FBYC Junior Race Teams Roll On!
on Wednesday July 30, 2014 10:57AM
Since our last update on July 7th (covering our first six summer regattas), the Race Teams have raced non-stop, with no let up in winning regattas from Hampton, Virginia to Hyannis, Massachusetts, while having FUN along the way!
First up, on July 9th, the Opti Race Team raced at the Hampton Yacht Club Annual Junior Regatta. Eighteen FBYC sailors attended, and we swept all divisions five deep, including Overall, with Benton Amthor finishing first, followed by Boyd Bragg, Gannon Troutman, Trent Levy and Guthrie Braun. On the same day the Laser Race Team raced at Cape May, New Jersey, at the Regional Qualifiers for the Singlehanded Chubb Championships. We placed five sailors in the top fifteen of the extremely competitive fleet, with Alexander Hanna winning the regatta! This qualifies Alexander to race at the Chubb Finals in August in Michigan.
The following week all three of our teams travelled together to Corsica River Yacht Club, in Centreville, Maryland, for the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Junior Olympics and Chesapeake Bay Open, held July 18th and 19th . Twenty-nine FBYC kids sailed, making us the largest team, and we placed sailors in all divisions and won the Opti Overall! Because they finished first and second overall, Boyd Bragg and Benton Amthor qualified to represent the entire Chesapeake Bay Region at the National Midget Regatta at Monmouth Boat Club in New Jersey in late August! In the Laser Radial Class, Alexander Hanna finished third, and we placed 10 boats in the top 16 of the very competitive 27 boat fleet.
After a week of practice at home, the teams split up, with the older Laser Race Team members trucking to the Hyannis Yacht Club Annual Regatta, in Massachusetts, on July 25th through 27th. Three of our oldest and most experienced Opti team members, Nicholas Lennarz, Boyd Bragg and Benton Amthor, also made the trip. In typical Cape Cod winds of 20 plus knots, Benton finished first Opti Overall, with Boyd fourth and Nicholas fifth out of a highly competitive 31 boat fleet! They were also first through third in the Red Fleet. In the Laser Radial Class, Alexander Hanna finished second, and all the FBYC sailors hung on in the giant winds and waves for great finishes.
Also on July 25th, back home our Opti Development Team was invited to an Opti only regatta at nearby Indian Creek Yacht Club. Fifteen Optis competed, with no class divisions. Five of our team members raced, and dominated! Quintin Levy finished first, Joshua Almany second and Michael Mason fifth!
The next day, July 26th, the Opti Development Team, Opti Race Team, and three of our youngest and newest Laser sailors, Garrett Levy, Ralph Levy and Jordan Bendura, raced at the Rappahannock River Yacht Club Annual Junior Regatta. FBYC had a total of 27 sailors racing, and we swept all divisions of Optis and Lasers with two exceptions, third and fifth in Opti Red! Guthrie Braun finished first Overall, Nathan Smith second, Trent Levy third, Ian Street fourth, and John Vail fifth. In the Laser Radial Class, Garrett finished first, Ralph second, and Jordan third, in a fleet of thirteen boats!
This week the Laser Race Team will race in Marion, Massachusetts, at the Buzzard Bay Annual Regatta, and the Opti Development Team will race at the Ware River Yacht Club’s Governor’s Cup, while the Opti Race Team will leave for the upcoming New England Opti Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.
Perhaps this is a good time to point out that none of the sailors and none of their families sail on the FBYC Race Team to win regattas. They sail on the team because it is fun, and it is an exciting way to spend the summer with friends and family while improving sailing skills. The sailors and their families have a blast every day playing together and exploring the different cities we visit. This year sailors and their families have eaten hot dogs at pro baseball games and raced go-carts and swum together at Cape Cod; toured New York City, Newport and Nantucket; visited the maritime museums at Mystic Seaport and St. Michaels; played games on the board walk at Cape May, New Jersey; taken dinner cruises and eaten at expensive and cheap restaurants with as many as 60 people in the party; played countless games of soccer and water polo; and have swum together on the Stove Point sandbar! In short, it is so much more than winning regattas. It is about having fun.
Following are the details of our recent regatta finishes:
Hampton Yacht Club Annual Junior Regatta (July 9)
Opti Overall First: Benton Amthor, Second: Boyd Bragg, Third: Gannon Troutman, Fourth: Trent Levy, Fifth: Guthrie Braun
Opti Red First: Benton Amthor, Second: Boyd Bragg, Third: Trent Levy
Opti Blue First: Gannon Troutman, Second: Guthrie Braun, Third: John Vail
Opti White First: Baylor Goldthwaite, Second: Madeline Amthor, Third: Reed McAllister
Chubb Qualifying Regatta (Lasers, 31 boats) (July 9)
First: Alexander Hanna, Fifth: Graeme Alderman
Chesapeake Bay Junior Olympics (July 18-19)
Laser Radial Third: Alexander Hanna (27 boats)
Opti Overall First: Boyd Bragg, Second: Benton Amthor, Fifth: John Vail, Six: Guthrie Braun (61 boats)
Opti Red First: Body Bragg, Second: Benton Amthor, Fourth: Trent Levy,
Opti Blue Third: John Vail, Fourth: Guthrie Braun
Opti White Second: Baylor Goldthwaite, Fourth: Josh Bendura
Hyannis Yacht Club Annual Regatta (July 25-27)
Laser Radial Second: Alexander Hanna (40 boats)
Opti Overall First: Benton Amthor, Fourth: Boyd Bragg, Fifth: Nicholas Lennarz (31 boats)
Opti Red First: Benton Amthor, Second: Boyd Bragg, Third: Nicholas Lennarz
Indian Creek Yacht Club Junior Regatta (Opti only, 15 boats) (July 25)
First: Quintin Levy, Second: Joshua Almany, Fifth: Michael Mason
Rappahannock River Yacht Club Annual Junior Regatta (July 26)
Laser Radial First: Garrett Levy, Second: Ralph Levy, Third: Jordan Bendura (13 boats)
Opti Overall First: Guthrie Braun, Second: Nathan Smith, Third: Trent Levy, Fourth: Ian Street, Fifth: John Vail (28 boats)
Opti Red First: Trent Levy, Second: Ian Street, Fourth: Alex Resio
Opti Blue First: Guthrie Braun, Second: Nathan Smith, Third: John Vail, Fourth: Gannon Troutman, Fifth: Morey Levy
Opti White First: Joshua Bendura, Second: Reed McAllister, Third: Logan Hayes, Fourth: Joshua Almany, Fifth: Walker Angus
Go FBYC!
Mark Hayes
Junior Division Commander
Tags: juniorraceteam