LISOT Sailors Compete in the XVIII Lake Garda Optimist Meeting

Arriving into Milan on Saturday morning was a sight to be seen! Snow capped mountains surrounded the city, with a bright sun and perfect blue skies. Unfortunately, this tease of perfect weather was short lived, and the usual windy conditions had the locals scratching their heads. Light to no wind for Riva? Unheard of…but true this year.

Sunday morning had the kids out and about on bikes and on foot. Weather was warm in the 70’s and the sun was shining. Great exercise climbing up the steep mountain terrain gave the chance for some great photo opportunities!

Photo: Past. Present & Future LISOT sailors pose at the Bastione overlooking Lake Garda & Fraglia Vela Riva below.

Monday and Tuesday practice saw overcast skies and light to no wind. The Wednesday lay day became optional, as the sun was shining and the wind was guaranteed to arrive around 11 am. More than half of the team participated, while others took their one opportunity to see some sights outside of Lake Garda.

At 4:30 that afternoon the rain and cold damp weather arrived almost putting a damper on the parade. 900+ sailors from over 30 countries participated. Team USA was in true form singing the National Anthem and other patriotic songs as the marched carrying the US flag thru the town of Riva.

The first day of the regatta was a bust, pouring heavy rain all day. The kids were soaked to the bone, and cold! It was tough to travel so far, to have the first day canceled. Day two brought relatively light wind from the north in the morning. Then in the afternoon the thermal southerly arrived allowing for a total of three races to be completed. The kids did not arrive to the dock until 6:30 pm. LISOT kids had a decent day and some good finishes despite the light wind, tough competitors, and skewed start lines.

Day three saw overcast skies with some sun occasionally poking out. We prayed for some thermal warming of the mountains above, and at 1:30 the wind kicked in along with a cold front and 13 – 15 knots. In the end 4 races counted and one drop. Out of 741 boats, Team USA's Roger Dorr, Reinier, Maeve White, & Alexandra made it to the Gold Fleet. KB Knapp, Maddie Widmeier & Audrey were in the Silver fleet, and Emma White was in the Bronze.

The last day was Easter Sunday and the kids found Easter eggs filled with chocolate in their boats. Not sure if the coaches approved but they did not argue as they received bigger Easter Bunnies to munch on. An early 8:30 am launch from the dock brought in two light air races and the conclusion of yet another successful optimist regatta for Fraglia Vela Riva.

LISOT sailors finished well:

Gold Fleet:

33. Reinier Eenkema van Dijk

150. Alexandra DelBello

Silver Fleet

61. Maddie Widmeier

81. Audrey Giblin

Full results: www.fragliavelariva.it/clientfiles/classifica/Juniores.htm