Virgin Islands sailor Sam Morrell helped Antilles High School, in St. Thomas, to victory at the 2017 Baker Championships.
The two-day high school team sailing championships was hosted by Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Sailors competed in Flying Junior dinghies.
Mr. Morrell and his team counted just one loss in the qualifying round on the first day of the event. Conditions on day one for the event were light with winds topping out at five knots.
On the second day, conditions improved and Antilles went undefeated beating Point Lomas High School, Newport Harbour and Milton Academy.
All told, 12 United States high schools competed at the regatta.
“We sailed nearly flawlessly in the finals, “said Mr. Morrell. “Team racing puts a premium on sailing together as a cohesive unit and our years of training and racing paid off.”
Second place went to Shorecrest High School in California, while Milton Academy in Boston took third.
The Baker Trophy features top teams from seven districts around the US. The format places three boats from two schools in a head-to-head race. Races are fast and involve multiple mark roundings with the winner finishing with the lowest point total.
Last year, Antilles finished fourth.
Morrell and the Antilles team also competed in the Mallory Trophy in Boston on May 13-14. These are the high school fleet racing championships and the team finished sixth overall with Mr. Morrell earning a fifh place spot in the A-division.
Mr. Morrell plans to attend Boston University next year. He was named the 2015 US Junior Singlehanded Champion and attended the 2014 Youth Olympics for the VI.
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