Matt Long of Dos Pueblos High is the national high school singlehanded sailing champion.
Matt Long rallied on the final day of competition to win the High School Singlehanded National Sailing Championship in Newport, R.I.
Long, a senior at Dos Pueblos High, sailed consistently in fluctuating conditions at the two-day regatta that drew the nation?s top Laser sailors. On the first day, the sailors competed in unseasonably warm temperatures and calm winds. Long trailed the leader by eight points.
The temperature dropped from the mid-60s to the mid-40s on the second day and the winds were blowing 18-20 knots at the start and settled to around 12-15 knots by the end. Long started the day with two firsts and a second. The leader, meanwhile, capsized in the sixth race.
Long finished three-points ahead of Richard Didham of San Diego and Malcolm Lamphere of Lake Forest, Ill., to win the national championship.
Long trains 3-4 hours a day, 2-3 days a week with the Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Foundation and the UCSB Sailing Team. He got his start in sailing with the Santa Barbara Sea Shell Association and has been sailing competitively since 2006.
He is currently on the Southern California Youth Yacht Racing Association (SCYYRA) race team and the California International Sailing Association (CISA) sailing team. He is also a U.S. Sailing certified instructor.
