Congrats to JC Hermus and Thomas Rice for qualifying to represent the US Opti Class at the IODA South American Championships next Spring in Brazil. The whole team is proud of both of you, keep up the good work.
Author Archives: sailstrong
Midwinters Wrap-up
SailStrong sailors spent most of Thanksgiving week down in New Orleans at Southern Yacht Club for the USODA Midwinters, which this year was the qualifier for the Spring international teams for US Opti sailing. The sailing was tough with two days of very light air followed by shifty and choppy conditions on the third and last day. We had 21 sailors attending the regatta as well as Scott Norman and Leigh Kempton helping me out with the coaching. The kids worked hard and the team came away with some great results. JC Hermus was consistent throughout finishing 3rd overall and 2nd in Blue Fleet of the 210 boats sailing, qualifying for his second South American Championship. Thomas Rice had a tough last day and fell from 5th to 14th overall and 3rd in Blue Fleet, but still an outstanding performance. Gray Benson was our third boat in the Top 25 at 23rd place. Our youngest sailors continued their strong performances from earlier in the Fall taking 6 of the top 8 spots in White Fleet, lead by a guest member, Rayne Duff, of the British Virgin Islands. In a telling sign of the depth of the group 12 of our 21 sailors finished in the top half with a few others just outside. Way to go everyone and keep up the hard work!
Midwinters here we come
We finished up our pre-Midwinters training this past weekend with 20 sailors on the water in Maryland and 5 more in New York. 23 kids are prepared and excited to be heading down to Southern Yacht Club for Thanksgiving.
Congrats to JC on a great performance at IODA North Americans
JC Hermus finishes 17th of 150 boats at Opti North American’s at Valle de Bravo, Mexico. He also was part of the USA 1 team that won the North American Team Racing Championship. Way to go JC!
Good Luck at North Americans JC!
All of SailStrong is wishing JC Hermus a good regatta at the IODA North American Championships in Valle de Bravo, Mexico next week. Sail fast, have fun.
Here is a link to the event website.
Fun day of sailing on the first windy Fall day
USODA Atlantic Coast Champs & Team Race
A great weekend on Long Beach Island! After a light day for practice Friday, Saturday brought 18+ knots and big chop to Barnegat Bay. Our kids had a solid day with 22 of our 24 sailors finishing all the races while much of the fleet retired early. Sunday was lighter and much colder. The conditions were shifty and much flatter water than on Saturday. The RC did a great job getting in 7 races over the two days.
Our team highlights for the fleet race were 1st and 5th in Blue Fleet, 4 of the top 5 and 5 of top 10 in White Fleet, and 19 of out 24 sailors in the top half of a large and competitive 224 boat fleet.
On Monday after the fleet race was over, Little Egg Harbor YC hosted a one day Team Race with 12 teams in attendance. In a competitive group our Red team had only 2 losses and won the regatta, and our Blue team finished 6th. Fun to see the group as a whole improving with their team work and understanding of the team racing game.
Nice job to all the sailors in both events.
420 Clinics
We will be hosting two 420 clinics in the upcoming months in a continued effort to add 420 sailing to our program. October 21st and 28th we will sail from Bellport Bay YC. Please contact for more details. If you are without a boat and/or partner we will find one for you.
USODA South East Champs
Thomas Rice wins the 2012 SE Champs held at Camp Seagull in North Carolina!
Camp Seagull was a great host for the regatta and we got in 6 races over the two days in winds from 5-12 knots and flat water with a surprising amount of current. The turnout for the event was great, with 90+ boats from all over the east coast. The whole SailStrong contingent had a successful showing with 2 sailors in the top 10, 4 in the top 15, 3 of the top 5 Blue Fleet, and 4 of the top 5 in White Fleet. Way to go everyone!
Thomas Rice 1st Overall, 1st Blue Fleet, Maddie Hawkins 6th Overall, 1st White Fleet, Porter Kavle 11th, 3rd Blue, Brendan Little 13th, 5th Blue, Jake Vickers 14th, Sam Bruce 17th, 2nd White, Jordan Bruce 28th, 4th White, Aidan Morgan 36th, Madeleine Rice 37th, 5th White, Kimmie Leonard 39th, Michael Pinto 48th
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- Thomas and Maddie fighting it out at mark 1.
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- Sailing under a Naval Air Station was interesting but loud.
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- Leading the pack on the downwind.
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- Still working to build his lead. Thomas with some great downwind technique.
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- The coach enjoying the show. The red dots are a nice touch when they all come around together in front.
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- Porter with a solid finish.
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- Madeleine Rice showing her intensity all the way to the finish.
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- Thomas preparing for the reach.
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- All smiles.
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- Thomas Rice – 2012 USODA Southeast Champs 1st Place
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- Teammates and friends.
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- Ready to get the show on the road at the skippers meeting.
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- Madeleine finishing up on Saturday.
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- What a venue!
Holiday Opti Clinic – December
December 20-23 – Miami – A four day clinic on Biscayne Bay before Christmas in preparation for Orange Bowl or just a great winter training opportunity. This will be a one coach clinic with a small ratio (10 kids max) so lots of attention for each sailor and with a low number of sailors, lots of time on the water. Sailors can attend for any number of the 4 days. Contact for more details. This clinic is open to all RWB Opti Sailors.
SailStrong Youth Racing 