Young sailors compete in regattas

The Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC) Junior Sailing Team recently participated in the Back-to-School Regatta held at Pontchartrain Yacht Club in Mandeville, Louisiana. Seven members of the team competed against sailors from all along the Gulf Coast region, with teams from yacht clubs in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Long Beach sailors Jonathan Mate, Tenly Ruhlman and Oxford “Brinkley” Caldwell competed in the single-handed Optimist sailboat fleet, while skipper Amelia Clark and crew Eli Hymel sailed a C420. AJ Johnson sailed a Laser Radial, and Neil Patrick Clark competed in the larger Laser Full-Rig. All of the sailors did well in the regatta’s heavy winds. Veteran sailor Neil Patrick Clark was third in the Laser Full category.

Neil Patrick Clark went on to represent Long Beach High School in the South East Interscholastic Sailing Association (SEISA) regatta at Bay-Waveland Yacht Club. The regatta was a qualifying race for the Interscholastic Sailing Association Cressy Singlehanded National Championship.

The Junior Team then competed at the Wadewitz Regatta at Fairhope Yacht Club. Once again, conditions were heavy, especially on Sunday, with wind gusts at times exceeding seventeen knots.  Neil Patrick Clark competed in the Laser Full-Rig category and was fifth. Johnson was seventh in the Laser Radial group. Amelia Clark skippered a 420 with Mate and Ruhlman as crew. The 420 was seventh out of twelve boats. Amelia Clark and crew improved in every race, rising from tenth in their first race to fifth in their last. Caldwell was LBYC’s sole representative in the Optimist races.

The Long Beach Yacht Club provides a range of opportunities for young sailors, including the Club’s Junior Sailing Team, sponsorship of the Long Beach High School Sailing Team, and summer sailing camps. For more information on youth sailing contact Fleet Captain Krista Clark at kristaclark2011@gmail.com.