Bermuda Youth Sailors Racing In U.S.
Bermuda’s youth sailors continue racing at a high level on the US East Coast. This past weekend two Bermudians, Mackenzie Cooper and Ryan Powell joined approximatley 450 sailors at the 69th Hyannis Yacht Club Regatta in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Over 280 one-design boats in six classes, including Optimists, Laser Standards and Radials, C420s, J/22s, and F18 Catamarans were competing.
16-year-old Mackenize Cooper finished 9th out of a fleet of 40 Laser Radial sailors. Cooper struggled to find his groove in the initial stages of the regatta but improved as the blustery winds of Nantucket Sound eased.
His final four races of the ten race regatta were all in the top five (3, 4, 4, 2) bringing him up from 15th to 9th overall after 3 days of sailing. The Laser Radial Division was won by Ian Barrows (USVI), 2010 Youth Olympic Gold Medalist.
Mackenzie Cooper is pictured below racing just off  Hyannisport Massachusetts. The “Kennedy family compound” is shown in the background.
Meanwhile on the on the Club 420 course, 16-year-old Ryan Powell and American crew George Luber finished in a respectable 38th place after 11 races. Powell said he was disappointed not to finish higher up in the highly competitive 100 boat fleet.
Last year Powell finished 26th at the same regatta in the 420′s. The Club 420 class was won by Forrest Short and Daniel Ron representing the Houston Yacht Club.
25 miles down the road in Marion, Massachusetts, 12-year-old Chase Cooper was the lone Bermudian competing at the USODA New England Championships in the Optimist dinghy.
Cooper sailed consistently in Buzzards Bay throughout the 13 race regatta and finished 24th out of 295 boats and 8th in his age division of 140 boats. The regatta, hosted by the Beverly Yacht Club, was won by Wade Waddell from the Lauderdale Yacht Club. Waddell is the US invitee for this year’s RenRe Junior Gold Cup in October.
