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US Optimist National Championship 2009

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Jul 9, 2009, 1:28 PM

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US Optimist National Championship Regattas
Team Racing Nationals Girls Nationals USODA National Championship

July 18-26, 2009 hosted by Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club
US Optimist Dinghy Assn. San Pedro, California

July 9, 2009

Optis set sail for US Nationals in California

SAN PEDRO, Calif.

As many as 300 boy and girl dinghy sailors ages 7 to 15 will descend on the Port of Los Angeles community of San Pedro, Calif. July 18-26 for the US Optimist National Championships, hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club.

It may be the largest one-design regatta ever on the West Coast, but it's only a fraction of the largest dinghy class in the world, now numbering more than 150,000 in 110 countries---all age 15 and younger, by class rules.

What do they already have in common with America's Cup winners Ed Baird of the U.S. and Dean Barker of New Zealand and Olympic multi-gold medalist Ben Ainslie of Great Britain? Their first boats were Optimists, too.

In fact, Baird's son Tyler, 13, will be one of the competitors, representing the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Yacht Club. Dad was Alinghi's helmsman in the 2007 America's Cup victory.

Also in the lineup: Twin brothers Christopher and Duncan Williford, 14, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who finished first and sixth among 198 competitors from 22 countries in the Opti North Americans just concluded in the Dominican Republic this week. Christopher also is the Nationals defending champion.

Lindsey Allen, sailing director at Lauderdale YC, said, "We're very proud of them. They've sailed at LYC since they were in the Green [novice] fleet. They're back and forth [competitively]. Duncan won the Team trials two years ago."

Axel Sly, 15, of Weston, Fla. will be coming off his third-place finish in the North Americans. Luke Muller, 13, Ft. Pierce, Fla., was 11th.

According to a detailed survey, 85% of the sailing medal winners at the 2008 Olympics at Qingdao started sailing in Optimists, up from 74% in 2004.

All of that should provide ample inspiration for the competition scheduled in three phases: Team Race Nationals July 18-21, Girls Nationals July 22 and open Nationals July 23-26, including open days for preparation, practice and awards.

It should be windy---13 to 18 knots most summer days. The venue is known notoriously as "Hurricane Gulch," fed by compressed sea breeze funneling into the San Pedro Channel between the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island 22 miles offshore.

Races for novice sailors will be sailed on flatter water off the beach inside the breakwater, while the championship races are scheduled to be sailed outside in more challenging conditions on the open ocean near the 96-year-old Angel's Gate lighthouse.

CBYC's Junior Sailing program director, Steve Natvig, said that will test the best.

"There's a huge thermal affect that happens during the summer, so we do get a lot of wind," Natvig said. "It’s going to be tough racing. If it's too tough, there's a plan to move the kids back inside. They're splitting the fleet now so the Green fleet won't have to deal with that."

Either way, the Opti is unsinkable. As the International Optimist Dinghy Association website pitches its case, "The Optimist is, quite simply, the boat in which the young people of the world learn to sail."

The Observer's Book of Small Craft describes the Opti as "a flat-bottomed, hard-chine, pram-bow dinghy with una spritsail."
A less formal description once overheard at a yacht club bar was "a bathtub that breeds the best sailors."

The Optimist dinghy, strictly singlehanded, is 7 feet 9 inches long with a seven-foot waterline, a beam of 3 feet 8 inches and a draft of 5 inches with the centerboard up, 2 feet 9 inches with it down. The mast is 7 feet 5 inches tall and carries 35 square feet of sail. Total weight: 77 pounds.

It has been around since shortly after World War II when it burst into global popularity over just a few years' time. According to an account by the Lauderdale Yacht Club, its name came from its development as a youth project by the Clearwater, Fla. Optimist Club, a nautical spinoff to the city's annual Soap Box Derby for homemade downhill race cars. The initial design was by a local boat builder, Clark Mills, soon modified by Denmark's Axel Damsgaard when it spread to Europe and standardized in 1960 as a strictly one-design class in 1995.

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

Weather report

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
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Jul 16, 2009, 5:06 PM

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US Optimist National Championship Regattas
Team Racing Nationals Girls Nationals USODA National Championship

July 18-26, 2009
hosted by Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club - San Pedro, California
US Optimist Dinghy Assn.

July 17, 2009

Wild West welcomes its first Opti Nationals

SAN PEDRO, Calif.

The US Optimist National Championships will hit the West Coast for the first time Sunday with three days of Team Racing, to be followed by the one-day Girls Nationals and four-day open Nationals through the following weekend, all hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club.

The climactic 2009 competition will see Christopher Williford, 14, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., among more than 200 sailors ages 7 to 15 from 16 states and two Canadian provinces defending the title he won last year at Patchogue, N.Y., on the southern shore of Long Island. His strongest rivals will include his brother Duncan, who finished first to Christopher's third in the North American Midwinters in December.

Racing will be inside and outside the Angels Gate lighthouse entrance to Los Angeles Harbor and will start daily at noon, conditions permitting. The Green fleet for beginners and the first two phases of Team Racing, with about a dozen multi-boat teams, and Girls Nationals will be staged inside the breakwater. The final four days of open racing will be outside on the ocean fully exposed to the normally robust southwest sea breeze that builds most afternoons between the coast and Santa Catalina Island 22 miles out: "Hurricane Gulch."

There's significance to this being the first appearance of the Opti Nationals on the "left" coast of the country, according to Rob Rowlands, executive director of the US Optimist Dinghy Association (USODA).

Rowlands said, "It's a growth area for the class and this is an opportunity for some of the local and regional people to be exposed to the national level sailors, as well as for the national sailors to experience sailing in Southern California."

That scenario makes for an interesting match between the two most heavily represented states: California, with 53 entries, and Florida, with 38.

They all might get some tips from San Pedro locals Frank Dair, 10, and Kaili Campbell, 10, who finished third and 10th among 28 sailors in the Opti West Coast Championships at Marina del Rey last weekend, although conditions at San Pedro on the other side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula are generally more challenging.

The fleet of 7-foot 9-inch boats also will include Malcolm Lamphere, 13, of Lake Forest, Ill., who placed third among 147 boats in the Open European Championships at Piran, Slovenia early this month, and Cooper Weitz, 13, of Marina del Rey, who won the West Coast Champs.

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

Weather report

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
310.749.3916
bayoconnor@aol.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net

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Jul 16, 2009, 5:27 PM

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Sailgroove.org will offer live streaming video coverage of the 2009 US Optimist National Championship Regattas hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club July 18-26. Sailgroove will boadcast live from from San Pedro, CA providing exclusive free coverage of the regattas, including the Team Racing Nationals - July 18-21, Girls Nationals - July 22 and the USODA National Championship - July 23-26.

