REGATTA RESULTS

NAPLES CUP 2011

Four wins from ten starts and another young sailor rose through the junior ranks of Upper Keys Sailing Club - to lead the charge and almost steal the show at The Naples Cup Regatta this weekend......

This time it was 9 year old Alex Gonzalez, the club's newest member, who started the regatta with two firsts right out of the box and then added a couple more just for good measure before finishing second overall in a Green Fleet of 61 sailors!

But that's not all this little band of waterworld warriors served up. In 4th was Kevin Merten, fresh from his 2nd place at the River Romp in Fort Myers,  who add another race win of his own. In 7th we had Ethan Osborne, 12th was Briana Wilson and rounding out the top half was Frank Garcia-Montes - another truly incredible performance from the Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program's Green Fleet sailors who were rarely out of the top 10.

Over on the all-pro Red, White and Blue course, boasting 95 boats in Naples,  a familiar story was developing as our latest crop of breakthrough talent made big gains to startle the competition once in a while.  Emma Marsden finished the first day 11th in Blue and enjoyed sailing alongside and sometimes ahead of World Team members while her younger sister Ella finished 7th overall in White.  Ryan Guth had his moments and so too did Alexander Ohrmundt and Olivia Gonzalez who jostled for position on a busy starting line that in one sequence required six general recalls before the Race Committee finally resorted to a Zulu Black Flag and instant disqualification to restore order. So tough is the competition here that everything hinges on a fast, clean start.

You can feel the sailor's confidence building - a good sign so early in the season - and though the children regrettably said their "goodbyes" to longtime Coach Karen Tone who is leaving UKSC for the mainland, they all have plenty of momentum to carry their current form forward into the next regatta - the US Junior Olympic Sailing Festival, at Jensen Beach.

Junior Sailing is really taking off in the Keys as it rightfully should. With the onset of winter up north we suddenly feel fortunate to be surrounded by turquoise water, warm winds and the opportunity to excel at a sport ideally suited to our climate and location.

Anyone interested in Youth Sailing can contact Dominic Marsden, Director of the Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program at Upper Keys Sailing Club. Our sailors range in age from 8 - 13 years and sail Optimist dinghies until age 15.

TEAM RACING AT LAUDERDALE YACHT CLUB

Winning four races and fighting tooth and nail for recognition in everything from light and squiggly to blustery 20 knot gusts, Upper Keys Sailing Club's Youth Team put the Conch Republic firmly on the map in the VI International Team Racing Trophy at Lauderdale Yacht Club this weekend.

Staring down World Team sailors and the best the rest of the East Coast has to offer, it was a daunting experience for our little Keys' group in their first ever Team Racing event. But after shaking off the jitters of a first race defeat the Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program stalwarts went on to win the next four races in a row and rise high in the rankings.

Putting two Coral Reef Yacht Club teams behind them plus representatives from Naples and beyond, our kids came upon some muscle-bound contenders on Day 2. The fairy-tale ending was not be written this time; but the experience gained bodes well for a giant-killing sequel next year as the team of Ryan Guth, Alex Ohrmundt, Olivia Gonzalez and sisters Emma and Ella Marsden re-group.

Stopped in their tracks just before a semi-final date with destiny, the sailors got to watch two of the best teams in the USA duel for honors in the star-studded final round which was eventually won by the home club's LYC 1 team.

Our youth team coach and former world-ranked Optimist sailor, Edgar Diminich said: "We sailed well when you consider the children only practiced Team Racing for a week. We are a very young team moving very fast."

HANK GARTNER HALLOWEEN REGATTA AT UKSC

Congratulations to all our youth sailors for an incredible turnout in the 2nd Annual Hank Gartner Halloween Regatta. We had 17 boats on the water and 17 winners in my book.

Coach Karen puts it best in this awesome video she shot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATD_p_moTiM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

I know it's hard to feel that way when the blisters on your fingers start popping at the end of those brutal weather legs but when the sun shines again 15 knots will feel like light air and our fleet will jump forward from the experience. Great job on the water everyone!

First overall on the day was Olivia Gonzalez who sailed an exceptional regatta. Tied on points with Blue Fleet stalwart Ryan Guth, Olivia won the tiebreaker with two firsts and a fourth as opposed a first, second and third for Ryan. Her boat was flat, she was fully hiked and surging strongly through the Buttonwood chop.

Ryan slowly improved as the day got longer and took first in the last race to tie things up. And in third place was Chris Slosar making a guest appearance with the Opti fleet. Chris nudged out Alexander Ohrmundt, another heavy-weather specialist, to prevent the MSYSP RWB 1,2,3 sweep. But close on their heels and tied with Alexander was our fastest Green fleet sailor Kevin Merten who seems to be carrying the flag these days.

Amid the capsizes and tears we had some brave little battlers, most who weight less than a bag of pea rock, fighting to come to grips with the 20+ knot gusts. After an inexplicably long first race they were just about done but tried valiantly to pluck up courage for two more.

I wish there was a trophy for everyone but just take a look at the video over and over and remember that line. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
It's a testament to every sailor out there. Again, congratulations!

RIVER ROMP REGATTA 2011

Upper Keys Sailing Club continued its domination of Green Fleet at the River Romp Regatta in Fort Myers October 15 & 16, 2011. Our sailors have won this prestigious event the past two years.

This year five out of our six sailors placed in the top twelve in a fleet of 103 boats - four in the top ten - and enough that it became comical at the prize giving when award after award went to Upper Keys Sailing Club. 

Our biggest winner, Kevin Merten, was 2nd overall and should have secured first place when a protest lodged against a parent/coach of the eventual winner was rejected. Had it been carried, Kevin would have claimed the regatta by two points.

Regardless, our Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Program sailors all competed like champions on a blustery weekend that saw crashes, capsizes, breakdowns and 25 knot gusts decimate the fleet of youngsters all aged between eight and 15. UKSC won four of the seven races and had second place finishes in two of the other three. Briana Wilson, in just her second regatta ever, finished sixth overall, Alex Gonzalez 8th, Ethan Osborne 10th, Caroline Althouse 12th.

Frank Garcia-Montes who was in 9th place at one stage finally finished 32nd, but spent much of the weekend looking backwards in amazement at the number of sails behind him.  When Frank looks forward everyone needs to look out!

Remember, most of our US Olympic Champions hail from or train in South Florida and this was a US Junior Olympic event. Competition at all levels is stiff to say the least and the children's coach, Karen Tone, deserves special credit for her commitment to the best little sailing program outside the mega-yacht clubs of Fort Lauderdale and Coral Reef in Miami.

Mark my words, someday some of these children will become household names in the world of sailing and at this stage in the game it could be any one of them.

Over on the Red, White and Blue course our two hold-over sailors from last year both enjoyed excellent finishes as Bryce Tone sailed to a fantastic 7th overall in White Fleet and Ryan Guth, despite disqualification from his last race, finished a personal best 16th out of 40 in Blue.

USA Team sailor Sean Brennan, who sails part-time at UKSC and also competes for Coral Reef in Miami, finished sixth overall and third in Blue, leading the charge as our newcomers to this "all-pro" fleet registered some credible performances of their own as the event rolled on.

While there were 258 boats and crew in all,  Olivia Gonzalez, Emma Marsden, Alexander Ohrmundt and Ella Marsden enjoyed rubbing shoulders with the elite in Optimist world sailing and will chalk this one up to experience as they look forward to their next regatta, The Naples Cup, November 12-13.

As the children say, "UKSC rocks!" and here we have a group of sailors that just keep rocking from one regatta to the next.