SAISA Baker Qualifier

Seven High School Teams competed in the Team Racing district qualifier for the “Toby Baker” Trophy on Saturday and Sunday, 25 and 26th of March. On Saturday winds at 09:00am where in the 15-18 kt range, perhaps a little too high for tactical racing but everyone raced hard. By noon the winds were a steady 18kts out of the SE but moderated to a manageable 12-15 kts with the direction holding steady all day. Racing became more tactical with teams duelling at the leeward mark, blocking their opponents-letting their team mates escape ahead. Racing continued until 15:30 with two round robins of 21 races each completed. A request for redress following a failure in one of the 420’s was resolved by abandoning race 12 and resailing it first thing Sunday Morning.

Sunday saw winds in the 10-12 kt range from the South East hold steady all morning. The conditions were perfect for team racing and a third round robin was completed by 13:00 for a total of 63 races. Sunday’s racing was much more close quarters and the competitors vocal calls could be heard all over the course. In the end, first place went to Ransom Everglades School with a perfect 18-0 record. A second request for redress following a incident on the course was resolved by abandoning that race and resailing it. A sudden death sail-off was required to determine second and third place and a berth in the National event. A very close head to head resulted in the Antilles Hurricanes prevailing over St. Thomas Aquinas.