Downeast

Castine, Maine

Regatta report from Dee Powell, Event Chair (Results below):

Thanks to all for a great weekend. We all survived, no major breakdowns or injury. I know there were a lot of sailors itching to test those hefty breezes on Sunday. Just wasn't prudent sailing. I'm sorry. Too bad the 420's don't reef! Can you tell I'm a cruiser and not a racer?

Thanks to everyone who helped with this regatta. We had 200 people on the water, 131 sailors and the rest coaches, spectators, press and support staff. Sixteen schools were represented with 22 boats on the starting line. This year we had MA and VT represented along with 8 Maine teams. CT, RI and NH were stolen away by other competitions running this weekend. 

Saturday was perfect sailing weather and Sunday was a bit over the top. The wind was southerly at 5-10 knots Saturday, it was overcast and in the mid 50's, near perfect sailing. Six sets of races went off almost flawlessly. The protests were heard on the rotation dock and resolved by the end of the day. Dinner by Bianco Provisions was fantastic and the race committe was driving home at 7pm when the rain and thunderstorms rolled through. Definitely a good day of racing.

We could only get one race off on Sunday and couldn't count it since the B division never got on the water, a little too much wind. The wind was westerly at 10-20 knots, holding steady with gusts building a little higher. MMA's committee boat the RV Friendship, kept getting blown off it's anchor so the race was delayed until they were secured to the float mooring and the starting line set. The first race was really exciting, some spectacular sailing and only one capsize which recovered quickly and finished. The second A race was approaching the windward mark when the wind started to build and within a minute about 6 boats had sails in the water. The recall flag went up and the chase boats began to round up the boats and head them back to the dock. The boats were handled pretty well by most of the sailors with only one boat ending up heading toward the beach, the centerboard seemed to be uncooperative. It was a wild flurry of dropping sails and dragging boats into their cradles as 21 on them converged on the float and were battened down. Lunch came out and we waited for the wind to subside to resume the race. It didn't give up and around 12:30pm we started the process of cleaning up and getting the sailors back on shore. It was pretty disappointing to have to quit, especially since the top teams were so close in points and GSA had beat MDI in that first and only race of the day.

In the end GSA came 2 points away from first place, both overall and Maine states, a VERY small margin in a race this big. Johnny and Jen (GSA seniors) were the top team overall scoring only 23 points. The winning team's best boat (MDI, Tyler Steel, senior) came in 13 points behind them. Only Tabor had a team with a better score, unfortunately losing with a disqualification over substitutions. It is notable that Tabor took the disqualifications that cost them first place overall through their own admission to an illegal substitution between divisions. They certainly sailed with excellence. Griff Fenton commended them for their honesty and commitment to the honor code of sailboat racing. A sportsmanship award surely was earned by Tabor.

We look forward to another round next year, and wish you a fun summer full of sailing!