Sailing: Sailors learn by racing in Port Jefferson regatta

The Shelter Island School sailing team attended its first regatta of the fall season on September 24. It was hosted by the Stony Brook School and held in Port Jefferson Harbor. Eighteen teams from 11 schools attended the qualifier with Harborfields earning the win followed by Stony Brook and Mamaroneck.

Representing Shelter Island were Melissa Ames, Drew and Will Garrison, Macklin and Henry Lang and Matt Murphy. Drew and Henry sailed in the A division while Melissa, Will, Macklin and Matt took turns in the B division.

The wind was very light for the event, maybe 5 to 6 knots with little puffs running across the harbor. In spite of the light winds, the Race Committee managed to get off six races before the time limit expired.

The Island team sailed a mostly clean regatta with maybe one or two penalties, those infractions requiring that each boat do a 720-degree spin for exoneration. Otherwise the team had a rough go of it, with much to be learned about getting a good start and making successful mark roundings.

The middle school students have graduated to 420s and have joined the high school students during practices. The combined practices have worked out well with the more experienced sailors able to teach the younger students how to rig and handle the boats. That has been a big step for the younger sailors. They handled the more technical boats very well with only one minor capsize so far.