This year the 1997 El Toro National Championships were at Kaneohe YC, Hawaii. Wayde Dorland, of Corinthian Sailing, made the journey.
The fleet was divided into Seniors, Intermediates, and Juniors. The sailing instructions said that there would be a start for each. Wayde, age 12 and a Junior, would be in the third, and last, start.
After rigging his chartered El Toro, Wayde headed out into Kaneohe Bay. It was blowing around twenty knots when he got to the starting area. He saw the warning signal and cleared the starting area.
The first flag dropped and they were off. El Toros charged across the line. Five minutes later and more boats charged across. As he prepared to start, Wayde realized he was alone on the line. The other Juniors had started with the Intermediates, and it was not for practice. They were not coming back.
Still he waited alone on the line for five long minutes. Then there was a third flag. Wayde took off all alone. He sailed the entire three and a half mile course alone, five minutes behind everyone. And got the gun when he finished!
He had found the winning formula, read the sailing instructions. And it worked in the second race too! The Junior fleet did not “get it” till the third race. By then Wayde had two firsts. He placed first in the Qualifier and was awarded the Junior Qualifier Perpetual Trophy. And they had a special award for him; one for being so attentive to the Sailing Instructions.
Way to go Wayde!
Jan Visser