This week was the fifth of the Southport Yacht Club sailing program. While the weather was mostly dreary, SYC was still filled with summer fun. From energetic knot hopscotch in the morning class to the SYC Summer Olympics for the morning and afternoon classes, our sailors proved that you don’t always need a bright, sunny day to have fun.

In the morning class, we spent our week on and off the water. On Monday, we had three new swimmers: Teagan Farley, Knox Faught, and Andrew Merchak. They were greeted with a warm welcome and then placed in Turnabouts for one of the only sunny days this week: on Tuesday, the forecast gave us rain, fog, and light wind which made it a perfect day for on-land stations of sailing-inspired games: on Wednesday, we had another light-wind day, but no rain, so we were out on the Sheepscott: Thursday, sailors played a group game of knot hopscotch, a new favorite at SYC: and on Friday, the fun continued!

In the afternoon class, we had a full week of sailing. The light breeze throughout the week provided a new learning environment for our older sailors, who had to be much more aware of their placement in the boat, sail trim, and perfecting skills without the helping hand of a strong breeze. On Thursday, both Optis and 420s had their race day. For Optis, the podium consisted of Surina Kelchner in first, Hadden Brinegar in second, and Brooks Baker in third! For the 420s, the podium consisted of Skye Harrington and Sofia Moen in first, Nate Phippen and Graydon Smith in second, and Rachel Phippen and Logan Snyder in third!

On Friday, the Olympics arrived at the Southport Junior Yacht Club for the morning and afternoon classes. Athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, and Sweden joined to compete in the 2024 SYC Olympic games. The events were a rig row sail, an egg toss, a potato sack race, javelin, shot put, and a pentathlon that included equestrian, running, fencing (foam swords), and shooting (foam water shooters). In the afternoon class, we had a little extra time and also did an artistic swimming event. While team Argentina took first place in both the morning and afternoon classes, all teams had a win at some point during the day. The Olympics are a special treat at SYC since they are only every four years, but it's safe to say that the 2024 SYC Summer Olympics were a success!

Next week is a busy one for SYC. On Monday, four 420s will travel to Blue Hill to compete at the Maine State 420 Regatta on Tuesday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the results and wish our sailors luck! On Wednesday we will have our regular 6 p.m. kickball, but this week we may be joined by some new faces. On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be hosting the Maine State Optimist Regatta! The Sheepscot will be filled with competitors who we hope will join us for a fun game of kickball! Stay tuned for the results for both regattas and next week's overall report!