It has been quite some time since I last posted on here, but I have been very busy in school and now as my classes are drawing to an end I have more free time and can publish more content.
Since my last post I have attended three months of school and even though this is a short period of time the transition from high school to college has been quite drastic. Academics have become much more challenging. Even though I am only taking four classes, it is still quite difficult to keep up with the course work and perform well on exams. Sailing while in school adds another level of difficulty to this task and now my time management and efficiency skills are really being put to the test. This first semester has been physically exhausting as well. After attending classes during the day, I spent my afternoons practicing as a member of the BU sailing team on the Charles River. Sailing took up the majority of my free time and on the weekends we were traveling to regattas around New England. Even though this schedule led to several late nights of studying or returning from regattas, this past semester has been very rewarding and I have created priceless memories with the new friends I have made at school.
Sailing on a collegiate team is a very unique experience. Even though I have only competed for one semester, I have still learned a great deal about who I am as a sailor and how to succeed in this type of sailing environment. Throughout this first semester I sailed at numerous venues, including:
Maine Maritime Academy
University of Vermont
University of New Hampshire
Mass Maritime Academy
MIT
Tufts University
Salve Regina University
We spent a few Wednesdays practicing on the Upper Mystic Lake at Tufts leading up to our freshman championship, the Nickerson Trophy, which was also held at Tufts. In addition to these practices, we frequently sailed on the east side of the Mass Ave Bridge with MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern. These practices were sailed in very large fleets and training with these schools provided us with more experience sailing in larger fleets. We practice regularly in the standard FJ, but some of this fall's regattas were held in other boats such as Fireflies, Larks, 420s, and Z420s.
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| A view from the Charles River. |
Now that the fall sailing season has ended, I am using the majority of my free time to stay up to date with my studies and to explore Boston. It's starting to get cold and we've had a few days with snow so I'm hoping my Floridian blood thickens quickly! I'll be returning home for winter break in a few weeks and by that time I'll be in dire need of a break from the cold. It's shocking to think this semester is almost over, but there is still much to come in the few weeks left and I will be making the most of my time in one of the greatest cities in the world.
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| First regatta at Maine Maritime A. |
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| Regatta win at Mass Maritime A. |
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| Sailing F18s in Rye, NY. |
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| Fireflies at MIT. |
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| Larks at Tufts. |
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| Last regatta of the season and a win at Salve. |
