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Junior
Events
Coming hot off the girls-only Mary Rose Marshall, 1st place finished Hadley Slusarz continues to shine
On July 1st and 2nd, the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, with support from Sail Newport, hosted the first Opti Regatta for our 2026 season. On July 1st, sailors participated in a clinic and were met with some heavy, heavy breeze. Olympic sailor Kathleen Tocke worked with the Green fleet and USODA coach Luke Ingalls coached the Champ fleet. We'd like to also thank NBYA Board Members Cheryl and Jack Rienzo for attending and for Jack's service as a protest committee judge.
On July 2nd, the Ida team hosted the official regatta. There were 67 total sailors at this event, with 33 of them being Champ fleet sailors. The team at Ida got off 5 races in total, allowing each sailor to drop their lowest score. The top finisher, Hadley Slusarz of JK Sailing/Barrington Yacht Club, throw out a retirement in R1 and finished with a total score of 5.
Slusarz was closely followed by Sage Dovbniak of the East Bay Sailing Foundation in Bristol, finishing with a total of 8 points. In third place overall was Charlie Dunbar of Conanicut Yacht Club, with a net total of 19 points.
In the Red Fleet, the oldest division, Slusarz placed 1st. There was a tie breaker for 2nd and 3rd place, with 2nd place going to Connor Walmsley of BCRP and 3rd going to Keira Oakley. Oakley recently finished 2nd place at the Mary Rose Marshall regatta, just earlier that week.
In the Blue Fleet, the middle division, Dovbniak came in 1st and was followed by Dunbar in 2nd. 3rd Place went to Ryan Daly of BCRP.
In White Fleet, where sailors are age 10 and younger, Perry Marks came in 1st. Marks hails from BCRP. In 2nd was Ryan Oakley, of Wickford, and in 3rd was Shep Emrick, from the homeclub of Ida Lewis.
These are the first scores for our overall season scoring. The next Opti regatta is being hosted by Barrington Yacht Club on July 16th. Registration closes at 8pm on July 15th.
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Report from Guy Sanchez, Ida Lewis Race Committee:
Bravo Zulu to everyone involved.
The Race Committee spent a great day on the water running the first regatta in this season's four-part Opti series. Conditions were brisk and challenging but never overwhelmed the competitors. The RC ran two circles, each with three boats on the water. The Green Fleet circle used MANATEE (signal), Stubbs (mark), and Hopscotch (safety); MANATEE and Hopscotch were generously provided by Club members Tom Callahan and Deb Penn, respectively. The Championship (Champs) Circle — comprising the Red, White, and Blue Fleets — used Ida (signal), Lime Rock (mark), and Alice Rose (safety), with Alice Rose generously provided by Paul Cardoza.
Green Fleet sailors are less experienced than those in Red, White, and Blue, and for many, this was likely their first racing experience. John Wallace served as Principal Race Officer (PRO) for the Green Fleet, which is designed to give newer sailors a lower-intensity environment that's still challenging and fun. I served as PRO for the Champs Circle, where sailors are more experienced and starts are run under Rule 26. Competitors were aggressive at the starting line, and after a series of general recalls, the RC switched to the I-Flag penalty.
One of the things I enjoy most about this regatta is how well Ida Lewis volunteers work together to make it a success. Race day starts with registration and skippers' meetings for both circles, followed by launching from the beach and escorting the fleet out of the harbor. All RC and coach boats help keep the Optis safe through the harbor entrance, with everyone working together to ensure a safe transit. On the Champs Circle, our safety boat also helped pull and reset marks as conditions shifted.
That cooperation starts well before race day. Organizers included Allison Witton (Junior Program Chair) and Co-Event Organizers Maggie McKillen and Margaret Perkins, who handled much of the logistics behind the scenes — from securing permission with Newport Parks and Recreation for the Optis to stay on the beach overnight, to helping with registration, serving refreshments before the awards ceremony, setting up the awards venue, and taking photos throughout the event. Maggie and Margaret also stayed on-site all day to manage logistics as they came up, and I was grateful for their help throughout.
ILYC runs the Opti 1 Regatta in partnership with Sail Newport (Nick Ewenson, Race Program Director) and NBYA (Paige Chafee, Junior Program Administrator). John Mooney, a certified judge, was also on-site to handle protests.
The work of the ILYC staff was also integral to the regatta's success — from keeping our equipment up and running to managing the logistics of our boats and the venue overall. Thank you to the ILYC staff for a job well done.
Thank you all again for making this event such a success.
Warmest regards,
Guy Sanchez
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