American sailors crushed the international competition in the six-day 2011 Etchells World Championship off the shores of Point Loma, with 12 of the top 15 finishers hailing from the USA. Skipper Bill Hardesty skillfully claimed first-place honors, followed by Australian skipper Noel Drennan and, respectively, Americans Vincent Brun, Chris Busch, Don Jesberg and Dennis Connor. In all, 83 entries competed in the championships from 11 different countries. On the final day of racing on Saturday — when the championship had already been sealed by Hardesty and his crew in USA 979, the first-place Americans respectfully declined to race and watched the action from a spectator boat. But while first place was in the bag, many other outcomes of the regatta were still up for grabs, including a three-point spread between Drennan and Brun, who hails from Point Loma’s San Diego Yacht Club.  Brun and crew started the regatta with four top-four finishes, but their momentum slowed with finishes of seven, 14 and nine leading up to the final race.  Meanwhile, Drennan threw out a Day One finish of 21st place and finished in the top nine in every race following. Another close match was for the sixth- through tenth-place finishers.  On Friday, USA 946 Craig Healy won the race by over a minute to move up to sixth, leading AUS 1278 Michael John Hiatt by four points, Conner by five, USA 1152 Keith Whittemore by 11, and USA 1375 Argyle Campbell by 13. The final race day on Saturday began with lighter winds from a 220 – 250 axis as the fleet arrived in the racing area.  The boats competing for top five finishes were not in the first group of boats around the weather mark, as USA 794 Steve Pacelli, Conner, BER 1392 Mark Watson, USA 935 Dave Ullman and Whittemore rounded first.  USA 969 Chris Busch was 18th around the first mark, Drennan was 24th and Brun was 32nd. Whittemore became the star of Race 9.  Whittemore and crew took the lead on the second upwind leg, leading second-place Conner by a few boat lengths.  Conner touched the mark during the rounding, and did his penalty turn as a few boats passed him by.  Meanwhile, Whittemore took off and added a full 1:13 lead over the pack at the next mark and cruised to the Race 9 victory with a 1:40 advantage over second place. Back at the second windward mark, the overall race for second place in the regatta came to a head. Brun rounded just after Drennan and had a downwind/upwind sequence left to try to make up the three-point deficit.  After the downwind leg, Drennan had a three boat lead, rounded the left gate and continued left up the course.  Hoping the right side would pay off, Brun rounded and headed up the right side of the course.  As the fleet converged at the top of the course, Drennan finished eighth with Brun in 25th (throw-out score).  Second place in the regatta would belong to Drennan, who previously finished third in the 1997 Etchells Worlds in Hong Kong. USA 904 Will Stout, who won Race 6 made consistent progress through the field and was able to finish second in the race, moving up to 12th overall in the regatta.  Busch finished sixth in Race 9 and claimed fourth place in the championship. USA 666 Don Jesberg, who finished the regatta with 18th place finishes on Friday and Saturday, was fifth place in the Championship as the top Corinthian (non-professional) team.  Past champion and sailing icon Dennis Conner and crew were fifth on Saturday and sixth overall. The 2011 Etchells World Championship was hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club from June 6-11. For more information, visit www.etchellsworlds2011.com, or call (619) 221-8400 or (619) 955-7646.