It doesn’t quite roll of the tongue like Laser North Americans, but the ILCA (née Laser) Class is coming out of Covid-cancelled activities with strength and numbers. In the PNW, the ILCA 7 (Standard rig) 6 (Radial) and 4 (4.7) fleets are being buoyed by a talented bunch of youngsters. One of them, Alex Zaputil, recently competed in the ILCA North Americans in San Francisco and has served up this report.
ILCA North Americans 2021
By Alex Zaputil
Alex working upwind.
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to compete in the 2021, ILCA (Laser) 4.7 North American Championships in July at St. Francis YC in San Francisco. There were many nations represented over the classes including: USA, Canada, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Mexico, BVI, St. Thomas, and Chile. I car-topped my Laser down arriving to a temperature of 60 degrees: a little bit cooler than I was expecting, but with warmer water than Seattle, I quickly acclimated. I was lucky to join the Alamitos Bay YC Race Team (and friends from Opti days) with coach Paul Didham, for training and the regatta. I learned many tricks and tips for sailing in big breeze! Most days the racing strategy was pretty similar: short tack up the sea wall as it was a 20+ knot westerly and a building flood tide. However, by the last day, an ebb began earlier on with a slightly lighter westerly (12- 15 knots) which mixed things up a bit. This was a 4-day regatta, but I had 2 training days before to get all tuned up and gather local knowledge- thank you also, Andrew Holdsworth! The courses were much longer than around here, as it was a championship regatta, so my months of fitness training paid off! As there were so many boats there were two alternating groups: one from about 11-2:30 and the other from 1:30-5:00. My best race in the regatta was a 5th, with a few times 2nd around the first weather mark. I was happy with my finish of 10th overall in a very competitive fleet. I found San Francisco to be the coolest place to sail ever with Alcatraz on one side of the course and the Golden Gate Bridge on the other: I hope to go back again soon!
Thanks a bunch, Alex, for this report and heartfelt congratulations on the 10th/25! There were several other PNWers in the 75-boat 6s fleet, but apparently none in the 24-boat 7 fleet. Scuttlebutt ran a report on the event, and the results are here.
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.
Seattle singlehanded sailing is booming. The Frostbite series, run by the Seattle Laser Fleet, now dubbed the Seattle Dinghy Fleet as it’s split between Lasers and RS Aeros (plus a few Optis share the course), has short courses, competitor-led race committees and some great competition. The ascendency of the RS Fleet has attracted both new sailors and highly experienced sailors looking for a new challenge.
Lasers, in turn, have become the boat of choice for many younger sailors, with the Radial and 4.7 rigs enabling smaller sailors to compete. Parents often attend the races in RIBs and Whalers, and act as shore crew for their kids.
Four Frostbite days have already been sailed, the Most recent being this past Sunday when it was blowing 20+ at West Point off Shilshole Bay Marina. For the last two Frostbites, it’s safe everyone went home tired and satisfied after some challenging conditions. Here’s a recap of the December 6 event from none other than Hanne Weaver, who has competed, and won, at the top levels of the Laser fleet:
Another fantastic day sailing on the Puget Sound. I was able to participate in the 3rd Frostbite series race. I was impressed by the number of sailors who came out. The wind came from ESE about 5-12 knots with some good current pushing us back. While racing I would ask myself two questions: do I hug the shore and get away from the current or go toward the middle and get better wind? What I found that worked best for me was just tacking when the wind shifted. I knew I wanted to finish on the top right of the windward mark because there was always a right shift. I made sure I have a plan for each race before it even starts.
By mixing up how we start keeps me on my toes. Since we got in the way of the shipping channel, the race community wanted to race us back down to the Meadow Point buoy. This meant a downwind start; the goal is to have clean air. I have worked on my down winds for many years. What I look at while I go down wind is the wave speed, angle and how close they are together. This helps me determine when to pump and carve.
Once down at Meadow Point buoy, another race course was set up. Great wind, great weather and great sailors, what more can you ask for. It was wonderful to see new faces and old ones too. I cannot wait to get back out on the water and race against you all again.
