The 2009 British Nationals is in the books, and talented American Opti sailors are a big part of the story

The 2009 British Nationals is over, and it is hard to believe a week has come and gone here in Scotland.  As the almost 400 sailors dragged their battle-worn boats up the slipway one last time there could be no question this was one heck of an event!

We had races cancelled due to no wind, sun that rivaled my Florida hometown, rain that soaked us to the bone and finally the biggest breeze of the week switched on just in time for the final three races.

What a day to decide the British National Championships!

15-20 knots ripping down the channel, torrential rain at times and temperatures that reminded us of the downright cold conditions of 2009 USODA Team Trials greeted the sailors as they prepped their boats.  Most of Team USA chose drysuits, and it was a good call.  The Americans were first to the site and first to rig, not just because Coach Bryan said so but also because it was clear they were ready to get on with it!

The GBR sailors were loaded for bear and Team IRL was ready to rumble as they looked up at the scores and saw two Americans at the top of Senior and Junior Fleet.  And our sailors?  If you listened closely you would probably have heard "...bring it on."  New friends off the water but fierce competitors once the warning flag was hoisted, this international fleet was simply impressive to watch as the sailors found a way to handle the pressure of representing their respective nations.

So after the toughest day of racing for the event, the results are in.  GBR, fueled by outstanding heavy air speed, came from behind and finished  1-2 in Senior Fleet.  Team USA's light air speedster Roger Dorr fought hard and held on for 3rd overall, top overseas Senior competitor and best first day scoreline, while Team USA's Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick finished 8th overall and 1st Senior girl and 1st overseas Senior girl .  Nathaniel Johansson had the heartbreak of losing a 1st to a Black Flag OCS today but wrapped the regatta with two 3rds to finish 9th.  Rounding out Team USA's strong close were American aces Ravi Parent in 21st, Jack Toland in 23rd and Jack Budill in 33rd.

In the Junior Gold Fleet American Jack Johansson came that close to victory but in the end had to settle for 2nd to IRL.  Adele Whitmyer finished 6th overall, 1st Junior girl and 1st overseas Junior girl.  Ian MacDiarmid stepped up to post the best American score line in the Junior Gold Championship round to finish 8th overall, and fellow Floridian Ben Kern proved to be a force to be reckoned with, ending with a strong 11th overall.   Rounding out five Americans in the top twelve was Haddon Hughes, who earned a 2nd in Junior girls as well.  US National White Fleet Champion Parker Hughes had a challenging last day and ran out of drops, but still finished a solid 30th overall.

Results Summary

1st Senior Fleet: Callum Airlie (GBR)

1st Junior Fleet: Cian Byrne (IRL)

1st Overseas, Best first day score line, 3rd Overall Senior: Roger Dorr (USA)

1st Girls Senior, 1st Overseas Girls Senior, 8th overall: Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick (USA)

1st Girls Junior, 1st Overseas Girls Junior, 6th overall: Adele Whitmyer (USA)

Full Overall American Results

Juniors overall (145 boats):

2nd Jack Johansson

6th  Adele Whitmyer

8th  Ian MacDiarmid  

11th Ben Kern

12th Haddon Hughes

30th Parker Hughes

Seniors overall (109 total boats):

3rd Roger Dorr

8th Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick

9th Nathaniel Johansson

21st Ravi Parent

23rd Jack Toland

33rd Jack Budill

And so it ends with a fabulous photo finish with GBR, IRL and the USA each taking home their fair share of silverware. Bravo to every participant, volunteer and parent who made this event fantastic... and let me say no one does an awards ceremony like our UK cousins.  

The rain continues to fall in Largs as Team USA dodges raindrops on the way to what is possibly the world's only waterfront bowling alley for one more night together.  Each member has become a better sailor after their week with Coach Bryan Paine and guest coach/US Laser rockstar Luke Lawrence and have some new memories they will never forget.

As for me, it's bye for now - I'm off to the Highlands for some haggis!

