Lauderdale YC wins Opti Team Race Nationals

Pensacola, FL (July 22, 2018) – The Lauderdale Yacht Club team of Connor Boland, Sara Schumann, Laura Hamilton, Jack Redmond, and Lucy Meagher pulled in the 3-2 victory over Long Island Sailing Optimist Team – Black to win the 2018 Optimist Team Racing US National Championship.

“These final two teams were really mixing it up and they were very close races,” observed Principal Race Officer Dwight LeBlanc. “For Lauderdale YC, it came down to them getting off the line clean. If they won the start, they ended up controlling the race. It was a very, very tight series and the skill level for the top end of this fleet and the age of these kids is extraordinary. They know the plays, they know the moves, they know the winning combinations and they sail well – that’s the full package.”

On the third and final day, weather for today’s racing posed a big challenge for the Race Committee with the wind shifting between 50 degrees for most of the day until Pensacola Bay’s reliable sea breeze powered up around 1:00pm and then the on-the-water battles went into full gear as a light chop built.

Racing in the four-day Optimist US Nationals was held July 15-18. The 2018 Optimist Girls National Championship was sailed Thursday July 19 and the 2018 Optimist Team Race National Championship was run on July 20-22.

Event details – Facebook

Results: Gold fleet qualifying – Gold fleet round robin – Gold/Silver finals
Source: Pensacola Yacht Club