Following are some of John Beaver’s photos. The rest are here.
Two 4.7s chasing a standard rig
This past Sunday, the big breezes kept some people off the water, and chased others home early, but it was certainly great sailing. There’s nothing quite like sailing a lightweight singlehander in big winds.
Mark Ross submitted the following report:
Our appreciation to volunteer race committee Giancarlo Nucci and Andrew Loe for running Frostbite #4 races on Sunday, January 3, 2021. They did a superb job of clicking off the races in difficult mark-setting conditions. Approximately 15 Aeros, 8 Lasers a handful of Optis participated. What a great way to start off the new year.
Fantastic winter sailing conditions with warm temperature (upper 40’s), wind shifty (predominantly from the S and SSE), and wind strength hovering in the mid to upper teens and puffing into the mid 20’s. There were some good waves for planing downwind and also a lot of chop. It looked to me like quite a few boats went upside down at one time or another. When sailing by the lee downwind the waves were rolling into the leeward side. My death roll was a result of getting hit simultaneously by a hard gust and a nice rolling wave. Looking at the pictures provided by Giancarlo Nucci and John Beaver you’ll see some awesome dark threatening clouds and others with blue sky-I don’t remember seeing any blue sky but the pictures don’t lie! And no rain.
The following photos are from Giancarlo Nucci. The rest are here.
The Frigid Digit Regatta is coming up January 23/4 (Seattle Dinghy Fleet and Corinthian YC-Seattle) and there are Frostbite events February 7 and 28th and March 14. Check out seattlelaserfleet.org for more information. To register for Frigid Digit, please go here: https://cycseattle.org/event-3801728/Registration.
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.
There are few, if any, more Covid-friendly, appropriately socially distant activities than dinghy racing. Especially for kids desperate for some kind of sporting activity. That reality, and the Seattle Laser (and RS Aero!) fleets’ ongoing organizational efforts, helped make CYC-Seattle’s Turkey Bowl a big and successful event last weekend. Even with cancellation of Sunday’s racing because of too much wind, the event was a tremendous success. While there are a lot question marks regarding upcoming social events and regattas over the coming months, one thing is certain: The Seattle singlehanded scene has provided great sailing throughout this troubling year and is well set up to do so moving into the future. Seattle’s RS Aero fleet continues to thrive and attract the very best talent, while the Seattle Laser Fleets - 4.7, Radial and Standard rigs - have become the place of choice for youth you develop their skills while having a great time, and a haven for some of us oldsters.
There were other fleets as well. Seven brave Opti sailors were on the course, four 505s and a lone Vanguard 15.
More than 20 RS Aeros turned up, and Dalton Bergan dominated with two firsts, a second and third. In the biggest Laser fleet, Hannah Weaver made a triumphant appearance winning in the Radials. There are excellent pictures from Jan Anderson (above) and John Beaver.
I put out the call for input about the youth fleet, and immediately got this back from Alex Zaputil, skipper of Zap, the winner of the Laser 4.7 class:
Turkey Bowl , as you know, was a one-day event. It was great to have a 10-boat fleet- the largest so far this year. Despite the forecast for Saturday, it turned out to be a generally lighter day. The first two races were a southerly of 12-15 and pretty puffy. On the first race, the fleet bunched up at the committee boat so much that I found it faster to start at the pin with speed, port tack the fleet and tack back to consolidate. Tacking back to starboard fairly quickly was important, as the chop early in the day on port tack was not very fast! Hiking hard upwind was key. As the wind lightened for the last two races, the fleet became closer and going to the middle/right upwind paid off. — Alex Zaputil
And the following report came from Mark Ross:
Singlehanded fleets competing included RS Aeros (21 competitors), Laser Standard (5), Laser Radial (11), Laser 4.7 (9) and Opti (7). Double handed fleets included 505’s (4 boats), FJs (4) and Vanguards (2).
