JR Sailing News

PBSC Kids Compete At the USODA Team Trials in Annapolis, MD

Two of Palm Beach Sailing Clubs finest sailors, Cody Stansky and Wade Waddell were invited to compete against the 200 finest sailors in the country. In order to get invited you have to compete in qualifying regattas around the country. Thousands of kids vied for the opportunity to compete and sail in The USODA (United States Optimist Dingy Association) Team Trials which this year was held in Annapolis, MD. This regatta also had big implications because if you do well in this regatta, you will earn a spot on the United States Optimist Team. By qualifying for this team gives young sailors the ability to Travel around the world and have the availability to get the finest coaching on the planet at scheduled practices around the country. It’s a great kick start for a sailor who has aspirations of becoming a “world class” sailor. The experience is priceless.

Annapolis is one of those famous yachting cities, much like Newport, RI, that is filled with rich tradition. You have the US Naval Academy and three different Yacht Clubs within a mile of each other all on a cozy bay. There was a multitude of different sailing events going on with all the Jr. Programs, High Schools, and Colleges sailing practices going on along with the evening Big Boat Races. When we pulled in to town the Annapolis NOOD Regatta was happening. All the finest offshore one design boats were there such as the Melges 32’s and 24’s, Etchells, TP 52’s, J 24’s, J 105s and one of the most impressive PHRF fleets I’ve seen. It’s a happening place. I sailed there many times in college and still love the atmosphere.

When we arrived it was cold. Good thing the kids bought those drysuits, they would have been miserable with out them. We arrived 4 days early so we could practice and get used to the climate and conditions. There were teams who had been there at least 7 days before the regatta started. Our first day of practice was short because of rain and stormy conditions but it was enough to say “hello, its cold”, so the kids got their first cold weather experience. Over the next several days we were able to practice hard with several other teams up there like Martin Co., who we really worked together well with and really helped each other, Team Four, LISOT, Sevren Sailing Association, Annapolis Yacht Club and Coral Reef Yacht Club. Sevren Sailing Association really helped us out and allowed us to practice out of there facility prior to the regatta. We will certainly reciprocate any hospitality when they come our way. Arriving early was a big advantage because the kids got to sail in the Famous Annapolis Toilet Bowl Chop, this is where waves come at you from all directions and they are short and steep. You could really tell the Florida kids stood out when they were all running round in there new drysuits blown up so they looked either strong or fat, I couldn’t tell which but it was very humorous. A few of the kids found it funny to Blow them selves up and float around in the Chesapeake.

The four days of racing were some of the most difficult days of racing I have ever seen. We had a slow moving Cold front to the west of us, a slow moving warm front to the south of us and a prevailing sea breeze trying to filling every day. Needless to say that we saw winds from every direction and did a lot of sitting around to wait for the wind to settle down for the first two days. The last two days were worse because they were trying to get off as many races as they could at the expenditure of having quality races. In the end they got off 9 of the 15 races scheduled. On top of all these crazy conditions there were tons of kids getting black flagged (disqualified for being over at 1 minute). Wade was the recipient of one of these. Thru all of our crazy race conditions I was very impressed with how our kids were starting. This has been a prior weakness and they really did great. Mostly the whole fleet, except a few, were pretty inconsistent with their scores. In the end it was the one’s who were the most consistent who prevailed.

In all the years I have been sailing and coaching I have never seen so much pressure on kids. Im sitting in my coach boat and watching the finishes and you see kids crossing elated or crying. There would be kids in the next coach boat over who had kids crying and smiling. In the parking lot, especially in the end, some of the top kids were crying. I thought to my self “ wow” this is incredible. I always, as a kid, approached a regatta, “no matter what I’m going to have fun” and enjoy the experience, which I did most of the time. There was one time when though when I was winning the Jr. Snipe Nationals in New Orleans and a kid protested me for hitting a mark “which I and my crew felt we did not hit it”. It went to the protest room and the protestors, the 3rd place boat at the time (top two boats went to the worlds in Spain) got the 2nd place boat as a witness. I was tossed and that threw me back into 4th place overall. I was devastated and cried my eyes out, but it also did something to me inside. I developed a fire inside me that drove me to excel that following year. After working my butt off all year, I traveled to Michigan to sail in the Jr. Snipe Nationals and won all 5 races by (most by over a half a leg or more). I didn’t even have to sail the last race but wanted to put an exclamation point on the mission I was on. On the first day of the team trials the competitors had a special skippers meeting. This relates to the story I just told. They brought up all the kids who had made multiple US traveling teams and had been on the US Opti Team in the past. Then they told everyone how they did in there first team trials and read out there places. The best one was 168th. They picked the kids that were the worst of the finishers at team trials(there were a lot of them) in the past and showed that with hard work and desire you can end up on top. That was very inspiring!

