Boothbay Region Sailing Club (BRSC) team took first place among eight teams Saturday at SailMaine in Portland. The Bull Dog Open saw light winds never above six knots and a mid-day postponement. The Boothbay sailors, led by Lincoln Academy freshman crew Ella Beauregard and Boothbay Region Middle School skipper Hamilton Barclay, found the conditions to their liking with a second, first and third place tying the Cape Elizabeth Capers in the A Division for the win.

Boothbay senior Nate Graves and freshman skipper Nate Rideout started well at the committee boat and led to the first mark taking second place at the finish. They followed up in even shiftier and lighter conditions with a pair of fifth places. Graves and Rideout were excited by their share of third place in B Division.

Combined, the A and B divisions had 18 points which was three points better than second place Falmouth and brought the Boothbay 1 sailors their first regatta win of the fall 2017 season.

Boothbay brought a second squad to the event. Liam Cullina and Adam Sirois of Lincoln Academy, Henry Currier of Boothbay, and Kate Mason of Center for Teaching and Learning sailed for Boothbay 2. Currier and Sirois finished strong with a third place in the last race. The squad finished seventh overall well ahead of Southern Maine. Boothbay returns to SailMaine Saturday for the Casco Bay Open.

On Sunday, Boothbay sailors, led by co-captain Nate Graves along with Nate Rideout, Ella Beauregard, and Hamilton Barclay, traveled to Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island for the first regatta of the Pen-Bay Series. The series consists of three regattas hosted by MDI High School, Rockland Community Sailing and Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club (BHYC). BHYC along with the BHYC Junior Program Foundation supports the BRSC team in the fall and spring seasons. 

Another light forecast was replaced by strong northerly winds at 14-18 knots and a flooding tide. Beauregard and Barclay started strong at the committee boat and controlled the fleet to the port tack lay line and led to the finish. With back-to-back wins in the first flight, the BRSC team liked their prospects. Graves and Rideout did their part by taking second in their first race and fourth in the next.

As the day wore on, the wind softened and the current switched from flood to ebb changing course dynamics. The left side was favored mostly on the upwind legs, the right side was mostly favored going downwind. The sixth race proved to be one of contrasts with Graves and Rideout winning their first high school race while Beauregard and Barclay finished last. Rideout was elated over his first win.

When the final tally of eight races in each division was made Boothbay’s A boat had 21 points second to Islesboro and Boothbay’s B boat had 24 points, also second to Isleboro.

The next regatta in the Pen-Bay Series is Oct. 1 in Rockland.