One of the Aero sailors described the sailing as follows: On Saturday four races were sailed with a mix of wind conditions. The first two races were medium breeze and the last race was light. The wind and current were going opposite directions throughout the day, so keeping the bow above the chop and the boat dry was important. The pin end of the start line was being pushed up the course with the current resulting in several general recalls in the very aggressive Aero fleet, and the RC worked hard to keep the line square. The pin end of the start line was still generally favored. There were shifts on both sides of the course with longer lasting left shifts. You could go left or right up the windward leg as long as you maximized the time on the lifts and covered the fleet when there was an opportunity to do so. On the downwind legs it was important to have a good visual on the mark and it usually worked to sail close to the rhumb line while taking into account a few degrees of offset for the current.
Unfortunately on Sunday morning racing was postponed and competitors remained on shore as the wind was consistently blowing around 30. Shortly after noon the race committee canceled racing entirely for the day as the wind remained strong and there was no expectation that it would drop. Thus the finishes on Saturday resulted in the following regatta winners….Dalton Bergan (RS Aero), Owen Timms (Laser Standard), Hanne Weaver (Laser Radial), Alex Zaputil (Laser 4.7), Barrett Milne (Optimist).
Thanks to CYC for putting on a great regatta.
-Mark Ross
The next frostbite is scheduled for December 6. Register here and dress warmly.
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.
The Seattle Laser and RS Aero fleets were the first local groups to counter Covid with the “It’s not really a race but we’re out there” kind of racing events that became the norm in this very strange year. It turns out that singlehanded sailing is one of the, or possibly the, most socially distanced sport one can do in a pandemic. So now that fall is here and with renewed interest in singlehanded sailing the Seattle Laser Fleet/RS Aeros are enjoying even greater participation in their already successful Frostbite series.
Laser 4.7s
RS Aeros at the start
Laser 4.7s
Laser 4.7s
This past Sunday, 36 sailors (19 RS Aeros and 17 Lasers of various rigs) enjoyed perhaps the ideal “frostbite” conditions. 5-12 knot northerly winds, balmy temperatures and bright sunshine gave racers a beautiful day of sailing. A handful of Optis joined the fun. The winds dropped during the day, but never enough akento diminish the racing. The race committee provided ample racing, and stood by for the occasional capsize. Coach Cam was on hand in the SYC Whaler.
There are no results to post, because none were recorded. A quick glance at the Aero fleet made it clear that it’s competitive enough that the same sailors were not always at the front, and in fact some excellent ones found themselves “back in fleet” on more than one occasion. In the Laser fleet, the disparity between the Standard, Radial and 4.7 rigs became more pronounced as the day wore on and the winds lightened. Generally speaking, going right after the start toward Golden Gardens seemed to be the right tactic. Occasionally, holding off from hitting the beach seemed to work. There were waves to be worked, and some real gains could be made carving turns on the runs.
Perhaps the biggest news was the prevalence of young sailors in the Laser fleet. There were healthy numbers of 4.7 and Radial rigs and in fact there were only a couple of Standard rigs. Young faces were everywhere, having fun and enjoying the outdoors and fellowship at the same time.
In the end, everyone was a winner on what may be the best sailing day of the year of really good singlehanded sailing. The next Frostbite is December 6, but before then the CYC Turkey Bowl on November 14-15 should be a great event. Check out seattlelaserfleet.org for more information. Frostbite registration is here.
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.
For those who bemoan the decline of dinghy racing in the Northwest (I know I do in my darker moments), take this from this past weekend’s Turkey Bowl Regatta in Seattle: There were seven classes, eight if you count the lone FJ on the water. Depending on the class, 5-10 races were sailed.
Most importantly, a lot of the faces on the water were young.
Here are some of Jan Anderson’s photos. The rest are here.
Optis downwind
Surveying
Opti Racer
Seattle Laser Fleet Captain Mark Ross
Sailing it flat and fast.
Laser Radial Start
505s
505s
Libby and Jonathan McKee
Tasars
Close Racing in RS Aeros
Scott Malone
It’s about intensity.
