Sayville, NY, USA – The waters of Long Island’s Great South Bay provided challenging conditions for youth sailors competing in the 2010 Youth World Championship. After three days of racing, Jose Gutierrez of Venezuela earned the top spot on the podium. Jose was followed by Fernando I Monllor (Puerto Rico), Nick Valente (USA), Kamilla Saboga Mellet (Ecuador) and Gary Prieto (USA).
| FERNANDO I. MONLLOR | PUERTO RICO |
| SIMON BERTOCCI | USA |
| OLIVIA GUGLIEMINI | USA |
| DUNCAN HOWES | USA |
| ALEXANDRA SIEBELS | Curacao |
| NICK VALENTE | USA |
| RYAN ANDERSON | USA |
| ALEC MANSON | USA |
| ANDREW DANIEL | USA |
| GARY PRIETO | USA |
| KAMILLA SABOGA MELLET | Ecuador |
| AGUSTO MONTES BARREDA | Venezuela |
| FRANCESCA GUTIERREZ | Venezuela |
| JOSE GUTIERREZ | Venezuela |
| JACK MCCARTHY | USA |
Sayville, NY, USA – The Sayville Yacht Club on Long Island, NY will host the first annual Sunfish Youth World Champiopnship from July 15-18. This event will be sailed on Long Island’s Great South Bay.
Nassau, Bahamas – Seventeen year old Jonathan Martinetti of Ecuador beat 25 competitors from 10 countries. The deep international fleet had 8 different countries represented in the top 10 finishers. In second place is Fernando Monllor from Puerto Rico, followed by Philipine Van Aanholt of Curacao, Jose Gutierrez of Venezuela and Mathieu De By of Holland.
Results
Event Website
International Junior Championship Entries
The final day of racing featured a picture perfect sailing day for the first-ever Sunfish Junior International Championship hosted by Lake Bluff Yacht Club in Lake Bluff, Illinois. It was a mostly sunny day, winds WSW 8-16, with occasional puffs and shifts, and highs near 70. Seven countries were represented. The strength of the fleet was reflected in the fact that eight of the 12 competitors scored at least one race win. Saturday’s leader, Colombia’s Julian Ramirez, continued his steady, consistent performance, capping his series in Race 9 with his only bullet, and sailed away with the Championship. Coming on strong in the second half of the regatta was the United States’ Bobby Boger, current Junior North American Champion. He opened Sunday with a bullet to close Julian’s lead to just four points. However, the puffy, shifty conditions caught him a couple times on the wrong side of a shift in the 9th race, opening a scoring gap he couldn’t overcome. Boger moved ahead of Dominican Republic’s Andrea Verdeja, who was leader after the first day, and Stephan Breeuwer of Guatemala, who were second and third, respectively, after Saturday. Breeuwer was a little more consistent to claim third overall for the regatta. Verdeja struggled in the slightly higher breezes, sailing and matching her throwout to drop to fourth but still claim the Top Opposite Sex award. The Top Midget (under 14) was Emily Nolan of the United States. The Sportsmanship Award was voted by the competitors and went to Diego Cabreros of Peru.
Loaned boats, great club support, shared equipment from North Shore Yacht Club (Highland Park, IL), sponsorship by LaserPerformance and Wind Line Sails, willing volunteers, and the commitment of ISCA Junior Coordinator Rich Chapman, International Sunfish Class Association President Andres Santana, and immediate past US Sunfish Class President Clinton Edwards were all keys to this championship being established. It is anticipated that in 2009 there will be at least eight countries represented which will take the regatta to World Championship status. National Sailing Federations and coaches desiring information on how to have junior sailors participate in next year’s championship should contact Rich Chapman or Andres Santana (contact info at www.sunfishclass.org). The 2009 Championship is scheduled to be held in October 2009 in Nassau, Bahamas.
Final Results | Photos | Slideshow
The second day of the 2008 Sunfish Junior International Championship featured a variety of conditions. Five races were conducted and the fleet tightened up. The lead changed hands, too.
Race 3 started right on time, at 11:05 Saturday morning. The wind was WNW 8-11, under clear skies. The course was modified WL2. Near the end of the first leg the breeze got light. A long run and beat back, was followed by a run where the breeze came back. The boats from behind compressed onto the boats ahead and the fleet changed positions on the final beat. Andrea Verdeja came from behind to claim the win. Enrique Arathoon, who changed his sail for the second day, lost three boats on a close tacking situation followed by a capsize, as he approached the finish, ending up 5th for the race. Bobby Boger benefited and was second. The race finished at 12:05 p.m.
