Oct 9, 2024 @ 15:46:58 EDT
SAIL Black Rock, the host of Sacred Heart and Fairfield Universities intercollegiate sailing teams, was pleased to sponsor their fourth Great Oaks National Qualifier for New England High School Teams. Eleven single division teams arrived a half hour early to enjoy a presentation from world renown sailor, Dawn Riley, director of Oakcliff Sailing Center, Oyster Bay, New York. Dawn started off the day with an informative and exciting video presentation about her Whitbread and America's Cup experiences and the opportunities at Oakcliff for training young sailors, including dinghy foiling, keelboat match racing, offshore distance racing, Olympic campaigns, America's Cup Support, etc.
Racing started with 8-10 knots of breeze out of the northeast with winds clocking more east and lightening as the day progressed. Sea conditions in the morning provided a lumpy ride for the fleet racing FJs but also calmed down by late afternoon. PRO Jill Fattibene did a spectacular job completing (8) W-4 races when the wind dropped to almost nothing for the 8th race. Everyone was tired and anxious to return to shore for the REGATTA GINGER BEER sponsored pizza party featuring Pepe's Pizza, voted best in the nation. Sacred Heart University provided prizes for first, second and third of gold, silver and bronze sailor's knot bracelets from Mystic Knotwork's, the originator of sailor knot bracelets. Winning New England teams headed to nationals at Southern Yacht Club in Louisiana are Marblehead, Fairfield Ludlow and Xavier (CT).
A "thank you" goes to the father/son team of Brian Hayes & son. Brian Hayes the Elder (North Sails) drove the coach boat and provided coaching assistance for teams without coaches and Brian the Younger (Sacred Heart Sailor) manned the Mark Boat.
| School | Team | A | TOT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marblehead High School | Fishwagons | 22 | 22 | ||
| 2 |  | Fairfield Ludlowe High School | Falcons | 28 | 28 | ||
| 3 |  | Xavier High School | Xavier High Falcons | 33 | 33 | ||
| 4 |  | Staples High School | Varsity | 34 | 34 | ||
| 5 |  | Portland High School | Bulldogs | 41 | 41 | ||
| 6 |  | Fairfield Prep | Jesuits | 43 | 43 | ||
| 7 |  | Barnstable HS | Raiders | 46 | 46 | ||
| 8 |  | Brien McMahon High School | Senators | 47 | 47 | ||
| 9 |  | The Taft School | Big Red Rhinos | 68 | 68 | ||
| 10 |  | Litchfield High School | Cowboys | 82 | 82 | ||
| 11 |  | Forman School | Lions | 84 | 84 |
The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.
The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.