View: http://www.sailgroove.org/sc/2009optinationals

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Jul 20, 2009, 1:50 PM

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The Weather
Sunday: Wind 10-14k WNW; sunny, air temperature high 70s.
Monday's forecast: Wind 9k WSW, sunny, air temp. low 80s.

Opening day a modest breeze for Opti Nationals

SAN PEDRO, Calif.
July 19, 2009

A youngster from Chicago who shall remain unnamed was one of the happier competitors on the first day of the first US Optimist National Championships to be run on the West Coast, regardless of results.

"Chicago has always been called the 'windy city,' " he said, "but this is why I like sailing somewhere else."

The westerly sea breeze that greeted contestants in the three-day Team Racing phase of the event hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club settled into a steady 10 knots through mid-afternoon and reached 14 knots late in the day, although that fell shy of the "Hurricane Gulch" 20-knots-plus hype that early arrivals saw late last week---y'all ain't seen nothin' yet---but few were complaining.

Principal race officer Jay Booker's team was able to roll out races like a car wash at rush hour. Racing started on schedule at noon and never paused until Booker called it a day at 5:40 p.m.

Booker, who is based in St. Petersburg, Fla., had high praise for the Cabrillo Beach YC volunteers.

"I've been doing this a long time," he said, "and I've never had a day go better than this one. The committee work was terrific."

Each of the 16 teams logged at least nine of its 15 scheduled round robin races---63 in all around a short trapezoid course---and with the air temperature in the mid-70s F. on the water it was a long day but a refreshing break from the area heat wave that reached into the 90s inland.

Some might not have wanted the day to end, but Booker said, "We monitor the kids when they're sailing around the committee boat [between races], so we can see when they start to look tired. And if they get tired to where they're not having fun anymore, it's time to go in."

As it was, sailing inside the protected outer harbor behind the breakwater also was easier on the young competitors, who had flat water rather than the open ocean conditions that will test most of them in the four-day individual open Championship starting Thursday.

At last count there was a total of 332 entries ages 7 to 15 from 18 states, plus Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and Ecuador, sailing in the three phases of the week-long event---58 in Team Racing Sunday through Tuesday, with 16 teams of four boats each sailing round robins to sort out finalists leading to the championship showdowns. Then there will be 69 girls racing in their Nationals Wednesday, also inside the breakwater, and 205 boys and girls in the Nationals through Sunday.

Racing will start daily at noon, conditions permitting. The racing may be viewed live daily at Sailgroove.com

Complete results

Photo gallery

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
310.749.3916
bayoconnor@aol.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net

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Jul 21, 2009, 8:43 PM

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July 21, 2009

The Weather
Tuesday: Wind 10-14k SW; sunny; temp. high 70s F.
Wednesday's forecast: Wind 9k SSW; sunny; high temp. 80 F.

California's West Side the story of Opti Team Racing

SAN PEDRO, Calif.

In only their second such regatta---and the first didn't turn out very well---five California youngsters known as West Side won the Team Racing phase of the US Optimist National Championships Tuesday.

Alternating in their four boats over three days, Esteban Forrer, 15, of San Diego; brothers Dane, 14, and Quinn Wilson, 12, of Santa Barbara; Kristopher Swanson, 12, San Diego, and Romain Screve, 11, San Francisco, won every one of 18 races that counted in the complex competition based on thwarting the opposing teams' every move.

"We sailed better everywhere on the course," Forrer said.

Quinn said, "We were one of the teams that were constantly talking . . . good tactical conversation."

They swept their 14 races in the preliminary round robin through the entire fleet Sunday and Monday, and then won all four of their semifinal matches in the Gold group of Tuesday's sailoffs.

Their only loss was to third-place Long Island Sailing Optimist Team (LISOT) in what should have been the start of the championship match, but that was scrubbed because the round could not be completed.

There are 332 entries in the three phases of the Nationals hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. Racing continues Wednesday with the Girls Nationals, to be followed Thursday through Sunday on a race course outside the Port of Los Angeles breakwater. All other racing will have been inside. Racing is scheduled to start at noon each day, conditions permitting---and conditions have been good so far with winds ranging from 9 to 15 knots each day since Saturday.

Despite that, the Team Racing fell short of completing its sailoffs because of a rule in the Sailing Instructions prohibiting a race starting after 3 p.m. local time, so there was no final showdown as planned. Instead, the title was awarded to West Side on the basis of its 4-0 semifinal score.

Although racing started on time despite a late-morning fog bank blanketing the course, competition was later interrupted for 20 minutes because of a technical glitch.

Principal race officer Jay Booker said, "There was a variation in the sail numbers competing. They were different from the [numbers] on the list."

After that was worked out the races continued, each taking less than 10 minutes over the tight trapezoid course. But when it became apparent that time was running out, Booker considered stretching the limit by unanimous consent of the remaining contenders.

Booker said, "I called the four coaches before 3 o'clock to check before any of the second round robin races were completed. There was not a consensus, so when we ran out of time I kept to the Sailing Instructions."

One team, LISOT, which had an 11-3 record in the preliminary round robin, filed for redress, which was denied in a brief hearing.

That left West Side on top with 22 points (second round robin wins counted two points each) and 19-0 overall, followed by Lauderdale Yacht Club of Florida, 3-1 and 16-2 overall, followed by MIST from the Midwest, LISOT and Team FORR of Florida.

As the winner of this year's Gold Division of the Optimist National Team Racing, it will represent the U.S. in the Euro Opti Team Cup to be held in Berlin, Germany in October.

Forrer is the only member of the team who has been to Germany, and he said, "I was very young. I couldn't read many of the signs."

The racing may be viewed live daily at Sailgroove.com

Team Racing results

Gold fleet
1. West Side, 14 wins, 0 losses/4 wins, 0 losses, 22 points (2nd round robin wins count double).
2. Lauderdale YC, 13-1/3-1, 19 points.
3. MIST, 10-4/2-2, 14 points.
4. Long Island Sailing Optimist Team, 11-3/1-3, 13 points.
5. Team FORR, 10-4/0-4, 10 points.

Complete results

Photo gallery

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
310.749.3916
bayoconnor@aol.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net

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Jul 26, 2009, 12:54 PM

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San Pedro, Calif. (July 22, 2009) - Although Holly Tullo, 15, from Staten Island, N.Y did not arrive at the US Girls Optimist National Championships hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in time get in any practice, she was a runaway winner and the only one to score single-digit finishes---5-4-1-9-2---in all five races. Her 21 points left her 14 points better than the runnerup, Adele Whitmyer, 12, of Stamford, Conn. Four other girls scored the other wins: Ceci Wollman, 11, from Bermuda; Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick, 14, Darien, Conn.; Haddon Hughes, 12, Bellaire, Tex., and Sarah DeSilva, 13, Kansas City, Mo. -- Complete scores posted at https://ssl4.westserver.net/...lts%20Opti-Girls.htm

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Jul 26, 2009, 12:58 PM

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July 23, 2009

The Weather
Thursday: Wind 5k building to 14k, SW; sunny, mid-70s F.
Friday's forecast: Wind building from 9k WSW; mostly sunny, 78 F.

