BAYS 5 – Final Results and Pictures from the Outside Course at the Tiburon Yacht Club.

Congratulations to all of our sailors who participated in BAYS 5!  Again – great job in some challenging conditions!

• Opti Green Fleet:  6th Place Charlotte, 13th Place Berky, 18th Place Devon
• Opti Championship Fleet:  19th Place Drake, 20th Place Kelsey, 21st Place Jack
• 420 Fleet: 5th Place Drake & Erica
• 29er Fleet: 1st Place Mike & Haydon, 2nd Place Maria & Joe, 3rd Place Harry & Neil
• Laser Radial Fleet: 8th Place Sarah
• FJ Fleet: 6th Place Sam & Kelsey

PICTURES FROM THE OUTSIDE COURSE:

Mike and Haydon took first in the 29er Fleet in both the BAYS 5 Event and the overall BAYS Summer 2011 Series.  Congratulations Guys!  The second picture shows Mike and Haydon leading the 29er fleet around the course.

The picture on the left shows Sarah in her Laser Radial coming in 2nd place around the mark.  On the right, you can see Sarah just crushing the 420 on Sunday.  Nice Sarah!

First row left:  Drake and Erica out on the course in their 420 and then on the right: returning home after a long day!  Second row left:  Drake and Erica rounding the mark in 2nd place.  Right: Drake and Erica talk about the course conditions as they look ahead.

And lastly – your coaching and support team.  Led by Coach Dan Brandt with help from Linda Hanafee Quinn and Mike Quinn.  We all had a great time coaching the kids for this season!

RYC Juniors at BAYS 5 – Pictures Group One

Left: Devon looking picture perfect as she heads upwind in a building breeze.  Right: Jack, Kelsey, Drake and Charlotte all checking in between races.

Left: The RYC LUNCH LINE.  Jack, Kelsey, Charlotte and Drake are all anchored to a bottle of Tide.  The Lunch Line came to be as a result of one group of kids needing to eat lunch while two other kids needed some immediate assistance as they were getting swept down to San Quentin due to the massive current.  Our Tide bottle was firmly anchored, so the kids actually had a few moments to rest!  The kids thought this was pretty goofy – but it definitely worked!  Right: Coach Dan Brandt checking in on the Opti course before he headed out to coach the 420′s, Lasers and 29ers.

Left: Berky working to keep his upwind advantage.  Right: Kelsey and Drake heading downwind.

Left to right: Charlotte, Devon, Berky, Jack and Whaler 5 giving a little towing assistance to Whaler 3.

Left: Day 2′s lunch was much more civilized!  Kelsey actually has a few moments to enjoy a sandwich.  Right: Charlotte taking first place in Race 6 – she is just crossing the finish line here.

Sometimes a tow in after a tough race makes all the difference in the world.  Devon and Berky have some pretty big grins here!

Left: Jack getting a tow in after his last race on Day 2.  His face is behind his sail, but he happened to glance over to the shore and saw his family there to cheer him on.  He had the biggest smile on his face!  It was awesome.  Right: Drake is flying downwind in this picture.  The wind was right around 18-20knots – without the 25 knot puffs!  He did an amazing job!

BOAT BUDDIES…RYC is starting a new trend… What are Boat Buddies you ask?  They are small inflatable animals that are duct taped to the kids’ boats for good luck.  Why you ask?  Sometimes when the wind is cranking up to 20 knots, a little boat buddy making you smile can help you make it across that start or finish line.  Besides – they’re a hoot!

BAYS 5 – RYC Juniors Travel to Tiburon for the Final BAYS Summer Event. Some of our most memorable highlights…Massive Current, Gnarly Wind, Carnage, and Boat Buddies.

The FINAL scores have not been posted yet, so there will definitely be another post regarding BAYS 5 soon.  But in the meantime, we’ve got some great pictures to share.

This was our final BAYS event for the Summer Series.  This was our first series that we travelled to as a Team.  It was an amazing experience for us.  Not only did our kids’ skill sets significantly improve due to sailing in a wide range of conditions and venues, but they also bonded as a group.  To race in this series took dedication, teamwork and quite a bit of spunk.  We are incredibly proud of each and every sailor who raced this series; they are an amazing group of kids.

Beyond what the kids achieved individually, we are even more proud of how the kids acted as a team.  This ranged from team meeting participation, to sharing gear, to supporting each other on the water, to helping each other haul boats, fix boats and so much more.  They backed each other up and helped each other out.  This took place across all ages and all fleets.  This team spirit made the RYC Team unique.  Based on bits of conversation I picked up, we had a lot of kids wishing they were on RYC’s Team.  So with all of that said, you guys rocked!

RYC Travel Team is getting ready for BAYS 5 over at the Tiburon Yacht Club. On Thursday afternoon there was an Opti practice with Coach Dan and then Friday was boat loading day.

Our final BAYS Event will be running this weekend.  Our Juniors well be competing over at the Tiburon Yacht Club.  On Thursday, Coach Dan Brandt had some of the Opti Fleet out practicing in the channel.  They were focusing on race techniques.  On Friday, Drake and Erica got busy getting both their 420 ready to travel as well as their teammate’s FJ.  Good Luck Team!

Coach Dan and our Opti Fleet!  We’re super excited for our team!  Good luck to Drake, Jack, Kelsey, Berky, Michaela, Devon and Charlotte!

Drake and Erica getting their 420 ready to load on to the trailer.  Even work is fun for these two.  You just have to smile with them…

Drake and Erica replacing the auto-bailer on their 420 with a little technical expertise from Dan.

