US Laser & Radial Qualifiers –Last Chance Regatta

by Event media on 17 Sep 2007 Nine men and seven women have qualified for the US Olympic Sailing Team Trials from the Last Chance Qualifier held at Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, CT. They join the others previously qualified (24 men and 15 women) at the Olympic Sailing Trials in Newport, RI on October 3-14.

Three races were held on Friday in 8-11 knots from the southeast, and three more were contested on Saturday in a shifty northwest wind of 15-22 with higher gusts. Sunday's one race was abandoned when the breeze vanished.

Royce Weber from Surf City, NJ and the US Naval Academy dominated the Men's Event with four bullets, while Reguli Granger, age 16, from St. Petersburg, FL edged former Laser North American Champion Susie Pegel (age: Laser Master) from Williams Bay WI. Cedar Point fielded a 23-person RC team, headed by US Sailing Regional Race Officer Eric Robbins, running full Olympic trapezoids, supervised by International Judge Sandy Grosvenor and her team.

Since three men and one women declined to go on to the Trials, Weber will be joined by Jerry Tullo (Staten Island, NY), Christopher Branning (Sarasota, FL), Mattia D'Errico (Kenah, TX), Ian Sutherland (Toms River, NJ), Jon Singsen (Old Greenwich, NJ), Ben Leibowitz (Stamford, CT), Brian Raney (Port Chester, NY), and Paul Craine (Weston, CT). Granger is joined by Chloe Palmer (Sioux City, IA), Katie Smith (Newport, RI), Laura Windecker (W. Kingston, RI), Renee Gagne (Darien, CT), Callie Naughton (Marblehead, MA), and Alec Payne (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). Nine of these 16 qualifiers are teenagers!

The Laser and Laser Radial Olympic Trials will run from October 3rd through October 14th 2007. Racing will be held in Newport, Rhode Island and lots of competitors are already there practicing. If you are eligible to race, make sure that you get your registration form in to US Sailing.