Sunshine state shines early in Opti Nationals

SAN PEDRO, Calif.

Shifting the sailing in the US Optimist National Championships from protected waters to the added challenges of the open ocean, defending champion Christopher Williford and Axel Sly were in their element Thursday.

The Floridian rivals handled it all---5 knots starting the first of three races to 14 knots by the finish of the last race---and quickly separated themselves from the rest of the 164 boats on the first day of the National Championship phase of the regatta hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. Sailing in opposite fleets, Williford, 14, of Fort Lauderdale, notched a score line of 2-4-2 finishes while Sly, 15, of Weston, Fla., was 3-4-2, by far the two most consistent performances of the day.

Their nearest rivals were yet another Sunshine Stater, Nic Muller, 12, of Ft. Pierce, and Holly Tullo, the 15-year-old from Staten Island, N.Y., who won the Girls Championship a day earlier. Each has 21 points.

Muller achieved something the others didn't---he won a race---but consistency paid. Williford and Sly were the only ones without a double-digit finish.

Andy Widmeier, 12, of Pipersville, Pa, won the day's first race. That was followed by a 12th and a 50th, but he enjoyed the moment with an on-the-water interview on Sailgroove.org, which is doing live video of the regatta over the Internet.

Asked by host Chris Love if he wanted to say hello to anyone back home, Widmeier exclaimed, "Hi, dad. I just won a race!"

A minute later his dad e-mailed back to Love's on-board laptop, "That's my boy!"

Ah, the magic of the Internet. And by the way, Widmeier's older sister Maddie, 14, finished 10th in the Girls Championship. That's her dad's girl.

Williford's twin brother Duncan was in 21st place.

The races were run around a modified windward-leeward-windward course measuring 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 miles in total length. Principal race officer Bill Stump of California Yacht Club in nearby Marina del Rey would have liked to run four races Thursday, but unusually light and fluky air delayed the start of racing for an hour.

The total fleet was split arbitrarily for easier management, and the group designated Purple started 20 minutes ahead of the Yellow. The plan worked well to keep them out of each other's way.

A larger problem was a strong downwind tidal current, which had not been a problem inside the breakwater for the Team Racing and Girls Championship the first four days.

But Thursday it was a nightmare at the two windward marks, causing chaos for about a third of the racers who played the layline too fine and wound up either embracing the inflatable marks---an offense whistled by the on-water umpires requiring a penalty turn---or having to do two extra tacks to get around at all.

Racing ended at about 5:30 p.m. Stump hoped to run three more Friday—six total would kick in a discard option---and proceed into the last two days with the fleet realigned into two groups: Gold for the top scoring boats and Silver for the others. Scores from the first two days will carry over.

Live video of the racing may be viewed daily at Sailgroove.org

Complete results

Photo gallery

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
310.749.3916
bayoconnor@aol.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net

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Jul 26, 2009, 1:02 PM

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July 24, 2009

The Weather
Friday: Wind 10-14k WSW; sunny, high temp. 75 F.
Saturday's forecast: Wind 7k WSW building to 12k; sunny, temp. 79 F.

Opti Nationals take a Sly turn on a windy day

SAN PEDRO, Calif.

Whitecaps? Wonderful. A wet little boat? No problem. Axel Sly just kept bailing with a bucket---standard equipment on Optimist dinghies---as he sailed into first place in the US Optimist National Championships Friday with two comfortable first places and a second in three races.

Sly, 15, from Weston, Fla., started Day 2 of the four-day schedule a point behind defending champion Christopher Williford and now leads the regatta hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club with 9 points to 12 for Malcolm Lamphere, 13, of Lake Forest, Ill. Williford, 14, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is third with 17.

"It was windier today," Sly said with a smile. "I like it windy."

The day didn't start that way. Like Thursday, racing was delayed for about an hour until wind filled, but then it blew a steady 10 to 14 knots from the west-southwest past Point Fermin, the ideal direction for Hurricane Gulch.

Sly, who was born in Argentina and moved to the U.S. seven years ago, has had a give and take rivalry with Williford and the latter's twin brother Duncan (currently ninth), but didn't compete in last year's Opti Nationals, which conflicted with his participation in the class Worlds. But he had his way when the wind came up.

"I had good starts and watched what the wind was doing," he said.

One advantage in such conditions may be his size.

"I weigh 110 pounds," Sly said, noting that the downside is that "it makes it harder in light wind."

His coach, Hernan Peralta, said, "Less weight is better in light wind. Heavy people usually don't do well. But he is good in any conditions."

There are 171 entries in the separate Purple and Yellow fleets, which have separate starts but are scored together. They'll continue that format Saturday, and then on Sunday the top 80 boats will sail for the championship in the Gold-Silver fleet while non-qualifiers compete in the Bronze-Pearl group. The 40th-place boat in the top fleet will win the Silver title. Got that?

Meanwhile, the Green group of beginners has been competing inside the breakwater in less formal competition where Shawn Harvey, 10, of Coconut Grove, Fla., has won three races over two days.

"Yesterday was the first race I'd ever won," Harvey said. "It was great. All my friends were cheering me on, like, 'Wooo! Go, Shawn!' "

Another Green participant, Dillon Riera, 11, from Miami, Fla., didn't win but said, "My starts were great. Some people, I congratulate them for doing a good job. I congratulated Shawn for winning the race."

Then, on the ocean course, there was another 11-year-old, Alie Toppa of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who with Liza Toppa is one of the twin daughters of Mike Toppa, a Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup veteran who is coaching them here.

Alie explained her tactics in Friday's first race: "I went right [after the start] and I did horrible. But I like it better than light air."

Live video of the racing may be viewed daily at Sailgroove.org

Complete results to be posted

Photo gallery

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
310.749.3916
bayoconnor@aol.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net

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Jul 26, 2009, 1:03 PM

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July 25, 2009

The Weather
Saturday: Wind 10k building to 15k SW; sunny, air temp. 70 F.
Sunday forecast: Wind 10k SW; sunny, high temp. 82 F.

Top trio battles for Opti National title Sunday

SAN PEDRO, Calif.

There were 171 competitors when the US Optimist National Championships started 10 races ago, but it's a three-boat battle for top honors going into the fourth and final day of the regatta hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club Sunday.

Axel Sly, 15, of Weston, Fla. stumbled with his worst finish---seventh---in the first of four races Saturday but fired back with three runaway wins to stay on top with 16 points to 33 for defending champion Christopher Williford, 14, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and 36 for Malcolm Lamphere, 13, of Lake Forest, Ill.

