JSYT: Regatta Reports

Boys' World Youth Qualifier, Clay Johnson

It was Friday, February 12, the day before this year's World Youth
Qualifier, and sailors had already started to unload boats. Laser and 420
competitors from all across the country, as well as from Canada, had come to
this regatta in Miami, FL, but only one boat on each course would be
considered a winner. Those skippers would qualify for the ISAF Boys' World
Youth Championship to be sailed in Finland this summer. Some people had
started to rig boats while others practiced on the water. Everyone was
trying to tune their boat just right. With three days of racing coming up in
what looked to be a windy regatta, everything had to be perfect.
The first day of the regatta saw winds of about 12-16 knots, with a little
chop and small waves mixed in. The overly anxious teens caused a few
general recalls, but after a while, race one began on the Laser course. The
heavyweights quickly took their position in the front of the fleet, allowing
downwind to be the only time for the lighter kids to catch up. Race one
ended with JSYT's Clay Johnson in 5th; Streett Silvestri, sailing his worst
race of the regatta, in 9th, and Billy Jorch in 20th, in what was an
extremely close downwind finish where nearly 15 boats went through the
finish line at once. After a lengthy lunch, races two and three soon
formatted into almost the same races as the first one: moderate winds in
the same shifty direction. It seemed, for the most part, that the leaders
were above 175 pounds. The one exception was 172-pounder Andrew Lewis, from
Hawaii whose exceptional downwind surfing skills had positioned him in first
place after day one.
Day two began at 9:30 in the morning. The eager race committee wanted to
get off four races that day, each a windward-leeward, twice around. The
wind started at about 15 knots and built to a steady 18 knots the last race.
The only difference was that the wind was farther right on the second day.
With the wind farther right, the upwinds became a little less shifty, and it
turned into a game of weight and whoever wanted it more. Kudos to Silvestri
for ending this heavy air day with a 1-4-2, putting him in 4th overall going
into the last day. Because of the length of races on the second day,
sailors were in and de-rigged by 2:30, allowing plenty of time to re-gather
strength and check out the Grove.
The third and final day began as scheduled: 10:00 first start. After
drifting halfway out and hearing shouts of, "It's gonna be a pinner day," a
strong breeze line suddenly filled in. It turned out to be flat water with
a few oscillating shifts. The breeze was a little farther right than the
day before, creating fewer sudden shifts. By the time the first race
started, the wind had picked up to about 12-14 knots, where it stayed all
day. This day would consist of three races, in order to get the sailors in
before one. Each race on the third day proved to be favored for those who
went closer to shore each leg, especially downwind. The second race of the
day was a disappointment for some: Johnson was in third, one hundred yards
to the finish when he death rolled. As the third race began, some sailors
noticed that this was the only start that was sailed under an individual
recall. Those who went back included JSYT's Silvestri and Zack Railey from
Florida. As the race unfolded, the left side obviously became favored as
Johnson came up to the windward mark in first place. Silvestri, who had
circled back at the start, was now in a boat-catching mood, and had moved up
to the top ten. Nearing the finish line, Johnson was overtaken by the
regatta winner, Andrew Lewis, to get second. Silvestri, whose excuse was
that he wanted to see how many boats he couldn't catch in a race, finished
fifth. Nice comeback, Streett! The regatta ended as tired sailors reached
into the docks to pack up. It was obvious to those who sailed and watched
that the top sailors were all excellent in heavy air and had mastered their
downwind skills. Andrew Lewis ended up winning by thirteen points over Jon
Benskin from Canada. New Jersey's Streett Silvestri took 4th, Clay Johnson
12th, and Billy Jorch ended up 20th. Excellent job to all who raced, and
now we know what we have to work on: HEAVY AIR AND DOWNWIND.
On the 420 course, Chris Ashley, with crew Ricky Lang, took a very
impressive second place finish overall. The lost to ex-opti star, Cardwell
Potts. They will be the alternates for the Youth Worlds if Potts decides
not to go. Great job, Chris and Ricky! Graham Mergenthaler and crew Chad
Hillyer were also there. Even though it was Graham's first 420 regatta, he
sailed very well and looks to be a key player in upcoming events. Good job
too, Graham and Chad.
And so this year's World Youth Qualifier ended with the Jersey Shore Youth
Team sailors all doing well. See you in the spring!

'98 Orange Bowl - 420, Brittany Maschal

The Coconut Grove Sailing Club hosted the C420 and Full Rig Laser fleets
at this years Orange Bowl regatta. Twenty-six teams competed in the C420
fleet. Collegiate sailors Kevin Teborak and Tal Ingram, just back from the
470 worlds, dominated the regatta with 6 bullets to finish in first place.
Seth Siegler finished 2nd with Danny Pletsch and crew Jen Spark in 3rd.
Youth team sailors Brittany Maschal and Sam Sutter finished 5th overall and
Thomas Allison was 8th. There were six races over 3 days with conditions
that were light on the first two days and medium on the last.

1- K. Teborak 1-1-1-1-1-1
2- S. Siegler 8-3-10-3-2-4
3- D. Pletsch 6-5-3-12-6-3
4- J. Papanek 4-2-19-5-5-8
5- B. Maschal 2-13-2-8-4-17
6- C. Libby
7- C. Vantol
8- T. Allison
9- D. Bessler
10- N. Reuter
11- L. Sackett
12- W. Gilmore
13- J. Pasquali
14- A. Blom
15- A. Schmidt