Submitted by sailing coach Burke Thomas.

Nine sailors from the Orcas High School Sailing team competed in the Bellingham team race regatta on April 6 and 7.

The regatta took place in Bellingham Bay and was a tale of two days as the team arrived Saturday morning at Zuanich park dock to light rain, no wind and gale warning forecast. A south wind filled in around 10:30 a.m., but the Norse wind god Njood quickly made sure that they would be blown off the water for the day. All teams retreated to the warmer environment of the Bellingham Yacht Club for an onshore team race clinic.

Sunday teams arrived promptly to the early 8:30 a.m. report time to no wind and drizzle, but by the time boats were rigged, a moderate south wind had filled the race course. Northwest District Interscholastic Sailing Association president Scott Wilson and his helpers were able to run 44 excellent races throughout the day. Mr. Sun also made a welcomed appearance, bringing out smiles from the sailors, coaches and parents.

The Orcas team worked hard all day by keeping their focus up and really working as a team, executing when needed and using excellent mark traps, blocks and pass backs to spring a teammate into a winning combination. The team finished the day in first place with an unblemished 10 -0 record. Roosevelt placed second at 8-2 and Sehome third at 6-4. Complete scores can be found at https://scores.hssailing.org/s19/bellingham-team-race/.

Next up for the team is the Islands’ Cup fleet race regatta April 13 and 14, which is hosted by the Orcas Island Yacht Club and the sailing team. This is one of the premier spring regattas with 23 NWISA teams attending from as far away as Hood River, Oregon. The team is encouraging everyone to come on out to West Sound to meet the team and watch the seniors compete in their last home regatta.