CHARLESTON, South Carolina – Bainbridge High School sailors competed at the national high school championships in fleet racing May 14 and 15, after having qualified for the invitational by finishing as one of the top teams in the Pacific Northwest.
They competed in a field of the top 20 high school teams in the country for the Mallory Trophy at the College of Charleston, South Carolina, where 18th-place finishes by both the A and B Fleet teams earned for Bainbridge an overall finish in 18th place.
Skipper Blake Bentzen and co-captain Caelan Juckniess, complemented by alternating crew members co-captain Karl Anderson, Nicole Sanford, Elizabeth Rolfes and Sophia Kasper placed 18th, just edging their Pacific Northwest rivals North Kitsap High School in the process.
Not only was the competition extremely challenging sailing against the country’s best youth sailors, racing on the Cooper River required dealing with heavy river and tidal currents up to three knots at a 45-degree angle across the course, which tested the sailors’ seamanship skills and at times generated significant chop that made racing physically grueling.
The regatta organizers took advantage of the ideal 15-knot westerly conditions on Saturday, May 14 to pack in a very taxing day of 14 races. Despite the stiff competition, the Bainbridge boats each had a number of top 10 finishes in these races, including as high as third place, but the elite level of competition was unforgiving of even the smallest mistake.
Sunday’s racing saw six more races in lighter winds and the dominating current made aspects of the racing — like starts and mark roundings — very challenging.
Even with the demanding competition, Bainbridge’s two boats posted results showing increasing self confidence and consistency as the regatta progressed with some excellent individual race results, officials said, allowing the sailors to maintain a positive outlook throughout, confident that they had accomplished all the goals they set for themselves.
Blake Bentzen and his crews finished the regatta ranked 18th in A Fleet and Caelan Juckniess also ranked 18th in the B Fleet.
The combined A and B Fleet scores gave Bainbridge an overall finish in 18th place.
The 2016 Mallory Trophy regatta marked the first time since 2003 that BHS has competed in the fleet racing national championships, having qualified each year since 2004 in the team racing nationals.
