Sailors qualify for New England Championship
On Saturday the Whalers traveled to Wolfeboro, N.H. to compete in the Brewster Academy Qualifier for the New England Scholastic Sailing Association (NESSA) Fleet Racing Championships.The Whalers placed second overall in the qualifier, and are one of three teams that advance to the finals to be held in Bristol, R.I. next Sunday at Bristol Yacht Club. The top four teams at the New England Finals move on to the Nationals to be held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., May 10 -11.

Above are Whaler sailors Jessie Lang (left) and Russell Bartlett. ROBBENCHLEY/The Independent file

Nantucket's A-division sailors were Sarah Erichsen with Trevor Lockley as crew. The B division sailors were Adam Ceely with Jesse Lang as crew. The team staged a remarkable comeback in the last two A-and B-division races to move from fifth overall to second and clinch a berth to the finals. This is the first time in the high school sailing team's 12 year history that it has qualified for the New England Championship, which squares them off with the remaining 14 top Fleet racing schools in New England.

There are over 90 schools that participate in the New England League and teams had to qualify from numerous locations, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and

New Hampshire. I