Texas State Optimist Championship
By Keen Butcher - reproduced with permission
Thank you to KO Sailing for their Generous Donation - KO Sailing has donated the permanent Trophy for the Texas State Optimist Championship. The Inaugural Championship was held at the Seabrook Sailing Club the weekend of September 22/23...and it was a barnburner... a great way to inaugurate this esteemed championship!
TX State Opti Championship - What are the odds...
The Seabrook Sailing Club hosted the largest regatta in Texas this year. In the Optimist Fleet alone, there were over 80 Optis racing in the first ever Texas State Optimist Championships (there is a long standing Girls Texas State Championship held at the Grapevine Sailing Club outside Dallas).
Dylan Ascencios won the Regatta by virtue of a tie-breaker, but Ryan Vittimberga won the Texas State Championship. Huh? How did that happen?
After all of the races were scored, they each had their worst race removed from the scoring and the two were tied (it is customary and expected as that is part of the rules). Dylan Ascencios won the tie-breaker and the Regatta. But the "deed of Gift" for the Texas State Championship trophy states that the trophy winner is the sailor who scores the best without the removal of any (throw out) races from scores - which means Ryan Vittimberga won the Inaugural Texas State Optimist Championship trophy!
This sounds like the beginning of Jr. America's Cup Legal Saga. In 50 years, the Seabrook Courthouse may be the venue of choice for determining the owner of this perpetual trophy.
If the donors and receiver of the deed of gift choose to get together and make any change to the "deed of gift"... let me throw in my two cents....consider a trophy name change at the same time... to the "Republic
of Texas" Championship! Just trying to "keep the pot stirred"! :)
In the meantime, the Perpetual Trophy stays proudly on display at KO Sailing and Ryan Vittimberga has earned the representative trophy he gets to keep forever.
Congratulations to both, and the other 80 sailors, for a great regatta.
In addition to the large Opti Fleet, there was also large contingent of 420 and Laser Sailors.
Congratulations to Ford McCann, who after winning the North American 4.7 Laser Championship as a 12 year old this year (no age group, he is the champion, period), he came back to Seabrook and beat Texas' best Radial sailors to capture his first Radial title in Texas (and yes, he is still only 12... but will turn a ripe old 13 soon).
Sophia Sole, just recently out of the Opti fleet captured her first 4.7 Laser Title. Congratulations.
On the 420 course, Fort Worth Boat Club's Alex Schwinn and her crew, Anne O'Riordan, won the Regatta. They have cemented themselves as members of the elite of Texas 420 racers.
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