Wade Waddell and Cody Stansky both sailed great and deserve a lot of credit. Cody was very sick the first two days of the regatta and had a tough overall regatta because of it. I believe he will be one of the top sailor’s at next year’s event in Darian Connecticut . He has the desire and the work ethic to do it. I am very proud of him. Wade sailed great and was very consistent which gave him the opportunity to be able to qualify for the US Opti Team and he will be going to Flanders Belgium or possibly Wales England to compete. I am very proud of both of them. They have brought honor and respect to the Palm Beach Sailing Club and to themselves. Congratulations to both!

PBSC Sailors Win 3 Divisions at the Schools Out Regatta

PBSC Sailing Team traveled to its last regularly scheduled regatta of the season named the Schools Out regatta. The regatta took place in Tampa Florida at the Davis Island Yacht Club on May 24th and 25th.

Palm Beach Sailing Club finished the year out strong with PBSC Sailors winning three divisions.

In the Opti Green Fleet Ben Kern was the top PBSC Sailor finishing 11th out of 43 boats. Ben has come along way. He would have finished in the top ten but missed a race. Kurtis Ross finished a personal best of 17th place. Nice improvement Kurtis! Olivier Grubb finished a respectable 34th. Logan Ross and Finn Kennedy finished a great 37th and 38th place. This was Finn's second regatta ever! Way to go Finn!

On the Opti RWB Course PBSC sailors put in a dominating performance. Wade Waddell finished 1st place in Blue Fleet and 2nd Over-all out of 38 boats! Wade has really stepped up to the next level. Nice Job! Ian McDiarmid finished 1st in White Fleet and 13th Over-all. Ian even won a race. Cameron Grubb finished 3rd in White Fleet and 20th Overall. Cameron get my most improved award in the Opti Fleet. Brandon Kirby finished a very respectable 10th in White Fleet 35th Over-all.

On the Laser Course Erick Fields was the top PBSC Laser Sailor finishing 1st in the Full Rig Class. Erick Gets my Most improved award for the Laser Class. He really sailed impressively. Andrew Morgan was the Top Dog in the Radial Class. He finished 11th place in a very tough fleet.Curtis Woodworth sailing in his first Radial regatta finished 13th. It was nice to have Curtis sail with our team. He will sailing with us this summer. Curtis has an Injury the fist day but toughed it to come out the second day and he really sailed well. Andrew Britton sailed a great regatta for his first Radial regatta finishing 15th. Harris Hickman finished a respectable 17th. Harris received an OCS in the 4th race which hurt him a bit, but I was proud he got it because he was trying. If you don't get a few OCS's in your life it means your not trying on the starting line! Chris Grenci finished a very respectable 20. He was sailing his first Radial regatta and he sailed the best I have seen him sail. In the the 4.7 Class Jimmy Elliott made his Laser Debut and he finished 4th overall. He really sailed well his best score was a 2nd place! He learned allot and realized he has a lot to learn. I am very proud of all of them.

Our whole team did great and it truly was the funnest event all year. On Saturday night the team jumped on a trolley down to Ybor City and had a huge Spaghetti Dinner. Not too many spit balls were flying around the kids were able to bond as a team. It was just like the old day's but a little larger. Thanks everyone for a great year!

Next Event is US Opti Nationals. This is the easyest event to qualify for Team Trials. Top 50% of the entire regatta will qualify. There will be a huge Green fleet at this event which boosts the amont of kids who can qualify in The Championship Fleet. If you are thinking about it, Please let me know ASAP.

PBSC Sailors Tackle Tough Laser Midwinters

After a three week Bonanza of sailing with three regattas back to back to back. Laser Midwinter's was as interesting as always. Of the 4 day regatta we got two fantastic days of sailing in and two days of no wind and rain. It basically turned into a two day regatta. We were able to practice for an hour on one of the cancelled days after the rain let up. It was a light air but productive session.

