US Optimist National Championships - Sunshine state shines early

by Rich Roberts on 24 Jul 2009
Shifting the sailing in the US Optimist National Championships from protected waters to the added challenges of the open ocean, defending champion Christopher Williford and Axel Sly were in their element Thursday.

The Floridian rivals handled it all---5 knots starting the first of three races to 14 knots by the finish of the last race---and quickly separated themselves from the rest of the 164 boats on the first day of the National Championship phase of the regatta hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. Sailing in opposite fleets, Williford, 14, of Fort Lauderdale, notched a score line of 2-4-2 finishes while Sly, 15, of Weston, Fla., was 3-4-2, by far the two most consistent performances of the day.

Their nearest rivals were yet another Sunshine Stater, Nic Muller, 12, of Ft. Pierce, and Holly Tullo, the 15-year-old from Staten Island, N.Y., who won the Girls Championship a day earlier. Each has 21 points.

Muller achieved something the others didn't---he won a race---but consistency paid. Williford and Sly were the only ones without a double-digit finish.

Andy Widmeier, 12, of Pipersville, Pa, won the day's first race. That was followed by a 12th and a 50th, but he enjoyed the moment with an on-the-water interview on Sailgroove.org, which is doing live video of the regatta over the Internet.

Asked by host Chris Love if he wanted to say hello to anyone back home, Widmeier exclaimed, 'Hi, dad. I just won a race!'

A minute later his dad e-mailed back to Love's on-board laptop, 'That's my boy!'

Ah, the magic of the Internet. And by the way, Widmeier's older sister Maddie, 14, finished 10th in the Girls Championship. That's her dad's girl.

Williford's twin brother Duncan was in 21st place.

The races were run around a modified windward-leeward-windward course measuring 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 miles in total length. Principal race officer Bill Stump of California Yacht Club in nearby Marina del Rey would have liked to run four races Thursday, but unusually light and fluky air delayed the start of racing for an hour.

The total fleet was split arbitrarily for easier management, and the group designated Purple started 20 minutes ahead of the Yellow. The plan worked well to keep them out of each other's way.

A larger problem was a strong downwind tidal current, which had not been a problem inside the breakwater for the Team Racing and Girls Championship the first four days.

But Thursday it was a nightmare at the two windward marks, causing chaos for about a third of the racers who played the layline too fine and wound up either embracing the inflatable marks---an offense whistled by the on-water umpires requiring a penalty turn---or having to do two extra tacks to get around at all.

Racing ended at about 5:30 p.m. Stump hoped to run three more Friday—six total would kick in a discard option---and proceed into the last two days with the fleet realigned into two groups: Gold for the top scoring boats and Silver for the others. Scores from the first two days will carry over.

Live video of the racing may be viewed daily at Sailgroove.org

Results: click here
IODA: click here
USODA: click here