Courageous Sailing Center - Kids Program
        the best youth sailing program on Boston Harbor!

KIDS RACING OPPORTUNITIES AT COURAGEOUS

2007 Rhodes 19 Junior Nationals- August 23-24 Courageous Sailing Center hosted the two-day 2007 Rhodes 19 Junior Nationals on Boston Harbor. Download the Scores here! With the wind light and shifty the first day and strong the next, the racing was competitive and put the skills of the fourteen teams of junior sailors to the test over sixteen races. A strong performance by Courageous’ own Colin Santangelo, Luke Boelitz and Doug Krolman provided a formidable challenge to last year’s winner David Pierce from Boston’s Community Boating (CBI) and his crew Katerina Yee and Olivia Pierce, but in spite of trading first and second place with Pierce for much of Day 2, Santangelo couldn’t overcome a Day 1 deficit and came in second overall behind Pierce, who took first place once again for the third straight year. Third place overall went to CBI’s Danielle Sylvia and crew of Gabe Woolf-Sullivan and Steven Presser, who finished consistently near the top throughout the event. The regatta got underway on Thursday on a short course in front of the Tobin Bridge at the base of the Mystic River. In spite of the light conditions, all spinnakers were flying and exciting downwind pile-ups, passes and lead changes were the norm during the day’s races. Good starts and consistency put Courageous’s Karan Singhal, Will Manning and Nate Dempkowski in second place at the end of Day 1, but CBI’s Pierce won the day with multiple first places and just 15 points. On Friday winds averaging 15 knots and gusts over 20 allowed for a longer course in front of the Charlestown Navy Yard. Jibs became favored over spinnaker by many of the lightweight crews, often still finishing toward the top while others struggled to keep their chutes under control. With just jib and main downwind, Courageous skipper Drea Michalowski put together good starts and solid upwind speed to take a third place in the race 6 and fifth place in race 4. While finishing in the middle of the pack overall Courageous skippers Tim McGuirk and Amanda Anastasia deserve honorable mention for skillful performances and several top five finishes. David Pierce finished the event with commanding lead of 26 points, in front of Colin Santangelo, with 61 and Danielle Sylvia, with 68. The Rhodes 19 Junior Nationals is an open regatta for sailors ages 18 and younger hosted each year at the end of August by the Courageous Sailing Center.