A personal note from your Team USA scribe

As the sun sets over Arran and we get ready for the final day of championship racing here at Largs, I'd like to say it's been great fun being your faithful scribe this past week.  My grandfather was born just just to the east in Glasgow and we have family on Islay, in Fort William and outside Edinburgh so in a way this week has been like coming home.  While my 10 year old son Ian sails for Team USA, his Campbell Clan roots are deep.  

We are so proud of the terrific performance of our American sailors.  Each of you represented your country with commitment, passion and honor.  To Jack B, Jack T, Megan, Roger, Ravi, Nathaniel, Ben, Adele, Ian, Haddon and of course Jack and Parker, it has been super to spend the week with all of you - you're amazing sailors with bright futures, well done!   And Bryan and Luke, your leadership brought out the best in these sailors.  Kudos!  

To our UK hosts, thank you once again for a fabulous week in Scotland.  The conditions kept us on our toes, the competition has been tremendous and the hospitality always warm.

Looking at the score sheets, Friday's racing is sure to be to be a classic dogfight in both Senior and Junior Fleets.  Stay tuned and get ready to be on the edge of your seats for one more day of world class racing from some of the finest junior sailors around!

Thanks for sticking with us all week.  

Best, Blake

Americans top both Senior & Junior Fleets going into the final day of British Nationals

Americans Roger Dorr and Jack Johansson turned on the jets today to stand atop the leader boards of both the Senior and Junior Fleets.

Dorr finished a strong 2nd and Johansson nailed a 1st in the only race of the day.  In Senior Fleet, Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick moved into the top ten and stands at the top of the girls championship chase.  All of Team USA in in the top 31, with good drops to come.  In the Junior Fleet every American is in the championship Gold division, and Team USA's Ben Kern came from behind to make it an American 1-2 in today's race and move up to 5th overall.  Adele Whitmyer scored 5th to end the day in 3rd overall, and Ian MacDiarmid faded from 1st place after a tough kinetics flag to finish 10th, but moved up to 8th overall to make it 4 Americans in the top ten. 

Coach Paine has called for an 8:15 rigged/ready time, so it's bunky time.  Please send all your positive thoughts our way here in Largs as some of America's best junior sailors put aside the butterflies and get ready to do battle for all the marbles tomorrow for the British Optimist Championship!

Team USA's Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick scores her best result of the week to lead overall girls championship position going into final day of racing

Team USA continues momentum in Senior race 9 - Roger Dorr 2nd & Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick 5th at gate

Junior Gold Fleet series begins with Americans on the move - Ian MacDiarmid 2nd & Jack Johansson 3rd at gate

Team USA pushes past halfway mark of British Nationals – Dorr leads Seniors while 4 Americans fill the top ten in the Juniors

Downpours.  Sun.  Big consistent blasts of wind.  Light shifty summer breeze.  We had it all today in Largs for the fourth day of championship sailing as Team USA strengthened its position at the top of the Senior Fleet while an American remains a close 2nd in the Juniors.

Team USA's laid back dude Roger Dorr started the day tied for first, but by the end of racing today had put 10 points on second place GBR star Callum Airlie.  Dorr's secret weapon?  His super cool Amsterdam woollie hat.  While GBR sailors fill 7 of the top ten slots and with Spain in 5th, Team USA's hardest working guy Nathaniel Johansson ground back into the top ten again.  Team USA's USNT Top Gun Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick is just 2 places back in 12th, and Team USA's Ravi Parent absorbed a DSQ today that dropped him back to 21 - when another drop hits the board he will jump back up quickly.  Team USA's Jack Budill continues to impress with his steady improvement over the week and wrapped today's racing with a 12th, and Team USA's hard charging Seattle star Jack Toland will be addressing a "what the heck NYF?" score in the morning.  

Now that more than 6 races have been completed the Junior Fleet will be split into Gold and Silver divisions tomorrow - and every American will be solidly in the hunt at the top of Gold when racing begins again.   Jack Johansson, now up to 2nd, is stalking the IRL leader Peter McCann and Team USA's Adele Whitmyer is solidly in 4th after efficiently recovering from a "oops... I just capsized!" moment sailing downhill today.  Team USA's South Florida "twins" Ian MacDiarmid and Ben Kern continue to lurk in the top ten and reminded the leaders they are a dangerous duo by scoring a breakaway 1-2 in race 7A.  Team USA's Texas toughies Haddon Hughes and brother Parker easily qualified for Gold Fleet and have the clear talent to break back into the top ten in the final two days.

