Week 8 did not disappoint despite being a bit quieter in terms of travel for our sailors. Hamilton Barclay and Ella Beauregard qualified for the Bemis Trophy, US Sailing’s National Junior Double Handed championship held at North Cape Yacht Club in LaSalle, Michigan. The young duo sailed very well, finishing second amongst the 20 teams in attendance. Well done Hamilton and Ella. Not only junior sailors get to travel for regattas, our coach, Tori Thompson, is in Newport racing in the International 420 woman’s worlds with her sister Peyton. The duo is currently in 12th place among the 52 woman’s teams at the event.

Back at BHYC, our newest instructor Cole Brauer is settling into our program. We had a week of hot, but fair weather with all of the forecast thunderstorms missing us. We started off the week with our newly added Monday night Tech racing, with eight boats out sailing. Cole ran a few races for the group, which included Opti and 420 sailors, staff, and a parent. The Tech is a great platform for an event like this, as it can easily take a team of two, or be single handed, and is manageable by an Opti sized sailor, yet comfortable for an adult. We plan to continue this Monday night event for at least the next two weeks and certainly next season. If you are interested in joining us, we try to get out on the water as close to 4:30 as possible every Monday, after our afternoon class. Afternoon sailors are welcome to hang around for a bit before heading back out, and others are asked to meet us on the back lawn. All are welcome.

Our morning sailors had a productive week, capping off a week of learning with a breezy northerly wind on Friday to really put their skills to the test. The first windy day is always tough from the instructors point of view, as usually some kids are mentally ready while some are not quite yet. It can be tough to balance the need of some to find the windiest spot in the harbor while others are looking for a calmer corner. This week’s beginners not only weathered the wind with no capsizes, but more importantly with nothing but smiles as they came back to land.

In the afternoon, Aidan Clark was teaching his Opti racers about starts using a role playing game he adapted from dungeons and dragons, which slowed down the action on the whiteboard and allowed his young sailors to see starts as a series of actions and reactions. We are hoping they put this new knowledge to use in this coming week's battle of the bay.

Our 420 sailors spent the week honing their upwind sailing skills and capped a productive and fun week off with a race to Burnt Island where they went ashore for some frisbee and exploration before heading back.