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  • posted : 7 days ago Siese Finishes 6th After 12 Races

    15 year old Sandys Boat Club sailor, Owen Siese, finished in 6th place overall at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore today. Siese and the other 28 participants in the male singlehanded Byte CII dinghy completed their twelfth and final race in typical light and shifty conditions. Today's race was a "Medal Race" and is similar to the medal race introduced at the Olympic level, in that it is non discardable. This meant that whatever positions the sailors finished in today would be added to their current net scores to determine their final placing overall.

    After eleven races the Gold Medal was in reach for the top seven boats. Front-runner and Bermuda training partner, US Virgin Island's Ian Barrows (ISV) had a 12 point lead between himself and second placed Germany (GER). Finland (FIN) followed 2 points back. Six points behind FIN, Siese went into the last race in 5th place tied with Netherland Antilles (AHO) ace, Just Van Aanholt but AHO held 4th through a tie break count back. The stage was set for a real showdown.

    The day started with a dying breeze making it a real challenge with shifty conditions across the race course. The Race Committee postponed the scheduled 12 pm start, hoping for more consistent breeze for the last and only race of the day. About an hour later the race was started on the second attempt after a general recall on the first try. A left side starting line bias saw the leaders choosing the pin end of the line to start. On the first beat AHO, GER and ISV popped out in the front pack with Siese back further in the low teens. FIN had a terrible start and first windward leg which basically pulled him out of medal contention. In the end AHO's Van Aanholt sailed an excellent race earning himself a Bronze Medal with his "bullet" for the day and his third of the regatta. USVI's Barrows sailed this race conservatively keeping ahead of Germany to take third place in the final race and the Gold Medal overall. Germany finished in sixth today earning the Silver Medal. Siese ended up thirteenth on the day dropping him to 6th place overall behind Ukraine. His father reported that Owen was disappointed not be in contention for the Bronze Medal today as he carded one his lowest finishes in the regatta but felt good about finishing in 6th place at such a competitive and important regatta.

    Youth Olympic Byte coach Pablo Weber was extremely pleased with Owen's performance noting that his consistency kept him in the medal hunt for the entire event. Weber also stated that Bermuda's approach to preparing for the games coupled with Siese's die-hard commitment to training on and off the water led to this excellent performance. He sees great things ahead for Siese on a national and international level. He also sees the potential for Bermuda's young sailors to do well at future Youth Olympics and other international events with consistent focus, training and support from the national sporting bodies.

    Eleven different nations won medals at the inaugural Youth Olympics. The Youth Olympic Games have been widely acclaimed as an outstanding success and Singapore have been wonderful hosts.


    Final Overall Standings
    1. US Virgin Islands - Ian Barrows - 44pt
    2. Germany - Florian Hauffe - 60 pt
    3. Netherlands Antilles - Just Van Aanholt - 62 pt
    4. Finland - Kaarle Tapper- 66 pt
    5. Ukraine - Pavlo Babych - 72 pt
    6. Bermuda - Owen Siese - 74 pt
    7. Singapore - Darren Choy - 78pt

  • posted : 9 days ago Medal Race Today!

    After days of postponements waiting for the wind to fill in, a tantalising 12 knot breeze called out to the sailors in the morning of day six of the Youth Olympic Games regatta in Singapore.
    Conditions looked promising for three races in excellent winds, until start time, when the wind died again frustrating the ever positive Race Committee. Nevertheless, they managed to get racing underway on time. Fortunately the wind remained constant between 5 to 10 knots and organisers efficiently pulled off three back to back races.


    Boys Byte CII
    Tweeters CHAI Xun & Dawn Liu

    Racing on the Byte CII boys' course saw some surprises today as many of the current fleet leaders finished out of top five places in the three races sailed. Shifty winds, strong current decreasing over the day and gusts across the course made for tricky conditions. The strategy for each race varied. In race nine, the left side paid enormous dividends for sailors who made an investment there on the upwind leg.

    In races 10 and 11, as the current died off, shifts and gusts took precedence. Among the top performers of the day were Pavlo Babych (UKR) with a 1,8 and 4 and Zili Wang (CHN) with a 2,5 and 6. Both have jumped up the overall rankings from original positions outside of the top 20.

    Finishing first in the second race was also a surprise leader, Juan Ignacio Biava (ARG), who overtook initial race leader Ian Barrows (ISV) on the final downwind to nail a win - impressive for Biava, who is currently in 20th position overall.

    However, the winner for the day had to be Ian Barrows (ISV), who finished with an 8,2 and 1. This result puts him in first place overall with 41 points after two discards - 12 points clear of second-placed Florian Haufe (GER).