First off, I have to say how proud I am of Colleen Hartman and Erick Fields. Colleen sailed as if she was one of the contenders and would have qualified for gold fleet in the radial class had she not gotten the flew the second day. With only one day of racing under her belt she still finished 24th over-all in the Silver Fleet out of 45 boats, with her best race being an 8th. She was in the same fleet as Page Railey for qualifying. I had many notable people come up to me to tell me how much Colleen has improved.

Erick Fields put his hat in the ring with all the Adult Full Rig Sailor's and made great improvements each race. He started out a little rusty and came out more energized the second day and posted respectable results and his starting that day made a huge difference. He was "by far" the youngest sailor at 14 year's old. Lots of the Older guys paid him complements.

Washington's Birthday Regatta A Success

February 16 - 17, 2008

Yet again, PBSC put on a successful Washington's Birthday Regatta thanks in large part to Tim and Sue Slater, Guy Britton and all the volunteers. There are way too many people to list! You know who you are. This year was the smoothest yet from my perspective. We must be getting the hang of this.

Everyone had a great time. I did not hear of one complaint, which is unheard of. The Bahamas team had a blast and thanks to everyone who pitched in with housing them. They are currently organizing a regatta specifically for us to attend and to reciprocate our hospitality. Bahamians are famous for their hospitality. Should be fun. I'll keep everyone posted.

All the kids did great as usual. I am proud of them all. Cody Stansky won the Red Fleet. Wade Waddell finished 2nd in Blue and Ian McDermaid won the white fleet. Casey Layne won the Green Fleet. Brendon Greif won the Laser Radial Class. Steve Carr Won the Full Rig Class. Top PBSC sailor in the 4.7 class was Andrew Britton finishing 4th. Top PBSC Sailor in the Megabyte class was Paul Gingras Finishing Second and Robin Baker was top dog in the Portsmith Class sailing his new Snipe "Who's Your Daddy Now!". Results are posted on the PBSC Website. I would like to make a special note about PBSC's Julia Leighton who won the sportsmanship award. This is the most important award any sailor can win at any regatta.

PBSC Sailors Show Their Stuff at Orange Bowl

December 26 - 30, 2007

The PBSC Sailing Team took to Biscayne Bay for the 2007 Orange Bowl Regatta which was held December 26th thru the 30th. There were sailors from 14 different countries and from most of the 50 states that have oceans or lakes. The conditions this year were light to medium winds and warm, which is unusual for this traditionally windy event.

In the Green Fleet, PBSC's Ian McDermaid sailed outstanding to win the Orange Bowl out of 70 boats. Ian has become one of the top up and coming sailors and now will be sailing White Fleet. Congratulations Ian! Cameron Grubb finished an outstanding 18th. Cameron has come a long way. Briggs Lalor finished an awesome 30th and Prescott Coleman 31st. Ben Kern finished a outstanding 44th and Bayard Lalor finished a fantastic 53rd. Blair Lalor, aka Super Girl, finished 63rd. Blair was the 13th girl overall.

On the Championship Course, Cody Stansky was the top PBSC Sailor finishing 75th out of 203 boats. Jimmy Elliott finished 148th and Nick Zarins 164th. All Three Sailors finished in the middle of their respective fleets. Nick Zarins made the largest improvement from his last regatta. This was his third White Fleet event and he finished 11th out of 20 white fleeters. The best of the best were sailing this event and our kids, relative to the time they have been in Championship were finishing much higher than kids that have been sailing for three and four years. Way to go!

On the Laser course, all the kids had a great event. Brendon Greif was the top PBSC Radial Sailor finishing a very respectable 63rd out of 138 boats. Colleen Hartman finished 75th and Andrew Morgan 86th. In the Laser 4.7 Andrew Brittion finished 23rd and Chris Grenci finished 36th. On the Full rig course, Travis Ouellette finished 33rd and Erick Fields finished 35th. What an amazing transformation from last year to this year for our Laser team. Look at last year's scores to this year and we are still one of the youngest team on the water. I can't wait for next year.

I am so proud of our entire team. This has been a year of transition moving from a small team status to a large size team. This year we have seen many accomplishments from our sailors and our program. We purchased 13 new Opti's and 2 new Lasers. We purchased a New Coach Boat. The Summer Sail Camp hit the $100,000 mark in gross sales and we have had a record # of clinics by some of the best sailors in the world. Between the Palm Beach Regatta and the Jr Board Fund raiser, Jr. Sailing was responsible for raising over $22,000 dollars.

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