No surprises there. Living up to their national and international successes with 15 knots of breeze churning up the seas off San Pedro, all three handled the week's toughest conditions as one might expect. Over the first three days the trio has won nine of the 20 races.

Williford, in fact, sailing in the Purple fleet opposite Sly in the Yellow, would now have been clawing at Sly's transom from only nine points behind if one of his three first-place finishes on the day hadn't been chucked for an early start, otherwise known as OCS (on course side).

"I thought I might have been over," said Williford, who chose not to restart when he heard the second horn---hoping it was someone else---but he learned otherwise moments after he crossed the finish line without a horn signal and was told it wouldn't be necessary to check in with the measurement boat that checks the equipment of the first few finishers.

"When the measurement boat said they didn't need me, I knew," Williford said.

The OCS replaced an earlier eighth as his throwout score, and everybody will get a second discard after the 11th race is run Sunday. There probably will be only two races today, although three would be possible if there were to be no one-hour delay waiting for wind, which has been the case the first three days.

The two fleets have been scored as one, but Sunday the top 80 boats will be reassigned to the Gold-Silver fleet to sail for the top prizes. The 40th-place boat will win the Silver title. All the others will compete in the Bronze-Pearl group.

Four of the top 25 are girls, in case anyone thought they might be intimidated by big winds and seas. Megan Grapengeter, in fact, opened the day with a remarkable win using her head as well as her grit.

The 14-year-old from Darien, Conn. was running among the leaders at the leeward gate and had noticed on the way downwind that the finish line set off to one side halfway up the half-mile long course could be easily fetched on starboard tack by rounding the gate's right-side buoy and going left instead of to the normally favored right side of the upwind course.

"I saw that by rounding the right gate I could almost make the reach mark [that turns onto the short leg to the finish line]," she said. "Almost everybody else went the other way because the right side has been the best way to go."

By the time the others figured it out, Grapengeter said, "they were all overstood [beyond the lay line] for the finish."

Did anyone congratulate her ingenuity?

"My coach said, 'Good job,' " Megan said.

Meanwhile, the fight for the title will be nothing new. Sly and Williford have been battling for the last few years. Williford smiled in anticipation.

"It's fun," he said.

Live video of the racing may be viewed daily at Sailgroove.org

Complete preliminary results to be posted

Photo gallery

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
310.749.3916
bayoconnor@aol.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net

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Jul 26, 2009, 6:43 PM

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July 26, 2009

The Weather
Sunday: Wind 9k building to 15k, WSW; sunny, air temp. 75 F.

Sly wins, but Williford makes him work for it

SAN PEDRO, Calif.

As expected, Axel Sly held onto his commanding lead Sunday to win the US Optimist National Championships hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, but Christopher Williford, the defending champion, made him earn it in tough conditions against strong competition.

Even after Sly, 15, of Weston, Fla., won the first of three races on the final day---his sixth win in the last seven---to all but clinch the glory, Williford, 14, from Ft. Lauderdale, still had some fight left.

About 10 seconds after the start of the next race, Williford noted, "I made him do a 720 [degree double] penalty turn. We were luffing and I moved up [from the leeward position with the right of way] and hit him."

Sly conceded later that Williford had caught him off guard.

"Yes, just before that happened he was far enough away that I didn't think he was going to do anything."

Then, in the rush hour traffic of an 80-boat start, Sly had to work for room to do his double turns, "and it was so soon after the start that everybody was passing me."

Williford finished sixth as Sly recovered to finish eighth, clinching first place without having to sail a third race, even if there would be enough time before the 2:30 cutoff time . . . which there was . . . which Williford won, with Sly second.

Williford said at that point, with the final outcome determined, "We were both just sailing our own races."

Sly's plan: "Just get a good start and go fast."

A re-interpretation overnight of the Sailing Instructions erased the application of throwouts after Race 11, which was the first race Sunday. Race 6 remained the only discard, which Williford used to erase his early start (OCS) that wiped out one of this three first places Saturday. In the final placings, it wouldn't have made a difference.

Sly's winning string of finishes was 3-4-2-2-1-1-(9)-1-1-1-1-8-2 for 27 points. Williford's tally was 42, followed by Wade Waddell, 13, of Palm Beach, Fla. with 69---a Sunshine State sweep of the top three places.

There was a moment in the first race when Christopher's twin brother Duncan slipped into the lead group, making it a threesome and raising the notion of the Williford's ganging up on Sly with some team racing tactics.

Christopher responded to the suggestion with a "no"---but smiled at the idea.

They'll pick up their rivalry in the Optimist Worlds in Brazil later this week---Williford's first and Sly's third, although the latter's best advantage may be the Southern Hemisphere proximity to his Argentine homeland.

It also will be Sly's last Worlds. He ages out of the class after this year, and he hasn't decided what kind of boat he'll try next.

"My first two Worlds were not too good," Sly said. "But I've sailed there before so I know the place. It's going to be light but with no waves."

In other words, the flip side of Hurricane Gulch, where the winds and waves increasingly flexed their muscles through the week-long series of Team Racing, Girls and open National Championships. The breeze Sunday was 9 knots at the start and had touched 15 before racing ended at about 3 o'clock. Waves were 4 to 5 feet as the 7-foot, 9-inch long boats alternately disappeared in the troughs and surfed off the crests.

"Wow," many of the faces of the boys and girls ages 7 to 15 appeared to be declare, "This is fun!"

For the first three days the two equal fleets were scored as one, but Sunday the top 80 boats were reassigned to the Gold-Silver group to sail for the top prizes. The 41st-place boat---Roman Screve, 11, of San Francisco---was awarded the Silver title.

All the others competed in the Bronze-Pearl group, won by Nic Baird, 12, of St. Petersburg, Fla. His dad is Ed Baird, who drove the Alinghi boat to an America's Cup victory in 2007.

Kohl Killeen, 14, of New Orleans, was forced out of competition Saturday by a burst appendix. He was reported to be recovering satisfactorily in a local hospital.

Video of the racing may be viewed at Sailgroove.org

Results:
Gold-Silver: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/...onals_GoldSilver.pdf
Bronze-Pearl: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/...nals_BronzePearl.pdf

Photo gallery

Regatta information
International Optimist Dinghy Association

USODA

All about Optis

RACE CHAIRMAN
John O'Connor
310.749.3916
bayoconnor@aol.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Rich Roberts
310.835.2526
cell 310.766.6547
richsail@earthlink.net

ZoumUSA
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Jul 27, 2009, 12:16 PM

Post #11 of 31 (19441 views)
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Congratulations to all Team Zoum members for qualifying for Team Trials. In particular, we congratulate Axel Sly and Shawn Harvey each for winning 1st Place in their Fleets- the Championship and Green Fleets respectively. A disproportionate sixty percent (60%) of the Zoum Racers sailing at Nationals earned medals. We look forward to your continued success.

