Lakewood Seahorse Byerly Ranks 10th At Nationals
Lakewood Yacht Club Seahorse racer Dane Byerly competed in the U.S. Optimist Nationals held this year in Deltaville, Virginia, over the week of July 20.
 The first day of racing results were used to break the large fleet of 262 of the toughest sailors in the U.S.A. into smaller fleets such as the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Pearl.
Byerly finished 10th in the Gold Fleet, against the toughest national Optimist racing competitors in the country. He had one bullet (1st place finish) race which is difficult considering the level of competition. “It was really a tough regatta and on the last day, there was some talk that Dane might win the entire event,” related Seahorse mother Bethany Hughes whose daughter Haddon placed first in the Girls Nationals that week. “That really would have been awesome!”
Byerly has had a sailing-filled summer. First, he qualified for Team Trials, an event where he was then chosen to represent the USA in Belgium at the Topsport Vlaanderen Nieuwpoortweek 2010. Dane and his teammates had serious competition that week against the strongest of European sailors. After two days of sailing, the racers were grouped into two fleets, Gold and Silver. Byerly was placed into the Gold Fleet and grabbed the first Team USA bullet (1st place finish). He ended up 27th in the Gold Fleet. “The sailing conditions were completely different compared to our local ones and dealing with strong currents was a challenge for our sailors,” explained Hughes.
During Texas Youth Race week the middle of July which is of six days of racing on Galveston Bay through all the local yacht clubs with over 150 participating boats from all over the state. Byerly ended up 5th overall and placed 2nd in the Blue Fleet. “Dane deserves a breather now that it is August, yet he still practices every day which is an inspiration to the younger Seahorses who look up to him,” concluded Hughes. |
