JibeTalk

2015 Season High Point and Jr. Big Boat Awards

Patricia Leicht presents the Marlinspike Contest trophies

The JSA of LIS held its Annual General Membership Meeting at Larchmont Yacht Club on October 21. The first item on the agenda was the awarding of trophies for season performance based on high point scores at specified qualifier events, which in 2015 were the Eastern or Western District Regattas, Larchmont Junior Race Week and JSA Race Week. 

The awardees and their high point percentage of perfection are: 

Clinton M. Bell Trophy for junior open events winner in any class and Thomas W. Fowler, Jr. Trophy for junior doublehanded open events winner in Club 420:  Julia Reynolds (skipper) & Hobi Lew (crew)  Pequot YC  97.863%. Julia and Hobi join a select group of sailors who have won these awards in two consecutive years. 

Christopher Goodyear Neff Trophy for junior open events runner-up in any class with high score in Laser Radial Nicholas Chisari  Sea Cliff YC  97.005%

Junior Singlehanded Open Events Laser Radial Runner-Up:  Lindsay Powers  American YC  94.010% 

Junior Doublehanded Open Events Runner-up in Club 420:  Cameron Nash (skipper) and Brooke McGoldrick (crew) Pequot YC  92.913% 

Junior Singlehanded Open Events Laser Standard High Score:  Richard O'Leary  American YC 90.541%

 Timothy Sinclair Memorial Trophy for Pixel open events winner: Devin Hart (skipper) & Madeline  Dwyer (crew) Noroton YC 90.826%
 

The awards for junior big boat sailing events held in August were also presented: 

Warren G. Dellenbaugh Junior Navigation Trophy: Jake Schinto Riverside YC  106%, with extra credit
Junior Navigation Runner-Ups: Peter Sauer  Cedar Point YC and Kyle May  WaterFront Center, each with 94% 

Marlinspike Seamanship Contest Trophy
1.  Emery Wallace  Cedar Point YC
2.  Connor Thompson  Larchmont YC
3.  Corey Sabia  Norwalk YC 

Junior Big Boat Sailing Regatta presented by Black Rock YC
1.  Noroton YC High  Noon
2.  Cedar Point YC  Cabady
3.  Cedar Point YC  Expresso 

Dorade Trophy Regatta presented by Stamford YC
J105 Division  
1.  Centerport YC  Trifecta (and Overall prize)
2.  American YC  Echo
3.  Black Rock YC  Playstation

PHRF Division
1.  Riverside YC  Finale
2.  Noroton YC  High Noon
3.  Pequot YC  Libertas 

Everett B. Morris Memorial Trophy for the Beach Point Yacht Club Overnight Race
Division A
1.  Riverside YC  Finale (and Overall prize)
2.  Noroton YC  High Noon
3.  Cedar Point YC  Expresso

Division B:
1.  Black Rock YC  Playstation
2.  Centerport YC  Trifecta
3.  American YC  Young American 

Awards for the Twilight Keel Boat Regatta hosted by Port Washington Jr YC had been earlier presented

1.  WaterFront Center  Inevitable
2.  Port Washington YC  War Horse
3.  Larchmont YC  Privateer 

 

Racing C420 and Lasers at Shelter Island

It’s what sailors have been training for. The Shelter Island Yacht Club Open C420 and Laser Invitational on July 21, one of the last regattas of the season for sailors to qualify for JSA Champs.

The regatta turned out to be a no-wind day. Windspeed averaged at two miles per hour, blowing from southwest with gusts up to 12 mph. Compared with previous years, this windspeed seems a lower average.

Race committee ran two races. In the C420 fleet, skippers Gideon Burnes Heath from Orient Yacht Club and Oscar Champigneulle from SIYC tied for first place, and Bridget Campbell from Larchmont Yacht Club won second.

In the Laser Standard fleet, Richard O’Leary from American Yacht Club won first place, Henri Champigneulle from SIYC won second and Hunter Stump from Southampton Yacht Club won third.

Finally, in the Laser Radial fleet, Nicholas Chisari from Sea Cliff Yacht Club won first place, Lindsay Powers from AYC won second and William O’Leary from AYC won third.

See full results here.

Dodging Storms at Larchmont Junior Race Week

Larchmont Junior Race Week takes place for Laser, Laser Radial, Club 420, Pixel and Blue Jay classes. This year is Larchmont Yacht Club's 117th Race Week and 89th annual junior regatta. The competitive event is part of the summer series that determines winners of the JSA of LIS High Point Season Trophies.

At Larchmont Yacht Club, over 400 junior sailors and instructors came from across Long Island Sound to compete on Monday through Wednesday, July 13 to 15. Larchmont Yacht Club provided housing for competitors who came from widespread East Coast areas. Excitement arose for three days of racing and for Larchmont Junior Race Week Dance.

