After decidedly winning the Area A qualifier in June against talented teams from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club junior sailors Arden Carleton, Toby Clarkson, Piper Carleton and Otto Schoenthal traveled to Marblehead, Massachusetts to compete in the 2021 Sears Cup. This year the Sears Cup returned to its home at Eastern Yacht Club to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the trophy.  Commodore Sears established the cup in 1921, and it has since become the national championship trophy for keelboat racing by sailors between the ages of 13 and 18. Winning teams from eleven regional area qualifiers across the U.S. gathered in Marblehead for three days of racing beginning Aug. 11. All teams raced in a new RS21, a modern high-performance keelboat, provided by the manufacturer. 

Marblehead’s typical light winds opened the first day of racing, reaching ten knots. As the team fought for excellent starts and clean air, they completed four races, placing first in one, to put them in fourth place at the end of the day. Key to this day was learning about both their competition and how to handle the RS 21 to maximum efficiency and speed.

Day two was more challenging for all the teams as temperatures soared to above 90 with shifty winds. The BHYC team placed a disappointing tenth on the first race, but proved their maturity, skill, and mental toughness by overcoming that disappointment and winning the next race. During the day, the fleet completed three difficult races, but before the fourth race the south-westerly wind shifted significantly to the south, requiring a course reset. The fourth and final race of the day began, but signal flags were raised in mid-race to note a shortened course, an unusual occurrence in youth racing, as the wind shifted again to a full westerly. The BHYC team read the flags correctly and adjusted their course, but teams more unfamiliar with the unusual signal saw their placement fall. The BHYC maintained their fourth-place finish after a day of challenging conditions, a day where even the leading boat had a last-place finish.

Day three opened without wind and no racing, remaining so until the competition was declared completed without any races run. The four BHYC sailors ended their first attendance at a national competition, and their first attendance at any competition outside of the New England area, with a highly respectable and exciting fourth place overall that included two first-place finishes out of eight races. The competition was experienced and talented, some of whom race on the international circuit, and they defeated teams who were both older and repeat Sears Cup contenders.

Special thanks to Chris Liberti, head of the BHYC Junior Program and head coach of the regional high school sailing teams, and Todd Carleton, volunteer assistant high school sailing coach. Chris has created a fine Junior Program of which the club should be proud. Todd donated hours of personal time working with our sailors in both the high school program and in preparation for the Sears Cup. Additional thanks and gratitude to the many generous and supportive BHYC members who shared in the excitement of the first BHYC Sears Cup contenders since 1991, when Sarah Brooks Snell, a current BHYC member, represented the club as skipper of the first all-female team in the history of the Cup. As the BHYC junior program continues to excel, many youth sailors hope to continue the honor of representing the BHYC at future Sears Cups as well as other regional and national competitions.