    Barrows said of his performance, "I had decent starts, good boat speed, and played the shifts in the oscillating wind. Current wasn't really a big factor except in the first race, where staying on the left was better."

    Barrows goes into the non-discard medal race with a comfortable lead but silver and bronze medal positions remain close between Haufe (GER), Kaarle Tapper (FIN), Just Van Aanholt (AHO), Siese Owen (BER) and Darren Choy (SIN) with an outside chance.

  • posted : 10 days ago Siese in 5th - Still in the Medal Hunt!

    Monday 23rd Aug

    3 races were scheduled - but only 2 sailed.

    Slight delay in the morning, breeze only began to fill in just before the scheduled start.
    But breeze built quite quickly, such that a good 8 kts from SSW by the time the racing started just after 1pm.

    Owen had a reasonable start in the middle of the line, but played the left hand side on the first beat, and this was the wrong way to go! Owen rounded first weather mark in approx 20th. Steady sailing from here on in saw Owen chipping away, picking up places on every leg, eventually running out of race course when well placed in 8th place.

    The breeze continues to build, and was up to 12-14 kts by the start of second race of the day. Another good start in the middle of the line - but this time followed up with good shifts to be racing in a group challenging for 4th-8th. A steady downwind leg picked Owen up to 5th, but while still in the hunt at the 2nd weather mark - got stuck in traffic just low of layline in current... ended up hitting the mark and having to do penalty turns. Another good downwind leg, and second beat and Owen was back in 6th place. 5th place sailor was a little too far ahead, Owen closed the gap but finished still in 6th.

    During the 2nd race the breeze began to drop. 3rd race of the day was started in 8kts, but dropped quite quickly. After one windward and one leeward leg, race was abandoned due to lack of wind, and also due to approach of large thunderhead! A shame, Owen was in 5th/6th Darren Choy(SIN) was about 10th, and Ian Barrows(ISV) was in the 20s!

    All in all, a very good day - Owen moves up to 5th place overall and still very involved in the medal hunt!

  • posted : 13 days ago Moving Day at Youth Olympics

    Owen Siese dropped slightly today as the Byte CII sailors completed Race 5 and Race 6 at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Siese dropped from 4th to 7th place overall with finishes of 12 and 8 today. Today's conditions saw the wind fluctuating between 3 and 12 knots, punctuated with delays caused by rain showers.

    Today also saw an incredible amount of movement on the leaderboard as competitors were allowed to drop their worst race after the completion of Race 5. The top three spots have completely shifted with Finland's Kaarle Tapper taking over the lead after sitting in fifth, Germany's Florian Haufe moved to second from twelfth and Singapore's Darren Choy (current World Champion) advanced to third from eigth place. Rounding out the top five, pervious leader Just Van Aanholt fell to fourth after leading the regatta and US Virgin Islands' Ian Barrows jumped up to fifth place from fourteenth.

    Overall Siese has sailed quite consistently compared with the fleet, many whom have at least one terrible race due to the light, shifting breeze and current. Only 11 points separate the top 8 sailors and with 4 more scheduled race days ahead, the event is still wide open. Racing continues tomorrow with another day off scheduled for Sunday. Owen's father Martin and grandfather Tony Siese arrive in Singapore today to cheer on Bermuda's athletes.

  • posted : 15 days ago Owen Siese has moved up to 4th place at the Youth Olympic Games

    Bermudian sailor Owen Siese has moved up to 4th place at the Youth Olympic Games. This now puts him within three points of the medal podium after completing two more races today.

    Siese was able to score another excellent 2nd place finish in race three of the regatta and an 11th place in race four in the twenty nine boat fleet.

    Only eight points separate 2nd through 5th place so the regatta is still wide open for a number of countries. Netherlands Antilles' Just Van Aanholt is the clear leader at this point by a 14 point margin. Completion of the next race will allow the competitors to discard their worst race which will mix up the standings somewhat.

    Following an early postponement due to monsoon like conditions, the sailors finally took to the water in 5 - 6 knot southwesterly winds. In race three Siese was 5th around the first windward mark and on the next upwind beat Siese decided to chase the favourable breeze on the starboard side of the course, risking greater adverse current.

    This move paid off as he vaulted into 2nd place behind Spain’s Martin Llena as the fleet approached the top mark of the second time. Siese hit the mark as he rounded and was obligated to complete a penalty turn, which he did, losing second to Finland. Siese’s superior downwind speed and lighter physical weight allowed him to take back second place which he maintained to the finish.