Competitors brought their boats beginning at 5 pm on Sunday, July 12 and in full force on Monday morning around 9 am. They launched their boats from trailers and dollies onto the water using a hoist.

The Skippers’ Meeting followed registration and rigging, and the race committee chairman discussed details from racing instructions, including racecourse mark colors for each fleet. Sailors continued rigging and waited for wind to fill, when the race committee announced harbor start.

Monday started out with lighter winds, which averaged at three miles per hour and reached a maximum of ten mph in the afternoon. Temperature averaged at 74 degrees Farenheit. The 37-boat Pixel fleet finished four races, while 79 Laser Radials and the 113-boat 420 fleet finished two races, and 15 Laser Standards finished three races.

Tuesday, wind stayed light at three mph, with gusts up to 16 mph after noontime. Pixels, 420s, Laser Radials and Laser Standards all finished one race. After, sailors returned safely before rain and thunderstorms began. That evening, Larchmont Junior Race Week Dance took place at LYC’s Pandemonium.

Wednesday, sailing did not happen, due to weather conditions. Sailors left the harbor and came in at the first sign of thunderstorms. Following, they received complimentary ice cream treats and a barbeque, including hot dogs. Junior officers led the awards ceremony in early afternoon.

Read more about this year's Larchmont Junior Race Week on WindCheck.

View Laser and Radial results here.

View 420 results here.

View Pixel results here.

See photos from the event here.

American Yacht Club hosts JSA Girls' Champs

JSA of LIS Girls' Champs is an open championship event for the Founders Trophy. Junior women ages 13 to 18 sail in Laser Radials.

Six sailors competed in Rye, NY at American Yacht Club on Saturday, June 11. Of these boats, five came from AYC and one came from Pequot Yacht Club. The Race Committee, including Principal Race Officer Sheila Cameron and last year’s Sailor of the Month Carolyn Russell held six races.

Wind averaged six miles per hour from Northwest and reached a maximum at ten mph. Temperature stayed around 80 degrees Farenheit the duration of the races.

Megan Ploch won first in all races and the Founders Trophy. Lindsay Powers won second in all races and Jane Reynolds won third in all races. Top place winners sail from AYC.

View results here. 

See more photos here.

Wind blows at Western Districts

Western District Regatta, open to sailors who represent JSA member clubs in New York State serves as a qualifier for JSA Championships in C420, Laser, Laser Radial and Pixel classes.

This year’s Western Districts, held at Sea Cliff Yacht Club brought East winds averaging nine miles per hour and gusting up to 20 mph. This wind speed represents a high, compared with previous years.

158 sailors came to compete, including 30 C420s, 46 Radials, six Lasers and 23 Pixels. Race Committee ran three races for all four classes. C420s and Lasers divided from Radials and Pixels, as two Race Committee boats held races on separate courses.

In C420s, Michael Benacerraf and Daniel Reich (Shelter Island Yacht Club) won first, Gabriella DelBello and Madelyn Ploch (American Yacht Club) won second and Stefan Brechter and Charles Bresnahan (SIYC) won third.

In Radials, Nicholas Chisari (SCLF) won first, John Patrick Panarella (SIYC) won second and Matthew Priebe (Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club) won third. In Lasers, Hector McKemey (AYC) won first, Gavin Anderson (Centerport Yacht Club) won second and Richard O’Leary (AYC) won third.

In Pixels, Amelia Jessop & Clara Kruijtzer won first, Nicholas Jessop & Timothy Stoker won second and Alexander Morgan & Kyle Raker won third. All three boats came from AYC.

Results here.

Facebook photo album here.

Sail in JSA Girls’ championship on July 11

Adult and junior women from western Long Island Sound gathered in 2014 at American YC

Borrow a Laser Radial and sail!

Held alongside the YRA LIS women's champs in Ideal 18s for the Queens Cup trophy, the JSA Girls’ Championship is open to junior women ages 13 to 18.

This is the second year that American Yacht Club hosts JSA Girls Champs and the YRA Queens Cup on the same racecourse. The event is held on July 11.

Although competitors race in Laser Radials, they need not be members of the Laser Class Association.

Female PRO Sheila Cameron is running the race committee on the water.

Charlotte leClue accepts the Founders Trophy as winner of the 2014 Girls' Champs

Come to JSA Girls’ Champs for great energy and women's sailing on Long Island Sound! Ask your club's junior program to register you today. And view the NOR here. 

Eastern Districts shows slow breeze, smiling sailors

Open to all boats of the Laser and Club 420 classes from JSA member clubs in Connecticut, the Eastern District Regatta at Noroton Yacht Club is a qualifying event for the 2015 JSA Laser and Club 420 Championship.

Eastern Districts at Noroton this year showed slow Northwest winds, averaging three miles per hour and reaching a maximum of 10 mph in the afternoon on July 2. Temperature stayed around 69 degrees Farenheit.