Race 4, a modified WL2, started at 12:24, in winds WNW 6-8 under mostly cloudy skies. The wind remained relatively steady through this race, and the sailors were the tightest together so far of all the races. Andrea Verdeja scored another bullet, this time followed by Julian Ramirez, and coming on strong was Junior North American Champion Bobby Boger. There was a break for lunch.
Race 5 was the first to have the sailors show some aggression on the starting line, with a general recall as the boats over the line could not be identified. A starting line adjustment was made and the race was launched at 1:40 p.m., in winds WNW 10-12. The higher breeze showed different skill sets among the sailors. Again, the course was modified WL2. There were some holes and some puffs as the fleet worked to read the puffs and the shifts, which became more pronounced. Jose Gutierrez claimed the race, followed closely by Angelo Teran and Julian Ramirez.
The sixth race, important to the sailors because it meant they gained a throwout race, was started at 2:35 p.m. It was still mostly cloudy, winds WNW 11-14, and had its first individual recall, Andrea Verdeja. It didn’t cost her much, though, as she cleared the line, gybed to port, and rounded the first mark as the leader! This race was a modified Gold Cup, to let the fleet enjoy some reaches in the higher winds. There were puffs to 16 and the sailors really enjoyed the bigger breeze. By the finish, Bobby Boger had worked hard to claim the first, with Jose Gutierrez second and Julian Ramirez in third.
The last race of the day, race seven, started at 3:14 p.m. in WNW winds, 10-12. The breeze began to fade and by the finish was 7-8. The course was modified Olympic. There were a couple lead changes on the long windward leg. There was a big shift to the left, Jose Gutierrez went left and crossed everyone as a result and no one passed him. Second went to Diego Cabreros, with Julian Ramirez third. Andrea Verdeja suffered a sixth, making this her throwout, and she dropped down to second overall.
Going into the last day of the regatta, Julian Ramirez is ahead by two points, followed by Andrea Verdeja, and Stephan Breeuwer third, just two more points further back. Tomorrow’s forecast is for West 10-15, slight chance of showers early, and there are hopes to sail three races.
The competitors have been competitive, yet fair. They have enjoyed great hospitality and have been great guests!
Day 1 Results | Slideshow | Photos
Today was the opening of the International Junior Sunfish Championships. 12 sailors from 7 countries were on hand for this inaugural event. After yesterday’s torrential rains and high winds, compliments of hurricane Gustav, the sailors were hoping for some sunshine and more moderate breezes. They left the beach in a puffy and shifty northwesterly breeze and a fairly large northeast swell left over from yesterday’s storm. After a short postponement to get the course set, the racing began. Leading at the first mark was Andrea Verdeja from Dominican Republic. As she rounded the wind quickly died to just a few knots and she extended her lead as the other boats struggled against the current to round the mark. Several boats were able to round the mark together and Bobby Boger of NY, Julian Ramirez from Columbia and Enrique Arathoon and Stephan Breeuwer, both from Guatemala, all came downwind together. After a slow downwind leg, the boats rounded to a big right hand shift that lifted them to the shortened finish. Andrea was able to keep her lead to win the first race of this new regatta! Julian and Enrique worked the very light air to finish 2-3 followed by Stephan and Bobby.As the first race was finishing, the breeze began to fill in nicely from the new direction and the course was reset. The second race got off to a clean start with Julian port tacking the fleet. But the breeze did not cooperate and by the windward mark it was turning into a repeat of the previous race. The wind faded and the sailors had to crouch into the boats trying to keep them moving through the light air and bumpy seas. The course was shortened again as they approached the windward mark for the second time. Stephan did an excellent job of keeping his boat moving and protecting the favored right side and won the race followed by Julian second, a local Illinois sailor Manny Schneck third and Angelo Teran from Ecuador fourth. The time limit became a factor as the rest of the boats fought the light air, current and waves. Four other boats were able to finish but time ran out for the last 4 boats.
After racing the sailors got home, cleaned up and then went to the local mall for dinner, shopping and ice cream. All are hoping for more wind tomorrow!
Lake Bluff Yacht Club – September 5-7, 2008
Each competitor shall be a current year (2008) member of their respective country’s Sunfish Class Association. The age should read: Sailors must not have reached their 19th birthday during the 2008 calendar year. Revised 2/24/08
The regatta will be limited to a maximum of 20 sailors. See the Revised 2/24/08 Notice of Race for further details. Also, check out the promotional video for the event below.