Shope, Fillion win Laser Florida Masters

Seventy sailors competed in the Laser Florida Masters, the final stop of the three event Laser Masters Week. Forty-seven Standard rigs and 23 Radial rigs enjoyed two fantastic days (Feb 13-14) of ocean sailing off Lake Worth inlet at Palm Beach Sailing Club.

Saturday provided challenging conditions in a Northwesterly to Northerly 10 to 15 mph breeze with lots of holes, shifts and current. The fleet quickly figured out that going left was a good thing. Sunday’s easterly in the mid-teens range gave the sailors another day of fun sailing in good waves, even accompanied by dolphins on the runs.

Masters are broken into four age divisions: Apprentice (35-44 years old), Master (45-54 years old), Grand Master (55-64 years old) and Great Grand Master (65+). In Masters sailing, handicap points are added to raw scores based on age groups – Apprentice – 3 points, Masters – 2 points, Grand Masters – 1 point, Great Grand Masters – 0 points.

Peter Shope led the Standard Fleet and Jean-Yves Fillion captured the Radial Fleet title. They both shared the coveted Green Jacket presented annually to the regatta winner. During Masters Week, over 100 sailors participated in one or more of the three events.

Complete results here.

Winners: Peter Shope (right) and Jean-Yves Fillion

Florida Masters Week is seven days of Laser sailing in nine days for Masters Sailors (35 & over).

2016 Florida Masters Week
Masters Midwinters @ USSCMC Jensen Beach – Feb 6-8, 2016
Midweek Madness @ USSCMC Jensen Beach – Feb 10-11, 2016
Florida Masters @ Palm Beach Sailing Club – Feb 13-14, 2016

Report by David Hartman.