Sailors glide along the water in close proximity to each other during the Downeast Regatta on May 13. By Ryan Mitchell
Castine—George Stevens Academy, in partnership with Maine Maritime Academy, hosted the annual Downeast Regatta under sunny skies and fair winds on Saturday and Sunday, May 12 and 13.
Nineteen teams from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont competed in the two-day event, which took place off the Maine Maritime Academy waterfront.
The conditions were “near ideal” for a regatta, according to head coach Andy Stephenson.
“Southerlies built to nearly 20 knots on Saturday and probably 14 knots on Sunday,” he said.
The varsity team from Camden Hills Regional High School won the Maine School Sailing Association trophy as the Maine team with the highest standings. The Marblehead, Mass., team took home the Modisette trophy, dedicated to Jim Modisette of California and Penobscot, who started the event in 2000. The trophy is perpetual, awarded each year to the top winner for the year and then returned the following year. The sailors from George Stevens Academy finished in 18th place.
Sailors from George Stevens Academy and other New England teams sail in a pack off Castine Harbor during the Downeast Regatta on May 13.
By Ryan Mitchell
For George Stevens, the A Boat team of Sylvia Burns and Silas Murnick had a first-place finish and a sixth-place finish on the weekend as the school’s best showing in the regatta.
Each of the nine sailors present at the race participated in at least one event over the course of the weekend.
The regatta was the largest event the team has sailed in this season, and Stephenson said that while he wished his team could have finished higher in the fleet, he was still proud of the way they handled themselves on the water.
“As has been the case all season long, every sailor came ready to give their best, and to learn a little more about the sport,” he said.