Optimist US Nationals: all consistent

Norfolk, VA (July 26, 2021) – The 2021 USODA National Championship sailed the first day today. The regatta began with a US Navy Flyover of two F-18s from VFA-213 signaling the harbor start. Three races were sailed in conditions from 8-12 knots southwest, which was consistent and required no course changes or alterations. For the final flight of Race 3, the wind abated to 4-6 knots from the southwest. Competitors started right away under a U-Flag that resulted in several U-Flag penalties in Race 3.

The competitors were split into four fleets, orange, yellow, blue and green. Each race had one fleet of around 70 boats on the starting line. Each day, the fleets will shuffle to give each sailor a chance to sail against other competitors. In total, 262 boats sailed the event.

After three races, Wylder Smith from LOOT leads with a 2, 2, 1 (5), followed by James Allgeier of HYC-LISOT 3, 4, 4 (11) and Ewan Dossin of Lakewood Yacht Club with 1, 6, 5 (12). Wylder Smith also leads Red Fleet, James Allgeier leads Blue fleet, Annie Ulmer leads White Fleet, and Madeline Janzen is the Top Girl.

The US Optimist National Championship continues on Tuesday, July 27th, with two more races required (five total) before a split into championship fleets. 12 “sets” (a set being a race for each color fleet) are scheduled for the week. After five “sets” of races, the top 1⁄4 of the fleet will be separated into Gold, the remaining boats into Silver.

Event details – Results

Source: Big Blue Sailing Academy/ODU Sailing