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Photo by Jim Powers
Annie Sager, top, and Sarah Erichsen sail to a fifth-place finish in the 10th annual Figawi Invitational. |
By Nick Judson
Contributing Writer
On Sunday, while all the big-boat sailors were taking a day off from competing in Saturday’s main event, the 12 teams that comprise the Cape and Islands High School Sailing League battled it out in the 10th annual Figawi High School Invitational. The goal of the regatta is for high school students to have a fun, competitive and rewarding day of racing, and competitors include not only some of the best sailors from each school, but also sailors who have shown great commitment to their teams and teammates and are chosen by their coaches for their sportsmanship and hard work.
The Invitational, the brainchild of former Figawi chairman Howard Penn and Nantucket Boat Basin director George Bassett, is hosted by the Figawi Committee and Nantucket Community Sailing. This year, for the first time, all 12 Cape and Islands league teams participated in an 11-race series held right off the Boat Basin entrance where hundreds of spectators gathered on the docks and cheered on their favorite teams.
Nantucket seniors and captains Annie Sager and Sarah Erichsen made up the team representing the Whalers and they edged out Nauset and their rivals from the “other” island, placing fifth overall after the series was completed.
Conditions were challenging as the competitors saw a broad range of wind conditions ranging from 8-18 knots, including a brief moment when the fog rolled in, creating a “smoky sou’wester.” The teams sailed a windward-leeward course that put them through the paces as the puffs rolled down from over town and the Boat Basin to make a truly challenging day of racing.
Bishop Stang’s Jack Denny and Kyle Carney came in first overall with a score that included eight first-place finishes. Barnstable’s Patrick Mead and Andrea Liptack finished second, Dennis-Yarmouth’s Jay Boyle and Liz Glienski were third, and Dartmouth’s Bud Barry and Peter Seguin were fourth. Up until race eight, the top four teams were all within four points of each other and then Bishop Stang’s crew ran up four straight first-place finishes to clinch the victory. In race seven, Nantucket’s crew had a perfect start and logged their second, second-place finish of the day, giving them a nine-point lead over Nauset in the overall standings, and they were able to maintain their lead over Nauset and Martha’s Vineyard until the end of the series.
On Saturday the six Whalers seniors – Sarah Erichsen, Trevor Lockley, Meaghan Lynch, Sarah Poor, Annie Sager, Lizzie Skokan and alumnus and Community Sailing staff member Russell Bartlett competed in the actual Figawi race on Nantucket Community Sailing’s J-105 Prima. The crew also included NCS board members Dan MacKeigen, Kinloch Yellott and Nick Judson. Other than the start in Hyannis, the Whalers were at the helm the entire race and sailed an almost perfect race, placing second overall in their division.
Earlier in the week the Whalers tallied two more team-racing victories, including 3-0 wins over both Bourne and Chatham. The team is now 8-3, third overall in team racing. The Whalers faced Harwich yesterday in their last team race regatta, too late for this edition of Sports, and this Saturday travel to New Bedford to finish off their season competing in the Cape and Island’s League Fleet Racing Championship.
Nick Judson is the executive director of Nantucket Community Sailing and the coach of the Nantucket High School sailing team.
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