Photo by Joel Goldstein from the NW Maritime Center's blog Stem to Stern
70 high school sailors gathered at the Northwest Maritime Center to wrap up the season under surprisingly sunny skies Saturday and Sunday. The wind cooperated as well – at least on Saturday, allowing the Race Committee to bang off 18 races on Saturday over the course of about 7 hours. Sunday was to be less windy so the R/C, made up of three generations of the Daubenberger family made the best of Saturday. As it turned out, this was a good thing to do as only 2 races would be completed on Sunday.
Out of 17 teams, Port Townsend High School fielded three of them, posting finishes of 2nd, 4th and 15th. Orcas Island won the event, and Bainbridge Island rounded out the top three. The locals have been practicing at the regatta location for two weeks and it seemed to show, as they had a knack for the shifty conditions and cross-course current.
Port Townsend has shown vast improvement this season and should be a contender in the District next year. The team is already planning a busy summer schedule of the NW Youth Racing Circuit and plenty of practices. Some will be attending such high profile clinics as the WIND Clinic held down in the Columbia River Gorge in August.
The team loses a valuable skipper in Cooper Parrish to graduation, but otherwise remains in tact and is quite young, made up mostly of sophmores and a freshman and a junior. Coaches Erik Coburn and Sugar Flanagan are already excited for next year, as well as the sailors.