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before memorial Day and two weeks after the
Mallory in Michigan, 12 teams from all seven
districts met at Eckerd College in St.Petersburg
,FL, for the ISSA National High School Team
Racing Championship(Baker Trophy), sailing in 24
Club 420s supplied by St.Petersburg YC(12) and by
Vanguard Sailboats of Bristol RI(12), Partner in
ISSA's Growth and Development Project. Last year
in Coronado this regatta's headquarters was in a
tent in what we now see as a pattern. It was this
year as well. Regatta Chair Jim Casesa made
superb arrangements to expedite racing without
neglecting the sailors needs by using a tent near
the boat exchange site with full view of the two
race courses.Racing conditions for the most part
were ideal for team racing, moderate winds and
smooth water, with a few races on each extreme,-
flat and listless and pre-thundersquall. Racing
was delayed on Saturday while some local violent
squalls blew through. Florida has this neat
bi-coastal sea breeze conflict which breeds some
quite interesting afternoon diversions. A 66-race round robin determined the
seeding for the final four double-round
championship play-off and the 8-team consolation
series. A sail-off between two Florida teams, St.
Petersburg and Lakewood High Schools, determined
fourth place with Lakewood moving up.
The consolation series came
within minutes of concluding, with one race to go
between St. George's and Redwood HS for fifth
place, when time ran out and teams reverted to
their first round-robin scores: (5) St.
Petersburg HS(FL), (6) Belmont Hill(MA), (7)
Redwood HS(CA), (8) Southern Regional HS(NJ), (9)
St. George's(RI), (10) Marin Catholic(CA), (11)
Grosse Pointe S HS(MI), (12) Bainbridge HS(WA).
The final four raced a 12-race
double round and carried their first round scores
forward. Going in Newport Harbor and Tabor were
each 10-1, Jesuit 9-2 and Lakewood 7-4. When the
spray settled, Newport Harbor HS repeated last
year's performance by winning the 1999 Baker
Trophy competition with a final tally of 15
victories with second-place Tabor one point back.
Jesuit racked up 10 wins and 4th-place Lakewood
9. The top two teams will race in England in July
in the International High School
Team Racing Championship
organized by the British Schools Dinghy Racing
Association (BSDRA), this year also the RYA Youth
Team Championship and a demonstration event for
ISAF. Judges this Spring included Navy Coach Pat
Healy,Barbara Farquhar, Tom Farquhar, Ann Newton,
J.C. Moore, Ted Everingham(Chief at the Mallory)
and Don Becker(Chief at the Baker). Don and Pat
served at both Spring Nationals.
ISSA is grateful for the
all-volunteer effort which makes school sailing
available to so many, in rapidly-growing
numbers.-----Larry White
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