Going in to the last two races, there was five points separating the top two boats.   Race 9 started out very close for the winners, but Eliza Richartz, firmly in third place, was like a horse out of the starting gate, she got ahead and never looked back.  This makes two back to back wins for her.  At the finish, Mayumi Roller placed second to Carolyn Prioleau’s fourth, closing the gap to three points.

 At the first weather mark, Mimi was in fifth and Carolyn was in the teens.  On the first run, Mimi moved into fourth and Carolyn began her long journey, clawing back up the fleet.  Somewhere on the second and final beat, Jessica Claflin fouled Mimi and had to do turns (and they were bad turns at that!).  This exoneration would prove to be the boat Mimi needed to put in between her and Carolyn for the win.  Carolyn was charging up the beat and rounded the mark in 8^th.  If Mimi held on to third, Carolyn needed to finish sixth or better to beat her in the tie breaker.  The whole last run was tense!  Meanwhile, Eliza Richartz sailed away with her third straight win!

 Mimi was unable to catch Renee Gagne for second and Carolyn managed to move into sixth place.  They both ended up with 22 points, but Carolyn has four 1^st place finishes to Mimi’s three 1^st place finishes, and wins the championship…first time the US Junior Women’s Singlehanded Champs has been decided by a tie breaker!  It was an excellent race to watch both girls making mistakes and trying their best to fix them.  Big wind shifts and current played a factor, but the mental game was the order of the day.

 The folks at Pleon and Eastern Yacht Clubs have been such generous hosts….fitting that Nancy Leiter Clagett was a member so long ago here.  Mindy and Peter McManus and the entire event committee and volunteers should be proud: they ran a flawless championship event!  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with this event and getting to know these girls.  This was a fantastic regatta for the final regatta of my tenure.   I look forward to seeing these young ladies out on the water!