Vineyard varsity sailing remains on course with an 8-3 record

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Charlie Morano and Ellie Reagan racing. — Still courtesy of Charlie Morano

Sunday the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) varsity sailing team traveled to Wianno Yacht Club in Osterville and lost all three matches, dashing hopes of a perfect season.

The Vineyard sailors first lost to Manchester Essex High School 2-3, then fell to Cape Cod Academy 0-3, and last were defeated by the Saint George’s School of Newport 1-3. All matchups were best-of-five contests.

Head coach Andrew Burr has been at the helm for nine years. “It was our hope this year to go undefeated,” Mr. Burr told The Times, “but we didn’t have a very good day.”

Raz Sayre, Eli Hanschka, and Charlie Morano were the three drivers in Sunday’s meets; Adam Bilodeau crewed for Raz, Ellie Reagan crewed for Charlie, and Eli partnered with Maddy Moore. “They are the main varsity core,” said Mr. Burr. “Three skippers, three crews for the double-handed boats.”

The team had a strong start to their spring season. Island sailors racked up early wins against public high schools such as Duxbury and Bishop Stang, and private high schools such as Hotchkiss of Lakeville, Conn., and Tabor Academy of Marion, Mass., and most recently beat Dartmouth High School, 4-0, last Thursday at home.

Now the team has to sweat it out until May 10, when the regular season final rankings come out; they are composed 50 percent by coaches’ poll and 50 percent by a computer algorithm that looks at things like number of wins against top 10 teams, team records, and many other factors.

Despite the three recent losses, the MVRHS varsity sailing team may still be on course for New England’s Mark Trophy competition May 15 and May 17 in Hyannis, and if the stars are really aligned, perhaps a shot at Nationals for the Baker Trophy, held the following weekend in Chicago.

To enter the Mark Trophy competition, MVRHS sailing must finish the New England rankings in the top eight. If they are lucky enough to get that far, only those finishing in the top two places for New England can move forward to compete at Nationals for the Baker Team Race Championship. Last year the Baker Trophy went to Point Loma High School of San Diego, Calif.

As of Tuesday, April 21, MVRHS was ranked sixth in New England behind Cape Cod Academy; Portsmouth Abbey School of Portsmouth, R.I.; Saint George’s School; Brunswick School of Greenwich, Conn.; and Tabor Academy.

The team has been “in the water” since March 10, but their normal lagoon space at Sailing Camp Park off Barnes Road was an ice rink, so they sailed out of Vineyard Haven Yacht Club in chilly conditions. The sailors are busy. There are more than 20 meets on the team schedule from April 1 through May 11 in regular-season activity.

In high school there is “team racing,” where sailors compete as a team, versus the more well-known “fleet racing,” where sailors compete for individual results. All courses are the “Nautical N” shape. In team racing there are six boats on the water at one time, and strategies such as “mark trap” are employed so that opponents get thrown off-course, enabling team members to successfully pass.

MVRHS sailing is part of the New England Schools Sailing Association (NESSA) and is composed of 80 to 90 schools in the six New England States. NESSA is one of seven regional districts in the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA).

MVRHS sailors have the O’Day Qualifiers and Finals away at Tabor Academy and Saint George’s School April 25 and April 26, which is a fleet competition, not team competition. Following that event are three home meets, April 28 versus Falmouth High School, April 29 versus Monomoy High School of Chatham, and April 30 versus Saint John Paul II High School.