MYC Fall Flash Regatta - A New Generation of Sailors on Lake Max

O’pen Skiffs line the Culver Town Beach during the 2020 MYC Fall Flash Regatta.

After a summer that I spent more at home than any summer ever at Sail22 I have found myself running races more than sailing. In fact I haven’t been on a sailboat other than coaching this summer. I have been running plenty races though. RS21 NA’s, UGotta Regatta, our V15 Lake Max Series and helping with the MYC races. But with all those events the most fun for me was this past weekends MYC Fall Flash Regatta. I was the PRO for the O’pen Bics/Skiffs and V15 Class course. In these classes you run lots of short races and in the O’pen Bics/Skiffs you can run about anything you want. We were able to have Beach Finishes, LeMans starts, reach legs, whatever you want. And the kids love it. Our kids on Lake Max are more in this for the fun first and learning to compete against some of the kids from other lakes second. But this past weekend showed that our Maxinkuckee Adventure Sailing kids are ready for the challenge. You might not recognize the names of Bero, Del Duco or Miller as Maxinkuckee sailors. But if we mentioned Benedict, Becker or Hillis and throw in Furry which is the current sailor, you might feel like you know them well. You see there are 4 kids with Maxinkuckee Yacht Club past commodores as their grandfathers. A few uncles and a father too. Now we have some history and good genes to think about where these sailors can go from here. So as I watched and coached more than focused on perfect race courses I saw these kids grow as sailors in front of my eyes. Now LJ Nycamp from Macatawa Bay YC in Holland, MI may have won every race and proved he was the best sailor out there, but when he wasn’t directly helping other kids improve by coaching and encouraging himself, they were all watching him and learning and getting closer. And a special coaching session by JP Del Solar who is more than just a parent but a high caliber coach himself, gave the kids lots of tips and showed them new techniques during our beach break for a snack that ran long due to lack of breeze. But the breeze filled back in and off the kids went and the improvement continued. My own son Cole Furry decided he could get around the course and beat a few of the older kids. Well, they were all older but a proud Dad of this 6 year old. He had not sailed solo much at all before this. But he has determination and kept going back out.

JP with some coaching with Lucy Furry and daughter Emma.

Day two brought on some lighter winds early and a smaller group. These were mostly the more serious sailors that were ready to learn some more. We had a little talk on the beach of our plan for 4 races and off we went. Well, 5 made more sense by the end as there were not stragglers this day. It was shifty so having the two MarkSetBots(GPS Robotic Race Buoys) made my RC duty much easier. A swipe here or there and we had a square course again. Adding some reaching legs and warmer weather made these kids wanting more. Maclean Miller didn’t spend any time with us at Maxikuckee Adventure Sailing this year, but did jump on the MC and some Sunfish sailing. We were glad to have him back. Any hint of rust from the day before was gone as he started the day with a 2nd only behind LJ. Right on his heals was Cole Bero with a string of top 3 races. His Grandpa Gene Benedict was watching on. Both of these sailors jumped ahead of the previous days 2nd place finisher Matthew Te Velde also from Holland, MI. Now that kid smiled the whole time and was a great little sailor too. Nick Del Duco sailed well the whole event and had to be tired as he left after racing of Saturday to go place two hockey games and then was right back from Sunday racing. That is dedication. And our favorite local sailor Moses Demis has spent lots of time on the water showing up on Saturdays and two of our camps. Let’s all keep up the good work. We have a few of this group looking to head up to Macatawa Bay YC next month to race in their event. Let us know if you want to join us and we can line up one of our O’pen Skiffs.

Cole Bero rounding the MarkSetBot with Matthew Te Velde and Maclean Miller just ahead of him.

For more for results head over to the MYC page here. And for more information on Maxinkuckee Adventure Sailing and how you can get yourself or you kids involved please go to lakemaxsailing.com. To keep our kids sailing and feeling more comfortable on the water please show us some support by volunteering or feel free to click here to Donate.