LYC Juniors Have Successful Start
to Winter Circuit
Winter 2011
Sisters Claudia and Amanda Taselaar blast upwind at International
420 Worlds. Photo courtesy Matias Capizzano
While most junior sailors in the northeast have put their boats away for the winter, several LYC juniors have been traveling to regattas in warmer climates across the globe, from the southern United States to the southern hemisphere, including three world championships over Christmas vacation.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, 230 junior sailors from around the US congregated on Lake Pontchartrain to begin the winter circuit with the USODA Optimist Midwinter Championship. The regatta, held at Southern YC in New Orleans, is the qualifier for the 2011 spring international Optimist regattas. Harry Koeppel finished ninth, Matt Kaplan 13th, Ty Ingram 16th, Drew Gallagher 22nd, Jack Budill 44th, Chrissie Klingler 56th, Elizabeth Hansen 107th and Eric Hansen 181st. Given their high finishes at Opti Midwinters, Matt Kaplan qualified to represent the United States at the IODA South American Championship, which will be held in Algarrobo, Chile in mid April. Drew Gallagher qualified to represent the United States at the Lake Garda Optimist Meeting in early April. Results.
Several juniors then trekked to Miami for the annual Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta, hosted by Coral Reef YC between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Orange Bowl is one of the largest youth regattas in the country, with 665 juniors competing in six different classes. Ty Ingram had his best-ever finish at an international regatta, placing 4th overall in the 218-boat Optimist division. Drew Gallagher finished 15th, Matt Kaplan 22nd, Chrissie Klingler 64th, and Kate Koeppel 190th. Two of LYC’s 420 teams also made the trip, shaking off rust in the first four races, to finish strongly, with Casey Klingler/Julia Rew placing 29th, and Thomas and John Gallagher 42nd, out of 104 teams. Results.
Ty Ingram accepts his Orange Bowl trophy in warrior garb.
While competing at various world championships several other LYC juniors rang in the New Year abroad. Harry Koeppel became the first-ever LYC sailor to compete at the Optimist World Championship, held December 28 to January 8, in Langkawi, Malaysia. The event featured 231 of the world’s best junior sailors competing in a primarily light-air event. The worlds marked one of the best-ever showings for the United States Optimist Team as a whole, as the team placed fourth overall in Nations Cup. Koeppel rebounded from a slow start to score two top ten finishes in the 15-race series, but his overall result was hampered by a disqualification in race 11 that moved him down nearly 20 places to finish 105th. Results.
Three other teams traveled to Argentina in doublehanded classes. The International 420 World Championships were contested from December 30 to January 5 in Buenos Aires and were marked by high winds and stiff chop. Reinier Eenkema van Dijk teamed with Spencer McDonough to finish 45th in the open fleet, and sisters Claudia and Amanda Taselaar finished 27th in the ladies’ fleet. Results. Farther south on the Argentine coast, brothers Andrew and Matthew Mollerus teamed up to compete in the 29er World Championship in Mar del Plata, which was their first-ever 29er regatta. Seeing the same early January winds that greeted the International 420 fleet, the brothers steadily improved each day to place 10th in the silver fleet, 35th out of 60 overall and 7th among youth teams. Results.
Brothers Andrew and Matthew Mollerus prepare to gybe down a
wave in Argentina at 29er Worlds. Photo courtesy Matias Capizzano
Finally, over Martin Luther King Day weekend, several Optimist sailors flew back to Florida to compete in the USODA Midwinter Team Race Championship. After three days of intense competition among 19 teams, Team LISOT “Black” won the 2011 title with LYCers Drew Gallagher and Ty Ingram among the four skippers. Impressively, Team LISOT “Black” lost only one race over the entire event. Matt Kaplan sailed as part of Team LISOT “Blue”, finishing 4th. With the win, Ingram, Gallagher, and the rest of their teammates will travel to Venice, Italy in May to compete in the 25th annual Marco Rizzotti European Team Race Championship. Results.
