Southwestern Championship

White Rock, TX, USA, May 25, 2025

by SnipeToday 05/28/2025

(Photo courtesy of Steve Bell)

White Rock, TX, USA, May 25, 2025

Schubert/Woeger Win the Southwestern Championship

On May 24-25, eighteen Snipe teams faced gusty, high winds and high temperatures in Dallas for the 89th Southwestern Championship regatta, which was also the District 2 Championship. Ryan Schubert and crew Maya Woeger sailed masterfully in challenging conditions and proved that youth and skill sometimes do beat age and treachery.

Ryan and Maya prevailed with three first place finishes and two second place finishes in which they managed to keep the boat flat and the mast in the air. Dallas locals Gene Soltero and crew Laura Dahl O’Leary enjoyed their many screaming planes (some of which involved actual screaming) on the way to their second place regatta finish. Jon Christensen and crew Vicki Albert bravely set forth in Jon’s brand new Snipe, winning a hard fought victory in race 4 and finishing third over all. Taylon Starr and crew Eddie Lockey demonstrated the greatest consistency in the regatta, finishing fifth in all five races and placing fourth in the regatta. Doug Day with crew Pat Carr rounded out the top five in Doug’s 1970’s era McLaughlin.

Four father/son teams competed, including newcomers from Nebraska and Texas. Jack Montani won the award for top newcomer skipper, and Victor Franco won top newcomer crew. Victor was also the highest placing junior sailor, and John Montani was the second place junior sailor. Special shout out to Dallas locals Hayden and Harmony Tzhone, the only junior/junior team to compete in the regatta. Hayden and Harmony completed a race in which the sustained winds were in the low 20’s, with gusts in the low 30’s.

The sailors enjoyed short course practice races on Friday afternoon, followed by a cookout. On Saturday evening the competitors traded stories during a cocktail party featuring rum punch and Shiner Bock followed by a delicious dinner. By about 2:00 on Sunday, the sore, tired, and happy sailors began making their way home.

Final results after 5 races: