Junior Olympics

On August 24-25 Seattle Yacht Club hosted the Junior Olympics, sailed off Shilshole and using Corinthian Yacht Club as its base. More than 100 kids competed! The wind was fickle, but a brisk northerly showed up late on Saturday’s racing to help get some solid results in. Following are drone photos from Phil Calvert and on-the-water shots from Dave Shemwell.

As we’ve said often, junior sailing is thriving in the Northwest. This regatta featured Club 420s (11 boats), Flying Juniors (20), Optis (17), Laser Radials (30) and Laser 4.7s (12). The ascendancy of the 4.7 is notable as it’s a great chance for kids too small for a Radial, yet too big for an Opti, to transition into larger performance boats. Results.

Here’s The Sailing Foundation‘s Youth Director Andrew Nelson’s email to the competitors.

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Junior Olympics this weekend at Shilshole. There were a record 141 sailors at JO’s this year, including 20 Opti Green Fleeters! Mother Nature threw some curveballs our way, but the race committee made the most of it. Thanks to Brian Ledbetter and his team of SYC volunteers for their efforts. 

Regatta results are linked on the NWYRC Page. I have also updated the 2019 NWYRC Series Standings. It’s getting close to the end of the season, which is a friendly reminder to please double-check my math. Scores are very tight in several classes and drops will start coming into play after the next regatta.

Dave Shemwell was on the water taking pictures on Saturday. CLICK HERE to see his photos. John Beaver got some got shots at during the Friday practice session. CLICK HERE to view those. Thanks to John and Dave for sharing!

Lost and FoundThe following items were left behind after JOs. Please contact CYC to claim lost items at juniors@cycseattle.org
– Red Magic Marine trapeze harness- Blue and yellow dry bag with Arena Powerskin trunks inside- Small Zhik hiking shorts- Small Hurley rashguard- Olympia 2018/19 sweatshirt with “Hubbard” on the back
Next Up…Johnny Adams Memorial (JAM) Regatta @ Port Madison Yacht Club (Sept. 7-8)Come join us on Bainbridge Island for the annual JAM Regatta. JAM highlights include regatta PJs for all participants, live DJ playing song requests during racing, and an well run and well attended Opti Green Fleet (6 signed up so far!). Please see the Notice of Race for complete details. Registration can be done via the JAM Event Page.

Octoberfest/Northwest Opti Champs @ Sail Sand Point (Sept 14-15)This is the season finale! Expect a big turnout and make sure to stick around for the end of season awards ceremony. Visit the Octoberfest Event Page for registration and details.
We are also running the NW Opti Championships in conjunction with Octoberfest. All Opti Champ Fleet sailors will need to register via usoda.org. In order to register, Opti Champ Fleeters must be USODA class members. Please make sure to read the separate Notice of Race for the NW Opti Champs. 
One other note: Green Fleet will not be part of the USODA NW Opti Champs. Green Fleet will be run by SSP as part of Octoberfest. USODA membership is not required. Greenies should register via the Octoberfest event page. 

Ed. Note: We’ll post Andrew Nelson’s high school racing preview in the coming days.

Kurt Hoehne

Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.