although Robbie’s GPS had some issues the first couple of days, there was no mistaking the results!

Robbie teamed up with one of his Olympic Campaign crews, Hunter Stunzi.  Although sailing at about 75-80% of their usual, it was enough to dust the fleet on the first day with heavy winds and big seas turning everyone’s head.

Robbie said “I have no expectation for results in this regatta.  We are out of shape, out of practice and both recovering from injuries.”  For no expectations, it was sailing seminar for most as Robbie and Hunter took 3 bullets the first day in the heavy air, followed by a similar performance on the second day with very light wind.  In the end, they won the regatta with a 10 point lead over the next boat, with pro team sailors Tripp Bird/Mike Easton and John Casey/Dalton in 3rd. 

Although comments were made that Robbie and Hunter would never be able to keep up this pace, it seemed to give them strength to keep it up throughout the event.

Another unprepared team who had not sailed together before also came and shined at the event finishing 4th.  “Old Man”, Nigel Pitt teamed up with 16 year old “KID” Taylor Reiss.  Nigel and Taylor took turns driving.   At the trophy presentation, Nigel introduced “THE KID” and put everyone on notice and said that “if THEY got up in the top 10, they would be seeing that “KID” allot!”

It was clear to see the C2 sailors had swept the event taking 1,4,6,7,8,9,10,11.   Part of the success of the C2 fleet was the fact that Red Gear Racing and AHPC had their coach boat on the water to support the C2 sailors with parts and support, and Red Gear Racing coaching programs continually are raising the level of playing field for the every day sailor.    

Sign on to Red Gear Racing Facebook page and LIKE it to get updates on when and where their training camps are held or book one for yourself!

It is great seeing the fleet size grow in the US.   Most of the boats attending this event will participate in the F18 Worlds next year to be held in Long Beach, CA.