USA favourites for 2008 Etchells Worlds
Crews from 33 different Etchells fleets across seven countries will face the starter on Monday off Chicago Yacht Club's Belmont Station, in the 2008 Etchells World Championship. 
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There will be 84 boats on the starting line, the fourth largest fleet in the 34 year history of this fiercely competitive one design class.
The only larger fleets have been at Marblehead MA USA in 1998, (100) Gulf Harbour Auckland New Zealand 2002, (98) and Greenwich CT in 2003 (93) and Mooloolaba Australia 2004 (85).
The 2007 Etchells World Champion, Britain's Andy Beadsworth is back to defend his title, sailing with Dave Dwyer and long time crew Simon Fry.
Beadsworth says 'It's going to be tricky, the forecasts say everything from four to twenty knots. We will not give up the title without a good fight! But really it's an open book. Anyone of 20 boats could win.'
Beadsworth is right. This is, as always, a classy field but there are standout players on current form, and the USA looks like it has the talent to take the 2008 crown.
Bill Hardesty in USA 979 won the 2008 US Mid-Winters East, ahead of 2006 Etchells World Champion Jud Smith and Andy Beadsworth, and then the Mid-Winters West, ahead of Tom Hughes and Chris Busch.
In last weekend's lead up regatta, the Chicago NOOD, Hank Lammens won the first race of the NOOD regatta, ahead of Smith and Beadsworth. In the second race he finished in second place, and was third in the third race.
Jud Smith has to be a podium bet. After his 2006 win in Fremantle, Australia, he won the 2007 North Americans ahead of Hank Lammens and Chris Busch and was second behind Beadsworth in the 2007 Cowes Worlds.
With five seconds and a title win, Smith has been amongst the silverware more often as a skipper than anyone except the legendary Dave Curtis.
The fleet has assembled from around the world, and as always there are plenty of previous World champions competing.
Amongst the nine Australian entries is Peter McNeil, the 2004 winner. Tim Paton is representing Bermuda, there are six Canadians crews, with current World Champion Andy Beadsworth on one of the six Irish boats. Marco Cimarosti from Italy is also competing, along with three New Zealand entries. Andrew Wilson who sailed with Jud Smith in 2006 is teaming up again with the giant Anatole Masfen and with Fremantle second placed skipper Alastair Gair on bow, this makes them a highly competitive crew.
The 51 USA entries includes three previous winners; Smith, 1986 and 1987 winner Dave Burton, who will be a definite threat in light conditions and Vince Brun, who won the title in San Diego in 2000. All in all there is a host of US talent that could easily sweep the podium.
The six race championship series starts Monday, 23rd June and runs to Saturday June 28th 2008. Country Code Sail # Skipper Fleet Location USA 21 Doug Scheibner Detroit USA 102 Judson Smith Oriental CAN 398 Andrew Macrae Toronto USA 583 Kers Clausen San Francisco USA 668 Richard Sidell Chicago USA 701 Aaron Housten Chicago USA 706 artie means San Diego NZL 716 Simon C Minoprio Aukland USA 822 Fred Joosten Chicago CAN 898 Jerry Wendt Toronto AUS 915 Peter McNeill Lake Macquarie AUS 917 STEPHEN INGATE Sydney USA 928 Bill Mauk Annapolis ITA 942 Marco Cimarosti Italy GBR 962 Rob Goddard Cowes USA 969 Chris Busch San Diego USA 978 Rick Kaiser Chicago USA 979 Bill Hardesty San Diego USA 980 Jack Bernhardt Chicago GBR 987 Robert Elliott Cowes USA 1008 Michael Goldfarb Seattle USA 1012 Charles Baker Greenwich IRL 1015 David Burrows Dublin USA 1044 David Whelan Galveston CAN 1053 Allan Gray Montreal NZL 1058 Andrew Wills Aukland USA 1069 Elizabeth Altman Oriental USA 1076 Ray Harrington Lake Champlain USA 1085 Ethan Doyle San Francisco USA 1097 Jose Fuentes Annapolis AUS 1102 steve o'rourke Botany Bay NZL 1127 Gavin Gerrard Aukland AUS 1134 Matty Whitnall Sydney USA 1137 Shannon Bush Galveston USA 1149 John Pedlow Bellingham AUS 1150 terence (bill) steele Swan River CAN 1154 Glenn McKay Toronto USA 1166 Gretchen Sullivan Casco Bay USA 1168 Peter Vessella Biscayne Bay IRL 1187 James-Seamus Mc-Hugh Cowes USA 1199 William Mills IV Shelter Island USA 1207 Jeff Padnos Macatawa Bay USA 1211 Kevin Boyle Chicago USA 1224 Kurt Winkelmann Seattle USA 1227 Vincent Brun San Diego USA 1228 Brian Camet Macatawa Bay USA 1229 Argyle Campbell Alamitos USA 1232 Marvin Beckmann Galveston USA 1238 Gary Gilbert Buzzard's Bay USA 1239 Stephen Horwitz, MD Biscayne Bay USA 1241 Ken Womack Galveston AUS 1244 Jake Gunther Melbourne CAN 1247 Allan Leibel Toronto BER 1249 Tim Patton Bermuda IRL 1252 Alexander Lacy Dublin IRL 1271 Mary O' Loughlin Dublin USA 1281 Frederic Laffitte Seattle USA 1283 Andrew Whittome San Diego USA 1285 Bruce Golison Alamitos USA 1296 jeffrey siegal Milford USA 1299 Jerry Fulp Oriental USA 1301 Peter Shumaker Detroit USA 1306 Thomas Hughes Seattle USA 1307 Jeffrey Nehms Biscayne Bay USA 1308 Senet Bischoff Newport USA 1310 Robert Wray Annapolis USA 1313 Patricia Stadel San Diego USA 1315 John V Gilmour III San Francisco AUS 1320 Rob Bird Swan River IRL 1323 Stephen Quinn Dublin USA 1327 Peter Duncan Biscayne Bay GBR 1329 Julia Bailey Cowes GBR 1333 Ante Razmilovic Cowes USA 1342 Thomas Dawson Detroit CAN 1349 Hank Lammens Eastern LIS USA 1350 Bruce Burton Detroit GBR 1352 Graham Bailey Cowes GBR 1354 David Franks Cowes AUS 1355 Bryon Ehrhart Geelong AUS 1356 Michael Manford Swan River AUS 1360 Jan Muysken Sydney USA 1363 Justin Palm Chicago USA 1373 BUDDY CRIBB Biscayne Bay IRL 1375 Dave Dwyer Cork
by Rob Kothe 
Port Macquarie, NSW
