Kempton wins tough Optimist Nationals on a tie-breaker
By Doran Cushing
|
After 12 challenging races sailedin difficult conditions on Pensacola Bay, 14-year-old Leigh Kempton of Island Heights, NJ, won the Optimist National Championships by the slimmest of margins.
Kempton and her friend and training partner Todd Hawkins--both members of the Toms River Yacht Club and both sailing in the oldest age group Red Fleet--were tied with 32 points each when the four-day series concluded. The overall title was decided in favor of Kempton based on her four wins in the series. Hawkins dropped to second place with three wins but held a healthy 13-point margin over third-place Red-fleeter Pat Curran, also representing the Toms River, NJ, club. Twelve-year-old Blue Fleet racer Mitch Hall of Clearwater (FL) Yacht Club finished fourth, followed by TJ Tullo--another Toms River youth sailor. |
|
 Photos by Doran Cushing |
"It's bittersweet," Ann Kempton said. "They both deserved to win."
 Todd Hawkins - the runner up...but barely. Photo by Doran Cushing. |
|
Kempton, along with the other top three finishers, had just returned from the Optimist World Championships in Spain where Kempton had placed third among the girls and 32nd overall. Hall was the top U.S. finisher at the Worlds, taking the 15th spot overall, and Curran finished 29th.
The U.S. Nationals were hosted by Pensacola Yacht Club with support from several of their Gulf Yachting Association regional clubs. The format called for two days of racing, a lay day, then two more racing days with all racing taking place after noon with a better likelihood of a good breeze (mixed with the potential for summer thunderstorms). |
Kempton opened the final day of sailing with a three-point lead over Hawkins, and the divisional rotation put them together in the first start of the day. A significant points advantage at the end of the head-to-head race would be hard to overcome in the closing race as Kempton and Hawkins would be sailing in separate starts for the closer.
The start was a disaster for Hawkins as he was over the line early and had to restart after rounding the committee boat in very light winds. Kempton pulled off a clean start and was among the leaders when the race was abandoned due to the light windsSa major break for Hawkins.
 |
|
With the new course shifted to the west in a building breeze, Kempton and Hawkins restarted with both sailors getting off the line clean. Neither Hawkins nor Kempton were in the top ten at the windward mark, but Hawkins led Kempton by six spots. By the time they rounded the gibe mark and headed to the upwind finish, Kempton was less than a boat length behind Hawkins as both sailors moved into the top ten. Kempton followed Hawkins for the first third of the final leg before splitting away. She eventually finished seventh, three places behind Hawkins.
With one race remaining--weather permitting--the Toms River teammates were tied with 28 points each. Now sailing in separate fleets and controlling their own destiny, both Hawkins and Kempton finished fourth in their light air races, and the regatta was decided by the number of firsts posted by each sailor. Kempton had opened the regatta with three bullets and added another in the closing race on day three, which decided the championship. |
|
How close were these two youths? If Kempton had not taken the tie-breaker on number of firsts, Hawkins would have won overall honors on the fourth level of tie-breakers (number of fourth-place finishes) as the competitors had an equal number of second and third-place finishes. Hawkins beat Kempton in three of the four head-to-head races.
The young racers competing at this championship ranged from eight to 15 years of age, including 33 of the youngest kids racing in the Green Fleet for novice racers, who sailed shorter courses on a different section of the bay. Brendan Ross of Lauderdale (FL) Yacht Club came from behind to take Green Fleet honors by four points as the early leader, Emily Dellenbaugh--daughter of David Dellenbaugh-- dropped to second after a string of four firsts midway through the 12-race series. Other top finishers in the championship fleet included Amy Hawkins in White Fleet (and third girl), and Shannon Heausler in Red Fleet (second girl). The conditions for the racing were not extreme but still challenging. A few races saw wind into the teens for a brief period of time, but the mix of very light and shifty breezes, followed by spurts of stronger winds and a quickly forming chop on the bay made boat handling a test of concentration. The championship courses used seven-tenths of a mile legs in most cases when the wind was up and slightly shorter legs in the lightest conditions so most courses were more than two miles in length. |
|
Determined to get four races logged on day four, the race committee began the race schedule at noon, and the boats were still coming off the water at dusk--a very long day for kids, coaches, parents and the race committee.
Leigh Kempton's win at this national championship carried two special honors. She is the first girl to win the title since 1989 and only the second girl winner since the national title was launched in 1975. Mandy Bremen of Miami, FL, won the title in 1989. In taking the 2000 honors, Kempton also dethroned teammate Pat Curran, who had won the championship the past two years. Her victory was confirmed by a scheming group of her young friends, who tossed the petite sailor into the bayou waters following the awards ceremony. Reflecting on the experience the slim, blond ninth-grader has gained by traveling to Europe to compete and now winning the U.S. Opti championships, Ann Kempton said, "The best part is the friends she's made." July 31 - August 4 * Full results can be found at www.usoda.org/html/00natresults.html * |
Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000 Southwinds Media. All rights reserved.