The latest news and information for the Long Island Sound Optimist Training/Team (LISOT). Visit www.lisot.org to sign up for events.
Friday, December 31, 2010
I420 Worlds - After Day 2
Claudia/Amanda Taselaar are having the best, and most consistent regatta of the 3 teams, and are currently in 20th place in the Ladies division. They've sailed well, and most importantly, finished all three races solidily in middle of the fleet after 3 races.
Megan/Caroline were just head of mid-fleet in Race 1 yesterday when their mainsheet block blew out of the deck while blast reaching, a mere 100 yards from the finish. They crash flipped and were hit hard by another boat. Nobody was hurt, but the boat needed considerable fiberglass repair overnight to the mainsheet and the starbord hull, which was done perfectly by the local 420 builder - J-Boats (for whom the sailors are forever grateful). Unfortunately, since the failure occurred in the first race, they had to drop out of that race and were subsequently DNF in Race 2. The girls were back on the race course for race 3.
Reinier/Spencer have been getting solid starts and very strong upwind speed in the massive waves and 25 knot plus. Unfortunately for them, the downwind surfing has been a learning experience, with the team flipping in each race.
Team USA Coach Dave Hughes has been doing a great job of not only helping the sailors with their strategies, but even more importantly with the high wind/wave conditions - keeping the boats in nearly one piece and the sailors calm and focused for each race.
Tonight YCA is hosting a New Years Eve party at the club - which everyone is looking forward to attending. Sunday the RC plans 3 races to get back on schedule, and then 2 races per day thereafter. The forecast is for the breeze to ease up after tomorrow, down to 10-15. The lighter wind and reduced chop will be a welcome change for the team.
Mens Results
Ladies Results
Follow the action on the event Facebook page
Photos from the yacht club
Matias Capizzano has been taking fantastic pictures in the big air and big wave conditions.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
worlds...day one
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Hello from Buenos Aires, Argentina - I420 Worlds
Team USA (l to r) Claudia, Reinier, Megan, Caroline, Spencer, Amanda, Coach Dave |
Matias Capizzano was out taking his always amazing pictures in the great sailing conditions.
Claud/Amanda and Reinier/Spencer spent many hours over the 3 practice and measurement days getting their new Nautivela boats fitted out, measured and race ready. Megan/Caroline did the same with a locally chartered J-boat built boat.
The largest teams, besides a good group from the host country, are from GBR, GER and ITA.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
hello from kuah, langkawi, malaysia...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Lots of LISOTers at World Championships This Holiday Season
- Harry Koeppel
- Reinier Eenkema van Dijk / Spencer McDonough
- Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick / Caroline Atwood
- Claudia Taselaar / Amanda Taselaar
- Andrew Mollerus / Matthew Mollerus
- Head Coach Pepe Bettini / Coach Fernando Gwozdz
Good luck to all the LISOT sailors around the world and in South Florida!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wishing Harry The Best at Opti World's
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Congrats To 17 LISOT Team USA Sailors
The international team selections are now finalized. Congratulations to the 17 LISOT sailors who accepted invitations to Team USA.
This is the largest number of LISOT sailors to ever make internationals teams in a single year season, and represents almost one-third of all sailors on Team USA for spring international regattas.
IODA South Americans - Algarrobo, Chile
- Russell Clarida
- Audrey Giblin
- Matt Kaplan
- KB Knapp
- Will Logue
- Jack Parkin
Laka Garda Optimist Meeting - Riva del Garda, Italy
- Florian Eenkema van Dijk
- Drew Gallagher
- Jared Gaynes
- Richie Gordon
- Clayton Johnston
- Sean Walsh
- James Westerberg
Magic Marine Easter Regatta - Braassermermeer, Roelofarendsveen, Netherlands
- Meg Gerli
- Charlotte LeClue
- Matt Logue
- Cooper Yeager
Sunday, December 5, 2010
2010 Holiday Party & Opti Step Up
In addition to celebrating a great 2010, and the eight Opti sailors who are aging out of Optis, the 125+ parents, coaches and sailors were visited by Sinterklass and his helper, Pete.
The traditional step up video, below, by Janet Grapengeter, was a nostaligic walk down memory lane for the 'graduates'
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Final Report - USODA MIDWINTERS - Team LISOT Dominates
Continuing the success of LISOT under Head Coach Pepe Bettini, LISOT sailors qualified for 18 spots on Team USA for the international regattas (double the 9 LISOT sailors who qualified last year), including 4 in the top 10 , 7 of the top 20 and the top 2 girls!
3. Jack Parkin
4. Will Logue
6. Russell Clarida
9. Harry Koeppel
13. Matthew Kaplan
14. Audrey Giblin (top girl)
16. Ty Ingram
22. Drew Gallagher
25. Jared Gaynes
28. KB Knapp (2nd girl)
33. Adele Whitmyer
37. Sean Walsh
39. Florian Eenkema van Dijk
52. Alexandra DelBello
53. James Westerberg
55. Richie Gordon
58. Clayton Johnson
73. Taylor Gavula
80. Matt Logue
86. Cooper Yeager
108. Henry Fernberger
118. Meg Gerli
129. Charlotte LeClue
136. Emma Kaneti
157. Hailey Ullmann
199. Rhett Ullmann
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Challenging Conditions at USODA Mid-Winters in New Orleans
Day one was set to end early to give everybody time to get to Thanksgiving dinner, with the last series to start no later than 1300. The race committee did a great job setting the course and getting the kids racing soon after the 0830 harbor start. And they worked hard to get in three races on the day.
Team LISOT did well with 5 sailor in the top 15. Ty Ingram leads the way in 4th place with Russell Clarida right behind him in 5th, Jack Parkin is 7th, Harry Koeppel 11th and Will Logue 12th.
Day two, Friday, began with the wind out of the North having shifted 180 degrees overnight. On shallow Lake Pontchartrain a strong breeze out of the north results in very choppy conditions as waves build on their way across the lake.
It was raining as we arrived at the club, with colder temperatures in the upper 50s and dropping. The wind was blowing steadily in the high teens to low 20s with poor visibility and short steep waves. Racing was delayed as the Race Committee waited for conditions to improve.
Southern Yacht Club’s terrific hospitality and beautiful new club house made the wait for 300+ sailors, parents and coaches quite nice while hoping for for conditions to improve. Unfortunately the weather did not improve and the Race Committee cancelled racing jut before 1300.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
LISOT Looks to the Olympics
Congratulations to 8 current and former LISOTers who were named to the 2011 US Sailing Development Team:
Laser: LISOT Laser Head Coach Rob Crane, Dan Delbello
Radial: Ryan Schmitz
29er: Andrew and Matt Mollerus
49er: Declan Whitmyer and Ian Storck
470: Marlena Fauer
Monday, November 15, 2010
LISOT takes top 3 spots at I420 ACCs

