Clearwater Yacht Clubs’ Laser Midwinter’s East regatta had a decidedly
international flavor this year. The four day event run from the Clearwater Community
Sailing Center February 27-March 1, drew 160 sailors from 10 countries. Many
of the sailors came from the frozen north seeking for sunshine and good racing.
The weather did not cooperate with sunshine, but the tough competition yielded
great racing despite the rain.
Ed Wright, the world’s number 3 ranked Laser sailor from Great Britain,
sailed seven excellent races to win the Laser division. He had three first place
finishes in the seven races sailed with his worst finish a fifth. Coming off
a disappointing 13th at the Miami Olympic Class regatta in January, Andrew Lewis
of Honolulu needed a good result to lock in his berth on the US Sailing Team.
With no race worse then eighth and two first place finishes of his own, Lewis
did exactly what he needed to finishing a very strong second. Mark Mendelblatt
from St Petersburg has recently returned to the Laser Class after taking time
off to do some America’s Cup sailing. Mendelblatt was not in the running
for the US Team having missed the required Pre-Trials event, but he emphatically
won the hotly contested Miami OCR event; regaining his contender if not favored
status for the one available US Laser Olympic berth.
Mendelblatt came ashore after the first day of racing in the lead, fueling
the buzz of his superhuman skills. But alas, sailing is a fickle sport and in
the light and shifty Northwesterly of Friday’s only race, Mendelblatt’s
34th made him mortal once again. Mendelblatt returned to his consistent ways
for the remainder of the event to finish 3rd winning the tiebreaker over Fredrik
Lassenius of Sweden. Lassenius, who finished second in the 2002 Europeans and
won the Radial Worlds in 2000, is a familiar face in Clearwater where he has
spent many hours coaching radial sailors as has Christopher Cook. Cook of Canada,
finished 5th, he is currently pursuing the Canadian Olympic bid in the Finn
class. Cook stepped down to the Laser for this event in an effort to practice
his big fleet skills. Undoubtedly the heaviest top contender on the course,
he displayed his talent by hanging near the top even in the light stuff.
Clearwater Yacht Club’s Zachary Railey and Bradley Funk placed 6th and
9th respectfully qualifying both for the five man US Sailing Team. Also named
to the team were Andrew Campbell of San Diego who finished tenth, Andrew Lewis
of Honolulu and Brett Davis of Largo. Chris Branning of Sarasota finished 21st
qualifying him to represent the US at the ISAF Youth Worlds in Spain this summer.
Canadian qualifier Alex Steele finished 23rd.
Eduardo Cordero of Venezuela won the Radial division for the second consecutive year. The five time Sunfish World Champion graciously cited luck as a big factor in his win over second place Lenka Smidova of the Czech Republic. Smidova is currently ranked fourth in the world in the Europe dinghy (women’s single-handed Olympic boat). Ryan Minth, North American Laser Class President and winner of this event in 2001 was third followed by Sally Barkow, Wisconsin and Albert Olin, Sweden. Sally Barkow, recent ODU graduate, won the radial class at Pre-Trials in November qualifying her for the US Women’s berth at this summer Pan Am Games. Minth & Barkow were the only two of the top ten finishers who hail from the US. The top local radial sailors included Chris Alexander, Ft Myers in 11th and Clearwater Yacht Club’s Mitch Hall and Jeff Sharp in 12th and 13th. Mitch Hall, a former hot shot Optimist sailor, has just recently stepped up to the radial and his 12th in this strong fleet proves that the skills learned in that small boat are transferable. After her recent two time naming as the US Sailing’s female athlete of the year Paige Railey, Clearwater Yacht Clubs 15 year old phenomenon, was a favorite to win. Two disqualifications for early starts put her out of the running, but with no finishes worse then a third she proved once again she’s the real thing. Jennifer Spalding won the Canadian women’s berth for ISAF Youth Worlds by finishing 9th. The US berth was won by Paige Railey at this past summers Leiter Cup.
The competitors were treated to two dinners catered at the sailing center, it was a great opportunity to gather and share tips and ideas. On Saturday evening, International Judge, Pat Healy of Annapolis, gave a very well received presentation on Rule 42. Much has been written lately about North America’s lax enforcement of this rule, and the class demonstrated its intent to remedy the problem with on-the water judging provide by certified judges Ann Newton, Henry Moore and Pat Healy.
The participation of so many top ranked sailors created a unique opportunity for the many regional and club level sailors participating. “It’s like getting to play basketball with Michael Jordon. Sure I’m going to get beat but how many chances do you get to see that talent from that perspective”, remarked one young sailor. With three of the five men qualifying for the US Sailing team calling this area home, Clearwater has become a hot spot of Laser & Radial sailing. Clearwater Community Sailing Center’s wonderful facility and helpful staff, the fantastic sailing conditions in the Gulf’s waves and breezes, and the skilled coaching and RC of Clearwater Yacht Club are the necessary ingredients in continuing to attract the worlds best dinghy sailors.