Team Dinner and bowling went late tonight so I'll have to sign off for now.  More pics will be coming, and check Mac's shots at his Picasa site (see link in a previous post), they are fabulous.

Standing by in the UK wondering why I ate haggis for lunch…

Team USA's "Mr. Laid Back" Roger Dorr - Senior Fleet leader with 2 days to go

Team USA's Jack Budill gets fired up for championship racing on day three

"A view from across the pond..."

It was super cool to arrive at the event site on Tuesday morning and find our blog printed and posted under the title "A view from across the pond..." on the official Volvo information board in the race tent.  Wow, we're now officially international - and I hope my sometimes weak attempts at humor translate reasonably well  :) :)

I must say with its sleek layout, bold headlines and colorful action pictures the blog printout simply dominated the information board!  (Sorry Michael, I just couldn't resist!)

In all seriousness, we're having a blast of a time here in Largs and it's great fun to share our experiences with our many friends back in the States - and those next to us in the boat park here at the British Nationals, too.  Cheers!

 

Team USA's Ian MacDiarmid (USA16708) ripping upwind with buddy Jack Johansson

Team leader Wes Whitmyer checks settings on Roger Dorr's Winner ride

Super cool big professional on the water pics from Team USA parent Mac Budill

Cut and paste the link below to reach Team USA parent Mac Budill's awesome pics from the race course and boat park:

picasaweb.google.com/embudill/2009britishnationals#

Thanks Mac!

Official results link

For official results, cut and paste the link below to your browser and then chose from the "view results" menu on the left side of the page:

http://www.kbsuk.com/Optimist/IOCAEvents/index.asp?EventID=17

Team USA goes from strength to strength, while GBR & IRL fire back with impressive performances on day two of championship racing

On the second day of championship racing our Irish and UK friends fired back with excellent sailing today.  It's so much fun to sail with them, and Scotland's hospitality deserves its legendary status.

With cool, rainy and shifty conditions waiting for them on course Team USA suited up and hit the water.  After a delay waiting for the course to be set, our sailors figured out the pin was WAY favored.  In fact in race 1 Nathaniel Johansson became tangled in the pin anchor line trying to take advantage and got off the line in dead last... yet turned on the jets (does he have one of those Alinghi engines stowed somewhere on that Opti?  Sorry, this BOR fan just couldn't resist!) to round the top mark 3rd and earn my grind back award of the day.  

There are interesting nuances to this regatta program that switched on sailors are using.  One is the seemingly always pin favored line which allows a well timed pin approach to yield a camera-clicking, crowd-goes wild port cross of the fleet.  The others offer even more advantages as we approach the gold/silver rounds... but we'll keep them as proprietary Team USA info for the time being :)

So what about results you say?  Well after four races and awaiting the scores for race 5 I'm happy to report all 6 American sailors in the top ten in Junior Fleet (with Adele Whitmyer leading Team USA notching 2 bullets and sitting 3rd overall) out of 145 boats!  The IRL sailors really stepped up today and currently sit 1-2.  We're in for a three nation dogfight in the final 3 days as standout GBR sailor Freddie Grogono rounds out the top ten in 4th place.

There's more good stuff after 5 races in Senior Fleet with Roger Dorr again on top of the heap in first ahead of hard charging GBR sailors Josh Voller and Murray Hampshire.  When Murray drops his 24 tomorrow we'll be in for quite a battle between these two.  While Team USA's Dorr leads the way, six of the top ten are GBR sailors with Spain and Ireland rounding out the top ten making this a truly international field.  Also, Team USA's Nathaniel Johansson has jumped up to 11th after dropping a DSQ, Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick and Ravi Parent are lurking in 12th and 13th ready to pounce and every American is in the top 33.  There can be no question Coach Bryan Paine has Team USA on track and charging hard.

After getting off the water quite late and lots of soaking wet gear to sort through it's time to sign off for now.  But stay tuned, because Team USA is just warming up and day three is just around the corner!

