Sports

WI Natives Take Home U.S. Men's Sailing Championship

Team Hyer raced to victory on Sunday afternoon.

A fleet of West Islip natives raced their way into the history books by capturing the 2011 U.S. Men's Sailing Championship this past weekend at Lake Norman Yacht Club in North Carolina.

Skipper David M. Hyer, along with his father David A. Hyer and crewmate Gregory Schneller (all from West Islip), took home the men's championship in dominant fashion, beating the next closest team by 21 points.  

Team Hyer, which races out of Babylon Yacht Club, was able to win four of the 11 races held over the weekend.  They were were awarded the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy and gold medals.

Find out what's happening in West Islipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I felt like we had a handle on the shifty breezes on the lake," Hyer told Jake Fish, communications manager for USSailing.org. "We stayed in the pressure and played for averages.

"My dad got me into sailing and drove me all over the place from one junior sailing event to another.   It's been good to see how much we've both improved."

Find out what's happening in West Islipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hyer also said he told his team that if they finished third in every race, it "would be enough to win." 

"Our average finish was just over third," he added.

Click here to view the final results.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here