Susan Mattis Turnham and teammates Connie Bloom, Amy Carlson and Kari Jacobson Hedin were the only ones racing J/22 sailboats during the Duluth Yacht Club's weekly Wednesday night races on Lake Superior this summer.
This week, they're one of 11 teams aboard J/22-foot boats on Oklahoma City's Lake Hefner, competing for a national title.
Mattis Turnham, 53; Bloom, 54; Carlson, 36; and Jacobson Hedin, 30, all of Duluth, are vying for the Adams Cup at the five-day, 11-race round-robin U.S. Women's Sailing Championship, which begins with opening ceremonies Wednesday and racing Thursday.
Race entries qualified through a resume application process based on race experience and previous regatta finishes, or by winning an area-based sail-off.
The U.S. Women's Sailing Championship originated in 1924, according U.S. Sailing's Web site.
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"This is the oldest women's championship in North America," Mattis Turnham said.
The U.S. is divided into 11 areas, which are represented by letters A-H and J-L. The Duluth team represents Area K, which covers Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and parts of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska.
The Duluth team, which occasionally races with a five-person crew, is entered this week without Caroline Thomas of Duluth, a college sophomore in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the first U.S. championship for Carlson, who is in her fourth season with Bloom and Mattis Turnham, and Jacobson Hedin, who began sailing with the team three years ago. Mattis Turnham and Bloom previously competed at the event in 2000 in San Diego, racing in Etchells sailboats.
Because the boat type used in the U.S. championship varies from year to year, the Duluth team may have a slight experience advantage in J/22s. Teams aren't allowed to adjust a boat's settings, a tournament rule used to even the odds.
"It has some advantages. We know how they do the rotation. We know that we won't be able to adjust settings on the boat, which when you own it you can do," said Mattis Turnham, the team's skipper. "The goal is to make the competition field as level as possible."
The absence of similar boats during the weekly races in Duluth makes it difficult for the team to measure itself against the competition.
"There are handicaps with other boats here. [In Oklahoma City] it's just straight whoever crosses the finish line," Carlson said. "So it's a different strategy."
JIMMY BELLAMY can be reached at (218) 723-5390 or by e-mail at jbellamy@duluthnews.com .