More pics from Team Mom Bethany Hughes

Team USA take-no-prisoners Box Soccer at the Hydro!

Janet, Michael & unexpected Scottish sun!

Team USA Grrrrrrrls!

The rarely photographed and highly elusive Roger & Ravi

Looking relaxed, Team USA's Ravi Parent and Roger Door take a break from championship Opti racing for a 400hp blast across the Firth of Clyde with the Team's King of Fun Stefan Johansson

"It always blows in Largs..." Just not today

"It always blows in Largs..."  We heard that a lot today.  After waking to a dreary, rainy morning with some early breeze, the Scottish weather gods threw us for a loop.  Out of the gloom over the mountains... sun, and lots of it!  

After 4 hours with the cat in the hat flag flying (well, hanging) the organizers made the right decision to call the day.  Much of Team USA had anticipated the move, and were treated to a ride across the bay to a beach for some serious swimming and lunch.  Stefan Johansson was the master of ceremonies aboard his 30' 400hp RIB, and made sure no one aboard was board on the journey!

Once the RIB crew returned, we decamped from the venue and back at the Seamill Hydro hotel (Team USA's home away from home) we saw how the weather really can change from town to town here.  Just 6 miles from still-as-a-mill-pond Largs, we found 8-10 knots in the bay off the hotel!  As I type sitting on the front lawn it is almost 80 degrees, sunny and breezy with views that seem to almost allow a glimpse of Ireland.   

As the day winds down with most of the team in the Hydro's pool and we get ready for our second team dinner, Scotland continues to surprise... what a fantastic place.

Random snaps from the first 3 days at Largs

Jack Budill - always smiling to keep the beachmaster guessing!

Dorothy MacDiarmid chauffeurs Team USA 

unofficial mascots Will and Baby Clare

"Jack, I'm ready for the parent race!"

Sudah, Stefan and Janet covering measurement details... or are they 

plotting to bring the UK launch/retrieval scheme back to the US?

"Ian, you can set your rake wherever you want - but that hair is 

becoming a major aerodynamic issue!"

Team USA dominant in first day of championship racing

Delivering an impressive performance on the first day of championship racing here at the 2009 British Nationals, Team USA and Coach Bryan Paine made it clear they have the pace, performance and persistence to get the job done.  Breeze today was shifty and lighter than expected and proved a challenge to those with a "normal" Largs setup, and Team USA seemed to change gears as a group the best.

Leading the way for Team USA, Roger Dorr sits atop the leaderboard in the Senior fleet, despite battling a severe migrane headache throughout the afternoon.  That's one tough kid! But this isn't a one man show since Ravi Parent is nipping on his heels in 3rd (a bullet in race 2 helped his cause), Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick sits in 12th, Nathaniel Johansson in 21st, Jack Budill in 25th and Jack Toland in 31st.  Each got off the line well and fought to master the current that is abundant here on the Firth of Clyde.

The news in Junior Fleet is just as exciting to report - how about all 4 Team USA sailors in the top eight?  Woohoo!  Ben Kern led off the day's racing with a bullet and is top American in 3rd. Ian MacDiarmid is just behind in 5th, Haddon Hughes next in 6th and Adele Whitmyer in 8th after winning race 2.

In fact, 3 of 6 possible first place finishes in championship fleet racing today went to boats carrying "USA" on their sail.  That's a heck of a way to start the week!

And to go along with the excellent on the water performance, let's not forget every member of Team USA continues to make new international friends and represent our Country in a remarkable way.  Under Brian Payne's leadership our sailors are making us all very proud.

After racing, our ever-hospitable Scottish hosts treated all overseas sailors, families and coaches to a reception in the event tent.  With a live traditional band, refreshing beverages and the opportunity to meet new friends it was just another example of how much fun international Opti events can be.

PS  After some technical difficulties we're hoping to get some big lens images of of the racing up soon.  Thanks for your patience! 

A real road sign 5 minutes from Largs... a fancy way of saying "speedbump/crosswalk"!

Slipway Yellow Card!

The Beachmaster is a force to be reckoned with here at Largs.  Our sailors learned this morning that while there are dozens of official volunteers in official looking uniforms giving official direction in the launch approach, only one person really matters in the end... 

the Beachmaster!