    There is minimal information on the YOG Twitter feed about Siese in race four since he was not in the top ten but his 11th place finish kept him "in the hunt". The light breeze and tricky currents have produced varied results for all the sailors so consistency in the top third of the fleet is paramount. Wednesday, August 19th is a day off for the sailors where they can relax and/or take in some other sports. 10 more races are scheduled.

  • posted : 16 days ago Close Racing on Day One - Youth Olympics

    Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games
    Singapore
    Light airs in the morning caused a delayed start to racing on the first day of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
    However racing got underway shortly after noon in a seven knot breeze with two races held back to back as scheduled.

    Byte Cll Boys
    Tweeters: Dawn Liu & Chai Xun)

    The first race for the Byte CII boys saw Goncalo Pires of Portugal taking an early lead thanks to a right hand shift on the first work leg. Pires held his position throughout the race despite a strong challenge from Netherland Antilles' Just Van Aanholt, to win the first race of the series. Australia's Mark Spearman started strongly in third position, but was pipped on the finish line by Marco Benini of Italy.

    However it was Van Aanholt who proved to be the winner of the day. A good start at the port-biased end of the start line allowed him to cross the fleet early and come round the top mark in second place behind Bermuda's Owen Siese. A well-sailed reach and downwind leg allowed him to gain first position by the leeward mark and he continued to extend from there, finally ending the day with a win. With a second and bullet, van Aaanholt tops the scoreboard on this opening day.

    "It was a surprise," he said of his performance. "I was not expecting it; I would be happy with a top 10. The winds are good for me - there was wind, but not too strong."

    Meanwhile, the next five spots behind Netherlands Antilles were hotly contested in the second race. The positions changed continuously on the second work and downwind leg, with Darren Choy of Singapore and Ian Barrows of the Virgin Islands first overtaking Owen Siese of Bermuda and then third placed Kaarle Tapper of Finland but then missing out on a shift later in the final leg that allowed Siese and Tapper to regain second and third spots by the finish.

    Keep track of Owen in Singapore:

    www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=164302691747&ref=ts

  • posted : 22 days ago Rockley International Connects With Training Initiatives In Bermuda and Iceland

    ISAF Training Partner, Rockley International, has been working in partnership with the Bermudan Sailing Association (BSA) and the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) to deliver a series of 'Learn to Sail' Instructor courses and with the Icelandic Sailing Association in Reykjavik to work with Coaches and Instructors on a schools sailing camp.
    The delivery of the courses is in line with Bermuda's commitment to achieving ISAF Recognized Training status for its National Sail Training Programme.

    Rockley International Trainers, Richard Percy and Andy Smith have successfully trained and qualified six of the island's professional instructors to Senior Instructor & Powerboat instructor level. The six candidates all excelled throughout the training courses and deservedly achieved their Bermudan Sailing Association certificates.

    The awards presented are the first of their kind within Bermuda and are testament to the developments that have been made since aligning the Bermudan training standards with the ISAF Learn to Sail Training Programme (LSTP). Check out the ISAF Training pages for more informatyion on how you too could benefit from the new initiatives ISAF has to offer its members www.sailing.org/training

    The RHADC is working hard together with the Bermudan Sailing Association to drive an increase in grassroots sailing participation within Bermuda. The Bermudan strategy is to give every child an educational experience of sailing through the highly successful BSA 'Waterwise' schools programme. Those children who excel on the 'Waterwise' programme are then given the opportunity to develop their passion for sailing through the RHADC.
    ISAF Training Partner Rockley International is also in support of the Icelandic Sailing Association's Participation Initiative. Rockley International Trainer, Tom Wilson, has been working hard in Iceland with the Icelandic Sailing Association & affiliated sailing clubs to deliver the Æfingabúðir SÍL 2010 Sailing week for the youth sailors of Iceland.

    The sailing week is an annual event, bringing together Iceland's young sailors. Run at the Ymir Sailing Club near Reykjavik, this is the very first year Rockley International has been asked to help in the delivery of the sailing week. The overall numbers attending this year's sailing week were impressive having doubled since 2009; with48 youth sailors taking to the water.

    The aim of the sailing camp is to bring together young Icelandic sailors to build cohesion, develop personal sailing skills and to enjoy being afloat. The sailing week is part of a larger strategy within Iceland to develop grassroots sailing participation and drive regular participation amongst the youth sailors.

    The training, during the Sailing Week, was coordinated by Tom Wilson and delivered in conjunction with coaches from the different Icelandic sailing clubs. All Icelandic coaches had, in April 2010 taken part in an ISAF Level 2 Technical Course for Coaches which was delivered by the ISAF Training and Development Manager, Dan Jaspers and ISAF Trainer, Mike Hart. Tom Wilson noted "the Icelandic coaches were eager to use the skills they had learnt from the ISAF Training course and get some 'real coaching experience' with large fleets of boats."

