Miles Gordon Wins Harken Opti Series

The annual Harken Optimist Challenge came to a close recently at St. Francis Yacht Club of San Francisco, California. Now in its 19th year, this four-regatta series features two regattas in NorCal and two in SoCal, attracting nearly 50 Optimist sailors from across all of California.

The series culminated in glorious fashion at the Heavy Weather Regatta hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club. Thursday’s racing was a special Slalom course that the kids loved, followed by a more traditional windward-leeward course Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

A full round of congratulations is in order for Miles Gordon from California Yacht Club on taking home the perpetual Harken Optimist Challenge trophy.

Alexander Montagu and Harrison Doyle from St. Francis Yacht Club rounded out the podium. The series leaderboard is determined by each boat’s top three regatta scores — the total number of entries at the regatta minus the boat’s final position plus 1.

Photos courtesy of Chris Ray and Felix Weidling

2023 Harken Optimist Challenge Series