After two false starts approaching the safety tally box (above left), Team USA slid back toward the boatpark to await the next wave of launches... all but Nathaniel, who slid over to the left corner of the entrance hoping to hold his place. 

Unfortunately, the Beachmaster apparently has eyes in the back of his head and caught our boy in action!    Poor Nathaniel (looking a bit forlorn in "Launch Purgatory" above right) was allowed to stay right where he was... but not allowed to enter the slipway until every other boat in his fleet launched.  Ouch!  Don't mess with the Beachmaster!

Hey, Mason! Plus roads, windmills and sun?

A big morning shout out to our buddy and resident Houston Opti hotshot Mason Mings.  Feel better soon dude, we're all thinking about you!

Up for a walk this morning, finally moved from our downtown Glasgow hotel to Largs.  5 minute commute vs. close to an hour on hedgerow-lined secondary roads with modern windmill farms along the route.  Makes one wonder if they can do it here why can't we have more windpower in the US?

PS When I say secondary roads I do mean secondary! When we pass a vehicle going the other direction we all hold our breath, especially when it's a big truck.  Yikes!

Forecast is for sun this morning, so conditions may be quite different from yesterday.  Stay tuned.

Opening Ceremonies: Cool Piper

How often do you see bagpipes at a regatta?  Cool!

Pics from Registration and Practice Race Day

Quaint Scottish countryside, meet 300+ international Opti sailors!

Nathaniel becomes an immediate fan of "valet" sailing!

Here comes Team USA 

Registration starts in an hour - and Team USA is front row!

Haddon Hughes happy to have dad arrive today in Largs!

Enough of the sunshine, here comes real Scotland weather

Now this is Scotland - rain and breeze and mist and haze.  The sunshine went away for most of the day and the real Largs showed itself.  Baggies were packed back in gearbags, replaced by fleece under drysuits and Team USA was ready to go!  

The American parents - led by Sudha Parent, Ellis Kern and "Stephanie" Hughes were on the spot for a front row start with great pace at the registration desk to get the entire team checked in.  Even though a few youngsters were "OCS" in a congested line of over 100 people and caused some commotion, Team USA was dolly-stickered and ready to hit the slipway by 10:30.

Then the rain came down.  And down.  And down some more.

Only one of the British Teams and Team USA braved the conditions to get some practice in before the afternoon, but by the time they returned for lunch they had sorted out the current and were feeling good. 

The Team pleaded with the beachmaster to let them launch early for the official practice race, but the Big Man of the Slipway was having none of it.  Finally at 2:30 our group made their way past the safety check and launched.  If you haven't experienced a UK Opti launch, it's a pretty impressive site.  In addition to the aforementioned beachmaster and safety band brigade, there were upwards of ten launch/retrieval assistants (in waders out in the water!) and a dozen dolley "valets" to match sailors with dollies.  They even have a two person hose team that washed down each boat quickly and efficiently when they moved back to the boat park.  You have to see it to believe it!  

Well, Coach Bryan and the Team's AM practice clearly paid off with both Junior and SeniorTeam USA sailors punched out with blazing boatspeed up a remarkably long first weather beat.  In the first Junior start, Ian MacDiarmid owned the middle left off the pin to round the top mark first, with Ben Kern not far behind.  Both pulled off the course as they approached the gate to put their gear away early and prep for tomorrow's first race.  In Junior start II, Haddon Hughes recovered from a kinetics call to finish a strong top 10.  She's super fast and likes the conditions.  In the Senior fleet Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick, Jack Toland, Jack Budill,  Ravi Parent and Nathaniel Johansson were just as strong. Working the current and hitting shifts at the top of the fleet, all 5 showed tremendous pace and maturity in the boats.  It's going to be an exciting week!

With boats put away and team uniforms on, it was time for... bagpipes!  Yes, real live bagpipes played by an Opti-aged Scot, and just in time the sun emerged from behind the clouds to set the stage for a perfect team picture as the opening ceremonies began.  Megan was offered the honor of giving the competitors' oath for all the overseas competitors, which she did with great respect.  Well done.

