The Orcas high school sailing team cuts a keen edge out on the saltwater.

“We’ve been competitive at every regatta, which is pretty fun. We’re the smallest school in the district,” said coach Burke Thomas.

They compete against large AAA and AAAA schools like Bainbridge and North Kitsap, and yet successfully defended the Island Cup for a key victory last month. Thomas credits their skillful sailing to living in a great natural sailing location, starting young, and hard work.

“Orcas Island, and especially West Sound, are wonderful places to sail, so we have good practices day in and day out,” Thomas said.

And nearby Friday Harbor teams provide plenty of competitive practice. He said another big key to their success is the summer Junior Sailing program for 8 to 15-year-olds, as well as a new program that allows middle schoolers to attend team practices.

And hard work? Sixteen to 18 sailors have been honing their sea legs at rigorous practices four days a week. On a sailboat, said Thomas, the kids themselves are the ballast, and in heavy winds they have to be strong and quick to keep the boats upright. Although nine seniors graduated last year, a core group of this year’s sailors saw stiff competition at California regattas this last fall and early spring, and team members have raced every weekend for the past eight weeks. They’re starting to see their hard work pay off.

The Orcas team sees two types of competitions: fleet racing, or “every boat for itself,” and team racing, in which each school mans three boats. In team racing, sailors engage in tactical maneuvers like traps, blocks, and picks, and the boats’ scores are averaged to determine the winning school.

“It’s quite an entertaining game and it can all come down to the last seconds of the race,” said Thomas.

Team racing district championships are in May, with the Northwest district to host Interscholastic Sailing Association Team Race Nationals on May 21 to 23 in Seattle.

But the Orcas team focuses mainly on fleet racing, with “double-handed” Northwest district championships coming up on April 24 and 25. Last year the team won the championship over schools from Oregon, Washington and Idaho to compete at the national level in Florida, placing 19th out of 20.

And these students won’t necessarily drydock their skills after high school, said Thomas: seven Orcas alumni are now sailing at a college level.

“That’s really exciting for me; high school is just the start of their sailing and racing career if they want it to be,” Thomas said. “It’s a lifelong sport.”