Kaitlyn van Nostrand, coach of the Mount Baker Rowing & Sailing Center, and who also coaches in New Zealand, was impressed. “It was the best run Turkey Bowl regatta I have been to! This was my 4th year coaching this event. The race committee did 3-minute starts and wow, the races went off fast with seven fleets.”
“It was a great showing by the 505s, RS Aeros and Lasers. Coaches did their best to stay out of the way of sailors racing. Big current on Saturday ebbing, so no general recalls. Great dinner on Saturday night too. A job very well done by CYC! Our parents felt welcomed, kids sailed and had a blast. “
Mt. Baker was represented with 9 boats, 10 sailors. SYC was there with their youth fleet and eight Opti kids managed the bigger breeze on Sunday. The Royal Van laser team showed up and said it was a great event.
Laser models: 4.7, Radial, Standard.
Perhaps the most significant turnout was 7-boat Laser 4.7 fleet. This class, which is extremely popular in Europe, features a smaller rig with a different mast bottom section and a much smaller sail. It gives kids and small adults (approx 110-130 lbs.) high performance and provides a good stepping stone to other Lasers and dinghies. With used Lasers widely available, it’s an affordable and accessible racing platform, and with coaches embracing it as well, it is becoming a great tool for growing youth sailing. Alex Zaputil won the 4.7 class this time around.
With a total of 21 boats on the water, the RS Aero class was the biggest and arguably most competitive. Dalton Bergan won by a large margin, chased by John Renehan and Andy Mack. Hanne Weaver trounced the 18-boat Laser Radial fleet, Ian Elliott got by Ali Fuat Yuvali in a hard-fought Laser contest, Jay Renehan won in the Tasars and Miles Johannessen won in the 505s and Dieter Creitz won in the Optimist class. Results.
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.
The Cruising Club of America is a remarkable organization, promoting safe and adventurous cruising - and the Bermuda Race - among other things. Here they recognize one of the PNW’s own, Haley Llahmon. Here’s Scuttlebutt’s written piece. And here’s CCA’s video:
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.
Kids should race dinghies every chance they get (my in my humble opinion of course), and they have yet another opportunity this weekend at the Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center. And the ever-growing contingent of young Laser sailors might well put this on their list. Here’s the link.
From the website: The 2019 Baker Bowl Regatta will be held on Saturday, October 26. We are offering racing in Optimist, Laser, FJ, 420, and V-15 classes. Entry fee is $20 per sailor and lunch is included. Please register through the Registration Sheet below. Payment can be made on site the morning of the event. We accept cash, check, and credit card payments.
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.
On
September 28th and 29th, the Corinthian Yacht Club, Seattle Sailing Club and
the J/80 fleet will host the NW District’s Keelboat Qualifier.
There is a recognized need to connect young sailors with
keelboats and those currently sailing keelboats in order to strengthen the
sailing community. The Northwest Interscholastic Sailing Association (NWISA)
has long hoped for this partnership and started talking to the J/80 fleet at
JFest.
There are approximately 50 High School teams that compete
under NWISA, typically on double handed dinghies. Teams that have keelboat
racing experience will fill out a resume in the hope of being selected as one
of the seven teams to participate in the Keelboat qualifier.
Teams will be asked to attend a Clubhouse discussion Friday
night with owners/team. An on-the water 2 hour session with the owner/team will
take place Saturday morning. The teams will rotate through all of the J/80s
transferring via coach boat. The team that scores the lowest points after
completion of the round-robin will travel to Florida in December and compete in
Interscholastic Sailing Association’s Keelboat invitational at St. Petersburg
Yacht Club, where the top ten teams across the country will sail on J/70s.
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.
Every year Bellingham Yacht Club puts the great Dale Jepson One Design Regatta (DJOD), and this year it will be really special for Lasers. The 2019 Laser Pacific Coast Championships will be held as part of the event but on a separate course.
Laser Standard, Radial and 4.2 classes will be run on a championship trapezoidal course overseen by PRO Blaine Pedlow. A separate course will run on the bay for other dinghies racing in the annual DJOD which sees and large 505 fleet. The organizers would love to see the Aeros show up too!
