Lakewood Yacht Club’s youth team has brought home the highly coveted Sears Cup. The United States Sailing Association’s 94th U.S. Junior Championships Regatta, one of the country’s most prestigious events for sailors ages 13-18, was held at Wianno Yacht Club in Osterville, MA August 2nd– 6th 2015 and Lakewood Yacht Club was represented as home to the best of the best for youth sailors
The team of Dane Byerly, Howdy Hughes, Collin Scoville and Carson Shields has won US Sailing’s Jr. Quadruple Handed Championship for the Sears Cup. The event was part of the Chubb US Sailing Jr. Championships and sailing took place in Wianno Seniors, a 25 ft. Gaff Rigged Sloop, originally designed in 1914. Eleven teams from around the United States qualified to compete in this year’s Sears Cup through area eliminations in their region. Racing took place in a variety of conditions on Nantucket sound, with a great sea breeze being the norm late in the day. The Lakewood team was strong in all conditions, effectively winning the event even before the last race. On the final day the team sailed to their 6th race win in 11 races while flying the Texas flag from the mast. They ended up winning the event with 18 points in 11 races with second place 24 points behind them. The Sears Cup is the oldest youth trophy in sailing and has been awarded since 1921. This is the first time that Lakewood has ever won this prestigious award.
In addition to Lakewood Yacht Club team winning the Sears Cup, Dylan Ascencios and Hunter Skinner, also represented Lakewood in the 420 class sailing for the Bemis trophy. Coming off several impressive events this summer, Dylan and Hunter looked to keep their momentum going. The two sailed most of the event in the top ten, but a tough final race saw them finish up at a still impressive 13th place overall.
Complete results can be found here: Final Results.
In recognizing the success of the team, it’s important to also recognize Lakewood Yacht Club’s Sailing Director, Marek Valasek, who joined the Lakewood staff in May 2012 and has grown the club’s youth program into one that is recognized as stellar around the world. Due to his success, Marek has been picked to judge the 2015 Opti Worlds to be held in Dziwon, Poland from Aug. 25th – Sept. 5th.
