Junior Regatta cut short due to weather, 240 participate

Aug 10, 2016

The Beverly Yacht Club held its Junior Regatta on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday’s races finished early due to poor weather, but enough scores were accumulated from Tuesday’s races that awards were able to be given.

There were approximately 240 youths competing in three different classes, according to the club’s general manager Robert Shorter.

Some participants set sail from the club, while many carried their 420 boats into the water at Silvershell Beach.

One participant, 13-year-old Eliot Hiss, spends his summers in Marion and was excited for the chance to compete.

“People are coming from all over,” he said. “It’s a lot of competition.”

When Hiss isn’t in Marion, he lives just south of Boston, and this is his first summer taking lessons at Beverly Yacht Club.

“I’ve been sailing for five years,” he said, “since second grade.”

The rain had yet to start when the participants brought their boats to the water on Wednesday morning, but Hiss knew the strong winds might present a challenge.

“[The wind] can be bad for your sail, but it’s better to sail with too much wind than no wind,” he said.

Each race in the regatta is about a mile and a half long and takes roughly 35 minutes to complete.

After the races were called due to the weather, the participants came in for lunch and awards. The 420 sailboats were able to finish one race, Kim Berg said, and between the two days of the regatta there were enough scores to even scratch low scores.

For a complete list of results, go to www.regattanetwork.com/event/13111#_newsroom+results.