With the ongoing interest in the Lasers as an Olympic class, and the burgeoning 4.7 class, this should be a great regatta. Bellingham can deliver some great September sailing, and BYC is a hugely welcoming club.
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.
High school sailing is the best. Jan Anderson photo.
2019-2020 NWISA Pre-Season Prognostications
School is in session, which means it’s time to
talk High School Sailing. I’m once again putting out my pre-season predictions
ahead of the first NWISA regattas later in September. Olympia proved Last Year’s Pre-Season Rankings mostly correct
when they went out and absolutely crushed it (as predicted). Unranked Sehome
snuck in and disrupted things a bit after they took 2nd place at Fleet Race
Districts, but other than that the rankings held up pretty well. I’m glad
Sehome proved me wrong and I hope some other unranked teams do the same this
season.
In order to better quantify my predictions, I’ve
developed a high-point scoring system with point values assigned to NWISA
championships and qualifiers. The NWISA
Fleet Race and Team Race Championships are most heavily weighted (worth 5
points each), while the smaller Fall Championships/Qualifiers (Girls, Keelboat,
and Singlehands) are each worth 3 points. Runners up receive the remaining
points. Here is how last year’s predictions compared with end of season results
using this formula.
Heading into the Fall Season the NWISA conference
is looking more competitive than ever before. A lot of talent that has been
percolating for years is finally maturing. Orcas was really the only team that
graduated most of its varsity squad. I expect the top of A-Fleet to look very
similar to last year, with most of the same players returning- just faster and
more experienced. If anything I think the depth of the conference will make it
more difficult to predict the outcomes this year, and there’s not one super
dominant team like we had last year. Here’s my best guess…
#1 Gig
Harbor High School (Gig Harbor, WA)
GHHS will have a target on their back all season.
The Tides have arguably the best one-two punch in the conference with skippers
Axel Stordahl (‘20) and Dayne Hall (‘22). This is a team which is 80% intact
from last year’s Cinderella run. They came tantalizingly close to qualifying
for both spring national championships last year, and that memory is going to
keep them hungry all year. Graduated is varsity crew Ripley Morris and utility
player Peter Ryalls who was injured for most of the spring season. Both were
part of the winning keelboat team last fall. However, Axel and Dayne will still
have plenty of options in the front of their boat and a solid supporting cast
when they get in a keelboat. Carlos Rivas is a very key and versatile piece of
the puzzle this year. He’s turning into one of the best crews in the district,
but he is also capable of grabbing the tiller when needed, like he did last
year during Team Race Champs.
Prognostications: Look for strong performances in Keelboat Quals and Fleet Race
Championships. They could win the Team Racing Champs too, but they are going to
have to rely on a lot of 1,2, X combos to pull it off. It wouldn’t be the first
time a team has won it like that.
#2
Bainbridge High School (Bainbridge Island, WA)
It’s a toss up for 2nd place between Bainbridge
and Sehome, but if you put emphasis on the spring championships, then
Bainbridge gets the nod. The Spartans are heading into this season with the
most talent they’ve had in several years. These sailors aren’t new additions,
rather they’re all returners who are now upperclassmen primed for a breakout
year. Skippers Max Doane, Zach Cooper, and Dane Petrakis are as good a trio as
you’ll find in NWISA. It’s unclear which two will be in the varsity spot for
fleet racing, but they’ll be a real force when it comes to team racing. Barrett
Lhamon and Lindsay Campbell are versatile players who can both transition
easily between skipper and crew roles. Both crewed in the spring championships
last year, but Lindsay will likely skipper some Fall regattas, including Girl’s
Champs. Coach Susan Kaseler has been saying “one more year” for several years
now. If she’s waiting on another NWISA Team Racing Championship to retire, then
this may be her year. It’s her favorite event and she really pushes team racing
hard in the spring.
Prognostications: I would not be at all surprised if Max Doane wins Singlehands in the
full rig, although if Eric Anderson (Ballard) elects to sail the full rig it’ll
be a real battle between those two. Team Racing Championships are theirs to
lose, but the Spartans could certainly podium at Fleet Race Championships too.
