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South Florida may not have snowstorms, but the white sails on Biscayne Bay looked like a blizzard of boats on the bay during the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta.
There were 559 sailors completing four days of sunshine, sailing, swimming in the pool and social activities. here were card games, kids playing catch with their Orange Bowl rubber balls and coaches talking to their teams, surrounded by parents and siblings.
The Optimist Red/Blue/White class was the largest class with more than 200 sailors.
For London’s Robbie King, it was his third Orange Bowl Regatta. A top ranked Blue Fleeter, King finished eighth. He said: “It is a fun event and makes for great practice.”
J.J. Johnson is a very lucky Opti White Fleet sailor because last year a British gal won an Opti sailboat in the regatta raffle and could not ship it to England.
Johnson’s grandparents bought it and hid it in their garage. After Johnson successfully completed his FCAT school testing, his grandparents sent him to the garage where he found his surprise. He named his boat Sea Dog.
Simon Gomez traveled from Columbia to sail in his first Orange Bowl in the White Fleet.
“I made some new friends”, Gomez said, “and I really liked Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot.”
The Laser Full-Rig class had some very competitive Olympic type racing. For Greg Martinez from Texas Corinthian Yacht Club near Houston, it was his fourth and last Orange Bowl, and he went out a winner, placing first by 18 points.
“It is a good way to end it,” he said. “My favorite thing about the OB is all the new sailors…the new faces.”
Martinez, 18, plans to sail varsity next year in college. Eric Lawrence, Dodge Rees and Luke Muller followed him in the results.
In the 99 boat Laser Radial Class, Michigan’s Mitchell Kiss held onto first place with a 15 point lead. Avery Fanning from South Carolina was second with Puerto Rico’s Juan Perdomo in third place.
Erika Reineke from Lauderdale Yacht Club was the top girl.
The St. Petersburg Yacht Club dominated the Laser 4.7 class with Patrick Shanahan, Liam McCarthy and Nic Baird in the top three.
In the beginner (and younger) Optimist Green Fleet, Miami’s Julia Johannson, 10, was the winner. Despite her challenging last two races, she managed to maintain her lead over Santiago Pacheco from Santo Domingo and Alex Gonzalez from Florida’s Upper Keys to win by 19 points.
The Optimist Red/Blue/White class lived up to its spirited image with the top three sailors finishing three points apart. Will Logue started the day in first place but his 20th place in the last race pushed him to third. Blue Fleeter Henry Marshall and Blue Fleeter Wiley Rogers passed him with finishes in the last two races totaling six points and eight points.
The 420s had a tight regatta with only 11 points between the top three teams. Chicago Yacht Club’s Alex Curtiss and Daniel Ron won, followed by Charlie Lalumiere and Elizabeth Pemberton from Portland, Maine in second and Jack Jorgensen and Savanna Brown from Santa Barbara, Calif. in third.
The top 420 All-Girl Team was Allyson Donahue and Maddie Widmeier from Brigantine Yacht Club in New Jersey.
• The trophies included the Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award. Magnus is CRYC’s Olympic Gold Medalist sailor. His award is for courteous actions and fairness with other competitors and the Race Committee.





















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