    Ulfur Hrobjartsson, President of the Icelandic Sailing Association, has declared the Æfingabúðir SÍL 2010 Sailing week and its first year of partnership with Rockley International a great success. Ulfur extended his thanks to Rockley for coordinating and helping deliver the sailing week, particularly highlighting that the event had enthused both the coaches and young sailors of Iceland.

    Emma York (as amended by ISAF)

  • posted : 24 days ago Busy Summer for Youth Overseas

    Bermuda's Youth Sailors have had a busy summer across the globe and have brought home some impressive results in the i420, Club 420 and Laser classes along with previously reported accolades from the Optimist class.

    Laser Radial North American Championships - Bermuda's top Laser Radial sailors traveled to the Laser Radial North American Championships in Kema, Teaxs in June as a warm up for the Laser Radial World Championships and ISAF Youth Worlds held in July. Cameron Pimentel, Jason Saints, Ryan Saraiva and Campbell Duffy all qualified for the Gold Fleet in the 94 boat qualifier on Galveston Bay hosted by the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club. Cameron finished the regatta in 3rd place overall, Jason was 18th, Ryan 21st and Campbell 34th.

    40th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships - The Bermuda Team of James Anfossi and Jordan Saints (i420 Dinghy) and Jason Saints (Laser Radial) travelled to Istanbul, Turkey in mid July and joined 344 sailors from 63 different countries. The Youth Worlds is the penultimate Youth Sailing competition on the annual sailing calendar. James and Jordan finished 29th out of 36 boats while Jason finished 36th out of 50 Laser Radials.

    International Laser Class Radial World Championships - Cameron Pimentel, Ryan Saraiva and Campbell Duffy travelled to Largs, Scotland July 7 - 14. An Open event featuring sailors of all ages, Cameron qualified in the Gold fleet and finished 32nd out of 92 boats and 9th in the Under 21 category. Saraiva and Duffy qualified in the Silver Fleet and finished 61st and 89th respectively.

    Club 420 North American Championships - Mackenzie Cooper was the lone Bermudian at the Club 420 North American Championships sailed in the waters off Long Beach Island, New Jersey in late July. Cooper joined up with new crew member Tristan Sess from New York and entered the regatta as part of the Newport, RI based FAST Racing Team. Sailing his first 420 fleet racing regatta Cooper and Sess finished 20th in the 109 boat fleet.

    Hyannis Regatta - Two Bermudian skippers, Mackenzie Cooper and Rian Powell entered the popular Hyannis Regatta (Cape Cod, Massachusetts) in the Club 420 class over the Cup Match weekend. Cooper and crew Tristan Sess and Powell and his Rhode Island crew Patrick Isherwood battled black flag penalties and no drop races on the waters of Nantucket Sound to finish 12th and 26th respectively in the 100 boat fleet.

    38th Buzzards Bay Regatta - More than a 1000 sailors descended on the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, Massachusetts for this large annual regatta. Bermuda was well represented by Mackenzie Cooper, Joshua Greenslade and Rian Powell in the two man Club 420 Class and by Kalin Hillier, James Anfossi and Chris Sposato in the singlehanded Laser Radial Class. Cooper ended up in 21st place in the 126 boat fleet followed by Powell in 51st and Greenslade in 52rd. Kalin Hillier led the Bermudians in the Laser Radial class finishing 12th in the 59 boat fleet . Anfossi was next in 18th and Sposato in 36th place.

    Youth Olympic Games - Bermudian sailing representative, Owen Siese left this weekend for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games starting in Singapore next week. Owen will be sailing the singlehanded Byte CII Dinghy against a fleet of boys aged 15 and 16 from 24 other countries. The threat of Tropical Storm Colin forced an early departure to insure connections would be made to make it to Singapore in time for scheduled training in the local conditions.

  • posted : about 1 month ago 2010 Heineken Around the Islands race

    First of All – Thank you to Heineken as Sponsors of another Successful event.

    This 2010 Round De Islands race saw a very impressive fleet of boats and sailors. The day dawned quite bright but by the time the twenty odd boats hoisted sails and merged to the start line the heavens opened and all were drenched with the warm, then cool rain drops, but there were still many smiles and the race was off, with the sun peaking through as we choose our routes to Five Star Island. A few ventured through Darrell’s wharf route while others fetched through Timlins Narrows, most had set spinnakers by the time we reached Granaway Deep, a gybe at Fire star island mark then across the Great Sound to Mark 102, spins down with a flooky light beat to Grace buoy, then back to Five Star buoy hoisting Spinnakers again, to Grace buoy then Mark 102, with a choice of keeping spinnaker up, which proved a little too close, so easy fetch through Two rock passage back to RBYC where we were greeted with burgers and Heineken prizes at the dock, with BSA gear for the younger sailors.

