End of the Season Report
Bill Marshall
Hi everyone,
What a great season at SailMaine! This was the largest group of sailors that we have ever had, with over 120 middle and high schoolers on 8 different teams. We hosted 7 weekend regattas, including a competitive ACC Qualifier, a well attended National Keelboat Qualifier, and another fun season of the Sunday Series on top of our regular Saturday races. We were lucky enough to have the Sail-a-Thon on a beautiful Sunday in October with music, food, prizes, and sailing for everyone involved, raising over $6000 that will go towards new 420 sails. Our regular season ended with the Ghosts and Goblins Regatta last Thursday, featuring some impressive costumes, a downwind start to a big race around Fort Gorges, and a lot of hard work from our amazing sailors to help put all the boats away. Thank you so much to all the volunteers who helped make everything happen throughout the season!
Congratulations to Portland for qualifying for the Atlantic Coast Championship at the US Naval Academy and George Holt of Greely for qualifying and competing in the ISSA Cressy Singlehanded National Championship in Michigan. Another congrats to Portland for winning the SailMaine Chore Challenge and Southern Maine for raising the most money for the Sail-a-Thon!
I want to finish by addressing some safety concerns that were brought to my attention at last night's meeting with the Parent Coordinators. To be clear, safety is our primary concern at SailMaine and we follow the US Sailing motto of Safety, Fun, and Learning. Our coaches, and ultimately the SailMaine Office, make a decision about whether or not to go on the water each day for practice. We are constantly monitoring the forecast, wind speed and direction, water and air temperature, and ever-changing conditions. We do our best to give our sailors every opportunity to be on the water and only practice on days that we feel are safe. That being said, there are times when the weather changes quickly and situations get serious. We always make sure that there is a safe ratio of coach boats to sailboats at practice and follow the US Sailing guidelines.
On Wednesday, October 17, a squall blew through for about 20 minutes and overpowered many of our 420 sailors. With the sudden wind burst, a lot of sailors capsized at the same time. Coaches were on the scene and handled the situation safely and effectively, communicating with one another and ensuring that all sailors made it back to shore. Someone from outside our organization saw the capsized boats and called the authorities, resulting in rescue services coming to SailMaine to offer assistance. When they arrived, they found that everything was under control and one of the ambulance workers cleared a sailor who suffered a head hit before leaving. During our routine debrief after the incident, we made notes of things we can do to continue providing safety and education for all involved in our community, specifically by showing our newer sailors what to do in the event of a capsize in heavy breeze so they do not feel caught off guard.
This event is a reminder that sailing is a sport that comes with inherent risks. I can assure you that we do everything we can at SailMaine to ensure that our sailors are safe and that our coaches are able to handle extreme situations. If anyone has any questions about our procedures, I am always available to talk.
Thanks again for a great season and remember that registration for the spring season opens in January! I’ll be in touch over the winter with scheduling information.
Best,
Bill