The Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA) Worlds team trials continued out in the Great Sound with ten more closely fought races completed resulting in a tight grouping of sailors near the top of the leader board.
Conditions on day one forced sailors to contend with light-air tactics in the tricky winds under 8 knots while day two brought more than enough breeze exceeding 14 knots to tire even the heaviest of racers.
Results are provisional pending some outstanding protests but 15 year old Rory Caslin continues to lead the pack but is being challenged out on the water by 11 year old Mikey Wollmann.
Both are tied on points but Caslin retains the lead by virtue of a tie-break. Wollmann has been sailing extremely well since coming back from the IODA South American Championships and has nine top-five finishes in fifteen starts in this series.
Chase Cooper sits three points back in 3rd place while Benn Smith and Antonio Bailey needed a tie breaker to separate them into 4th and 5th place respectively with 48 points each.
Peter Dill is currently in 6th place, only 3 points shy of a spot on the 5 sailor team who will head to the Worlds in July. Rounding out the top ten are Makai Joell, Ceci Wollmann, Campbell Patton and Matilda Nicholls.
Five more races are scheduled this coming Saturday, May 5th to complete the series. The top five sailors at that point will have earned the right to represent Bermuda at the IODA World Championships this summer.
The regatta will be held in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic on July 15 – 26th.
Also BODA recently hosted a Green Fleet Clinic run by the ever popular Tom Coleman. Sponsored by Riihiluoma's Flying Colours, the main focus of the weekend was for the novice racers to have fun on and off the water while learning basic racing techniques.
The gentle conditions provided the perfect setting for the clinic and the 17 young sailors sailed simple courses off Newstead. Lunch and games in Barr's Bay Park was followed by a fun afternoon session on the water. Parents were amazed to watch how quickly the kids improved. The next day turned out to be a lovely day in the harbour although a bit windier than the day before. Conditions were such that some sailors were justifiably reluctant to head back out after lunch as the breeze built but some hardy kids returned to the harbor regardless.
