Sixteen members of the Orcas High School sailing team participated in the Sail Sand Point Spring Open Regatta on Saturday, March 13. Thirty Flying Junior sailboats (FJ’s) were at the starting line for each of the 12 races, sailed on Lake Washington with winds blowing from six to 10 knots.

The Orcas team had a bit of a learning curve with some untimely capsizes and fouls while competing at the head of the fleet, which pushed them back on some of their finishes, but they still managed to win one first- and two second-place finishes.

The 150 high school sailors who participated in the event had the opportunity to speak and sail with college sailing teams from Portland State University, the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, and Western Washington University, and enjoyed a barbecue after the races.

On Sunday, 40 female high school sailors from NWISA teams participated in a women’s sailing clinic focused on boat handling, and fundamental racing tactics, including six hours of drills on the water. Attending the clinic from Orcas were Annalies Schuh, Carly Temple and Ashley Janssen, with Catherine Bevens and Nicki LaBaron from Friday Harbor also traveling with the Orcas team.