The Boothbay Region Sailing Club (BRSC) traveled to Portland’s SailMaine for two regattas this weekend. Greely High School hosted the Ranger Regatta Saturday with 13 teams from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Portland and Boothbay. Greely then hosted the Sunday Series JV Regatta with eight teams from Massachusetts and Maine.

Saturday’s race committee postponed the start with little wind letting the sailors play football, eat lunch, do homework, and socialize. Races started with 4-6 knots of easterly breeze shortly before noon.

Boothbay A Boat, sailed by Lincoln Academy’s Ella Beauregard and Boothbay’s Hamilton Barclay, started at the pin. The pair went left with clear air, tacked, and crossed the fleet. Their six boat-length lead at the weather mark extended to ten at the finish. Greely and others saw the pin favored in the second start. Greely and Boothbay began a pre-race circling to get the pin. Boothbay started slightly above Greely with clear air. Boothbay found the port layline first and led Greely and Northern Vermont at the weather mark by only a boat length. Two reaching legs of the Harry Anderson-style course saw Boothbay hold the lead into the leeward leg. They went left to protect the inside with the two chasing boats developing an overlap. Still in the lead, they jibed to starboard and closed with the pair on port going into the mark rounding. Their rounding turn was too loose and the Greely boat poked their bow in on the weather quarter. Shortly thereafter Boothbay tacked and fouled Greely. Exonerating themselves with a 720 they chased and caught but did not pass Vermont, finishing 3rd. Greely won the next race and Boothbay won the final, finishing the regatta one point behind Greely.

The Boothbay B Boat skippered by senior co-captain Nolan Conlin and crewed by Toby Clarkson got sandwiched at the start. The wind lightened further yet they managed to pass four boats to finish eighth. A sixty minute on the water postponement ensued while waiting for the wind to fill. Starting the next race with strong acceleration off the line the pair went left and with good speed rounding the weather mark in 2nd place right behind the Falmouth team. With just four points separating Boothbay and Greely going into the final race the pressure was on Conlin who knew they had to keep the Greely and Yarmouth boats close. Executing a lee bow maneuver on Greely and passing another boat rounding the leeward mark to finish in 5th ahead Conlin and Clarkson sealed the team victory by six points over the hosts.

The Sunday Series JV Regatta saw the Boothbay team switch so crews skippered while skippers crewed. Ella Beauregard skippered with Kate Mason of Center for Teaching and Learning crewing while Toby Clarkson drew Hamilton Barclay for crew. Nate Graves skippered for Nate Rideout, and Della Hahn was paired with Ethan, a rather quiet sailor, from Greely.

Race 5 was the standout race for Boothbay as boats came in 1st through 4th of the 16 boats racing. Graves and Rideout finished the 8 race regatta in 10th place. Beauregard and Mason finished in 5th, while Hahn and the Greely had two 1st place finishes and won a tie breaker to finish 3rd. Toby Clarkson and Barclay surprised everyone winning four races and never finishing less than 4th to win Overall. The combined scores saw the BRSC team win again for the second day in a row — a first in program history.

The Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club and the BHYC Junior Program Foundation support the sailing team. The BRSC team next races in Newport for the Halloween Howl.