So there you have it.  As curfew rolls over Team USA, our group is ready for great sailing and good luck as the British Nationals begins tomorrow.  Launch time is noon and now that Adele and Roger have arrived Team USA is firing on all cylinders and is the best prepared group in Largs.

Game on!

More pics from Thursday & Friday

What's a blog without pics? Thursday and Friday at Largs

9PM Dinner in the daylight

Actually, it's 10PM and still light out here in Largs.  We're getting used to driving on the left side of the road and being served Sprites when we order lemonade, but it's hard to get used to driving home at 10PM when it's still light out.  

It looked for a while like Team USA wouldn't get out on the water today as the water was glassy and not a flag was moving, so we rigged again and sorted out various setups and loaded the gear back into our storage trailer.  Of course, as soon as we did and Coach Bryan set off with the sailors for a RIB tour of the bay... breeze up!  Perhaps not quite "up", but 4-8 and enough to get out on the water so rigging got rolling and they were off.   Well, all off except Ben Kern who forgot his blades in the locked trailer.  His was a lonely Opti in the slipway until he retrieved a spare set and launched in hot pursuit of the rest of the team!

Certainly not the solid 10-15+ we're expecting for the week but good enough to get the Team sorted and make sure everyone knows where to launch and what rocks to avoid on the way out, important stuff if you want to get your charter deposit back!

Team dinner at Regattas, the hotspot of the Largs Yachting Center, was quite the affair.  With 25 Americans taking over the second floor they won't forget us for a while.  Heck, we even paid the bill so I guess we can go back again tomorrow...

Tomorrow Team USA will be at full strength with the arrival of Adele and Roger.  With measurement complete, we'll register at 9AM and launch at 10AM to get a few hours in before the practice racing begins after lunch.  Our sailors are getting really excited about competing with the best the UK has to offer... but for now it's past curfew.

Thanks for checking in with us.  More tomorrow as British Nationals officially begins with opening ceremonies and hundreds of Optis ready to hit the line.

T minus 2 days to the first gun - but what time is it anyway?

Why is the alarm buzzing at 2:45AM?  While our bodies and blackberry buzzer still thinks it's the dark of night somewhere in America, the sun is up and truck backup "beeps" are already filling the air in downtown Glasgow.

Full Scottish breakfast here we come!

It's fun to be in a place that gets excited about sailing on a main street basis.  In fact, we went to the front of the customs/immigration line when the officials spied Ian wearing his Team USA jacket, and people on the street have asked about the Nationals.  Pretty cool.

Folks like Ellen MacArthur, Ben Ainsle and Team GBR sure have made sailing a front page story here.  Just this week the smashing of the West-East Transatlantic record by the Giant Trimaran Bank Populaire (with Cammas and the Groupama monster just behind) and the start of the Fastnet Race are big news!  Effective PR splashes about sailing can work, a lesson for sailors from the US...

Back to Largs.  Our is team is a bit scattered lodging-wise the first 2 days as hotels near the venue are scarce.  Looking forward to clearing measurement today, time on the water for the sailors and a team dinner tonight - haggis anyone?

Look out Largs: Team USA ready to roll at 2009 British Opti Nationals!

By tomorrow our entire team will have descended on quaint Largs.  Our brand new Winner Optis came out of their boxes this week, the kids are hot off their summer competition schedules and it's going to be a great week!

Well, maybe hot isn't quite the right word.  Especially for those of us from Texas and Florida, the weather is taking some getting used to - it's brisk to downright chilly!  Breeze today hovered at 10-15, clear and cool with a high just touching 70.  Our Slam jackets will be well used... and drysuits are the way to go!

Our Scottish and UK Optimist Class event hosts are fantastic, helping with logistics and measurement questions and generally making the practice days effective and fun.

Tomorrow we'll get out on the water as a full team and get Team USA ramped up for the unique conditions here on the West coast of Scotland.  Curfew is closing in, so it's time to grab a bite to eat and get some rest.  Looking forward to a great week so check back in daily on www.teamusascotland.blogspot.com

Standing by in traffic on the M8 on the way for real live fish & chips...