Congratulations to Junior Commodore Piper Holthus and the entire Junior Board on a fun and successful Junior Invitational Regatta! The 2019 event included a Radial fleet of five boats, which together with Sabots brought the regatta to 102 boats, cresting the century mark for the first time in many years.
Conditions were challenging on both our La Playa and "outside" Shoal courses; with shifty winds, massive ebbing current in the bay, and kelp paddies snagging boats in both locations.
Team SDYC was well represented by 24 sailors, making up about 24% of the field. Our skippers had many strong performances in the tricky conditions, ultimately winning two of six divisions, and earning 43% of the top-5 rankings in each fleet.
It was especially exciting to see several newer sailors in C3, where Sydney Vierling, Levi Evering, and Wesley Logan, and Fenton Wallace (5th) all sailed good looking regattas. Congrats to Ben Simpson (3rd), Garrett Gardner (2nd), and Holland Vierling (1st); who all advance to C2 fleet, thanks to the "1 per 7" INSA fleet advancement guideline that applies for moves from C3 to C2 (only).
Sabot B Fleet Captain Charlotte Plant trophied for 5th in B; and SDYC's Katherine Fleming was 4th in C2.
The Junior Invitational was also the kickoff of the '19/'20 SCYYRA North Series, and our A fleeters wasted no time setting the pace. Congratulations to Devon Owen (5th), Calvin Schmid (4th), A Fleet Captain and current Nationals Champ Anton Schmid (3rd), Jr V/Comm Harrison Strom (2nd), and 2x defending North Series Champ Peter Busch with the win; clearly the current owners of the Shoal.
In addition to leading Skipper's Meetings, Picnic Dinners, and Trophy Ceremonies, our Jr Commodore found just enough time to sail quickly around our Shoal course about 25 times to achieve the W in the Radial fleet. Way to represent, Piper!
A big thanks goes out to Jr Board members, Secretary Sara Parker, CFJ Fleet Captain Burke Kanemasu, 29er Fleet Captain Samantha Gardner, as well as Alice Schmid, "Cap'n Jack" Fretwell, and Matt Parker for their excellent RC assistance; as well as coaches Timothy Fraher, Tom Rall, Gigi Dean, Super Markset-Man Jack Egan, Head Coach Molly Pleskus, and La Playa PRO Clayton Schluter!
Photos courtesy of Sean Vierling, Barbara Tillson, and Molly Pleskus.
Full Results