The Publisher
*****

Jul 28, 2009, 2:00 PM

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SCUTTLEBUTT 2895

* From Kathy Weishampel:
After reading the final U.S. Optimist Nationals story in Scuttlebutt 2894, I am a little puzzled about this quoted encounter:

“About 10 seconds after the start of the next race, Williford noted, ‘I made him do a 720 [degree double] penalty turn. We were luffing and I moved up [from the leeward position with the right of way] and hit him.’ Sly conceded later that Williford had caught him off guard. ‘Yes, just before that happened he was far enough away that I didn't think he was going to do anything.’”

I thought that boat to boat contact was to be avoided if at all possible. Am I misinterpreting his comments? It sounds like he deliberately hit him?

* From Larry Forgy:
Regarding the collision in the story about the Optimist Nationals, maybe an Optimist can't do much more damage than smashed fingers, but here is a competitor saying he purposely hit another boat, and did it by purposely denying the other boat an opportunity to keep clear. Am I missing something, or should this kid have been DSQ'd? Instead, he seems rather proud of himself. I know that there are adults racing with the attitude that if you can get away with it, it's good. I just didn't know they were being taught that.

* From Chris Boome, San Francisco:
This sure looks like a pre-meditated intentional collision to me. Shouldn't Williford have been disqualified?

Tony Nunes
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Jul 28, 2009, 2:03 PM

Post #13 of 31 (18563 views)
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I refer to comments from Kathy Weishampel and others in Scuttlebutt 2895 about Williford deliberately hitting another boat at the start of the recent Optimist nationals. I had the opportunity to be an on the water judge for one of the events in the Texas Junior Olympic Sailing Festival on Galveston Bay earlier this month. We were only judging for Rule 42. The start of every race I saw was absolutely chaotic. There were 75 boats on the line with sailors ranging in skills from national team members to beginners. The starting line was set very long for each race and on most occasions favored the port end. The majority of boats hung around the committee boat prior to the start and then approached the line with a minute to a minute and half to go. Why they did not use more of the line I do not know, especially when the other end was favored. Coaching maybe or lack thereof? But also a lot of inexperience from the younger sailors I am sure.

Anyway, because there were so many boats trying to start in the same place, collisions, bumps, pushing off of other boats and sculling to hold position were the order of the day. The sailors seemed to view the collisions, etc., as a necessary part of getting a good start. No boats protested any other for collision. The judges had to whistle and make the ones we could catch do circles(and these were few as we simply did not have enough judges) . We called a meeting of the competitors on shore at the beginning of the second day of sailing and told them collisions were not a part of the sport and would not be tolerated and we would penalize those we saw doing it. The second day was a little better on the starting line but not much.

The point of all this is that I was astounded by this callous approach to collisions. And this was a small fleet compared to some of the huge fleets of Optimists I read about in Europe and elsewhere where 500 to 800 boats show up. Is this the type of behavior that is occurring in major regattas around the world for these boats? Are there other judges and starting committees out there who have witnessed this type of behavior in Optimists? Is this happening on a regular basis? If so how do we stop it? My concern is that these kids might grow up in a fleet where collisions and bumps at the start are acceptable and then bring this to other levels of the sport.

Yours truly, "concerned".
Tony Nunes

Shep Barrows
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Jul 29, 2009, 4:35 AM

Post #14 of 31 (18365 views)
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I agree with Tony Nune's concerns about the lack of respect for the basic rules of racing on starting lines in Optimist regattas. However, the Williford boy should not be assumed to be wrong in the incident described. What matters is whether or not he gave Axel Sly a chance to avoid the collision, and whether or not he would have hit Axel if Axel had been paying attention. Axel even admits he was caught off guard, which would seem to suggest he was not paying attention. Without hearing what Christopher has to say on a more specific level, it is unfair to condemn him. We have to be careful not to smear a young boy's reputation on the basis of one off the cuff comment they make after a regatta.

As to the chaos on starting lines at Opti regattas, in my view this is caused by the lack of any strong control exerted by race committees there, and this is mostly the result of the strong resistance many PROs have towards experimenting with alternative systems for controlling the starts. The commonly used "traditional" system for starting more than 40 Optimists does not work.

Ken Legler has proven time and again that using mid-line boats is an excellent way to bring starts under such control. Once you catch almost all the kids who are over early, you will start to control the psychology of the kids. If the kids are getting away with hiding in the middle of a pack of boats that are all over early and not getting caught OCS because they cannot be seen, they are not going to respect other rules as well. An overly aggressive mentality is thus encouraged on the line. If you have a mid-line boat for every 30 or so Optimists, none of the kids will be able to hide, and umpires in the mid-line boats can even call fouls as they see them. That will start to make a difference.

I believe strongly that many young sailors, and girls in particular, are turned off early to racing because of the out of control aggressiveness that Tony describes. We need to focus on this problem a lot more than we have been. Saying that we need to do things in our country the way it is done in Europe is not an excuse, and neither is "tradition".

Gerard Koeppel
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Jul 29, 2009, 3:18 PM

Post #15 of 31 (18113 views)
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I have some answers to Tony Nunes' questions (in the forum portion of his letter) and the string of letters flowing from 'butt 2895. I'm not a judge but have run a number of Opti events and closely observed many more, around the US and Europe. Opti starts, especially in large fleets, are often a free-for-all. My own son (a top Opti sailor) learned about international competition at Garda last year when, in a starting scrum, his gunwale was grabbed by a competitor (a non-American who shall go nameless) to propel himself forward. Talk about a 42! I later instructed my son on a secondary use of tiller extensions.

Contact, egregious or not, will begin to stop when these kids move on to Lasers or 420s and will pretty much stop for good when they start paying for their own boats, especially larger ones that are costly and time-consuming to repair. At this year's Nationals, the RC could have made the pin boat and weather mark favored by 15 degrees and the top kids would still have crowded the signal boat to get right early because of wind and current considerations.

The boy mentioned in the original story is a fine, aggressive young sailor; his mom is a passionate advocate and delightful lady. She probably should teach him rules regarding contact with the media: "It was a great race. I want to thank my fellow sailors, mom, dad, my coaches, and (a deity perhaps)." I would also note that we should know the identity of the writer of the story and the circumstances under which the boy's quote was given. It is possible that the boy was misquoted. Has anybody noticed that the writer says the luffing occurred "About 10 seconds AFTER (caps added) the start"?

