Optimist
MidWinters Los Angeles Yacht Club
February 12-13, 2011
SBYC's "Team Opti Power" spent the weekend of
February 12-13 in San Pedro for Los Angeles Yacht Club's
Optimist MidWinter Regatta. Five young sailors between the
ages of ten and thirteen represented Santa Barbara at the
two-day, nine-race, 30-boat regatta sailed on the infamous
"Hurricane Gulch".
Four races were completed Saturday under sunny and warm
skies with light but consistent breeze ranging from 6-8
knots. Quinn Wilson fought off several challenges from his
teammate Lucas Pierce to sweep the day with straight bullets.
Frankie Doyle, in his first out-of-town regatta with Santa
Barbara's Optimist racing team, found the conditions to
his liking with several top-ten finishes, but was surprised
to learn that just because racing is over doesn't mean sailing
is over when you're under the tutelage of Coach Craig Wilson
as he pulled the team aside for an hour of team racing practice
after the last race.
After a team breakfast on Sunday morning, the SBYC team
was the first to rig, dress and dock out-hitting the water
at 9:30 to get in a bit of practice before the first race
at 11:00. A light sea breeze was the reward for their diligence
as the team got in a solid hour of warm-up drills and line-ups
before checking in with the race committee.
The breeze built over the course of the morning as a fog
bank ushered in a solid 15 knot westerly. As the fog evaporated,
the breeze moderated to a more manageable 10-12 knots, much
to the relief of 60ish pound ten-year olds Patch Curtis
and Matthew Pierce.
After five more races and two very long days of sailing,
our team would see its sailors on the podium in each of
the three age divisions. Quinn Wilson was first overall
and first in Red Fleet (ages 13-15) with nine first-place
finishes in nine races; Lucas Pierce was third overall and
first in Blue Fleet (ages 11-12); and, Matthew Pierce was
13th overall and second in White Fleet (ages 10 and under).
More importantly, Team Opti Power welcomed a new sailor
to the team in 11-year old Frankie Doyle and the entire
team came away with a weekend of invaluable experience and
many-as coach Wilson would say-"lessons learned".