BAYS 4 – Saturday at SFYC. Difficult conditions for everyone. Shifty winds and completely unpredictable puffs along with some big waves really challenged our sailors.

THE SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE TEAM: Drake and Erica sailing in their 420, Sarah in her Laser Radial, and Joe helping out Dan and one of our youngest team members.  The weather conditions were tough for everyone.  Drake and Erica had a spectacular wipe-out.  As they were flying downwind and about to jibe, an extra puff along with a slippery deck caused Drake to fall out of the boat backwards, the kite to shoot about 20 feet in front of the boat and then one big, ugly wipeout!  Both Drake and Erica confirm that this was their coolest crash yet.  So far, Sarah has managed to stay upright and had very solid and consistent finishes for the day.  Joe came over to the Opti course in the afternoon and ended up sailing with one of our youngest sailors, Michaela.  A good day but a tough one!

Top left – Drake, Erica, Sarah and Joe just hanging out before the races.  Top right – Sarah makes her move at the leeward mark finishing 2nd in that race.  Middle row – Drake and Erica in first place heading downwind and then heading in for the day.  Bottom row – Joe and Michaela sailing together in Race 4.

THE OPTI FLEET TEAM: Shifty winds with totally unpredictable puffs had our Opti Racers working hard.  They did amazing though.  Drake, Kelsey, Charlotte, Michaela and Berky – nice job!  BAYS 4 was Charlotte’s first racing experience and she had a blast.  Drake, Kelsey, Michaela and Berky have not missed a single BAYS Event.  Go Team Go!!

Top left – Berky, Drake, Charlotte, Lucie, and Michaela having lunch.  Top right – Michaela and her monkey (hanging on the mast) getting into position for the start.  Middle left – Charlotte bailing out her boat after a fantastic fourth place finish.  Middle right – Berky enjoying his tow out to the race course.  Bottom left Kelsey and Drake on their downwind leg.  Bottom right – Drake flying downwind and loving it!

BAYS 3 – Day 2 for Opti Fleet. RYC’s Opti Fleet continues to improve with each race and the kids are having a blast together.

 

7 RYC Juniors participated in the BAYS 3 event in Opti’s.  5 in the Green Fleet and 2 in the Championship Fleet.  Everyone focused on starts, keeping the sail full, tight mark roundings and having a ton of fun together as a team.  Major Success!!  This is our first regatta where every single one of our kids completed every race!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Hanging out as a team – it doesn’t get much better!!

BAYS 3 – Day 2 at Encinal. RYC’s 420 Team Drake and Erica – finishing 5th overall in the BEMIS Qualifier for Northern California

Teammates Drake and Erica had moments of brilliance and continue to improve with each regatta in their 420.

BAYS 3 Day 2 – RYC had two 29er Teams Competing – Finishing the Regatta in 2nd and 3rd Place

Neil and Robbie on the left and Maria and Joe on the right.  Shifty winds on Sunday kept everyone on their toes!

BAYS 3 – DAY 1 Encinal Yacht Club

BAYS 2/JUNIOR OLYMPICS JUNE 16 & 17

The Richmond Yacht Club’s presence is growing in the BAYS (Bay Area Youth Sailing) events!  We had 22 of our Juniors sailing under the RYC burgee at the June Event.  Our kids totally rocked; plus it was really nice having this event in our own backyard. 

Conditions on Day 1 were very manageable and the kids were able to focus on race strategy and tactics.  However Day 2 was a totally different story.  Conditions for both courses were quite windy and gusty.  A lot of the sailors needed to switch from race mode to survival mode.  We sure had a bunch of boats on their sides and in that favorite sailing position – turtled.  Thankfully we had quite a few crash boats and volunteers out on the water who helped keep everyone safe and eventually upright.  (Much appreciation to all of our awesome volunteers by the way!!)

Congratulations to RYC’s 1^st Place 29er Team – Michael and Haydon, our 2^nd Place Laser Radial – Joe, and our 3^rd place Opti Green Fleet sailor – Drake.  In addition, RYC’s Little Bear received the Junior Olympics Sportsmanship Award.  We are proud of all of you!

 Here’s who represented the Richmond Yacht Club:

OPTI GREEN FLEET:  Drake, Berky, Hayden, Owen, Michaela, and Nikola

 OPTI WHITE FLEET:  Jack  

OPTI BLUE FLEET:  Kelsey  

OPTI RED FLEET:  Little Bear  

420 FLEET:  Drake/Erica/Jesse and Sam/Harry

 LASER FLEET:  Joe, Sarah, Lauren, Grace, Ellen and Charlotte 

29er FLEET:  Michael and Haydon

 Don’t forget – the next BAYS Event will be held at the Encinal Yacht Club on July 16^th and 17^th.  This event is open to all of our Juniors.  We encourage all of our Juniors to give these events a try.  There is a lot of support on both the water and on land, and the kids are having a ball.  Plus, Encinal’s race course is more protected from the heavy wind so we’re much more likely to have civilized conditions!  Contact Dan Brandt if you are interested.  We have Opti’s and other club boats available to use.  You can reach Dan at dan.higherfastervmg@gmail.com

 Lastly, just a small piece of Club pride trivia – The Richmond Yacht Club had 22 sailors in 19 boats; only one other club had a greater number of participants with 23 sailors in 21 boats.  RYC continues to become a stronger and more visible presence on the Junior race circuit.  Go RYC Juniors!