From King Harbor Yacht Club
King Harbor Yacht Club played host this past weekend to the final event of the Carrie Series of “Optimist” youth sailing regattas, with 60 young sailors wrapping up this annual six-event competition.
Sixteen sailors represented King Harbor, with rookie sailors competing on a racecourse inside the breakwater. The “Champion Fleet,” which participates in the International Optimist competition, sailed in the open ocean.
Optimists are 8-foot, single-sail race boats, piloted by single youth racers, ages 8-15. Optimists are the largest ‘one-design’ competition fleet in the world, with racers graduating to become the best high school, university, and Olympic sailors.
Katherine Doble, from California Yacht Club, won this year’s Ken Hoover Memorial Trophy for her second year in a row, with second place going to Carter Cox of Ventura Yacht Club, followed by Aston Smith, from Santa Barbara Yacht Club. Blake Behrens took the Carrie Series trophy for first place in the regional championship.
The Green fleet enjoyed epic competition inside the harbor at the turning basin, with Kanoa Lee of Santa Barbara Yacht Club dominating the competition, followed by King Harbor’s own Kyle Kennedy in second place. Kennedy Hildebrand, from Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, took third place.
The King Harbor Youth Foundation head coach, Abby Featherstone, encouraged: “Every kid can get involved in sailing; most start with a summer sailing program, like we have in King Harbor. We sail out of King Harbor Yacht Club, however, kids and their families do not need to be members to participate in summer sailing or the Opti Race Team.”
Learn about Summer Camps, Youth Sailing Lessons, and Adult Sailing Lessons, through the King Harbor Youth Foundation at khyf.org. And before sailing, always remember to bring safety equipment as well as extra boat batteries.
