THE 2011 USODA National Championship concluded at the Houston Yacht Club with a total of twelve races sailed in the Medal Round.
Overall winner of the event was New Zealand's current National Champion Leonard Takahashi-Fry. The 2011 US National Champion in second place is Wade Waddell who is one of the US team members who will represent the USA at the 2011 IODA Worlds in New Zealand this coming December. Wind conditions over the regatta ranged from 20+ knots down to 5 knots.
On the last day of the Regatta, both Ceci and Mikey Wollmann had a great finish in the last race, with Ceci finishing in 3rd place and 25th overall, while Mikey finished in 13th place and 44th overall and Chase Cooper finishing in 47th and 64th overall. The fleet had the top 75 sailors in the Gold Fleet.
Meanwhile veteran sailor Malcolm Smith topped the Bermuda contingent at the 2011 Sunfish North American Championships, completing their 6 race regatta in Barrington, Rhode Island.
Searing heat and steady breezes tested the international fleet of almost one hundred entries at the regatta hosted by the Barrington Yacht Club. Smith, a former World and North American Sunfish Champion, finished 5th in the 98 boat fleet with finishes of 1, 32, 13, 2, 3, 22 and claimed 3rd place in the "Masters Division".
Smith will be representing Bermuda later this year at the Pan Am Games in the Sunfish. This year's event had a distinctive international flavor as many Pan Am's participants used this regatta as a warm up for the Games.
Right on Smith's heels was youth sailor Mackenzie Cooper who won the final race of the regatta to finish 7th overall. Cooper also picked up 2nd place overall in the "Youth Division" and was runner up in the Youth North American Championship event, sailed 2 days before the Open regatta.
Optimist sailor Benn Smith (12) took time out to sail against his veteran father in his first Open Championship regatta and finished 74th. He is believed to be the youngest entrant at this event. The regatta was won by former Optimist sailor Andres Ducasse from Chile followed by Ivan Aponte-Tabos from Puetro Rico (2011 Youth NA Champion) and Bill Brangiforte (2010 NA Champion).
