It’s well known that the best sailors are the ones who can sail well in a variety of weather conditions. In Newport this week, an impressive group of rising Optimist sailors skillfully navigated through a wide spectrum of weather.
The first day of racing on Tuesday, August 9, presented a brilliantly sunny day and an epic breeze topping off with gusts up to 19 knots. Combined with a sporty sea state, the sailors met the challenge impressively in their 8′ boats. On Race Day 2, the sky was gray and overcast with a much lighter 8-10 knot southeasterly, coupled with a fierce Narragansett Bay current.
Today, on the last day of racing, the sky turned dark early with the incoming rain and with minimally sailable breeze of six knots. The formidable current added to the challenge of avoiding an OCS at the start but accelerated the first leg for a fast race to the windward mark.
The sailors who excel in heavy wind did well on Tuesday. Those who like a little less breeze did better on Wednesday. And those sailors who have also mastered racing in extremely light wind finished at the top of the rosters.
Overall, 194 sailors participated. The Championship Fleet had 172 competitors. Another 22 sailors filled out the Green Fleet Division.
Sailors traveled from Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Competitors came from 15 U.S. states, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Vermont.
Travis Greenberg (Scituate, MA) won first place overall after the series of eight races with a low 14 points. Finnegan Grainger (Miami, FL) and Wylder Smith (Guilford, CT) tied for second place with 20 points each. After a tie-breaking rule was applied, Grainger was awarded second and Smith third place overall.
Miles Cundey (Summit, NJ) was only three points behind Grainger and Smith placing fourth overall with 23 points overall.
Remarkably, three sailors were tied for the next three places. Beck Brill (Palmetto Bay, FL), Ethan Thompson (Pembroke, Bermuda), and Duffy Macaulay (Barrington, RI) all were tied with 29 points each. The tie-breaking rules placed them in fifth, sixth, and seventh place overall respectively.
Estella Morris (Larchmont, NY) finished in eighth place overall with 34 points and also received the top girl of the regatta. Kyla Benesch (Coconut Grove, FL) finished ninth with 36 points overall and as the second highest scoring girl.
James Allgeier (Norfolk, VA) rounded up the top ten sailors of the 22 Opti New England Championship only one point behind Benesch with 37 points overall.
The top five girls were also awarded trophies for their excellent sailing performances. After Morris in first place and Benesch in second, Sydney Small (Houston, TX), Amelia Woodworth (Fairfield, CT), and then Elinor Grant (Boston, MA) were the top-placing girls in third, fourth and fifth place overall.
An event the size of the 2022 Opti, New England Championship, requires a massive volunteer team. The skilled race management team of mark setters, boat drivers, recorders, scribes, timers, flag personnel, judges, scorers, and safety personnel construed the on-the-water team. Also, the event requires an equally significant shore side force, including volunteers for registration, check-in, beach launch and return, and socials.
Sail Newport is also grateful for the tight-knit marine community of individuals and yacht clubs who loan their boats for the support team. The flotilla of support boats is required to run such a high-quality event with high safety standards. Those partnerships and individuals in Narragansett Bay make Sail Newport one of the world’s most active and successful public sailing centers in the world.
Sail Newport is proud to be a frequent host of this special youth sailing event.
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