Sunday, October 31, 2010
LISOT Wins BMW Opti Team Racing Cup!

Conditions were very light, 2-4 knots for the first race. And we won!
The thought of sailing the finals in these conditions was not ideal for any team. And the race committee decided to postpone for a while until the wind picked up to 5 knots.
In the first race USA was the winning combination 90% of the race and the race became very difficult in the last upwind, but we held on and won!
The second race USA was looking for the title, and we went out for that! Just one more win and we will be the Champions!
We started again in a great position! But the wind got lighter on the reach until all the boats were grouped together again. One more time after a great last upwind and a nice leward mark rounding with a NOR sailor doing a penalty, we fought like champs during all the upwind against a great team and we got the 1,2,6 & 7!
The lake went wild. Spectator boats were screaming and honking their horns! Two little kids came with US flags!
There were 4 world teams racing and the level of the Europeans in Team racing is really good!
At the awards we all went to the podium! We received 2 awards: one for being the team traveling the furthest to compete, and a Challenge Trophy with all the champions names on it...no non Europeans have won it before! We are the first USA Team to win the BMW Team Racing Regatta!!!!
As you can imagine we are all really happy and looking forward to flying home celebrate!
See you soon!!!!!!!
Pepe
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Opti Team Racing in Berlin - Report on Prep & Day 1
Is not cold at all!, or at least is not what as we were expecting!
The hotel is nice! And the breakfast even better.
The club is really nice and everybody looks happy.
Today we went to the water around 1130 and after 10 minutes of warming and testing the boats we start team racing against everybody! The wind is great! We started the day with 8 and finished with 10 and gust of 12, shifty conditions and flat water!
We are ready for tomorrow but really tired! Kids sleeping already 845 we had dinner at the club, nice food! At 820 we were back at the hotel and 5 minutes after that some of the team members were out!
All the teams were really good, and we are getting slowly into our game!
The regatta is incredible!! The other teams are really good. The level of team racing in Europe is amazing. And the juries are also really good - I saw a lot of extremely good calls!
We are allowed to follow the race from just 50 meters away. That helps us a lot to work together because I am able to see everything! We are learning a lot because of that!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
LISOT takes 6 of top 10, Top Girl at Opti's ACCs
Congratulations to Harry Koeppel who was the top LISOT sailor in 2nd place, in his final tune up for Worlds in December.
The fleet was split into four groups, with about 75 boats on the line for each start. A long course and light winds led to the first series of races lasting about 60 minutes each.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
LISOT's Sarah Williams/Collin Murphy Win C420 Mid Atlantics


No | Sail | Name | Total |
1 | 5735 | Williams, Sarah, Murphy, Collin, Bayhead | 40.0 |
3 | 5747 | Eenkema van Dijk, Reinier, McDonough, Spencer, LYC | 74.0 |
4 | 5744 | Crane, Olivia, Walsh, Fiona, Noroton YC | 83.0 |
7 | 6000 | Edegran, Markus, Gallagher, Nick, LYC | 103.0 |
8 | 618 | Robinson, Ian, Kaplon, Mike, BYC | 109.0 |
9 | 6201 | Klinger, Casey, Liggins, Alexandra, LYC | 112.0 |
12 | 5898 | Grapengeter-Rudnick, Megan, Atwood, Caroline, Noroton YC | 123.0 |
16 | 6205 | O'Leary, Brendan, Schneider, Jack | 132.0 |
19 | 5964 | Gerli, Jack, Rohman, Abby | 161.0 |
29 | 5651 | Dorr, Roger, Lyons, Matthew, PWYC | 214.0 |
31 | 5431 | Taselaar, Claudia, Kelly, Katie, New York YC | 242.0 |
33 | 3198 | Cornell, Sean, Sterflinger, Peter, CYC | 253.0 |
34 | 4575 | Gallagher, Thomas, Gallagher, John, LYC | 280.0 |
35 | 5719 | Robertson, Clara, Robertson, Molly, AYC | 281.0 |
40 | 6010 | Katz, Lily, Driscoll, Tierney, Bellport YC | 350.0 |
42 | 5871 | Quirke, Rebecca, Fung, Emily, AYC | 357.0 |
44 | 6009 | Philip, Nick, Mundinger, Finn, AYC | 363.0 |
46 | 4126 | Anderson, Rebecca, Johnson, Julia, CYC | 373.0 |