A phenomenal 21 two-boat teams from Bay Area high schools came out to play on the Richmond Riviera on Saturday. At the end of the day the Burlingame-Menlo Atherton Team of Matt Van Rensselear & Tim Malouf and Michael Deady & Kendra Wiley emerged the winner. 

That the A-Team won all its races which was no surprise to Greg Paxton who described the skipper Van Rensselear as a "big, tall 160-lb. kid whose kinetics are the best. He's able to hook into those straps and lever" the CFJ around.

Those skills certainly helped in the Richmond Channel's flat, gentle "varnishing weather" breeze. They got in five races despite 180º shifts, a flood current and breezes that Regatta Chair Steve Lowry said, "Briefly reached 8 knots." Boats even had to windmill out of the host Richmond YC turning basin.

To win in these events both the A and the B team must do well.

Runner-up was Acalanes followed by Summit-Notre Dame.

Gunn High School's fourth was notable because PRO Chris Straub is an alum. And speaking of alma maters, junior and college wunderkind Molly Carapiet coached Marin Catholic into fifth place.

The Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association runs a 17 event Fall-Winter Series at ten different venues in the Greater Bay Area for grades 8-12, sailed in pretty equally matched Collegiate FJs. In April the championships are back at Richmond Yacht Club. See www.pcisa.org for more on high school sailing.