NK Sailing Competes in two National Events

NK Skippers on the National stage

This past weekend, the North Kingstown Skippers Varsity Sailing Team had one of those good problems to have – trying to be in two places at once after qualifying for 2 national level regattas on the same weekend. In the end they managed to secure 3rd place in the Great Oaks Regatta in New Orleans and 6th place in the High School Keelboat National Championships in St Petersburg, Fl. Coach Brad Donnelly traveled with the Keelboat team while Parent/chaperone, and now experienced Volunteer Coach, Matt Bourgeois traveled to New Orleans to oversee the team racing in C420s.

Double-handed dinghies (C420's)in New Orleans

The 19th annual ISSA National Regatta for the Great Oaks Trophy was hosted by Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans this past weekend. This event provides a national-level regatta for developing teams, creating an opportunity to compete with peers from across the nation. Each of the 7 districts conduct a qualifying regatta that provides for development of skills and attitudes, identifying teams ready to go forward to a national-level event. 31 teams from across the nation competed this year.

The New England Great Oaks Qualifier was held in September at Sail Black Rock in Bridgeport, CT. At the qualifier, North Kingstown and Fairfield Ludlowe outpaced the rest of the fleet, tying for First place and both qualifying to proceed to New Orleans. Also qualifying from New England were Cape Elizabeth (ME) and Martha’s Vineyard (MA).

In Day 1 racing, skipper Alex DiCenso (’18) led his team through a challenging day of 10 races in winds that started around 13kts, gusting to 20 and built to 17kts, gusting to 28. Doublehanded crews of Caroline Bourgeois (’18), Nora Ong (’19) and Ryan Soucy (’18) each had multiple races on the water as the team battled through the conditions.

Finishing in the top half of the Day 1 fleet qualified North Kingstown, along with the other 3 New England schools, to compete in the Gold Fleet on Day 2 where the 25-35kt wind resulted in a delayed start. After a 4 hour postponement, 6 races were held with DiCenso and Soucy consistently finishing in the top of the pack. Fairhope HS (AL) took top honors with North Kingstown finishing 3rd overall (16 total in Gold Fleet), and being the top New England District finisher.

This was North Kingstown’s 8th appearance at the ISSA National Regatta for the Great Oaks Trophy, with the last appearance in 2012 when it placed 2nd. Previous finishes also show NK’s prowess at the event with a 5th in 2010, 8th in 2009, 3rd in 2006, 2nd in 2005, 2nd in 2003 and 13th in 2002. The participation at Great Oaks inspired the NK Skippers to create an annual fundraising Jambalaya Dinner every November at the Wickford Yacht Club to help defray costs of such travel competitions.

Keelboat Racing in St Petersburg

The 4th annual ISSA High School Keelboat Invitational for the Mendelblatt Trophy was hosted by St Petersburg Yacht Club this year. Typically, high school sailors compete in double-handed dinghies like C420 or FJ. This event is designed to give high school sailors exposure to racing keelboats such as the Sonar, J/22 and J70, and serves as the national championships at the High School level for Keelboat racing.

Each of the 7 Districts across the country hold qualifying regattas in order to determine a District Champion and representative. At Large bids exist to recognize exceptionally strong teams that otherwise did not qualify. NK qualified by winning the NESSA Keelboat Regatta in Portland, Maine back in October in very blustery conditions. The host, Falmouth (ME) qualified for one of the At Large bids based on their exceptional performance.

The New England District Qualifying Regatta was conducted in J-22s, a very capable keelboat that is larger and more complex than the Club 420s – the typical doublehanded dinghy for high school competition. However, for only the second time the ISSA National Regatta was conducted in J/70s, a highly technical racing keelboat, adding even greater layers of difficulty for the NK sailors. When they arrived in St Petersburg on Friday, they had an opportunity to practice in a J/70, being the first time any of the sailors had ever sailed a J/70. One sailor, Co-captain Jaia Colognese (’18), had never even sailed in a keelboat before. She was added to the Keelboat squad to replace Alex DiCenso (’19) who was to compete in the Great Oaks Regatta the same weekend.

In St Petersburg, Day 1 of racing was challenging with very light air resulting in an abandoned race and a 4 hour postponement before finally finishing 4 races. Day 2 of racing was much better, especially for NK, with a steadier breeze, 15-20 kts before a cold front came through dropping the wind below 10 kts. Skipper and Co-Captain Aidan Naughton (’18), with his crew of Colognese (’18), Kevin Stamp (’18) and Rowan Westall (’19) performed much better in the heavier air consistently scoring in the top 3 when the wind was over 17 kts. Annapolis HS (MD) and Archbishop Spaulding (Annapolis) took 1st and 2nd place with the NK Skippers finishing 6th. They should be proud, considering 7 of the other 9 teams each had greater experience and depth in keelboats, competing at the Keelboat Regatta at least 3 times, with the 2 Annapolis teams competing all 4 years. This was just the 2nd appearance for NK, previously finishing 5th in 2015.

With expertise such as University of South Florida Sailing Coach, and Olympic Gold Medalist, Allison Jolly serving as the PRO and the assistance of additional college coaches and US Sailing National & Worlds level competitors, the event was an exceptional experience for the North Kingstown athletes and all of the teams.

Skippers looking ahead

North Kingstown finished the 2017 Spring Season in 10th place in Team Racing and 6th in Fleet Racing in the highly competitive 115-school New England District, winning the Terk Trophy for the NESSA District Team Racing Invitational Tournament by sweeping all 15 competitors. At the National Invitational Tournament for Team Racing, the Skippers placed 4th overall capping one of their more successful seasons in years. NK has traditionally had a strong sailing program with numerous notable achievements, and alumni, over the years. Despite the loss of 4 exceptional seniors last spring, NK is obviously looking strong again for the coming spring lead by these 8 very talented seniors and juniors. Go North!