Over 60 boats came to Annapolis this summer to sail the Snipe US Nationals. One thing that stood out was how many young people were racing this year. It wasn't just the 20 something teams, of which there were a bunch. It was also the parents sailing with their kids. Maybe it was the light air venue but I think it was the harbinger of a resurgence of good one design racing in a boat that can be sailed competitively by young and old.

The 2009 US Snipe Snipe Nationals kicked off in Pensacola this past June in what was billed as much better conditions than when the Nationals were last here. The conditions were everything competitors thought it would be with everything from very light air to crashing thunderstorms. Throughout the regatta, the Pensacola Yacht Club did an outstanding job of hosting and running the event.

Augie Diaz is the current National Champion for the Snipe class and former Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. He approaches sailing with a competitive spirit but also understands the value of bringing everyone along with him. This interview took place at the 2009 Don Q regatta in Miami.

(Interview originally published on snipe.it, August 2005)

First I should say that I feel very fortunate to have won the Worlds, and when I said this to a Japanese newspaper reporter, he asked why I thought I had been lucky to win since I was the #1 Snipe sailor in the world; I responded that there was no such thing as the #1 Snipe sailor in the world and that if there was, it was not me. He insisted and then I told him that two weeks before the Worlds we had finished 4th in the US Nationals, then he understood. There were so many good sailors at the Worlds that could have won, and this is what makes the Snipe class so great and so much fun.