Madison ILYA Opti Clinic - A big hit!

The Madison Opti fleet enjoyed a beautiful day on the water on Sunday, August 29. Twelve optis with 15 children took part in a clinic sponsored by the Inland Lakes Yachting Association. The Inlands brought in two Opti coaches to help our young fleet progress to the next level. Coaches Andrew Fox from the Geneva Lake Sailing School and Brendan Boylan from the Lake Calhoun Sailing School put the sailors through a day of boat handling drills while keeping it fun. Special thanks goes out to ILYA's Candace Porter for suggesting the clinic and assisting with the arrangements.

The Mendota Yacht Club also lent their support through the use of motor boats for the instructors and pier/park facilities at Burrows Park.

Melissa Hanson gets the #1 Opti mom award for bringing two boats and five children to the lake while Jamie was tied up with a home renovation project. Go Melissa! Trey Sprinkman and Kyle Metzloff went the extra mile in towing boats from the Madison Youth Sailing Foundation sailing center in Warner Bay. Brian Anderson lent a hand in prepping the launching beach. Donna Schoor came through with serving platters to lend that special touch to the lunch.

The kids enjoyed the 15 mph southwest breeze and warm late-summer temperatures. While the Optis sailed near shore, Scow sailors traveled to the middle of the lake for the Sunday series. Burrows Park was buzzing with activity when the E's and I-20's returned to the pier in the midst of 12 Optis parked for lunch.

Congratulations to all Opti sailors for completing the clinic and advancing their sailing skills. Sailors included:

Billie and Micah Hanson
Bryn Ostby
Oscar and Martha Anderson
Will and Bella Sprinkman
Quinn and Colin Senke
Meta and Fritz Simon
Tyler and Cayley Metzloff

More photos at the picasa page.

Opti Clinic this Sunday

Hello fellow Madison Opti Parents:

We are pleased to announce details of this Sundays Opti Clinic hosted by ILYA"s and the Madison Opti Fleet.

Date: Sunday Aug. 29th
Location: Burrows Park
Time: 10:00am- 4:00pm
Cost: $20 per sailor
Boat Rental (if needed) $30

Lunch will be provided for the sailors and parents. Please contact Hope Simon if you would like to help with lunch arrangements.

Our two instructors are Andrew Fox from Lauderdale, FL. He was an Opti standout and has coached in FL and this year at Lake Geneva. His sailors this year were most successful. He has a winsome smile that will immediately place the sailors at ease. He competed at both Single and Doublehanded Collegiate Nationals as a freshman.

The second instructor is Brendon Boylan from Lake Calhoun, MN. He traveled to many national events as an Opti sailor and was appointed to one of the international teams while in Optis. Brendon competed in the Doublehanded Collegiate Nationals as a freshman representing UW. He spent the summer coaching on Calhoun. He has a quick wit and easy-going demeanor which makes him a favorite with the UW team and his young sailors.

Let's hope/pray for good weather and have a great time teaching the kids the love of sailing. Questions or comments? Please contact Greg Simon 849-4605

No Tears Results now on-line

Pine Lake Yacht Club has posted the full results from the 20th anniversary No Tears Regatta. Seven Madison sailors competed in the event and for most it was their first regatta. Thirty-nine boats were scored in the junior fleet. Overall finishes for the Madison fleet were as follows. Complete results can be found here.

Oscar Anderson 27th
Billy Hanson 20th
Micah Hanson 31st
Tyler Metzloff 22nd
Bryn Ostby 23rd
Quinn Senke 32nd
Meta Simon 7th

ILYA Opti Clinic on Lake Mendota

We are excited to announce that the ILYA and Madison Opti Racing is hosting an Opti sailing clinic on Lake Mendota on Sunday Aug. 29th.

The ILYA has offered to recuit two National level Opti coaches to come in and work with our Madison area Opti sailors. IYLA has been thrilled with the revivial of youth sailing in our area and wants to help our local sailors continue to enjoy the sport. The sailors will be grouped in either the beginner or racer class based on experience.

The clinic will be run from Burrows Park starting a 10:00am and will wrap up shortly before 4:00pm. Lunch will be provided. Cost is $20 per sailor. Several boats are available for rental from MYSF at ($30).

Please contact Greg Simon to reserve a spot for this special opportunity.
GregSimon213@gmail.com or 608-849-4605

Pram Power Results

Thursday Aug 12th was a very hot day with light winds. The North Lake Yacht Club hosted the 21st annual Pram Power regatta. Forty-nine beginner Opti sailors from around southern Wisconsin competed in a Junior ( age 8 and under) and Senior (age 9 and up) fleets. Two races were completed for each fleet.

Lake Beulah's Annie Cate Schmidt won the Junior fleet and Karolyn Kunz from Lac LaBelle won the Senior fleet. Local Mendota Yacht Club skippers Meta and Fritz Simon competed in the Junior fleet. Fritz was the youngest sailor to compete and had a very eye opening first race with a finish of 9th place in the 28 boat fleet. Meta went on to pass her little brother and win that first race.

Meta finish the regatta in 3rd place and was thrilled to recieve a huge jar of candy for winning a race. Both kids enjoyed the regatta for the arts and crafts that the North Lake Yacht Club sponsors between races. Face painting, t-shirt art, tatoo's, picture frame making, and drawing were a big hit with the kids. Talk about making sailing fun for young kids...... NLYC has it figured out. Thanks to the club for hosting another great event. See you next year.

Full results here on the NLSS web site. Photos from the event on the picasa page.

North Lake Pram Power

North Lake Pram Power is quickly approaching. It is set for Thursday, August 12 at the North Lake Yacht Club. It is a great regatta for beginning sailors, sailors who don't have many opportunities to race and/or don't sail a the top of their fleet. The Junior Fleet (age 8 and under at 1/1/10) and Senior Fleet (age 8 and over at 1/1/10) sail at different times and can use the same boat, so your family/club doesn't have to transport as many boats. There are awesome crafts again this year--bags, picture frames, bottle holders, T-shirts (different this year--bring a black/dark cotton T), and the all time favorite-Shrinky Dinks! Along with crafts there is face painting and tattoos and an awesome raffle-including a boat cover from Aquarius, Rashgard shirts from Harken, Stelluca bag, American Girls Doll and much more! Are you having fun yet?! There is a check-in/drop-off opportunity at the Yacht Club the night before the regatta from 6:30-7:30 pm. Non-sailors can purchase the craft package which includes lunch. We serve a hearty taco lunch with peanut butter sandwiches for our non-meat eaters. The racing registration fee increases after Sunday, Aug 8th, so get your registration in today! More race details are on the NOR and Registration form and can be found on www.nlss.us Questions? Contact Terese Bailey at 262-751-5000.

Local Opti Sailing this Sunday

Madison Opti sailors will be practicing for the Pram Power regatta on Sunday, August 8 at Burrows Park. Sailing will begin at 10:00 a.m.

If you’re interested in the Pram Power regatta scheduled for Thursday, August 12 on North Lake, see their website for more information. This is a great beginner regatta.


Sailors Thor Rosten, Caley Metzloff, and Meta Simon enjoy Pram Power 2009.

Opti Inlands Recap

93 boats sailed in the Opti Inlands on Lake Okauchee August 2-3. Local sailor Meta Simon finished 9^th in the Green fleet. Four races were sailed in the Green and RWB fleets on Monday in 6-8 mph winds. Tuesday brought cloudless skies, no wind and no races. Full regatta results can be found on the ILYA website along with a regatta recap: day one and day two/final.