Walker Angus-First Place Opti Overall at Indian Creek Yacht & Country Club Annual Jr. Regatta

Opti and Laser Development Teams Bring Home the Hardware!

This past weekend, July 23rd through the 26th, was a rocking great time for the Opti and Laser Development Teams! It began Thursday with the teams practicing at the club, and then loading the coach boats and sailboats for the weekend’s first regatta, Indian Creek Yacht & Country Club’s Annual Junior Regatta, on Friday, in Kilmarnock.

The teams left early Friday morning, and as usual, the kids had plenty of nervous butterflies! But our coaches did a wonderful job smoothing out the usual problems and pumping up the sailors. Our kids did great! ODT member Walker Angus won first place in Optis, with his cousin Bo Angus in fifth, and sister Mae Wallace Angus in tenth! There were no fleet divisions at this regatta. In Laser Radials, we fielded a mixed team of members from the Opti and Laser Race Teams who are transitioning to Lasers from Optis, as well as our regular Laser Development Team. Gannon Troutman took first place, Jackson Montague was second, Nicolas Cabell was third, and his brother, Jack Cabell was fourth. We also had three Green Fleet racers, John Thomas Mason, Alexander Moor and William Shaner. It was a clean sweep for FBYC!

That evening the teams took the boats to their next regatta, at nearby Irvington, for the Rappahannock River Yacht Club Annual Junior Regatta. We had even more ODT/LDT members at this regatta, and again, we had outstanding results! In this regatta they only presented awards for the Opti age fleets, with no Opt Overall. Walker Angus was first in White Fleet, with Bo Angus third, and Georgia Wensell in fourth. In Blue Fleet, Mae Wallace Angus was second, sailing with a badly sprained ankle and boot! Third in Blue was Michael Mason, Lucas Casati was Fourth, and Eleanor Patterson was fifth. In Radials, Gannon Troutman was first, Jackson Montague was second, Nicholas Cabell was sixth, and Jack Cabell was seventh. Our Green Fleet members, joined by Lila Casati, also raced.

Again, our coaches did a wonderful job coaching and supporting our team members. Early in the regatta the Race Committee at RRYC was preparing to disqualify most of our team for crossing the start/finish line prior to finishing in several races. But Coach Austin politely intervened on the team’s behalf and pointed out that the Sailing Instructions did not state that the Start/Finish line was closed, and no change was posted! Austin knew this because he had carefully reviewed the SIs and courses with the teams that morning.

ODT & LDT practice Sunday, July 26

The tired teams returned home to FBYC late Saturday, but with a lot of trophies rolling around on the floorboards’ of their parents’ cars!

You would think that the kids would have wanted Sunday off, given they had just raced in two regattas, but NO. Ten Optis and two Lasers showed up for practice on Sunday! With the two teams practicing, Private Lessons underway, the adult Lasers racing in the second of the Club’s Laser series; and the Laser Race Team loading their trailer and leaving for the North Americans in North Carolina, Sunday looked like a mini-Junior Week at FBYC!

In addition to our great coaches, our parents want to especially thank the Team Coordinator, Steve Sparkman, for running such a wonderful program and keeping the wheels on the bus! It is difficult for even experienced “soccer parents” to imagine the work that goes into organizing a junior race team, and Steve is running two at the same time!

The Development Teams will race next at the Governor’s Cup at Ware River Yacht Club on August 1.

In next week’s Junior Newsletter look for detailed reports on our other team’s adventures at the USODA Opti Nationals in Florida, the Laser Nationals in New Jersey, and the Laser North Americans in Manteo, North Carolina, which is currently underway. Spoiler alert: our team finished 8th overall at the Opti National Team Racing Championship, two of our sailors finished 8th and 15th overall at the Opti National Fleet Championship, and one of our Laser sailors finished 6th in the Silver Fleet at Laser Nationals!

The following is a listing of ODT/LDT’s recent finishes:

Indian Creek Yacht & Country Club Annual Jr. Regatta (July 24) Opti Overall (no divisions) First: Walker Angus; Fifth: Bo Angus; Tenth: Mae Wallace Angus; Green Fleet Participants: John Thomas Mason; Alexander Moore; William Shaner; Laser Radial First: Gannon Troutman; Second: Jackson Montague; Third: Nicholas Cabell; Fourth: Jack Cabel

Rappahannock River Yacht Club Annual Jr. Regatta (July 25) Opti Overall Second: Walker Angus; Fourth: Mae Wallace Angus; Fifth: Michael Mason Opti Blue Second: Mae Wallace Angus; Third: Michael Mason; Fourth: Lucas Casati; Fifth: Eleanor Patterson Opti White First: Walker Angus; Third: Bo Angus; Fourth: Georgia Wensell Green Fleet Participants: Lila Casati, John Thomas Mason; Alexander Moore; William Shaner; Laser Radial First: Gannon Troutman; Second: Jackson Montague; Fifth: Nicholas Cabell; Seventh: Jack Cabell