#3 Sehome
High School (Bellingham, WA)
This is a team full of young talent that peaked at just the right time last year. They’ve been on my radar for awhile, and have become scary-good very quickly. Leading the charge is a boatload of female talent. Emma Powell and Natalie Serbousek are going into their junior years and will likely be sailing together again. Sammy Farkas is currently leading the NWYRC Laser Radial standings and has already sailed several national and international championships. Now a freshman, Sammy will join her friends Emma and Natalie in the varsity role (as an 8th grader last year Sammy could only sail JV regattas). Add any number of talented female crews, like Natalie Werner or Casey Malone, to the mix and you’ll have an all female team ready to make boys cry all season. This may be the last year to beat Sehome before they reach true dynasty status. You’ve been warned.
Prognostications: Sammy is the favorite to win Singlehanded Quals in the Laser Radial.
The team is a shoe-in for the Girl’s Champs, and will be a real force at fleet
racing districts again next year. However, their team racing game probably
needs another year or two to really develop.
#4 Olympia
High School (Olympia, WA)
The Bears absolutely dominated last year. A team
goal was to represent NWISA at every national championship/invitational and
they almost did it. Varsity A-Fleet skipper Owen Timms was a big reason for
that success, however he has since graduated and is now off to sail with at
George Washington Univ. Some might expect Oly’s star to fall after the loss of
such a key member, plus varsity crews Evan Krug and Kevin Hicks, but coach
Sarah Hanavan has a crop of talent ready to continue the OHS legacy. Skipper
Sam Bonauto and crew Peter Kelleher who sailed opposite of Owen last year have
established themselves as a real force, a pair capable of placing top-5 in any
given NWISA fleet. Skippers Erin Pamplin and Ella Hubbard will likely be
working to earn the other varsity skipper spot. When they put three boats on
the water, they’ll be more than able to hold their own in team racing.
Prognostications: Oly’s strongest events are most likely Girl’s Champs, which they are
hosting (home field advantage never hurts!), and Team Race Champs.I think they
also have a good shot at placing in the Keelboat Quals. It’s an event they’ve
won in the past, and they are one of the few teams that actively train for it.
#5
Roosevelt High School (Seattle, WA)
The nucleus of Miles Williams, Abbie Chipps, and
Sam Kimmel helped put Roosevelt on the map. They’ve been sailing at Sail Sand
Point together for several years, with Miles and Abbie starting in Optis. The
team has grown steadily the last few seasons and blossomed into a real
contender. Miles is one of the fastest skippers in the conference, and Sam is
capable of cracking the top-5 in B fleet. Abbie is one of the top crews in the
district and has been honing her skills as a skipper in the Laser this summer, which
may be put to use when it comes time for Team Race Champs. The Rough Riders
scraped together enough sailors to field a full team racing roster last spring,
a first for RHS, but they still lack the roster depth of some of the more
established teams.
Prognostications: This team could win Fleet Race Championships if they catch fire. As
previously mentioned, roster depth will make it difficult to get on the podium
in the other disciplines.
Honorable
Mention: Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
There’s a high probability we’ll see Erik
Anderson on the podium at Singlehands and he’ll have a solid B-Fleet opposite
him all season. They could make a late season push similar to the run Sehome
made last year. I wouldn’t count them out of Fleet Race Champs or Keelboat
Quals.
Honorable
Mention: Lincoln High School (Portland, OR)
The Cardinals have the deepest roster in the Portland area and have two pretty quick pairs. Depending on who emerges as their third skipper, they could be a threat at Team Race Champs. We may also see senior Casey Pickett do well in Singlehands. This is a group with keelboat experience (Area L Sears winners), so watch out if they elect to do Keelboat Quals this year.
Ed. Note: Sailish loves to post results, photos, insights, and just funny stuff on the high school sailing scene, but we need help to get material. Competitors and organizers - send stuff! Parents, it’s a great way to be engaged and solidify the scene for the future.
