On Sunday, April 9, under sunny skies and winds from 4-12 knots out of the west, transitioning to the southwest, Boothbay sailors Nate Graves, Ella Beauregard and Hamilton Barclay traveled to SailMaine in Portland for the Falmouth Development Team Race. The three Boothbay sailors joined forces with five Cape Elizabeth sailors to create the Cape-Boothbay team.

Team racing is a popular growing discipline in scholastic racing following the lead of collegiate sailors. Six sailors on three boats race three competitor’s boats. The goal is to have 10 or less points with each place receiving points (1st=1 pt., 2nd=2 pts., 3rd=3 pts., etc.). A typical winning combination of 2nd, 3rd, 4th is 9 points and beats a 1st, 5th, 6th of 12 points. Teams compete against each other in a best of three match series called a “Flight.” Each Flight schedules teams against each other in a round-robin format. 

Each team uses their boat handling, speed, and knowledge of the rules to put opposing boats behind them. The rules encourage a boat to slow an opposing boat down to allow a team member to get ahead. Team members pick individual boats to cover or assign geographic zones (right-center-left), depending on the team’s perceived relative strengths much like in basketball. It makes for exciting lead changes and vigorous rules calls in a short ten-12 minute race over an “N” shaped course. In five Flights, the Boothbay sailors competed in 13 races.

Graves crewed for Cape Elizabeth’s senior skipper on the A Boat. Beauregard and Barclay sailed the B boat for Cape-Boothbay. The Boothbay sailors provided the majority of the tactical work in the race frequently trapping the other team at marks and forcing them over the start line early creating initial advantages. The Cape-Boothbay team breezed through two of the first three head-to-head matches beating Southern Maine and Portland High School 2-0. The well-coached Isleboro team took the first race before a substitution saw Cape-Boothbay taking two straight races. Perhaps the best move in these three series was the Cape-Boothbay B boat starting early, returning, then catching and trapping two Portland boats at the offset mark after the weather leg. Cape-Boothbay went on to win that race by a wide margin 7-14.

This led to a match up of undefeated teams in Cape-Elizabeth and host Falmouth. Beauregard and Barclay pushed two Falmouth boats over early and the Cape-Boothbay team won the first race handily. Falmouth came back by trapping Beauregard and Barclay to keep from rounding the leeward mark until their #2 boat could pass. The A Boat with Graves went on to take 2nd, but it wasn’t enough and the series was tied. The third race was just as close with the top four boats speeding to the finish within two boats lengths.

The final match of the day saw undefeated Cheverus match up against Cape-Boothbay with a 3-1 record. This match again went three races with the Cape-Boothbay team B Boat coming up a boat length short at the finish. The 3-2 finish for the Boothbay sailors was a good start to the season which will see them team race twice more in the Pen-Bay league at Rockland and Castine.

The Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club and Junior Program Foundation support the Boothbay Region Sailing Club each season. Next week the BRSC is hosting a Spring Break Racing Clinic on April 18-20 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Signups are still available.

Sailing continues Monday through Thursday after school from 3:30-6:15 p.m. Please contact Charles Barclay at office@bhyc.net or (207) 633-5750 if you want to participate.