Chase Cooper, the Bermuda sailor, had a big say in Tabor Academy’s first victory at the New England School Sailing Association Fleet Racing Championships in a decade in Cranston, Rhode Island at the weekend.

The brother of Bermuda Red Bull Youth America’s Cup team member Mackenzie Cooper won the ‘B’ Division along with crew Tucker Hersam in the double handed Z420 dinghy.

The pair achieved decisive victories in the fifth and sixth races in their division which put Tabor ahead on the overall leaderboard for good.

Tabor ended their winless drought at the championships after finishing five-points clear of nearest rival St George’s School with Milton Academy rounding off the podium a further ten-points adrift in third.

The regatta, contested in chilly temperatures, involved 52 teams who fielded a pair of sailors in two separate divisions with the team with the lowest combined score being crowned the winner.

Parker Loftus, Nathalie Cavallo and TK Kelly represented Tabor in the ‘A’ Division where they finished third to keep their school in the hunt for overall honours.

Gianni Cavallo and Peter Thibodeau, who provided solid support as shore crew, rounded out Tabor’s squad.

“Couldn’t be prouder of this team,” Rob Hurd, the Tabor coach, said. “They faced a lot of adversity in the past two days and handled it well.”

As well as clinching the George O’Day Trophy for the first time since 2006, Cooper and his team-mates also qualified for the National Fleet Racing Championship to be sailed out of the College of Charleston May 13-15.

“This is not an easy trophy to win,” Hurd said. “Today we enjoy it; tomorrow it’s on to Charleston.”

n Mark Watson, the Bermuda sailor, impressed during his debut in the M32 Series Bermuda at the weekend.

The seasoned Royal Bermuda Yacht Club skipper and his Argo Group crew held their own, winning one race and pushing hard in others.

Don Wilson and his Convexity team won the overall title despite breaking their mast and have to sail their final races in a borrowed boat

The Chicago-based team completed the series ahead of the Magenta 32 all-female team skippered by Sally Barkow with third place going to Swedish Cape Crow Vikings skippered by M32 Series founder Håkan Svensson.

The fourth and final regatta of the series was contested in Hamilton Harbour and the Great Sound.

The next M32 Series will be held in Copenhagen from May 5 to 7.