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Top U.S. Laser sailors finish 1-2 in Midwinters

Student topped mentor over the weekend as Zach Railey, 17, of Clearwater won the Olympic Laser Midwinters East, beating Largo's Brett Davis by five points. Davis and Railey are ranked No. 1 and 2 among U.S. sailors vying for the Olympic berth in Laser class.

Eighty-one full-rig Lasers sailed out of the Clearwater Sailing Center and into the bay, racing in light winds Thursday, no wind Friday and winds up to 30 knots Saturday. Two long races were held in the gulf Sunday, with a shifting breeze of 12-15 knots.

The Radial class uses the same Laser hull with a smaller sail. Sailors from Argentina and Cyprus finished 1-2. Clearwater's Charles Fulmer was third and Paige Railey, 14, was fourth among the 76 competitors.

Nathan Cowan, from Toronto, was killed in an auto accident on his way to the regatta. The fleet sailed Sunday with large letters NC on the sail.

Masters, age 35 and over, sailed Lasers at the same venue Feb. 16-17. Buzzy Heausler of Tampa was first in the 45-55 age group and fourth overall behind St. Petersburg's Ian Lineberger, Rick Erickson and Tim Landt. Joe Van Rossen of Ontario was the 55-65 winner. Dick Tillman of Merrit Island, the champion of the Laser class for its first nationals in the 1970s, topped the 65-plus fleet.

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