Orcas High School Sailing Team competes

in Anteater Regatta in California

Alex Waldron, Jake White, Sam Parish and Barrett North – all members of the Orcas High School Sailing Team – traveled to Newport Beach, Calif. to compete in the prestigious Anteater Regatta hosted by UCI (University of California at Irvine) at NHYC (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) on Dec. 13 and 14.

A total of 48 high school teams competed at the Anteater, with the Orcas team completing 18 races in the gold division over the two days. The races in gold division were extremely competitive.The format was short races with each race lasting approximately 20 minutes – making the start a very critical component of the race.

“The pre-start maneuvering was intense,” said Coach Burke Thomas, “the toughest we have ever faced.” At one point North and Waldron faced four general recalls in a row. With three-knot currents flooding the start line, the pin end of the line heavily favored, and going up against the best high school teams in the west, the Orcas sailors basically had one chance to get the start right. The Orcas team finished the regatta 21st in the gold division.

“I was very pleased at how hard our sailors worked – displaying good tactics on the race course and showing excellent improvement off the starting line,” said Thomas.

“The trip was a good building block for our skippers as they work hard to improve their skills before our spring season.”

The sailing team plans to continue its frostbite practices Sundays on West Sound throughout the winter as it prepares for the spring season.