For eight year old Miles Gordon, Race #1 of the Koll Family Spring Dinghy Regatta turned out to be a “significant emotional experience.” A life changer, in the sense of lessons learned. For his age, Miles has advanced technique and a rare level determination. It was no surprise when he nailed the start, and at 48 pounds in 5 knots of breeze, pulled ahead to lead at every mark and on to what should have been a 1st place finish – so he thought. But no signal came from the R/C. Those nearby heard a cry and observed the rapidly increasing horror as he realized boats were finishing on the other side of the committee boat! Quick as he could, Miles ducked below the committee and crossed the line but the mistake put him in 5th place.

In the next few minutes, Miles confronted the question “to sail or not to sail” with all the intensity an extremely distraught eight year old can muster. Lucky for Miles, his coach Steve Potter was able to smooth over the rough spots, highlight the importance of close attention to the Sailing Instructions and offer up sage advice to “never look back, always focus on the next race.”

As it turned out, Miles rallied to place 1st in Race #2 and 3rd in Race #3, earning him 2nd overall. Close enough that if he hadn’t made the mistake in Race #1, he would have beat 2018 RS Tera North American Champion Emily Rychlik. It’s safe to say Miles Gordon is one to watch, and he’s now even better prepared for life’s next essential lessons.

Since 2014, Lido Isle Yacht Club has invited RS Teras to race in the Spring Dinghy Regatta. With the races held directly in front of the club, LIYC is not only a favorite for the kids, parents enjoy perfect viewing and a relaxed friendly atmosphere. Based on consistent growth in SoCal with new fleets at Oceanside, Westlake and Santa Monica, and turnouts of up to 30 Teras at regattas, it won’t be long before the class can support A and B fleets. Most important for the kids is the new friendships and an opportunity to reconnect junior sailors from across the region in traditional One-Design competition.

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Bay Area Youth Sailing in San Francisco has included the RS Tera Class in their four regatta Summer Series. Tera fleets at Sausalito Yacht Club, St. Francis and South Beach now have an opportunity to compete state-wide for the 2019 California Series Trophy. The series started last year with eight regattas in Southern California. Sausalito YC Youth Sailing Director and BAYS President Renee Corpuz-Lahne says, “We’re excited to offer traditional One-Design competition in a boat that we can use for everyone from novices to after-work fun races with our coaches.”

Westlake Yacht Club Junior Emily Rychlik has done it again!

On Sunday December 16, WYC Junior Emily Rychlik (1st on left) bested 17 other Tera sailors to finish 1st in the Tera fleet at Lido Isle Yacht Club’s Holiday Cup Regatta in Newport Beach. Sailors in the 18-boat Tera fleet were from Dana Point, the Newport Sea Base, Huntington Harbour Yacht Club, and Santa Barbara Seashells. Emily finished 1-2-1-1 in the four races, garnering 5 points, 7 points ahead of the 2nd place sailor Christopher Daher from Dana Point Yacht Club ( Full results).

Congratulations Emily!

Summer Sailing Academy - Best in the West !

In January 2019, the Pacific Coast Yachting Association awarded the Westlake Yacht Club the Garrett Horder Memorial Trophy for the finest Junior Sailing Program on the entire west coast in 2018.  This is an amazing accomplishment - to have the top program of any Yacht Club in California, Oregon and Washington!  A team of dedicated leaders and talented instructors earned this honor for an outstanding Junior Summer Sailing Academy at WYC.  Special recognition goes to Bob Amenta, Sailing Director and Gary Hughes, Vice Commodore for their tireless commitment to advancing youth sailing.

Westlake recently replaced their entire fleet of US Sabots with 15 RS Teras!

2018 HOLIDAY CUP REGATTA
Lido Isle Yacht Club
NOTICE OF RACE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16 , 2018

Regatta Report by Keith Magnussen, courtesy of Sailing Anarchy

Richard Henry Dana considered Dana Point to be the most beautiful spot on the California Coast line.  I tend to agree. It is also home to the first retail surf shop in the world (Hobie) and the first Surfer Magazine headquarters.  Dana Point is now home to the first ever RS Tera North American Championships!

What is an RS Tera you ask?  Well it is an option for youth sailors to get into a true one design class and not drain their parents wallet at the same time.  For more information check out their website or the Wiki where they have a good page and description of the boat.

Since Dana Point is harbor is in my back yard, I made the ling ¾ mile trek down to see what it was all about.  The Dana Point Yacht Club and Dana Point Youth Foundation worked hard to pull this event off and it looked like everyone was enjoying themselves. 

31 boats signed up for the NA’s and Saturday consisted of 3 qualifiers to separate the sailors into a Gold and Silver Fleet.  PRO, Jeremy “Sarge” Quinton, mentioned that they wanted to get off more races but a huge right shift forced the RC to make some massive changes to the course.  Jeremy had this to say about the boats, “It is more consistent between the boats as far as One Design racing is concerned. It really puts the onus on the sailor to perform.  It is a great training boat and good step out of the Sabot.”

I arrived Sunday morning as the sailors were arriving and asked around the docks how the racing went and what the impression of the boats were.  There were a few early birds rigging their boats so I asked them some questions.

Miles Gordon (8 years old, Santa Monica Wind Jammers YC) said, “It’s like a Laser.  I am not allowed to sail a Laser yet so this is a good option. The wind was not too strong yesterday so it made the racing comfortable.”  His Dad chimed in to say, “The boats are great because they are easy to rig and virtually indestructible. Super friendly people and a great attitude amongst every one.”

So the next two young ladies I talked to were some of the first to their boats on Sunday… just remember that. Mora Moro (11 years old, Cal YC) said, “I like the boats because they are faster than Opti’s which makes them more fun.  They are comfortable to sail due to the curves and design.”

Continued at Sailing Anarchy, click here.

Regatta results. click here.

Emily Rychlik once again shows her top skills to win the Olympic Gold Regatta at Westlake Yacht Club and the Fourth of July Regatta at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. Results and photos below. Great improvements for Kate Sweeney and Deagan Willis from Lake Mission Viejo!

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2018 4th of July Regatta
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club

Results are final as of 17:17 on July 7, 2018

Go to Results

30 junior sailors from 7 SoCal clubs raced RS Teras at California Yacht Club on May 12th in Marina del Rey. Tight competition in the upper half of the fleet was dominated by Cal YC’s racing team. The record turnout was a result of recent additions to program owned fleets that now span the region from Orange County to Santa Barbara. The youngest sailor, age 7, Miles Gordon of Santa Monica Windjammers managed a very respectable effort to place in the top half of the fleet. 2016 West Coast Tera champ Tessa Farrell and CYC’s Talia Hamlin, tied going into the 5th race, placed 2nd and 3rd.

Taking top spot, Emily Rychlik of Westlake Yacht Club showed great light air technique and big fleet skills to sail a near perfect regatta with 5 firsts - and this regatta was the first time she sailed a Tera! Click image below for complete results.

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