Boothbay RHS sailors traveled to Castine May 11-13 for the Downeast Regatta and Maine Sailing Association High School State Championship. Teams from Islesboro, Camden Hills, Rockland, Portland, MDI, Falmouth, Yarmouth, and Boothbay faced off against teams from Vermont, New Hampshire and the powerful teams from Marblehead, Belmont Hills, and Tabor Academy. Nineteen teams sought the Overall Trophy, the Maine Schools Trophy, or the newly created Butch Minson Corinthian Trophy in honor of the well-respected Maine Maritime Academy Coach who crossed the bar in October.

Racing was held in Smith Cove with 4-6 knots in Race 1 that soon built to 15 knots by noon on Saturday. Less experienced teams were tested to keep the boats upright as the day progressed and the wind increased to 20+ knots. Favored teams including Tabor, Belmont Hill, Marblehead, Falmouth, Camden Hills, and Islesboro were stunned by a race 1 win by home team George Stevens Academy. Race 1 saw a light and fluky westerly breeze developing into a steady southerly sea breeze by the third race. After the initial win, GSA finished in the upper half of the fleet the rest of the event.

Peter Morrissette from Falmouth looked good early. He won Race 2 and crossed the finish first in Race 3 but was called OCS (20). Morrissette would win Race 4 and 4 out of 11 races but the OCS dropped the promising Laser sailor from 1^st to 4^th in Division A. Morrissette is expected to compete at Boothbay’s Junior Olympic Festival, July 9-13. His sister Catherine skippered the B boat. Camden Hills beat Falmouth for the top Maine Schools Trophy by 14 points.

As the wind and current built throughout the day it became clear that certain lanes were favored along the deeper trench that runs through Smith Cove. The wind oscillated 20 degrees to keep the race committee resetting marks throughout the day. Playing the shallower right and left side going upwind paid off depending on the oscillation, while sticking to the trench with clear air downwind led to big gains.

Senior Nolan Conlin and Ella Beauregard sailed the A Boat for Boothbay. The pair fought for clear air at the start and took a few races to get their bearings in the big fleet. They demonstrated tremendous Corinthian spirit in Race 5 by retiring after finishing when they were involved in an incident that capsized the GSA boat in the boisterous conditions. Their best finish of the weekend, a 5^th place, was negated when race committee decided to rerun that race because of a drifting mark the fleet had already rounded. The pair finished in 17^th place with 150 points.

Freshman Nate Rideout and Andrea Guiterrez sailed well with consistent upper half and top 5 finishes. With a best finish of 3^rd place, the pair had good starts, picking up clear lanes of air, and not having any trouble till the last race when a foul dropped them to 14^th. Their 77 points was good enough for a comfortable 6^th place out of 19 boats.

Boothbay RHS Sailing team is supported by a grant from the BHYC Junior Program Foundation, the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club, and the Boothbay RHS.