Tough sailing for scholastic sailors at the Big Easy

It was a national championship, the Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association Great Oaks Regatta, that brought three sophomores from Shelter Island School to the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans for some serious sailboat racing just before the Thanksgiving break.

Drew Garrison, Macklin Lang and Matt Murphy had signed on for what promised to be the toughest scholastic sailing competition that they had ever raced. Forty-two teams from across the country and as far away as Hawaii and St. Croix came to enjoy stellar racing conditions for two days on Lake Ponchartrain just outside of the city.

Both days saw winds ranging from six to 10 knots, under sunny skies, and the lake’s reputation for sloppy waves didn’t disappoint. The boats sailed were of the 420 class, the same as the boys had been training in at the Shelter Island Yacht Club all fall. On Saturday, 12 races were held for qualifying purposes and on Sunday the fleet was divided into gold and silver divisions.

Despite some up and down velocities in the wind on Sunday, the Race Committee was able to rattle off another 12 races per division before the 4 p.m. deadline.

At the beginning of the competition on Saturday, the Shelter Island team got called over the starting line too early for the first two races. Due to the short course format of high school sailing, it is very hard to catch up to the rest of the fleet if you are over early, which requires you to essentially turn back and restart. By the time one is done maneuvering, the rest of the fleet is well on its way to the first mark. After a little strategy session back at the dock, adjustments were made to the starting approach. The result was a dramatic improvement in timing and positioning for the rest of the regatta.

Drew skippered most of the races with Matt taking over when Drew needed a break. Matt and Macklin alternated the crew position where it was vital for them to keep the boat driving during the tight downwind legs of the course.

That first day, the Islanders showed solid improvement with each successive race and they ended the day exhausted from such a long time on the water in competition. On Saturday night, all of the competitors were treated by one of the Southern Yacht Club members to a southern-style meal of turtle soup, jambalaya and bread pudding.

Sunday’s racing turned out to be a lot more serious than the day before, but with the championship on the line it was to be expected. Drew, Macklin and Matt took all that they had learned the day before and really dialed in their tactics with great starts and multi-boat passes during the downwind runs.

They finished the day with four top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place finish with which they nearly won the race. The Shelter Island team’s outstanding performance for the day earned them a 16th-place finish overall in silver fleet.

Following racing on Sunday, we left the yacht club and took a tour of Tulane University that included a visit to the university’s multi-storied library. Afterwards, in the evening, we walked up and down the eerie, foggy streets of Jackson Square to do a little sightseeing and souvenir shopping.

Thanks to all of the team’s supporters who helped make this trip possible.