The more disturbing story of the 2009 Opti Nats was not the fleet racing, which was admirably handled by PRO Bill Stump, but the preceding team racing championship. The PRO for that event (and a parent of a competing child) has become well known among many of these young sailors for prior unbecoming behavior. On the third and final day of this event, this PRO initiated a protest against a leading team, which had just eliminated his child's team, for a supposed registration violation. The registration error was in fact the admitted fault of the USODA administrator. Instead of a few moments taken to easily discover the USODA error, an on-water hearing ensued for 70 minutes. Those needlessly lost minutes (in a great breeze) were the reason why the championship round could not be completed. One of the victims of the PRO's failure to complete the round was a top team featuring the same child who a few days later made an ill considered boast to an anonymous reporter. Hard to expect kids to observe the rules when parents set bad examples.

Curmudgeon's Comment: The reporter was Rich Roberts, who was not so anonymous as his reports (at least those published in Scuttlebutt) listed Rich as the media contact for the event. As for the luff, if it did occur ten seconds after the start as reported, that would make the move, in my mind, a very aggessive tactic.

John Garth
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Jul 29, 2009, 3:29 PM

Post #16 of 31 (18107 views)
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In Scuttlebutt 2894, I couldn't help but note your comment regarding the sailors' hiking / bailing technique at the Opti Nationals: "...and using his long reach to constantly bail. Here are two other competitors showing their bailing technique:"

Did you happen to notice that some of the top competitors had no water coming out of their bailers when employing this technique? And that these competitors continue to "bail" long after their boats are dry? Sadly this is a disguised method of "enhanced propulsion" that is being taught to these kids by their coaches. It's cheating, and it should be stopped. Why parents seem to condone it, and judges don't catch it, is mystifying to me.

Doug Cefali
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Jul 29, 2009, 4:33 PM

Post #17 of 31 (18093 views)
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If there is anyone out there that thinks the opti class has a problem with boat contact, they have not watched juniors race lately. High School and College sailors are even worse. I once had a college sailors' crew grab my shroud on a V15 and pull me back at a crowded start. He thought nothing of it when we spoke later. I sold my V15 soon thereafter and got a laser to race with the masters. They don't pull that kind of stuff, neither do I.

Possibly one reason the kids justify it is because very rarely does it ever cause any damage to their boats, and there are so many boats it's really crowded at starting lines and marks. My son never protests because contact is common, and does not normally affect him enough to justify a trip to the protest room. And as we all know, it's anyones guess what the outcome will be in the protest room. I would rather try my case in a Mexican court!

I am not justifying it, but the optis don't have a monopoly on boat contact.

Yes the optis are taught to sail and bail, every single drop. Water in the boat is like poison. I have never heard a coach talk about getting a kinetic advantage by bailing a dry boat, ever. It would be distracting and a waste of energy.

I remember watching Greg Dair race his opti. He was a crazy bailer, but it was a nervous habit he had. His gel coat was worn away from the bailing.

Furthermore, from a physics standpoint, I don't see how you would get any advantage. There can be no net gain of energy, as for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Looking for law and order from the Europeans or South Americans is no answer either, they are far worse than the Americans. Our kids get a rude surprise when they race in Europe or South America. They even do team racing while fleet racing!

Jon Rogers
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Jul 30, 2009, 9:16 AM

Post #18 of 31 (17925 views)
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Regarding the young Optimist sailor.

I ‘m glad this young man is not getting “run through the ringer” like some other very noteworthy sailors have been criticized for RRS issues. I would guess that he has already learned some valuable lessons, as have I.

I would guess that this is a very respectable, sportsmanlike sailor who is growing up the way we all do, often learning from our approach toward competitions, our mistakes and things we say. I do know this situation will make me think more than twice before I push my boat ever closer to a burdened boat.

I have been working with kids in California for many years and I could write down a pretty incredible list of very successful sailors who made mistakes, displayed poor sportsmanship, etc… when they were younger. Actually that list would include sailors who have been named to US Sailing Team, made the Olympics, sailed with A-Cup teams, etc….

It is obvious that intentionally colliding with another boat, under the new racing rules is prohibited. Unfortunately, some protests are influenced when it is determined that a collision did not occur. Who knows what this kid was taught about avoiding collisions.

It is difficult to manage all the issues with the racing rules considering challenges like: kids sculling (or other prohibited actions) (especially when the judges are not close by), if every foul was protested we’d be in the room all night and people want to get out of there, nearly every regatta I’m at protests are discouraged (and even cheered when not filed), coaches or others who teach kids “…you have to know how to cheat well because everyone does it” or “keep an eye out for the judges……….”

I feel that; the constant praise, cheering, rewards, etc…. given for placing well in races significantly drives the situation.

Understandebly, parents love to see their kids happy and trophies and placing well makes kids happy.

I don’t blame kids for pushing things when their parents and coaches get very happy and often drop tons of praise for placing well.

The cool thing is that there are so many kids (I work with so many) who do the right thing and are emotionally strong enough to know that they’re still great kids even if they don’t trophy or win a race.

Robbie Dean
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Jul 30, 2009, 9:21 AM

Post #19 of 31 (17921 views)
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In Reply To

Bailing upwind as an "enhanced" propulsion technique? Enhanced propulsion is what the game is all about. If a sailor chooses to lean into the boat and fish around-then lean out with a subsequently empty bailer they are not gaining an advantage. Leach popping, no. Throwing an arm out with an empty bailer, no. A small amount of water in the boat means a lot when your hull weight is under 80 pounds. Kudos to the kids who try to get their boats dry while sailing upwind and slap five to the kid who hikes the hardest.

Peter Wilson
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Jul 30, 2009, 9:26 AM

Post #20 of 31 (17916 views)
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In Reply To

In response to John Garth's comment as to why judges don't catch the 'bailing kinetics', I would offer the following perspective.

At most USODA events (Nationals, Regionals, and Team Trials), there are two to three hundred boats racing in 3 to 4 divisions. Covering the fleets requires a minimum of 4 and an ideal of 6 judge boats with rule 42 qualified judges. USODA is great about lining up these judges and supporting their on-the-water rules enforcement. With this large number of optis and a small number of judges, complete coverage is impossible and hard choices must be made about where best to put the judges so they have the best impact.

Since rule 42 infractions at the start provide the most competitive advantage to a boat in 70-80 boat starts (first row instead of third), we try to be sure that we have a minimum of 2, but ideally 3 judge boats at every start. Sculling to get in the first row and/or body pumping off the line can make the difference between top ten and mid fleet (or worse) at the first weather mark. Concentrating judge resources at the start clearly reduces our ability to cover each fleet adequately on the beats because we prioitize to make sure that each start has at least the same minimum coverage.

After the starts, the priority is to create as much visible presence of judge boats on the race course as possible. Being seen is the best deterrent to rule 42 infractions. This means getting up with the leaders at the top of the beat, patrolling the reach, moving up and back through the fleets on the run, and working back and forth through the leaders on the final beat. We spend most of our time with the top third of each fleet after the starts because penalizing the kinetics 'up front' helps keep the 'chronic infringers' out of the top places.

