CANFIELD ON A STREAK
By Leighton O'Connor for Scuttlebutt 

Well this is the first time my camera took a ride without me and boy did I call it right. Monday night after the skippers meeting at the St. Maarten Yacht Club for the 5th running of the Budget Marine Match Racing Cup,  I asked Taylor Canfield if I could mount a few cameras on the tipsy Jeanneau 20 he'd be racing. He happily agreed. I remember meeting Taylor while I was covering the US Sailing Match Racing Championship last fall in Marblehead....which he won. I had a feeling he might do well in St. Maarten since he won the Monsoon Cup, The Argo Gold Cup and a bunch of other regattas last year.

I went down to the boat he would be on (Miss Sperry) very early Tuesday morning and could only find one spot to mount a camera...the mast. It was in not a great place to attached an adhesive mount,  so I tethered in down to the base of the mast with some thin line. Well you probably don't care too much about camera mounts. On to the results...

Canfield was undefeated in seven races today. At the end of the day he went up against  Virgin Islander Cy Thompson and beat him twice for the best of three to win the purse of $5,000.   Canfield crew consisted of four-time Canadian Olympian Richard Clarke and accomplished Caribbean and Melges 32 sailor Mark Plaxton.  Clarke was Canfield's tactician. He competed four times in the Finn class for the Canadian Olympic team from 1992-2012   Mark Plaxton is the CEO of INTAC, a Melges 32. Plaxton has been sailing for years and has won the St. Maarten's Heineken Regatta with his Melges 32 in the past.  The Canfield team with be racing together on the INTAC for the Heineken Regatta.

After the racing I asked the 25 year old Canfield a few questions about the race and his fast raising sailing career.

LO: Congratulations Taylor! Thanks for running my GoPro on board and keeping it attached to the mast.  What did you win last year?
TC: We won the Monsoon Cup and Argo gold cup, both events on the World Match Race Tour, CMRC (Chicago Match Race Center) June Grade 2, CMRC August Grade 2 (Part of the Grand Slam Series), 3rd at Congressional Cup, 1st at US Sailing Match Racing Championship and 4th Chicago Match Cup also part of the WMRT.

LO: Why do you think you did so well yesterday?
TC: First off I had great crew sailing with me, Mark Plaxton and Richard Clarke. Richard was a huge help painting the tactical picture, and Mark really focused on making the boat go as fast as possible. Makes my job as a driver quite easy. While we won most of the starts but the races were far from over with the shifty conditions in the lagoon.

LO: Any top secret tactics you can disclose?
TC: No big secrets. Really just focused on always sailing in the most pressure possible. The boats get very sluggish in the light air so keeping them rumbling was the name of the game. Also did a nice job transitioning from playing the strong right at the beginning of the day to playing the strong left at the end.

LO: Any teachers/coaches you were influenced by?
TC:  Had a few coaches growing up. Anthony Kotoun worked with us early on in the Opti days. Although my two buddies Cy Thompson and Thomas Barrows were great training partners from the very beginning. My Boston College sailing coach Greg Wilkinson also made a huge impact on my sailing as well.

LO: Who are you sailing idols?
TC:  I would have to say guys like Anthony Kotoun and Peter Holmberg from the US Virgin Islands are my idols. Seeing those guys do so well as I was growing up was pretty inspirational.

LO: Any long term goals for your sailing career?
TC: Long term goals would probably be sail on the World Match Race Tour for a few years and hopefully get into some catamaran racing such as Extreme 40 Sailing Series. Also America's cup is hopefully something I will get to sail in my lifetime.

LO: Have you done much offshore racing?
TC: I just finished up the Pineapple Cup, Fort Lauderdale to Jamaica on Icefire a TP52. We ended up 2nd corrected. I also sailed in last years Chicago to Mackinac Race on Flash Gordon a Farr 40. We on the Farr 40 Class. Would love to do some more offshore sailing as opportunities arise.

LO: Well I think some offshore opportunities will arise. What's coming up for you this year?
TC: This year we are hoping to get a tour card which will give us 7 events on the World Match Race Tour and then sail the Ficker Cup Grade 2, Congressional Cup Grade 1, and a few CMRC match race events. Also looking to sail more Melges 32's and Melges 20's this year.

Results:
1. Taylor Canfield
2. Cy Thomson
3. Colin Rathbun
4. Eugeny Nikiforov
5. Anthony Kotoun
6. Rodion Luka
7. Thomas Mallindine
8. Lorenz Muller

Images: http://www.leightonphoto.com/Sailing-Regattas/2013-Heineken-Regatta

Video by Leighton O'Connor: http://www.leightonoconnor.com

Scuttlebutt: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com
The 2013 GHS Marine Biology group after our first pre-trip seminar.
14th March:
The 'Seatran Explorer' Yacht at Seatran pier, Nathon, Koh Samui. This vessel was in use to offer day cruises to the Ang Thong Marine National Park. Koh Samui, Suratthani province, Thailand.
Juvenile Steller sea lions having fun near Lemesuier Island in Southeast Alaska.
Old Marine Hospital

Robert Mills, the well-known federal architect, created a structure of charm and delicacy in Charleston’s Marine Hospital. The structure, constructed ca. 1833, is two stories above a raised basement. The roof is hipped and a double-tiered porch is located over an arcaded basement. The façade is seven bays wide. The subtle Gothic style with the token pointed arches, pointed windows, and the clustered columns, then was considered a fitting kind of environment for hospitals, which were associated with medieval monasteries. Even the double-tiered porch railing follows a medieval motif. The main entrance door has large fanlight and sidelights. The porticoes were an adaptation to climate and acted as weather controls. The building was originally double its present size, with two long wings projecting from the rear. These were removed because of extensive fire damage before the building was restored. Mills erected a number of marine hospitals around the country on much the same plan. They were established to take care of grounded seamen who became public charges. Listed in the National Register November 7, 1973; Designated a National Historic Landmark November 7, 1973.
Marine Services_A_3090
Marine Services_A_3089
Marine Services_A_3088
Marine Services_A_3085
Marine Services_A_3090
Marine Services_A_3090
Marine Services_A_3090
See photo in original gallery.