Windsurfing Magazine

kristin
2008-08-20 14:00:00 | 208 views | 1 Comments

July 16-18,Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, MA

The East Coast Junior Windsurfing Championships concluded July 18 after two days of racing and an instructional clinic on Wednesday. The championship was a US Sailing Junior Olympic Regatta and featured twenty-six kids from as far as California and Florida. Hosted by the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club in Martha's Vineyard. the racing was divided into “Gold Fleet” for experienced racers, and “Silver Fleet” for newer windsurfers.

The Gold fleet enjoyed nine races in a variety of wind conditions and race courses, including some giant slalom downwind legs. First place in the Gold Fleet was captured by Vineyard Haven favorite, Solvig Sayre (16), hotly contested by Austin Esmer (15) from Clearwater, Florida, and Alex Hering (17) from Huntington, NY.

Silver fleet introduced many youngsters to racing for the first time and started out with reaching starts, gybing around a single mark and then reaching back to the finish, and ended with upwind triangle racing. Nick Watts of Sudbury, MA took the Silver Fleet followed by Eli Hanschka and Ben Nivala of Vineyard Haven. Ben was awarded the “Spirit of Windsurfing” award in honor of the late, Brent Wilbur, first publisher of New England Windsurfing Journal.

According to event chairman, Nevin Sayre, “It was really neat to see all those young windsurfers on the water, and all improving so quickly. What's cool is there were ten kids in the Under 12 Division. Windsurfing is back!”

Photos of the event are featured here:
http://web.mac.com/sailing/Site/ecjwcfri.html
http://web.mac.com/sailing/Site/ecjwcth.html
http://web.mac.com/sailing/Site/ECJWC.html

Gold Fleet Overall (14 competitors):
1) Solvig Sayre (10 points) Vineyard Haven, MA
2) Austin Esmer (18 points) Clearwater, FL
3) Alex Hering (28 points) Huntington, NY

Under 19 division:
1) Solvig Sayre (10 points)
2) Alex Herring (28 points)
3) Patrick Bryan (29 points) Edgartown, MA

Under 17 division:
1) Austin Esmer (18 points)
2) Kaylen Ballentyne (74 points) Pocasset, MA
3) Nicole Bussard (97 points) Salem, NH

Under 15 division:
1) Christopher Waldo (66 points) Gainesville, FL
2) Marion Lepert (66 points) San Francisco, CA

Under 12 division:
1) Rasmus Sayre (50 points) Vineyard Haven, MA
2) Elie Jordi (68 points) West Tisbury, MA

Silver Fleet Overall (11 competitors, 10 races, two throwouts):
1) Nick Watts (13 points)
2) Eli Hanschka (15 points)
3) Ben Nivala (18 points)