VIDEO: Combining fun and fundamentals at youth championship

The 2015 O’Pen BIC North Americans, hosted by Miami YC on March 20-22, brought fun and excitement to a whole new level. Active courses, required boat handling skills, and tight racing has become the norm at O’Pen BIC championships, but who ever imagined a sailing limbo contest?

That’s right… sailors had to heel over to make it under the limbo bar. Avoid capsizing or hitting the bar and you advance. Marcos Baez (aka “the O’Pen BIC monkey”) was the last sailor upright, impressing the crowd with skillfully sneaking under as the limbo bar was lowered.

After twelve tight course races, only four points separated the top four places. Again it was Marcos, from Hawaii Kai Boat Club, in first- narrowly edging out team mate Lars von Sydow, and Trent Shaw from Biscayne Bay YC. Kanoa Pick, also from Oahu, took the highly competitive Under 13 division, with Pearl Lattanzi and Makela Pick top females in Open and Under 13 respectively. Race results.

Pulling out the triple crown, Marcos also won the freestyle contest with his amazing display of boat handling and balance, narrowly surpassing the highly entertaining sibling team of Pearl and JP Lattanzi.

Photos by Magi Foster.