Young Sailing Stars Shine at MLK Regatta
Tomorrow’s sailing talent shone brightly at the Martin Luther King Day Optimist & 420 Regatta, held out of the St. Thomas Yacht Club, January 15 to 16. Not only did skilled junior sailors excel, but also there were several newcomers that sailed well portending an ‘optimistic’ future for the sport.
St. Thomas’ Taylor Canfield and Nathan Rosenberg were two practiced sailors who aced the 420 class with nothing but a string of bullets and one second place score, once throw-outs were discarded.
“I only sail 420s now and Nate’s been my crew for awhile,” said Canfield, who skippered the two-man dinghy. “Another team almost had us today, but we were able to pull away and really fly on the reaches. It was fun sailing this regatta with spinnakers. They definitely make the boat go faster.”
In the Optimist class, St. Thomas’ Ian Barrows bested a field of ten other competitors with counted scored no lower than a third. “I liked the lighter winds of the first day best,” said Barrows, who placed second in White Fleet and 28th out of 215 total Optimist sailors at the prestigious Orange Bowl Regatta, sailed December 27 to 30, out of the Coral Reef Yacht Club, Miami, Florida.
Finally, in the beginner Green Fleet, it was St. John’s Aspen Moore who led the pack. “This was only my second regatta,” said Moore. “But, I sail every weekend with KATS and then when lessons are over, I usually go out in a Sunfish and sail with my dad. The toughest thing is figuring which way the wind is going, but I’m getting the hang of it.”
The Green Fleet boasted a healthy ten sailors, who by the looks of the competition, will all be poised as future Opti and 420 stars of the future.
OPTIMISTS
RED FLEET
1. Alec Anderson, RBVIYC (24)
BLUE FLEET
1. Ian Barrows, STYC (15)
2. Nikki Barnes, STYC (34)
3. William Bailey, STYC (42)
4. Alex Coyle, STYC (42)
5. Billy Gibbons, SCYC (46)
6. Christopher Cilliers, STYC (67)
WHITE FLEET
1. Alec Tayler, STYC (27)
2. Challis Diaz, SCYC (73)
3. Mac Bryan, SCYC (76)
GREEN FLEET
1. Aspen Moore, KATS St. John (8)
2. Nicholas Gartner, STYC (17)
3. Abel Phillips, KATS St. John (22)
4. Coral Bruening, KATS St. John (25)
5. Joszi Nemeth, KATS St. John (36)
6. Kule Brego, KATS St. John (47)
7. Addison Hackstaff, STYC (54)
8. Adam Chan, KATS St. John (60)
9. Tyler Percell, STYC (64)
10. Tristan Miller, STYC (79)
420s
1. Taylor Canfield and Nathan Rosenberg, STYC (9)
2. Cy Thompson and Rian Bareuther, STYC (19)
3. Thomas Barrows and Hugo Roller, STYC (20)
4. Jae Tonachell and Mack Bryan, SCYC (22)
5. Mimi Roller and Sydney Jones, STYC & SCYC (43)
6. Olin Davis and Zach Trahan, STYC & KATS (45)
7. Tyler Rice and Max Nickbarg, STYC (48)
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