This weekend BRHS sailors raced in the Bull Dog Open Regatta hosted by Portland High School. A Division sailors Ella Beauregard and Hamilton Barclay took first with 11 points in 6 races. While B Division sailors Nate Rideout and Alton Coolidge took second with 25 points also in 6 races. Falmouth High School team had similar scores with A Division taking second and B Division taking first. The difference in total points favored Falmouth and they took the series.

The regatta was fog laced with wind that varied from 3-17 knots and shifting through 120 degrees of the compass. As the fog cleared and the sun came out the wind built to the teens and provided exciting sailing with only one capsize. Fourteen teams competed.

Boothbay then competed Sunday in the first of the Pen Bay series held at Rockland’s Apprenticeshop and Rockland Community Sailing. While there was no fog at start time, the sun and skies became even clearer and warmer. With only 3-5 knots of wind for the first 3 races, the fourth and last race before a lunch break saw only 2-3 knots of wind. Racing was called at 2:30 PM when the wind failed to resume after lunch.

The BRHS team was battling for second when the crews switched from A to B Division and the teams results improved. The A Division boat skippered by Hamilton Barclay with Ella Beauregard crewing took two firsts. The B Division boat skippered by Nate Rideout with Alton Coolidge took 11th in the first race and 9th in the second race. After switching crews, the A boat still with Barclay skippering and Alton Coolidge crewing won the 3rd race with the B boat skippered by Nate Rideout with Beauregard as crew taking 2nd.

The fourth and final race of the day was more dramatic as Barclay and Coolidge were leading heading to the upwind finish when they failed to keep clear of the second place Isleboro boat heading to the leeward mark in 4th. The Isleboro boat appeared to heel a little extra to windward as the boats passed close by and touched masts. The penalty circles in the dying wind set the Boothbay pair back to 4th. The Boothbay B boat finished right ahead of the A Boat to take a 3rd in their last race. Brothers Bobby and Toby Clarkson raced well together in the C boat finishing 9th out of 14 boats with finishes of 4, 13, 8, 10.

Overall, Boothbay won the event with 32 points to Isleboro’s 41 points. They now lead the Pen Bay series with the next event scheduled for Columbus Day at Maine Maritime Academy. The BRHS Boothbay sailors are supported by the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club and the BHYC Junior Program Foundation.