The RTP High School Sailing Team put forth 4 teams, under the names Green Hope (A Division: Tom Russel and Chip Howell, B Division: Dillon Paiva and Patrick Trey), and Chapel Hill (A Division: Chris Peterson and Lilli Manis, B Division: Cameron Manis and Lizzy Seaquist). Darren Blackman also substituted in several races. Overall, the high winds and the unique condition of some of the boats led to some interesting sailing with a fair number of capsizes and a few breakdowns. Exceptional effort was put forth by all the sailors on the team in these adverse conditions.
Winds: Saturday, 10-18 mph, rain, temp 50's (F). Sunday: 16-20 mph, light rain, temp 50-60F. In other words, it was cool, wet, and quite breezy. The courses had a long upwind leg, and a shorter leg from the leeward mark to the finish line.
The Green Hope A team placed 10th out of 14, while the B team placed 6th out of 14, for 7th overall. The Chapel Hill A team placed 13 out of 14, while the B team placed 9th out of 14, for a 12th finish overall.
Detailed scores for this race can be found here on the SAISA web site.

	Tom and Chip perpare to jibe on their way to the leeward mark. Dillon and Patrick manage the traffic at the leeward mark. Cameron and Lizzie sail a bathtub to a 5th place finish (by not capsizing!) Chris and Lilli recover from a capsize.
		A cool, rainy, and windy day on Lake Norman.

The long trip to Knoxville, TN was undertaken by Tom Russell, Chip Howell (A division), and Dillion Paiva, Chris Peterson, Meg Russell and Patrick Tray (B division). Winds were 10-12 mph, but dropped by the end of the day, but the remaining races were completed Sunday morning, when the wind returned, for 16 total races. The Green Hope team finished overall 5th out of 9 teams, but was 4th in each of the respective A and B division finishes.
Detailed scores for this race can be found here on the SAISA web site.

(Does anyone have pictures from this trip?)

Five high school sailors make the trek to north Georgia, to visit the beautful Lake Lanier Yacht Club, where the water was clear and 12 well-appointed boats awaited. On hand were Dillion Paiva, Chip Howell, Chris Peterson, Lilli Manis and Cameron Manis. Dillon skippered all Divison A races, while Chris and Cameron switched for the Division B races. Coach Glenn Howell masterfully concocted a rotation that brought everyone in for at least 2 rounds of races, mixing and matching skippers and crew. The wind started out around 10 mph, but settled down later in the day, with plenty of shifts and some nice puffs blowing down the lake. Everyone stayed dry on this fall day! In the end, Green Hope had an overall finish of 7th out of 12 partipating teams. There were a number of exciting races when the drivers got good starts and everything worked well to the finish.
The scores and a writeup are available.

	Dillon and Chip make sure the drain plugs are tight. Dillon and Lilli are happy after a particularly good race! Chip and Dillon (#8, center) go with the fleet and get a good start on port tack with clear wind. Chris and Cameron. Cameron and Chip running downwind. The team shows off their RTP High School Sailing Team sweaters, with logo designed by team member and ace crew Lilli.
		A cold but sunny fall day on Lake Lanier.

Nine high school sailors returned to Lake Norman to compete in quite blustery conditions. The teams (Chapel Hill and Green Hope) worked hard in a rather balmy (up to 68 deg) but windy (7-17 mph)conditions. Tom Russell (S) and Lizzy Seaquist (C) wound up taking home a second in the B division! Congratulations! Lots of rotations with 10 races run in each division. Check out the official scores.

	Lilli and Dillon Cameron and Darren returning after a great effort! Lilli and Dillion give it all they've got (nearest boat on right). Chris and Meg look upwind for the next puff. Tom and Lizzie in 3rd, running downwind.
		Balmy! Notice the shorts.....

Four high school sailors once again went to LNYC, representing "Leesville Road" and "Chapel Hill" teams (one boat in each). The air temperature was cool (high about 50 deg F), but the water was cold; everyone had to wear a wetsuit. The wind was light, and fortunately this time there were no capsizes. LNYC had recently purchased some additional boats, so all of the boats were in like-new condition. Dillon Paiva skippered with Lizzie Seaquist crewing for the A team, while Cameron Manis and Chip Howell split the skipper and crew duties in the B-team.
Scores can be found here. Chapel Hill A team tied for 5th in the A division, while Leesville Road came in 3rd in the B divison.

	Dillon celebrates getting a first place in a race! Well done! Dillon and Lizzie are happy after a particularly good race! Ninja Cameron and Chip sail easy.
		It was a very cold day on Lake Norman. Brrrrr.