8 year becomes youngest class winner in history; Orangevale family takes title
When Loic Reynolds’ father Garth, an accomplished sailor and sail maker from Davis who was filling the role of mid/tactician, suggested a trim adjustment during this weekend’s Camellia Cup Regatta on Folsom Lake, eight-year-old Loic, who was driving Reynold’s Vanguard Nomad 17 sailboat, snapped back, “Dad, I know what I’m doing!”
He sure did. Loic ended the two-day regatta as winner of the Open Centerboard Class, becoming the youngest skipper to win a class in the regatta’s 58 years.
And, it wasn’t just Garth’s son who saved the day. At another point during the regatta, Elodie, Loic’s 10-year-old sister, who crewed the position of “forward,” recognized that the Open Centerboard fleet was heading to the wrong mark, so she directed Nomad to tack away toward the correct mark, turning a possible loss into a win.
But, it was another family – the Samsons of Orangevale – who took away the biggest win, besting six other boats to be named overall Camellia Cup Champions, Keelboat Perpetual Trophy winners and winners of the Open Keel Non-spinnaker class.
Orangevale’s David Samson, with sons Marcus and Matt had competed in the venerable regatta for years on the family’s Catalina 22, Slo Mo. They’d won their class previously, but never the overall cup until now. David said his father, Francis, who passed away in 2019, would be looking down on their win with pride.
Folsom Times photos by Bill Sullivan and FLYC.
“My father was passionate about the sport of sailing. He entered Slo Mo in many CamCups and it was always a family affair with children and grandchildren on board, first. I would be kicked off the boat if any of his grandchildren were available to sail,” David recalled.
“There is always a lot of yelling and screaming on a Samson boat, that is, until the race ends. Then it’s a host of cheers by all on board. It’s been part of my family and my life from 12-years-old to 67.”
Seven classes of boats competed in this year’s CamCup. In addition to the Open Centerboard and Open Keel Non-spinnaker classes, Banshees, Lasers, Open Keel Spinnaker, multihull and J-boat model yachts competed.
Winning the Banshee class and Perpetual Centerboard Trophy was El Dorado Hills’ Craig Lee of Scuttlebutt Sailing. Leading Laser skipper was Al Sargent of the Saint Francis Yacht Club. Winning Open Keel Spinnaker was a Santana 20 captained by Mark Werder of Folsom. The Top Cat multihull sailor was Ryan Schofield on a Hobie 20 and the winning model yachtsman was Charles Witcher of the Sacramento Model Yacht Club, sailing his 8.5-foot J Class boat, SVEA.
SVEA is a 1/16-scale replica of the America’s Cup “J” boat designed by the Swedes in the 1930s to challenge the American super “J” Ranger, for a race that was never held due to World War II.
In the model yacht version of Camellia Cup, radio-controlled sailboats competed in 14 heats on each of two days, both on Folsom Lake in El Dorado Hills and Bridgeway Lakes in West Sacramento.
Camellia Cup is an event of the Folsom Lake Yacht Club. More is found at flyc.org.
| 58th Camellia Cup Results: Open Keel – Non-Spinnaker David Samson, FYC, C22, Slo Mo – 5 pts (Camellia Cup and Keelboat Champion) Mike Rayfuse, FLYC, C22, Sirius – 8 pts Mike Fitzgerald, FLYC, Capri 22, Layla – 12 pts Gary Preston, FLYC, H270, Charmed Life – 13 pts Barry Curran, C250, Malahat – 21 pts Dave Hewitt, FLYC, C22, Shark Bait – 21 pts Multihull Ryan Schofield, Hobie Fleet 20, Hobie 20 – 4 pts (Multihull Champion) Banshee Craig Lee, Scuttlebutt Sailing, In N Out – 4 pts (Overall Centerboard Champion) Kerry Johnson, FLYC, Blue Light Special – 8 pts J. Nelson, FLYC, Herkimer – 14 pts S. Upadhyay, FLYC – 15 pts J Class (Model Yachts) Charles Witcher, SMYC, SVEA – 46 pts (Model Yacht Champion) Bruce Anderson, Boise MYC, Shamrock – 55 pts Dan Robinson, SMYC, SVEA – 61 pts Doug Wilkinson, SMYC, SVEA – 83 pts Gene Novak, SMYC, SVEA – 131 pts Paul Brown, SMYC, SVEA – 143 pts John Hancock, SMYC, SVEA – 147 pts Bob Eger, SMYC, SVEA – 173 pts Laser Al Sargent, St.FYC, ILCA – 6 pts Elliot Drake, St.FYC, ILCA – 8 pts Marcel Sloane, SSC, ILCA, Humble Pie – 9 pts David LPier, ACSC, ILCA, Ilcanaut One – 13 pts Stephen Aguilar, LWSC, ILCA, Can’t Buy A Thrill – 22 pts Ernest Galvan, RYC, ILCA – 28 pts Sutter Stremmel, TYC, ILCA – 28 pts Open Centerboard Loic Reynolds, LWSC, Nomad 17 – 4 pts Kelly Pike, HMBYC, VXOne, Flying Fish – 7 pts Beth Richard, HMBYC, Lightning, Xanado – 13 pts Paul Melcon, ButteSC, Buccaneer – 14 pts Open Keel – Spinnaker Mark Werder, FLYC, S20, 2-Step – 4 pts Paul Frank, FLYC, S20 – 9 pts Phil Hodgson, FLYC, WL24, Te Natura – 11 pts Mark Harlan, FLYC, Capri 25 – 16 pts |
