BHS Sailing Team Finishing Season With Improvement

's co-ed Sailing Team is wrapping up its first varsity season this year, making a promising showing at the Connecticut State High School Championships held at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Coach Kirsten Murray said she was very pleased with the way the team improved all year.

"We have had a great season, not necessarily winning many things, but they have grown so much as sailors this year and have made so much progress," said Murray, a BHS grad who also competed on the sailing team as a student. "I am thrilled."

The team has competed as a club sport for several years and this was its first varsity season. They finished 14th at the states last weekend. Last year, the team finished 17th at the state competition.

Competitions are held  between two-person crews in 420 class boats, which are about 14 feet long. Typically, the races are best of three or best of five. The team with the lowest composite score wins.

Practices are typically held two days a week at Yale Corinthian Yacht Club off Short Beach. The boats are owned by Yale, which allows Branford High School to use the boats for practices and competitions.

Murray said the conditions in New London for the state meet were very tricky as the wind would build up, die doown, build up again and die down. It provided a challenge for her squad of 14 sailors. The captain of the team is senior Cameron Brown.

Saturday's championship race capped a busy week for the sailing team as they competed in races April 25, 26 and 27. The team has record of 2 and 9, but won its last two in a row.

On April 25, the team sailed out of Pequot Yacht Club in Southport, squaring off in perfect sailing weather against three other schools. Branford beat Fairfield Warde, but lost to Fairfield Ludlowe and Green Farms Academy. The next day, they raced in shifting winds and defeated the Sound School at home out of the Yale Yacht Club. On Wednesday, Branford also had a home meet against The Williams School of New London, but the event was never completed because of fog and no wind. Branford had sailed earlier in the year against Williams and lost.

Their final competition of the season will be Tuesday at the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club at 3:45 p.m. The races can be viewed from the shore along Short Beach.

Members of the team are: Cameron Brown, Luke Carpenter,  Jen Dziura, Stacy Burke, Gretchen Gara, Gabe Mahler-Haug, Bennett Records, Bailey Fryer, Lillian Brown, Patrick Day, Bridget Page, Griffin Sandler, Wes Greene, and Keegan Schoenherr.

Check back tomorrow for last week's highlight in sports in your weekly installment of and again on Friday for a photo gallery, !