The Providence Country Day School sends along these details about some outstanding recent performances by its sailing team:

PCD SAILORS WIN NATIONAL REGATTA

East Providence, RI —Natalie Salk ’09 of Jamestown and Scarlet Darquea ‘09 of Providence won Gold fleet honors, finishing first out of 26 co-ed high school teams, at the 9th Great Oaks Invitational, held at Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 10 and 11. The win also earned the PCD team the Larry and Babs White Perpetual Trophy, which recognizes the outstanding performance by a team competing in the event for the first time. Gabriel Salk ’10 and Michael Brendlinger ’10, both of Jamestown, were also members of the winning team.

The Great Oaks Regatta was created to provide national-level experience for developing high school teams, creating an opportunity to compete with peers as a team grows in numbers and skill. All schools that are currently members of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA) and did not qualify for either the Mallory or Baker Regattas in the previous four years were eligible to enter the selection process in their Districts. Each team sailed one double-handed boat. PCD was one of four qualifiers from the New England Schools Sailing Association to participate in the Invitational.

Other PCD sailors have enjoyed a successful off-season as well. In October, Brendan Faria ’09 of Middletown competed in the ISSA Single-handed National Championship in Seattle, earning a 10th place in the highly competitive field. “These sailors have had an incredible fall outside of our regular season, and I expect big accomplishments in the spring,” said PCD Sailing Coach Steve Robinson.

“The increasing participation in and dedication to the Sailing program has truly paid off,” said PCD Athletic Director Tom Sienkiewicz. “We are very proud of Natalie and Scarlet’s victory.”