Noroton’s Race Committee held two races for 420s and Lasers. Simultaneously, in similar wind and weather conditions across Long Island Sound, Norwalk Yacht Club’s Race Committee held three races for Laser Radials and Pixels.

View Noroton’s Eastern Districts results here. 

View Norwalk’s Eastern Districts results here. 

See photos taken at Noroton Yacht Club here. 

Competitive conditions at annual Law Trophy

Commodore Law Trophy Regatta is the first JSA of LIS regatta of the summer sailing season on Monday to Tuesday, June 29 to 30. It is open exclusively to sailors who qualified for JSA Champs the previous year or were accepted by resume. The regatta is hosted at Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, where it was first sailed 86 years ago.

As the regatta’s exclusivity makes for competitive sailing conditions, Law Trophy’s top two finishers in Laser Radial and Club 420 classes are sponsored by JSA at the Area B Qualifier Regatta on July 17 in Bay Shore, NY for US Sailing Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships.

This year, Law Trophy demonstrated winds that filled by afternoon. Race Committee called postponement due to lack of wind in the morning both days.

Wind averaged four miles per hour, blowing from the West and reaching a 13 mph maximum on Monday, June 29. It grew stronger at a five mph average, 17 mph maximum and 26 mph gust on Tuesday, June 30.

Competitors sailed in clear skies and temperatures around 70 degrees Farenheit. C420s and Radials navigated eight races total. 48 sailors, including 18 C420s and 12 Radials competed.

In C420s, Max Anker and Jack Childs (Riverside Yacht Club) won first, James Paul and Christopher Lukens (RYC) won second and Emery Wallace and Brooklyn Curtin (Cedar Point Yacht Club) won third.

In Radials, Gerard Eastman (Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club) won first, Cooper Yeager (Stamford Yacht Club) won second and Matthew Priebe (SEAW) won third.

View full results here.

See photo album here.

Racing Clinic inspires, improves

JSA’s annual Racing Clinic, co-sponsored by Oyster Bay Sailing Foundation helps sailors improve their ability to qualify for JSA champs in August. Conditioning, on-the-water drills, and interactive discussions about boat speed, tactics, and rules take place during the clinic.

At Port Washington Yacht Club on June 27 to 28, head coach Stan Schreyer and coaches Morgan Wilson and Marlena Fauer brought their enthusiasm, knowledge, and racing experience to train sailors in Club 420s, Standard Lasers and Radials.

Both days of the clinic began with rigging and preparing for sailing. Stan explained the goals and drills.

With overcast skies in the morning on Saturday, light rain began around 1 pm. Wind picked up in the afternoon, gusting to 25 miles per hour.

Sailing focused on boat handling and speed. Marlena led two 420s while Morgan led nine lasers, and Stan alternated between groups.

Returning the next morning, on Sunday, weather stayed overcast and wind speed averaged around 12 mph. Stan discussed racing strategy, including pre-race planning and using visual aids to recognize wind.

On-the-water drills focused on starting and racing tactics. Morgan led a mark rounding drill with the lasers, with her coach boat as the mark.

Debrief followed and sailors derigged. The clinic’s inspiring coaches successfully prepared sailors to improve their technical skills this racing season.

Big Winds and Fierce Competition Meet Sailors at JSA Laser/C420 Champs

Usually, it’s hard to find a good breezy day on the Long Island Sound, but at the 2014 JSA Laser/C420 Championship Regatta hosted by Shelter Island Yacht Club, the tides took a change with big winds, lots of waves, and fierce competition.

“It was really choppy out there,” Hector McKemy of AYC told me. “We had to get used to [the waves] fast when we got out there.” Conditions were fantastic, allowing the race committee to take full advantage of the two-day regatta, getting in 11 races for both Laser Standard and Laser Radial, and eight races for the C420 class. “We started late and ended late,” Connor Chapin, a sailor from Larchmont Shore Club told me about the first day of racing. “The race committee really knew what they were doing.”

Junior Sailors were grateful for the housing that Shelter Island Yacht Club members provided after a long drive out to Shelter Island by those who live in the western Long Island Sound area. At the end of the first day, sailors were drained from the grueling day of sailing, and most crashed into their beds before the curfew of 9:00pm.

The second day of races brought more wind and waves, with the race committee getting six more races in for the Laser classes.

“There was some great competition out there,” LSC sailor Alex Kirchgaesser said to me. “You’re racing against the top sailors in the JSA, so you know you’re going to have some good races.”

After heading back in on the second day, and after protests, food and ice cream sandwiches, the results were announced to a huge crowd on the main green of SIYC. 

In the C420 class, Will Gallagher and Jack Knowles from Larchmont YC took first place. In the Laser Radial class, Collin Alexander of American YC snagged the gold, and in Laser Standard, Will McKeige of American Yacht Club took home first place for the second year in a row. 

For full race results, please go the JSA’s regatta documents page.