Hermus captures Laser class
Naval Academy sailor tops 39-boat fleet to win at regatta
J.C. Hermus has been pestering theNavy intercollegiate dinghy coaches to let him sail Lasers during the fall season.
Coach Ian Burman has denied that request, telling Hermus he needs to focus on training in the Club 420 since he’s a key skipper for the coed dinghy team.
Burman may have to relent and allow Hermus to pursue single-handed sailing. Hermus has some ammunition after winning Laser class at the Crab Claw Regatta hosted by Severn Sailing Association.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep him out of the Laser now,” Burman said.
Hermus topped a talent-laden 39-boat fleet despite not practicing in a Laser. The Bellport, New York, native opened the regatta with a second-place finish then closed it with a victory in totaling 19 points, eight better than runner-up James Jacob.
“I don’t think I sailed that great of a regatta. I didn’t make any major mistakes and thatwas the difference,” Hermus said.
Leo Boucherwas the clear favorite going into the regatta and seemed on his way to winning. The St. Mary’s College of Maryland standout sailor captured the Laser Performance Singlehanded National Championship in 2019.
Boucher began the regatta with back-toback bullets then took third in Race 3. The West River resident had a 13-point lead on
Hermus going into the final race.
However, Boucher made a costly mistake in Race 4, rounding the wrong mark and having to retire as a result. He absorbed a 40th place as a result and that handed the regatta to Hermus. Burman said Boucher knew right away he’d rounded the wrong mark, but by then itwas too late.
“Leo sailed really well and probably deserved to win. He had better boat speed than anyone,” Hermus said. “Stuff like that happens in sailboat racing. I feel bad for Leo, but I’m happy to come away with the win.”
Thiswas only the second Laser regatta in which Hermus has ever sailed, Burman said. He is one of Navy’s top dinghy skippers, having earned All-American honors from the Intercollegiate Sailing Association as a freshman after posting nine podium finishes.
Hermus captured B Division by a wide margin at the Gill Co-EdNational Championship in 2018. He moved up to A Division last spring and was performing well before the seasonwas canceleddue to coronavirus.
“I’m not surprised J.C. won because he’s the most competitive kid I know,” Burman said. “He’s a very talented sailor who is very driven to win.”
Hermus won the Youth Sailing World Championship during his plebe summer at the Naval Academy, doing so in the International 420 class in which he has considerable experience. Hermus had never sailed theClub420beforecomingto the academy, which is why Burman wanted him to spend as much time as possible in that boat.
“Leo had a clear speed edge downwind because of his experience in the Laser. That said, I thought J.C. sailed a very smart tactical regatta,” Burman said.
Jacob, a Severn Sailing Associationmember, posted a pair of thirds in finishing second. Luke Shingledecker, another SSA member, took third on the strength of a couple fourths. Boucher’s retirement result pushed him down to fourth.
Severn Sailing Association junior member Robby Meek topped the Laser Radial class in dominant fashion. The Severn School sophomore got the gun in all four races to win going away.
“I think the major contributor to me winning every racewas that it felt like I had very good boat speed and the racing wasn’t anything out of theordinary besides theodd left shift,” said Meek, who has been sailing the Laser Radial for 2 ½ years.
“It was all about getting a good start, a good lane and good speed then waiting for the pressure to come before tacking. I was winning at the windward mark most of the time then just extending on the downwind and covering the fleet for the second upwind.”
Meek qualified for the Interscholastic Sailing Association Singlehanded National Championship as a freshman at Severn and placed fifth.
Sean Linden placed second among 33 boats in Laser Radial, opening the regatta with consecutive runner-up results.
Severn Sailing Association Crab ClawRegatta Laser (39 boats)
1, J.C. Hermus, 2-6-10-1=19; 2, James Jacob, 3-13-8-3=27; 3, Luke Shingledecker, 4-14-4-6=28; 4, Leo Boucher, 1-1-3-40/RET=45
LaserRadial (33 boats)
1, Robby Meek, 1-1-1-1=4; 2, Sean Linden, 2-2-5-4=13; 3, Magnus Weissenberger, 11-3-3=2=19; 4, Griffin Richardson, 3-5-10-5=23; 5, Henry Filter, 4-4-2-16=26