USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival at Pensacola Yacht Club - Overall

Local sailor Gil Hackel (USA 21447) had the race of the day in the Optimist Class taking a come from behind victory in the only race completed - 2018 USA Junior Olympics © William Striege

Naming the Overall winner in the Optimist Fleet at Pensacola Yacht Club's USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival-Gulf Coast- came down to the final leg of the final race. At the end of the day there was a three-way tie between Jackson Macaulay, Gil Hackel and Truman Rogers, each with eight points.

In the three races that were completed for the regatta, Macaulay had scores of 5, 2, 1. Hackel had 1, 5, 2 and Rogers had 4, 1, 3. Since two of the three had two first places Rogers was automatically third. For Macaulay the win came in the last race by first to Hackel's second. Principal Race Officer Hal Smith got in double yesterday's single race before the fleet was chased ashore by another thunderstorm like Saturday.

Macaulay sails out of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, Hackel is a local Pensacola Yacht Club boy. All of the top three train with the Lake Ontario Optimist Team (LOOT).

The day started out with one morning race a light air struggler into an east wind on Pensacola Bay. As the committee tried to get another race off the wind began its southward shift into the afternoon southerly sea breeze causing a postponement. The course was reset. Then two starts were delayed by shifts and one canceled by a general recall as the current swept the whole fleet southward across the start line.

After finally getting a good start under a black flag, Macaulay and Hackel locked up in a dual that lasted all the way around the four-leg trapezoid course, the same course type that will be used in the Optimist Nationals in Pensacola July 13-22. At the reach mark Hackel took the inside route and the boys were dead even going downwind. From there it was a battle of tacks and gybes to the finish with Macaulay taking the horn.

In the Green Fleet which is for fun beginners racing, Claire Hackel was unofficially first with scores of 1, 1, [9DNF], 2, 1 for 5 points. Hailey Ward came second with 2, 3, 1, 1, [5] for 7 points and Sean Cruthirds was third with 3, 2, [4], 3, 3 for 11 points. There were 27 in the overall championship Optis and eight in Green Fleet. Ward and Hackel are from Pensacola Yacht Club and Cruthirds is from Mobile.

In the eight-boat Laser Radial fleet Matthew Dupuy of Pontchartrain Yacht Club had a 1, 2, 2 score for 5 points, James Simkins scored 2, 3, 1 for 6 points and Addison Jones has a 3, 1, 4 for 8 points. Simkins and Jones sailed out of PYC.

Emily Alfortish and Scott Sonnier of Southern Yacht Club led the five Club 420's 1, 1, 2 for 4 points. Claire Housey and Mallory Edwards came second with 2, 2, 1 for 5 points. Liam Bishop and Parker French were third with 4, 3, 3 for 10 points.

All the results are posted at PYC JO Results.