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Junior Sailors: Ready for USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival

Chesapeake Bay Open at Rock Hall Yacht Club: July 9-11, 2010$0$0Kate Ranney • Age 17 • Rock Hall Yacht Club, Rock Hall, MD • Chester Springs, PA • Parents:  Connie and Scott Ranney$0Kate started sailing at age 8 in the RHYC Learn to Sail program.  She remembers, “I was nervous at first and didn’t know what to expect.  But when I got on the water it was really fun.”  Every summer since then she has sailed and at age 11 she did her first Green Fleet regatta, “It was a little bit crazy but a good experience.”$0$0As a racer, Kate says, “I love being competitive and getting to know other people who share the same interest – who like to sail.”  The big change came when she switched from Optis to Lasers, “I started winning as soon as i moved to Lasers two years ago. I was not as successful racing Optis,” recalls Kate.  “I sail Lasers now and it’s pretty competitive – you have to stay in shape.” Kate puts time in on the water – she’s been teaching junior sailing at RHYC for the past three years – helping 7 to 12 year-olds learn to sail Optis.  During the fall and winter she plays field hockey and track to keep fit.$0$0“Last year I got more serious and started trying a lot harder.  The whole team really got more serious about racing – and we went to a lot more regattas.”  Kate is looking forward to her first Junior Olympics Sailing Festival, “I think there’s going to be a lot of people. We’ll probably do about six races a day – it’ll be a lot of fun.”  What does she like most about a weekend regatta?  “The best part is the end – when you get to look back and congratulate everyone.”$0Advice to beginner sailors and their parents: “You should be open-mined – and don’t be scared.  You’ll definitely have a good time in the end!” $0$0Sarah Ranney: Age 15 • Rock Hall Yacht Club, Rock Hall, MD • Chester Springs, PA • Parents:  Connie and Scott Ranney$0Sarah has been sailing for eight years, “I remember, in the beginning, I was always kind of scared and then I got used to it and started having fun.”  That was age 7.  At age 9, she started as a Green Fleeter and now that she’s 15 she says, “I think racing has a little bit of everything – it’s challenging, it’s competitive and it’s fun.”$0$0Like her sister, she started racing Lasers last year and very quickly felt she was performing better on the water.  “I like to practice – it’s good to relax too – you can’t always be going fast.”$0$0“This will be my first Junior Olympics – but I’m excited.  I don’t expect to place but I’ll have fun.  I can learn from the other people who will be there, too.”  $0$0Advice to beginner sailors and their parents: “I would say it’s a great opportunity to get involved in a unique sport.  Not everyone gets to do it and you get to meet other people who share the same hobby.”$0$0Connor McCue: Age 10 • Glenmoore, PA • Rock Hall Yacht Club, Rock Hall, MD • Parents: Rich and Wanda McCue, Glenmoore, PA$0$0$0“I've been on a boat since I was two weeks old -- of course I don't remember that.  I grew up sailing with my parents on the Chesapeake.  Since my first sail I’ve felt like I was doing well. I've been sailing an Opti for 3 years though.  I do remember my first Opti sail.  My parents bought me an Opti for my 8th birthday at APS in Annapolis.  I sailed it from the park to the mooring field all by myself.”$0Racing$0“I started racing at the Rock Hall Yacht Club.  Racing can be difficult, but it's good to give yourself a challenge.  It's fun to have a challenge, but I don't want to embarrass myself.”$0“I actually don't like racing.  I like spending time with my friends on the water more than the actual racing.  $0Last year I attended the JOs at BCSC as a Green Fleeter.  This year's JOs will be my first race in White fleet.”$0What I’d like to tell beginner sailors and their parents about sailing?$0$0“OMG it’s the funnest thing and your kid will love to do it.  It will be hard to get them off their boat once you get started.”$0$0Charlie Lomax: Age 14 • Annapolis Yacht Club • Parents:  Tarrant and Eva Lomax • Annapolis, MD$0“My first sail in an Opti was around six years old.  Then I sailed two summers at West River Yacht Club,” recalls Charlie Lomax.  I learned in a place with not a lot of boat traffic. I first tried racing at Annapolis Yacht Club at age 8 and moved to the Green Fleet at age 9".  Now at age 14, Charlie's years on the water have paid off when he made the Optimist National Team.$0$0“Last year I qualified to go to the National Team trials.  I went to the New England Championships in Newport, Rhode Island and had to place in the top 25% of finishers to qualify for the trials,” explains Lomax.  “I placed 26th out of 323.  This year I went to the National Team trials at the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club and qualified for the National Team and the U.S. team for the North American Championships.  They told us we were the '60 best' junior sailors in the country racing Optis in the Red/White/Blue fleets.”  $0$0“It takes a lot of on and off the water determination - sitting down and listening to the coaches.  You just have to want to do it.  There's definitely the friend aspect, too.  You have your team and you spend so much time together.  You are definitely impacted by friends, coaches, and anyone who supports you - parents are a big factor, too,” explains Lomax.$0$0“I think I've done four J.O.'s - one in Green Fleet and the rest in Red/White/Blue.  Last year I did the J.O.'s in Houston.”  So when did Lomax start to feel like he was doing well?  “Two years ago, in Blue Fleet at 12, I really started to do well locally on the Bay.  Two years ago I took 7th in the JO's at Hampton - that was tough!  And last year I took 26th in the New Englands.  I went to the Midwesterns last October in Milwaukee.  From that regatta I got to go to Lake Garda, Italy to race as part of the U.S. team - that was amazing.” He adds, “The best I've done is 19th at the team trials in Houston last month.”