Do we miss some of the 'bailing kinetics', you bet we do. We miss other infractions as well. We just can't be everywhere, so we have to be where penalizing rule 42 infractions does the most good...reducing unfair advantage gained at the starts, and keeping the top third of the fleet as 'clean' as possible.

Bob Hofmann
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Jul 30, 2009, 9:38 AM

Post #21 of 31 (17912 views)
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I have only seen Optimists from pictures, and they look pretty much like a Sabot with a gaff rig. A bailer in a Sabot is usually a cut off gallon jug that you scoop up the water from the inside of the boat and toss it over the side. How could that possibly be "enhanced propulsion" as referred to by John Garth? Unless, of course, the sailors are using the bailer as an oar which should be fairly easy to police.

Then Gerard Koeppel seems to say that it's OK for the kids to go crashing into each other because they will grow out of it either by the time they have put in some time on bigger boats, and probably for sure when they have to pay the bills for their transgressions.

He also says: "My own son (a top Opti sailor) learned about international competition at Garda last year when, in a starting scrum, his gunwale was grabbed by a competitor (a non-American who shall go nameless) to propel himself forward. Talk about a 42! I later instructed my son on a secondary use of tiller extensions."

Hogwash! The rules are the rules, and every racer should know them and abide by them at all times. When he says that he taught his son how to use a tiller extension in a different way, I can only take that to mean that the sailor should use the tiller extension to do something to the other sailor, like hitting him with it.

If that is not what he is teaching, please correct me. If it is, shame on you for not instructing your son to play by the rules, including protesting miscreants.

If the class association and/or PROs give a pass on the rules, shame on them too.

It shouldn't matter what size boat you are sailing on, when there are a lot of them on the starting line, especially ones of different sizes, it can get hairy, and you should be learning from the get go how to do the right thing both from a tactical and sportsmanship side.

Remember what Paul Elvstrom said: If in the process of winning, you have lost the respect of your competitors, you have won nothing."

The Publisher
*****

Jul 30, 2009, 11:26 AM

Post #22 of 31 (17879 views)
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As I live in San Diego, land of the Naples Sabot, I headed to Los Angeles last weekend to visit with the U.S. Optimist Nationals, where 200+ sailors were hosted by Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. One day of spectating and interviewing participants certainly does not make me an expert, but here are some observations that I took home with me:

* CHAMPIONSHIP FLEET: This course was in open water at a site nick-named ‘Hurricane Gulch’. Get the picture! Despite the Optimist being well-suited for ocean sailing, it was eye-opening to see this fleet of tweens and teens so far from the hot showers, and fully geared up for the conditions. Upwind speed was about torquing the upper body to help steer the boat around the waves while fully hiked, non-stop bailing, steering and sail trimming… all at the same time. Hitting the weather mark was not uncommon with the current, but the big rudder helped to quickly spin a penalty turn, often without losing a position. Staying upright downwind in the breeze was about a tight boomvang to control the sprit, getting aft in the boat…and bailing. All in all, very impressive.

* SUPPORT: I understood the ratio of registered support boats to sailors was 1 to 3... that is a lot of support! However, since most entrants flew there, having a lot of adult supervision seems inevitable, as it is for them wanting to get on the water to watch. There were not too many capsizes, but there was plenty of help if needed. I am not sure of all the coaching limits for the Championship fleet, but the coach boats were to stay within a restricted area. Also, having the support boats for towing helped to mitigate what was already an 8+ hour day on the water.

* GREEN FLEET: Designed for the beginner racer, this was a separate course in protected waters for anyone who wanted to participate. No qualifiers needed, no trophies offered, and coaching permitted only for the back half of the fleet. If someone from the championship fleet found they were overwhelmed in the ocean, they could shift to this fleet to keep sailing. There were open forum protest hearings, and as many races as the young sailors could handle. This was about learning and meeting new friends. At a high profile regatta, it was refreshing to see this option. The Green Fleet is a standard in the class, and the only complaint I heard was that some kids don’t stay at this level long enough to gather all the basics.

* BOUNDARIES: The growth of the Optimist class has provided more opportunities for young sailors than any other class. This would seem to have pros and cons. For the top sailors, the chance to compete internationally exists. Even within the U.S., the amount of travel seems daunting. Beware of being the parent that tries to take their young train off the tracks. However, the sport is also about friendships, and the Optimist class offers few boundaries, with connections inevitably aided by websites like MySpace and Facebook. Despite the boxy, dorky boat, all these elements contribute to the top sailors staying in the class until they age out (can’t turn 16 years old in a calendar year).

* CHOICES: The goal is to get kids sailing, and instill in them the interest that will convert this youth activity into a life activity. Helping children form friendships within their sailing is vital to sustain this interest. Whatever the dominant youth boat is for an area, the one size fits all approach is naive. For the Optimist, their racing has huge fleets, and if getting 54th isn’t fun for a kid, finding another type of sailing is better than no sailing at all. There are plenty of options available, whether they are new boats like the O’pen BIC, established one-designs, local keelboat racing, windsurfing, or catamarans. The key, it would seem, is to not let a youth sailor’s frustration with their sailing seem like a failure. If a parent is eager for their children to sail, getting off the predominant youth track might be what is needed.

- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

Doug Cefali
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Jul 30, 2009, 1:27 PM

Post #23 of 31 (17850 views)
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Yes, the opti class does allow coaching while racing for the back half of the green fleet. Personally I think it's a great way to help the kids learn the sport faster. As expected, coaching while racing is prohibited for everyone else, including the championship fleet. Coaches must also abide by area restrictions on the course.

However, on the water coaches are limited. Each team, YC etc, is allowed to register 1 coach per 10 sailors on the water. It's a standard USODA / IODA ratio that's intended to limit the cost of a potential arms race of coaches.

We recently attended the IODA North Americans in the Dominican Republic. Team USA had 31 sailors on their team, and we were allowed 3 coaches. The OA provided the coach boats at $550/coach, and two coaches had to share a coach boat. Seemed reasonable to me.

But there is no easy way to limit the number of parents on the water, as they generally act as both spectators as well as safety and support. Given that Optis are generally sailed in the open ocean or similar open bodies of water like San Francisco Bay, having safety and support boats nearby is helpful.

smitynewpt
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Jul 30, 2009, 6:46 PM

Post #24 of 31 (17785 views)
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Our daughter sailed the full week at the Opti Nationals including a tune-up clinic, the Girls only and Coed Nationals. A HUGE "well Done" to CBYC and all the volunteers (Orange, Green and Red shirts) for taking excellent care of the 160 plus racers. It was our first Opti Nationals and being a Sabot sailor and now Dad that was excellent planning and execution of duties. Thanks to Stumpy on the water and Jolly John O'Conner on land for all your helpers at CBYC... enjoy the rest of the summer... Smitty & Nina

jagarth
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Jul 30, 2009, 7:07 PM

Post #25 of 31 (17771 views)
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Re: [Robbie Dean] US Optimist National Championship 2009 [In reply to]	Log-In to Post/Reply

Robbie et al,

Anyone who sails one-designs knows there is a gray area in the kinetics rules, and to be successful you have to know where the limits are and sail to those limits. What I observed wasn't an occasional action, it was repeated 40, 50, 60 times in a row with an empty bailer, and it induced noticeable leach popping in around 8 - 10 knots of air - conditions where bailing wasn't necessary, and conditions where such actions clearly had an effect on boat speed and pointing. Those doing it were pointing higher and moving steadily to windward of those who weren't. What do you think? Is that cheating or not? I asked a couple of coaches about it afterwards and they acknowledged that they were teaching their kids to flaunt the rules whenever the judges weren't looking at them.

