The second week of SYC camp was one to remember because this past week the summer truly came into full swing as attendance in both morning and afternoon classes skyrocketed. We kicked off the week in the morning with 10 brave new sailors taking their swim test in the rather cold june water; Gates Gitcho, John Dickerson, Lakyn Comeau, Holden Henderson, Kelly Schmitt, Catalina DeMarinis, Aurelia Dickerson, Mackie Schmitt, Thomas Schmitt and Patrick Walsh all kicked off their week of sailing with a successful swim test, congratulations to those kids!

In the morning, the class participated in various fun activities, such as a cruise up Pratt’s Island shore, a handful of races and what was most anticipated throughout the week; the Independence Day Challenge! Events of the day included: rig row sail, knot tying relay, tug of war, egg toss, saltine whistle, bubble gum blowing and watermelon swim. In the morning class the Purple team emerged victorious by winning events such as the Rig-Row-Sail and the Egg Toss other highlights from the morning were Will Duncan's performance in the watermelon swim and the Joe Duffy and Graydon Smith led blue team’s dominant performance in tug of war. In the afternoon class, the Purple team emerged victorious again highlighted by consistent victories in all three rounds of the Egg Toss event, other highlights from the afternoon included the Morgan Donahue and Daphne Walsh led Orange Team’s seamless victory in the tug of war and Finn Urich’s near-perfect performance in the Saltine Whistle.

During the week in the afternoon, the Opti program took part in two race days and many practice starts. The Turnabout program sharpened their sail trim and closed hauled sailing skills and also went on a cruise to Five Islands, where they docked and bought ice cream before returning to the yacht club. In the Afternoon 420 program, they practiced team racing drills and mechanics such as “Pass Backs” and “Mark Traps” followed by a race day and going over to Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club to team race against the sailors over there.

On Thursday, the Junior Yacht Club held its first event of the year, which was the ice cream social, the event was very successful and fun as many friends and families chatted over ice cream and a Portugal vs Croatia world cup game. Outside of camp hours as well, Tuesday night races also took place, with James Allison and Finn Urich placing 3rd, Nathan Phippen and Graydon Smith placing 2nd and Rachel Phippen and Daphne Walsh placing 1st.

Overall, although busy, SYC had an incredible week that consisted of many smiles throughout the week. The club looks forward to the Battle of The Bays regatta next week and many more race days and cruises!