 2009 Sail Newport Clinic Recap The 8th Annual Sail Newport Advanced Racing Clinic in memory of Brooke Gonzalez was another great success. A wide range of sailing conditions culminating with a windy regatta day made for a tired group of sailors by Sunday afternoon. International 420s were introduced at the clinic for the first time with four boats participating. 16 Club 420 teams, 20 Laser Radial sailors, and 10 Laser Full-Rig sailors rounded out the group of 70 sailors, ages 14-19, from 12 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Many of the nation's top sailors were in attendance in preparation for the U.S. Sailing Youth Championship, being held from June 25-28. Others used the clinic as a great way to jump start their season on the water and get some top level coaching. Coaches this year included: Clinic Head Coach: John Mollicone International 420 Coaches: Zack Leonard, Alice Manard, and Zack Brown Club 420 Coaches: Ken Legler, Dave Dellenbaugh, Peter Levesque, Justin Assad, Joey Mello, Maureen Castruccio, and Kathryn Metscher Laser Radial Coaches: Mark Zagol, Matt Lindblad, Jane Macky, and Kate Hagemann Laser Full-Rig Coaches: Bill Ward and Ned Jones On Thursday, June 18 things started with a rigging and tuning clinic lead by our great coaches. Friday brought light conditions for sailors to practice their boathandling and boatspeed. On Saturday we waited for the fog to lift and for the breeze to fill in. Sunday, June 21 was our annual Clinic Regatta. A strong North/Northeast breeze of 15-20 knots made for five great races on trapezoid courses run by race committee expert Ken Legler. Congratulations to winners Declan Whitmyer (Stamford, CT) and Ian Storck (Huntington, NY) in the I420 class, Nick Johnstone (Jamestown, RI) and Katia DaSilva (East Greenwich, RI) in the Club 420, William Bailey (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) in the Radials, and Matt Gowell (East Greenwich, RI) in the Full-Rigs. At the conclusion of racing on Sunday awards were given to the top three teams and Sail Newport passed out great shirts to all of our competitors and coaches. Laser sailor E.J. O’Mara from Burton, MI was given the Brooke Gonzalez award. The coaches agreed that E.J. best exemplified Brooke’s sailing spirit and exceptional attitude. Laser Coach Ned Jones presented the award, talking about E.J.’s great attitude, and how he drove all the way out from Michigan alone to be at the clinic. Congratulations E.J.! Special thanks to the Gonzalez Family, everyone who housed our great sailors, the entire Sail Newport staff, and our coaches We look forward to seeing all of you next year in June. Have a great summer, John Laser and Radial Results I420 and C 420 Results    |