    This course allows participants to cross paths, what was great to see also was the family connections; the Barbozas Twiddlewinks, J80, with Phoebe on the helm and Lily on foredeck, Chatfield/Templemans, J24 with crew of many nationalities; Patrick Cooper family IOD; Cubbon clan on Alice Kay, Hinkley Bermuda 40; Ray DeSilva always in the IOD fleet with his family, Hilliers on Crossfire J125; Kempes on Stinger JS 9000, Pendruddockes, oh yes the most graceful finish of Severn Luders 44, with smiles that they finally made it; Smiths’ Benn sailed courageously against Dad, Malcolm in the Sunfish; the Valentines on the Cornish Shrimper “Newton Annie”; Watlingtons’, traditional Bermuda Sloop, Shamrock, with the cute yellow spinnaker with bamboo pole.

    Additionally the blue hull and constrasting, red sails of Capedory 22, “Bluebird” sailed by John Basset and Guy Bailey; next to Elspeth Brewin’s J80, awesome design on her main; Special mention to “Unholey” a fitting name for Roger Beach’s Pearson Commander 26’, “Odacious” an Oday 22 with sailing instructors Mahoney and Greeslade; J105 with skipper Ed Faries; Nasty Medicine, Sherwin’s Corby 40, with the crew of many talents; IOD Bob Duffy, Etchells with James Feathers and crew of many; Greg Summers, J92 the big green spinnaker and bringing up the rear with biggest smile, Eclipse, Lazer 28, Marc Lonergan and probably the oldest; IOD helmsman Jordy Walker.

    Thank you Paul Doughty, race official and Ken Lamb, scorer and staff at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

    Thank you all for participating, an awesome day on the water.

  • posted : about 1 month ago Siese wins Sailing Youth Olympic Berth

    posted by : Bermuda Byte Association

    July 4, 2010 - Hamilton, Bermuda

    15-year-old Owen Siese won the right to represent Bermuda at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Sailing on Sunday, the final day of the four-day YOG Selection Trials. The Trials were run by the Byte Class of Bermuda in the Great Sound and hosted by the Spanish Point Boat Club. Owen was able to beat out 5 other hopefuls with a strong performance throughout the trial’s 16 races, which were sailed in varied conditions over 3 weekends.

    Siese, representing the Sandys Boat Club, started the second half of the trials on Saturday morning tied with Kalin Hillier, both with 16 points. Saturday's weather tested the boys with 14 -18 knot northerlies. Siese was able to post three 1st place finishes and a 2nd to enter the final day with a comfortable 17 point lead after Hillier unfortunately found himself saddled with equipment problems which kept him from finishing the first 3 races of the day. Sunday's conditions were quite different from the previous day with a light winds from the northwest, testing the sailors' patience and skill as the breeze scattered sparingly across the course. Dimitri Stevens was the top sailor of the day while once again Siese and Hillier found themselves tied on points for Sunday's racing.

    Final Results - 2010 Youth Olympic Selection Trials

    1st Owen Siese – 22 points
    2nd Kalin Hillier – 33 points
    3rd Dimitri Stevens – 35 points
    4th Raheim Steede – 48 points
    5th Mackenzie Cooper - 65 points
    6th Alex Davis - 69 points

    Siese will join young local athletes from triathlon and athletics plus 3 officials to form the Bermuda Youth Olympic Team for the first ever Youth Olympic Games. The games will take place in Singapore and will run from August 14 to 26. The Warwick Academy student will compete against 34 sailors in the Boy's Sailing Competition in the Byte Dinghy and will be accompanied by sailing coach Pablo Weber who has been training the local Byte sailors for the last year. Siese has attended the CORK regatta, North American Championships and two World Championships over the last 12 months along with other local Byte Class sailors and Coach Weber.

    At his last overseas event in April, the Byte World Championships in France, the current Bermuda National Byte Champion was able to sail against many of the competitors he is due to face in Singapore and finished 9th overall after hovering in the top 5 for most of the regatta. Since then Siese and the other sailors have been training hard on the water and working out in the gym leading up to the selection trials. Further Byte Class training will continue from the Spanish Point Boat Club in the coming weeks and will include lining up against both local and foreign Byte sailors with an aim to provide Bermuda's Youth Olympic Sailor with tough competition making sure he is "battle ready" at the penultimate event.

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