$0$0Lomax is looking forward to the Junior Olympics in the midst of a busy season of National Team practices and regattas, including the North American Championships in Kingston, Ontario (June 23).  “The National Team practices are great - no parents, just coaches and kids.  You get to meet a lot of really cool kids from around the country.”  $0$0Advice to beginner sailors and their parents: “For kids, I'd say, Green Fleet is a great way to start sailing.  You need to have lots of determination and a lot of onthewater time.”  And to parents: “You just need to support your kid in whatever he wants to do!”$0$0Gray Benson: Age 10 • Tred Avon Yacht Club, Oxford, MD • Parents: Schuyler and Jenny Benson$0Gray got his start sailing as a youngster, cruising on his family’s Swan 47.  He began sailing Optis at age 6 and was a Green Fleeter when he turned 8.  "I remember the first time I sailed my Opti by myself - it was the summer I was 5 1/2, and my dad was working on his Shields at the Yacht Club.  He told me I could sail back and forth between the beach and the R1 buoy in front of the Club, while he watched from the shore.  I was standing up in my boat and got bow-waked and fell out.  I had my PFD on but it still scared me and my dad had to jump in and swim out to check on me.  I got back in my boat by myself and sailed in.  That's when I knew I wanted to be a sailor."$0$0Gray’s first Junior Olympics was a “big experience.”  As his mother Jenny Benson says, “Conditions were breeze-on – it was the most breeze he’d ever experienced.  I don’t think he finished a single race because of the conditions - swamp, bail, capsize, repeat.  But it certainly made him want to improve!  This year will be his second Junior Olympics.”  $0$0“He was successful as a Green Fleeter.  Last year, as a nine-year-old, he moved up to White fleet and sailed 15 Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association regattas, not necessarily having great results, but wanting to get as much tiller time as possible.”$0$0“This past fall he joined a travel team out of Annapolis Yacht Club, which sailed in Annapolis until Thanksgiving, then trailered the boats south for regattas in Miami and St. Petersburg over the winter.  The sailors were back on the water in Annapolis on March 5th.  The combination of extending his sailing season and sailing with some very experienced and seasoned racers has been a great opportunity.”$0$0"I like that when I am in my boat I am in control,” says Gray, “I have to make my own decisions and deal with the consequences.  When I am focused and make smart decisions, I can do well.  If I make a bad tactical decision, I have to figure out how to get myself back in the race.  And in most regattas, you have multiple races, so if you have a lousy race, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't have a good finish.  But my goal for this season is to be more consistent, because that is what gets you the best results."$0$0What I’d like to tell beginner sailors and their parents about sailing? Jenny Benson says, “If it’s what your kid is passionate about you can’t put your boat away in August when most junior sailing programs are over.  Find a way to keep them on the water!” $0$0Caroline Benson: Age 8 • Tred Avon Yacht Club, Oxford, MD • Parents:   Schuyler and Jenny Benson $0At age 8, Caroline is a beginning racer at Tred Avon Yacht Club.  Last year she got her start doing two junior regattas:  Miles River Junior Regatta and the Tred Avon Junior Regatta.  She sharpened her skill over spring break on her family’s cruiser at the Bitter End.  Her mother, Jenny Benson says, “That got her excited about getting back on the water this summer!” This year will be her first Junior Olympic festival as a Green Fleeter.$0$0"I like being on the water with my friends, and going to regattas is fun,” says Caroline.  “I like racing, except for the starting line, which makes me kind of  nervous.....after the start is over, then I love trying to catch other boats and get around the course first!"$0$0"This year I want to get better at racing,” notes Caroline, “I am going to go to the JOs and the Nationals, but they have really big starting lines so I don't know what will happen." $0$0Josh Dragon: Age 15 • Baltimore County Sailing Center • Parents:   Michael Dragon and Mary Carroll • Baltimore, MD$0“I’ve been sailing as long as I can remember,” says Josh Dragon.  “I started racing the Opti when I was 12.  I got two years out of it and then I was too tall and got into the Laser. When I switched to the Laser I started doing well.”  Looking back he says, “The Opti was too awkward – I didn’t start early enough for the size of the Opti.”$0$0Josh is now in his fourth full year on the Baltimore County Sailing Center racing team.  “Last year I fit in 15 regattas – mostly in Maryland – including Gibson Island, Severn Sailing Association, Annapolis Yacht Club and Rock Hall Yacht Club.  You make a lot of friends.  It’s usually the same crowd – you’ll have a regatta on Saturday on the Corsica River and then say, `see you tomorrow in Cambridge.’”$0$0“This will be my third J.O.’s.  I did one in the Optis and one in the Laser so far.  I hate to blame my equipment but last fall I got a new sail and went from mid-fleet to third place.”  Of his expectations for the regatta: “I always aim for the top of the fleet.  I always try to do my best.”$0$0Josh loves to race, “It’s a lot of fun, but racing requires a serious tone, along with a positive attitude.  I like the challenge of being out there – trying to do my best.  You keep learning, and you learn what the wind will do.”$0$0Advice to beginner sailors and their parents:  “Sailing is the type of sport where you can’t just jump in and see immediate results.  You just need to keep plugging away.  You’re always learning and trying to improve.  There are really no boundaries to what you can learn – it just takes a while.$0$0

Rock Hall Yacht Club Junior Sailing Festival

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