This week was the sixth of the Southport Yacht Club sailing program. It was filled to the brim with fun and different events throughout the week, including the Maine State Opti Regatta which was hosted by SYC this year!

In the morning class, we had three new sailors this week who did their swim test on Monday morning: Alexander Craven-Smith, Clara Craven-Smith, and Jarett Pinchasik. They were accompanied by their swim test buddies who held their towels and led the way to the post-swim hot chocolate!

While the weather this week wasn’t always sunshine, morning class sailors still made it out into turnabouts and Optis for the majority of the days! However, on Wednesday, while Maine State Opti Sailors had their first day of racing, the SYC morning class traveled to the Coast Guard station in Boothbay Harbor and the aquarium! Both events were an amazing experience and SYC was given a warm welcome by all who opened their doors to us that day.

For our afternoon class sailors, we had a busy week. From competing in regattas to helping during Maine State Optis, SYC was bustling.

On Monday, four 420s went to Blue Hill to compete in the Maine State 420s Regatta on Tuesday and Wednesday. Coach Luke Thress reported that there was, “perfect wind and weather for both days of sailing,” and that, “sailors competed in a consistent 15-20 knot sea breeze on both days and went up against some serious competition.” With 37 boats on the line, Rachel Phippen and Logan Snyder finished ninth, Skye Harrington and Sofia Moen finished fifteenth, Nate Phippen and Graydon Smith finished sixteenth, and Gabriella Moen and Mia Dupee finished thirty-fourth. Well done sailors!

On Wednesday and Thursday, SYC hosted the 2024 Maine State Optimist Regatta. With 26 boats on the line in Green Fleet and 35 boats on the line in Champ Fleet, our yacht club was booming with Opti sailors from all across Maine! Several of our sailors competed in this regatta and did amazingly. For Green Fleet, coached by Maggie Doyle and Kimball Khetani, we had James Allison, Maggie Amos, Chapman Brinegar, Genevieve Bunge, and Paige Smith. While the light wind and heat didn’t provide the best racing conditions, Green fleet sailors were able to go swimming during their lunch breaks! While the Green Fleet doesn’t score races, it provides an amazing learning experience for new racers and we are incredibly proud of our Green Fleet Optis! For Champ Fleet, coached by Daphne Walsh, our sailors competed in the same light wind and high temperatures, but all had an amazing performance. With thirty-five boats on the line, Hadden Bringar finished first bringing home the gold to SYC meaning we will be hosting Maine State Optis in 2025! Brooks Baker finished fourth, Lucy Browne finished fifth, Taylor Smith finished tenth, mabel Kaler finished fourteenth, Surina Kelchner finished twentieth, Adaline Lambert finished twenty-fourth, and Angus Preston finished twenty-fifth. A big congratulations to all sailors!

Next week we hope you’ll join us for Bingo on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. All prizes have been donated by local businesses so we hope you’ll join us for some fun and to win the generous donations!