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 In the first two team races of 2008, PPM Sailing School’s Race Team emerged victorious over both Quassapaug Sailing Center in Waterbury and Sachem’s Head Yacht Club Racing Team, which was hosted by PPM. Congratulations PPM Racers on your skills and your great teamwork! At Quassapaug, the 10 racing students in Racing Session #1 all got a chance to participate with the seasoned racers winning the first two races and the newer racers helping to win the third race. The winds were heavy during the team race with Sachem’s Head; it was just the most experienced racers who were sailing that day. The seasoned racers are very happy to be sailing together again this summer while the new racers are enjoying learning new racing skills and getting to use them in competition. We are all very proud of our racing team and how well they are sailing and competing! Monday, 7/28 we race against Yale Corinthian which is home meet. Tuesday we race against Pine Orchard and Wednesday against Madison Beach Club; both of these are away. Our racers are doing their best to qualify for the Team Racing Championships again in August and to do well; it’s very exciting!
Earlier this month, Ken Legler, Tufts’ University Sailing Coach, was here for a special racing clinic for the PPM Race Team on 7/7. Mr. Legler had the racers work on techniques for the 420 dinghies for both team and fleet racing as well as practicing some fleet racing tactics with the JY-15’s. He helped us fix up our PPM club 420, as well as the privately-owned 420’s. It’s amazing what he can accomplish in one day both with the boats and with our racers; always a delight having him here! On Tuesday, July 8, members of the PPM Race Team participated in the Niantic Bay Junior Olympic Regatta along many other racers from the region. On Friday, July 11, some PPM Racers sailed in the Wadawanuck YC Regatta. Both regattas were plagued with very challenging light winds, but the racers enjoyed being out there on the race course with their peers from other clubs and had a good time at the barbecue afterwards. We always like to see their new T-shirts when they return!
 Last week was very special in the history of PPM Sailing School – for the 1st time we were able to send 3 teams of 420 sailors to Larchmont Yacht Club’s Jr. Race week from July 12 – 14. The racers’ parents drove their 3 420’s to the club on Sunday afternoon or Monday AM at 6AM. Our coach, Dan Perkins, and the racers were all hosted at LYC member’s homes for both nights, enjoying a barbecue one night and a dance on another at the club after their racing. Again, there were light winds, a total of only 4 races in 3 days but one team, Dan Sylvester and JoAnna Suriani, totally exceeded my expectations by placing 23rdth overall in the 82 boat fleet, coming in 3rd in one of the races! The other racers also did very well placing mid-fleet in their 1st time at this huge regatta at the Western end of Long Island Sound with hundreds of boats on the water at the same time! Very different than any racing any of the team has experienced up here on the Eastern end of the Sound. All our racers enjoyed the festivities and hospitality as well.
We are proud of how our 6 racers aged 14 though 16 performed competitively during Jr. Race Week, and how they handled themselves in this new situation for 3 days as guests of Larchmont Yacht Club. The rest of our racers were: Eden Straub, Tyler Schultz, Mike Fox and Jay Spector. One PPM Racer, Megan Bracken, had a family event to attend but loaned her 420 to her friend so that she could race in this event; this says a lot for the close ties our racers and families have developed with each other over the years at PPM Sailing School. We wish the PPM Racers and their coaches, Danny, Rob and Seth, the best of luck in all their team races and regattas this season and will keep PPM customers posted. Go PPM Racers!!
Justin Nolf as Head Instructor and Pembroke Emanualsen, 2nd year Instructor are having a successful season with our very full beginner and intermediate youth sailing program while there is still room in our program for Family & Adult Sailing Lessons on the Colgate 26 or on your own boat. Check out our web site at www.byy.com/westbrook/sail.html for more information or contact Sailing Programs Director, Hilary Loftus at 399-7906 x126.
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