John

Brent Boyd
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Jul 31, 2009, 10:08 AM

Post #26 of 31 (17519 views)
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Very sportsmanlike of Gerard to teach his son techniques like jamming a tiller extension into a kid who grabbed his boat. These Opti parents are unbelievable; they need to get their own boats and race against people their age instead of sailing through their kids.. Do you understand the word PROTEST?

Tyler Carder
*

Jul 31, 2009, 10:10 AM

Post #27 of 31 (17516 views)
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It is indeed disheartening to hear that coaches are teaching young Optimist sailors nefarious tricks (like wielding a waterless bailer). I mean, coaches are teaching kids this stuff?!? Before the advent of coaches, miscreants had to learn to cheat all on their own.

Back in my day, junior sailors in the western Long Island Sound area used to sail Blue Jays and Lightnings (unlike square Optimists, those are good, pointy-bowed boats.) During the summers in western Long Island Sound it oftimes doesn't blow particularly hard. At a regular weekly interclub regatta amongst juniors from the various Stamford-Greenwich, CT yacht clubs, some crews (not me, honest!) always excelled in the drifter conditions. Their secret was, they always heeled the boat very far over and hit the windward leg corners hard so that each of the three crew, sitting on the leeward rail out of sight of other competitors, could surreptitiously ply Ping Pong paddles in the water to propel the boat forward...

R. G. Newbury
**

Jul 31, 2009, 10:12 AM

Post #28 of 31 (17512 views)
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The invisible problem underlying this, is that the rule-makers 'in their infinite wisdom' have determined that although grabbing/pushing etc. is 'bad' and protestable, *sny* attempt at instant justice, such as the 'secondary use of a tiller extension' is 'gross misconduct', subject to a rule 69 hearing.

So rapping those knuckles, which are trespassing onto another boat can earn a much more, in fact egregiously more draconian, penalty, than the owner of those knuckles would receive. I cannot find the reference, but memory tells me that that was the result of protest at a Finn Worlds circa 1983, and it was just a rap on the knuckles, with no injury, IIRC. Such a result is morally wrong and legally unjustifiable, as such a punishment does not fit the 'crime'.

So this sort of egregious conduct will not 'begin to stop'. Since it has become unpunishable, it has apparently become rampant and will remain so.

bartondci
*

Jul 31, 2009, 12:31 PM

Post #29 of 31 (17454 views)
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Re: [John Garth] US Optimist National Championship 2009 [In reply to]	Log-In to Post/Reply

Do really you think it is fast to reach into your boat with a bailer in your hand while steering thru waves, trimming, and hiking at the same time. The kids know how important it is to keep their boats dry and may not always get a chance to look inside the boat to see if there is actually water in there (hence the sometimes empty bailer). Sailing and bailing is quite diffficult to do well, and is critical in an Opti.
You buttheads should back off these kids, and their coaches. Few, if any are conspiring to cheat or defraud.
I do agree though that some of the parents need to get out and compete on their own sometimes.

The Publisher
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Jul 31, 2009, 2:21 PM

Post #30 of 31 (17435 views)
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Re: [bartondci] US Optimist National Championship 2009 [In reply to]	Log-In to Post/Reply

In Reply To

You really have to see the bailing/ hiking/ steering/ trimming skilll to believe it. Pretty amazing, and as you say, hard to do well. The only thing I saw was that the full bailer would occassionally be held overhead and outboard slightly longer than needed to bail the boat, providing nice outboard weight for that moment.

The other technique I saw, if you want to call it that, is how hitting the weather mark was not a huge penalty. The big rudder turns the boat sooo quickly, and since an Optmist speed is slow, the fleet does not move on too quickly as you do your spin. If the choices for a port tacker at the weather mark were either a tight starboard layline under the fleet, or duck a bunch of boats, it was better to tack underneath, hit the mark, and do your spin. Not a great tactic for later in life, so it would be interesting to hear comments on the class having a 2-spin penalty for mark contact.

- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt

Michael Borga
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Aug 9, 2009, 11:04 AM

Post #31 of 31 (16915 views)
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Re: [The Publisher] US Optimist National Championship 2009 [In reply to]	Log-In to Post/Reply

About the collision between Wilford and Sly, some stated that Wilford was in the wrong for not avoiding the collision between himself and the other boat. I agree that the rules of sailing state that a captain shall make every effort to avoid a collision and that Wilford breaks the spirit of that rule, however, it is obvious why in a small boat "contact" has become the defacto way to ensure your rights. The chances of a "planned collision" creating either injury or damage are virtually non-existent in the small boats and large fleets of Optis and resorting to a protest to ensure your rights would be a crap shoot at best.

Once you file the protest, the first question you are asked is when and how did you notify the other party of your intention to protest and did you put a protest flag up soon enough? If the committee determines that you did not follow the correct procedure, well, you lost your rights due to a procedural technicality. Not precisely the best way to encourage protests which some will say is a good thing, but actually encourages collisions as a way to make certain there is no subjective judgement involved.

Assuming you get past the initial opportunity to have a protest denied you then get to state your case and both sides get to bring in witnesses who have much better things to do than watch your actions on the course, namely, either hike, trim or steer their own boat in most cases, but are relied upon to help the protest committee decide whether you would have hit the other boat had you not decided to avoid the collision and changed course.

Here's the conundrum, in the rules of sailing avoidance of a collision is stated as the premier responsibility of the captain but the decision to alter course because a collision will occur in the judgment of the captain then becomes a disputable consideration.

For example, had Wilford protested that Sly failed to keep clear rather than hit him, the protest committee would have asked Sly whether he believed that Wilford would have hit him, and Sly's response?

The actions taken to avoid a collision can later allow the protest committee to determine that a collision was not imminent and therefore no rules were broken. Is there a better way? I can only suggest that protest committees must place greater weight on statements from the captain who determined that he was required to take action to avoid a collision than to the witnesses or the offending boat, for once the captain has changed his course it can easily and "should" appear that no collision would have occurred.

Michael Borga
Pt. Pleasant, NJ

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