Four sailors from the Orcas High School Sailing Team – Maggie Toombs, Emma Freedman, Helena Auger and Millie Kau – competed in back to back regattas this past weekend and won them both. First up on Saturday, Sept. 30 was the NWISA North Regionals in Oak Harbor. Twelve teams battled the light and shifty winds all day. Orcas won the last race of the day securing the regatta win.

“I was impressed the team’s determination and competitive spirit. They worked hard to improve on some specific techniques and improved with each race,” said Coach Hannah Tuson-Turner.

Racing moved to Seattle on Sunday, where Sail Sand Point hosted the first NWISA Women’s Regatta as a preliminary event to the PCISA Girl’s ISSA Invitational on Oct. 21 and 22 in San Diego. The wind was light when the racing began but built into a gusty northerly, allowing 14 races to be completed. The Orcas team improved their speed and decision-making as they day went on and sailed to a decisive regatta win.

“This was the first all-female team to represent Orcas at an event,“ said Tuson-Turner. “… and for them to get to experience both the coed fleet and this new women’s regatta together as a group was very special. They came together as a team to achieve these results and we’re motivated and excited for the next few events this fall. ”

Complete score can be found at http://scores.hssailing.org/f17/nwisa-girls-qualifier/ and http://scores.hssailing.org/f17/nwisa-north-regional/.