We’ve been busy this fall!  Our kids have flown our colors in junior regattas from New Jersey to Maryland to Georgia, as well as practicing on Fishing Bay.  In our last report in September we covered the USODA Southeastern Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, so we will pick up from there:

After the Southeastern’s, the team travelled with coach David Tunnicliffe to Brant Island Yacht Club, New Jersey, for the Opti ACCs on October 11 and 12.  Conditions could not have contrasted more with the lake conditions they experienced in September in Atlanta.  It was windy, cold and rainy!  The first day the RC postponed for two hours due to high winds.  The racing started in a steady 18 knots with gusts over 20, and by the last race of the very long day, was steady at 20-25 knots, with three foot waves and two knots of current.  Sunday was a lot better, with sunny skies and 15 knot winds, although still VERY COLD.   Out team performed wonderfully against some of the top Opti sailors in the Northeast, and all of our sailors stuck it out in the brutal conditions.  There were 223 Opti sailors from across the country, and many were unable to finish races both days due to the conditions, with many retiring after capsizes.  Our sailors had outstanding results, and none withdrew from the regatta.  Overall, Boyd Bragg was 67th; Ian Street 73rd; John Vail 88th; Gannon Troutman 117th; Will Street 163rd; and Reese Bragg was164th.

The accommodations were a lot better than the water and air temps-the team rented a big beach cottage where they cooked steaks on the grill Saturday night for our friends from the Annapolis Yacht Club team.  A great time-and a great experience-was had by all.  Thank goodness the kids had Monday off for Columbus Day!

AYC Opti Halloween Howl

On October 25 and 26 the team raced in the Annapolis Yacht Club Opti Halloween Howl, the last stop in the  2014 CBYRA High Points Series.  FBYC had 10 members racing.  Despite the Halloween costume party Saturday after racing, the competition was fierce, drawing very experienced racers.  Both Saturday and Sunday saw tempatures in the mid-60s and were beautiful, sunny days.  Saturday had shifty winds gusting to the low teens; but Sunday saw steady winds in the upper teens with gusts approaching 30 knots.  The Severn was streaked with whitecaps, with numerous adults in Stars and J-70s being towed in with busted gear.  Our kids hung tough in the wild conditions.  It was certainly reassuring for the parents to see Coach Tunnicliffe in the big red FBYC Zodiac RIB bashing through the waves and spray to bring our kids-and a few extra-back to shore safely!  We had outstanding finishes from all of our tough racers!  Overall, Boyd Bragg was 4th, John Vail 8th, Ian Street 10th, and Gannon Troutman 11th out of the 46 Optis; in Red Fleet Boyd Bragg was 1st, Ian Street 2nd, Jaden Jones 10th, and Alex Resio was 11th; in the large Blue Feet John Vail was 8th, Gannon Troutman 9th, and Ren Moody was 16th; in White Fleet Josh Bendura was 2nd, Reed McAllister was 4th, and Logan Hayes was 6th.    

High School Sailing

The St. Christopher and St. Catherine High School sailing team has continued to rack up impressive finishes across Southern Virginia, with regattas at Hampton, Norfolk and Christ Church.  Pictured above are two of our Laser Race Team sailors, Nathaniel Llewelyn and Ralph Levy.  We have provided our 420s, coach boats, and numerous skippers and crew to the team.  The team is coached by FBYC Past Commodore and Junior Week Instructor, Mike Karn.

Coming Up:  Two of our sailors will be racing in Washington State in the Cressy Singlehanded Championships next weekend, and we are making plans to send the Opti Team to the USODA Mid-Winters over Thanksgiving in New Orleans.  Look for upcoming reports!