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Northshore Cup High School Regatta
By Christopher Friend
PRO Pontchartrain Yacht Club
The inaugural Northshore Cup High School Regatta took place on March 3 and 4, 2012. Ten schools sent representatives in the Club 420 and Laser Radial classes. In the 420 division, Dustin Brennan and Sarah Tubbs of De La Salle High School (New Orleans) scored a dominating win with 21 points. Sam Hopkins and Jacob Seicshnydre of St. Patrick Catholic High School (Biloxi, MS) were second with 43 points. Raemie Ladner and John Harrison Doucet of Gulfport High School (Gulfport, MS) were third with 54 points. In the Laser Radial division, Hugh Hawkins of St. Patrick won with 26 points. Jonathan Pottharst of Jesuit High School (New Orleans, LA) was second with 29 points. Skip Webster of Covington, Jr. High School (Covington, LA) was third with 44 points. Teams supplied their own boats and there were no boat rotations.
Sixteen races were completed over two blustery days. Saturday was cloudy with the temperature initially at 60 degrees and dropping throughout the day, with winds ranging from 10 to 20 knots out of the northwest to north. Six races were held before the race committee sent cold sailors in for the day.
Sunday dawned with temperatures in the forties, quickly rising into the sixties. It was a sunny day, with shifty winds averaging 10 knots, but with occasional sustained gusts to 21 knots, from the west to northwest. Ten races were held for a total of 16 for the regatta.
There was one protest in Race 11, with one boat disqualified. The hearing was an open hearing, with all competitors present, but only allowed to listen, enabling the less experienced sailors to observe the protest procedure. The 3-person protest committee also allowed those competitors not involved in the protest to observe the deliberations.
Thanks to Sam Vasquez, coach of the Gulfport High School team and a Gulf Coast sailing stalwart, a trophy called the Leukemia Cup was repurposed as a perpetual trophy for this regatta. The names of the winners of each division will be engraved on the trophy, which remains on display at Pntchartrain Yacht Club.