USODA 2019 Sunshine States Championship

Bobby Lippincott, Opti Program Manager

Annapolis Yacht Club’s Optimist RWB Team traveled down to Jensen Beach this past weekend to sail in the 2019 USODA Sunshine States Championship. Sailors met at the US Sailing Center in Martin County on Friday afternoon to start unloading four boats from the team trailer and to have a warm up practice. Our racers sailed in about 10-12 knots of breeze on flat water with warm and sunny skies. We worked on some Upwind and Downwind boat handling drills, and then some practice starts and a couple of practice races.

On the first day of racing, sailors were rigged and our team was excited to get out on the water and begin racing. The weather conditions on Saturday started out around 4-6 knots, and then built to 10-12 knots by the end of the day. Sailors had a fun time sailing in gorgeous Florida sailing conditions on Saturday.

On Sunday, our sailors came out on the water for the last day of racing expecting a little more breeze. However, our team experienced hot, light and lumpy conditions for the first half of the day. In our morning meeting, we talked to most of our sailors about weather conditions, current, and start line strategies for the day. For our sailors, their goals ranged from being able to secure a finish in the top 10 in a race, and for others it was to improve on making adjustments around the course and being able to change gears. These were our biggest take aways from the regatta.

Click here to see full results (PDF).

AYC Team Members Overall Results:

Julian Dahiya – USA 22761– 122nd Overall
Kyle Reinecke – USA 20595 – 126th Overall
Luca DeSimone – USA 21073 – 170th Overall
Alders Kulynych-Irvin – USA 12448 – 190th Overall