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Community Corner

Toms River Youth Among Sailors in National Competition off LBI

Competitors to vie for spots on the U.S. team during the April 26-29 trials

More than 200 sailors from 45 states will participate in the 2012 KO Sailing/United States Optimist Dinghy Association Team Trials April 26-29, hosted by the Brant Beach Yacht Club, and a Toms River youth is among them.

"New Jersey and particularly Barnegat Bay have produced some of the best sailors in the U.S.," said race coordinator Ernest "Bub" Kovacs.  "The current president of U.S. Sailing and former America's Cup skipper, Gary Jobson, is from Beachwood and grew up sailing on Barnegat Bay."

This is the third time the competition has been held in New Jersey in the race's more than 25 years. Optimists are small one-person sailboats invented in 1947 as a way for young children to learn the sport of sailing.  The sport has grown over the past 55 years and there are now more than 20,000 young sailors in the U.S.

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Competitors in the team trials range from age 10 to 15. They were invited to participate based on their performance in qualifying regional and national events.  Sean Crabb, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Toms River Intermediate School East, qualified at a race in Massachusetts.

"In the Barnegat Bay, there is a light wind, but in New England, there are high winds and a lot of current," said Crabb.  "But, I did my best and luckily I qualified."

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Crabb said his goal is to be one of the top 100 in the team trials and make the national team, which will enable him to compete in more national and international regattas. Over his spring vacation from school, he said he's been practicing every day. 

"With all this work, your legs are very strong," he said.  "You have to be smart, with all the tactics.  You always have to have a plan -- you can't just go out there and hope for the best."

Crabb lives on the water in Toms River and started sailing at age 9. He said he is quite competitive.

"I put a lot of effort into this sport and it makes me achieve my goals,"  he said. "I love to feel the water and the speed.  It's very exciting."

There are more than 20 yacht clubs and sailing programs on Barnegat Bay, according to Kovacs.

"This area has one of the most dense populations of sailors in the nation," he said.  "Ocean County is about to break ground on a new sailing facility in Ocean Gate to help grow the interest in this lifelong sport."

Over the four-day competition, spectators can view the race from both Long Beach Island and the mainland across from Brant Beach on the Little Egg Harbor Bay starting at 9 a.m. each day.

The top five sailors will represent the U.S. at the World Championships in the Dominican Republic and others will qualify for a variety of international championships around the world, said Kovacs.

"The amount of autonomy required to prepare, rig and sail for up to six hours per day with multiple races per day is extraordinary," said Kovacs. "These are the best under 15 sailors in the nation."

For more information about the Team Trials, visit bbyc.net/OptiTeamTrials/index.htm.

To learn more about the sport, go to the U.S. Optimist Dinghy Association website at www.usoda.org.

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