Stan Wins South American Champs Qualifier
Current National Optimist Champion Sam Stan won the local South American Championship Qualifier Series this past Sunday [Feb 13] in convincing fashion.
The series, sailed in the Great Sound, determined the seven eligible Bermuda sailors who will be asked to attend the 2011 IODA South American Championships in Algarrobo, Chile, from March 14 – 24th.
Sunday’s five races made up Part 2 of the qualifying series while fifteen races sailed last November made up Part 1. RBYC sailor, Stan led the fleet with 26 points followed by Rory Caslin with 53 points. Ceci Wollmann was the top female and 3rd overall with a total of 61 points.
Stan is pictured below awaiting the start of one of the races this past Sunday. Photo by Somers Cooper:
Rounding out the top seven in the Qualifying Series were Antonio Bailey, Makai Joell, Ellie Wollmann and Ferdinand Arnold. Caslin was the “hot” boat of the day on Sunday, winning Part 2 with four 1st place finishes and one 3rd place finish.
Sunday’s racing was also part of the ongoing Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA) Winter Series. Half way through the series, Stan leads the Gold Fleet followed again by Caslin and Wollmann. The Silver fleet is led by James Amaral followed by Peter Dill and Matilda Nicholls.
Taking advantage of winter sailing opportunities, British sailor Mimi El-Khazindar joined the local sailors this past Sunday. The 13 year old female from London is sailing with the local Optimist fleet during the half term break, taking advantage of BODA’s high performance race clinic with Polish coach Zizi Staniul.
Complete results available on the BODA website.
