Good Wind and Good Times at Larchmont Junior Race Week

C420 sailors prepare to round the windward mark Tuesday morning.

Perhaps best described by Huguenot Yacht Club’s Alexa DiIorio as “the biggest regatta of the summer that everyone gets really excited for!” Larchmont Yacht Club’s Junior Race took place last Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday amid a large number of sailors and very nice conditions.

Many sailors look forward to Junior Race Week not only for the racing aspect of it, but also for the social opportunities the regatta offers.

“I think it’s a nice opportunity to bring all the sailors from Long Island Sound together, not just as competitors, but also to make friends,” Graham Alan Landy, a C420 instructor from American Yacht Club, said  in an interview on Wednesday.

Melanie Gedney (right) from Cedar Point spent time with her friend, Katherine Poole from Huguenot, during the postponement period Monday morning.

“My favorite things about this event are catching up with old friends and meeting new people,” Melanie Gedney, a Laser Radial sailor from Cedar Point Yacht Club who has attended Race Week for many years, expressed Monday morning before harbor start.  “And racing, of course,” she added.

At the center of the social scene at Race Week is Tuesday evening’s dance, featuring a DJ and a live band.  For many sailors, the dance is one of the main reasons for attending Race Week.

“All of the people who you meet here and all the fun you have at the dance… that’s what keeps me coming back to this regatta every year,” Anna Robling, a C420 sailor from Larchmont, said in an interview just before the awards ceremony.

“I’m looking forward to ripping it up at the dance floor,” explained Brendan Kopp, a Laser/C420 coach from Cedar Point.

Aside from the social aspects of the race and the dance, there was also a very good showing on the actual racecourse.  The wind blew pretty consistently throughout the regatta, and it was generally smooth sailing aside from a small lull Monday morning and a squall Wednesday afternoon.

Larchmont Yacht Club's Chrissie Klingler approaches the dock Monday afternoon after finishing the last race of the day.

“It was a bit shifty, but it wasn’t that bad,” Bridget Clarke, a C420 sailor from Pequot Yacht Club, expressed after racing on Monday.  “Overall I had a good day.”

The Pequot team of Russell Clarida and Tristan Sess won 1st in the C420 division (as well as the perpetual Commodore's Trophy for overall best performance in the regatta), while Anna-Luisa Brakman and Christine Fiore from Noroton Yacht Club won 1st place in Pixels, and Huguenot’s team of Sophia Rogers and Haley Horn took home 1st in the Blue Jay division.  American’s Ethan Stark won the Laser division, and Gerard Eastman from Seawanhaka Yacht Club placed 1st in Laser Radials.

There were also some prestigious special perpetual awards at the regatta.  Gillian Boehsinger, a Laser Radial sailor from American, won the O'Donnell Trophy for consistently showing herself to be outstanding in seamanship and sportsmanship.  Christine Fiore from Noroton recieved the Crew Prize for having the best crew performance at Junior Race Week.  The Windjammer Trophy, presented by the Norwegian Consulate, was awarded to all instructors and coaches, who as a group showed exemplary qualities of seamanship and sportsmanship as they safely and rapidly escorted junior sailors off the water prior to an approaching storm.

Full regatta results are available on the regatta documents page of our website (JsaLis.org).  Also, there are hundreds of pictures from Race Week on our Facebook page, “JSA of LIS.”  Check them out here (they are separated into albums by day).