Harbor claims regatta

The Newport Harbor High sailing team dominated the Pacific Coast

single-handed laser radial championships last weekend in Long Beach.

The team took three of the top four places in the regatta, in

which 51 boats from over 25 California high schools participated.

Newport Harbor junior Michael Menninger won handily with 92

points, followed by Cole Hatton, also a junior, in second place with

111 points. Chris Barnard, a freshman, placed fourth with 128 points.

By placing in the top three, Menninger and Hatton qualified to

participate in the National High School single-handed championship

regatta Nov. 25-27 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and hosted by Waikiki Yacht

Club.

The Newport Harbor team is coached by Caleb Silsby, a first-year

coach and recent graduate of St. Mary’s College in Maryland.

The regatta this past weekend was sailed in 5-15 knots breeze off

of the Belmont Pier, where spectators could enjoy the short-course

racing. The event included eight races on Saturday and seven races on

Sunday. With 51 boats participating, it was the largest fleet ever to

participate in the Pacific Coast Cressy regatta. The racing took

place in the laser radial, a 14-foot boat which is a laser with a

smaller rig, shorter mast and 18% less sail area than the standard

laser.

Also this past weekend, Blake Warner of Balboa Island and Calvary

Chapel High placed second in the laser full-rig Pacific Coast

single-handed championships, which took place at St. Francis Yacht

Club in San Francisco. Sixteen boats participated in this event from

14 different high schools. Warner also qualified to sail in the

National High School single-handed championships in Hawaii over

Thanksgiving weekend.