The BU sailing team reached many successes this spring season and despite not qualifying for the Team Racing National Championship we did qualify for the Women's National Championship and the Co-ed National Championship. All three of these events will be held in San Diego and the Co-ed Championship will be raced in 2 parts: semi-finals from May 31-June 1 and the finals from June 2-3. In order to qualify for the Co-ed National Championship we had to place in the top 9 at our own New England Conference Championship which was raced at Dartmouth. With no racing on Saturday due to a lack of wind, we had to squeeze in four races in light conditions on Sunday and I placed 3rd in A division, helping our team reach a 2nd overall finish. We were rewarded for our hard work all season at the awards ceremony where our head coach Stan Schreyer was named NEISA coach of the year. We also had 2 members of our team named 2nd team all-NEISA crews and I was named a 2nd team all-NEISA skipper. These accomplishments show how our team is quickly rising through the ranks and becoming one of the strongest in college sailing.
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| 2nd team all-NEISA skippers |
In order to practice for the National Championships our team is spending two full weeks sailing out of Cottage Park Yacht Club in Winthrop, MA. We towed our boats down the river and through the locks, rigged them at Courageous Sailing Center, and sailed them around Logan Airport to the club. Sailing out on the harbor provides us many training opportunities that could not be had on the river. We can spend much more time speed testing and fine tuning our boat settings to maximize speed and pointing ability as we have much more space to sail in a straight line. We can also practice judging laylines and making tactical decisions in current. Finally, and arguably the most significant point of all, we can sail in more consistent wind conditions. On the river we have large city obstructions causing large variations in wind direction, but out in the harbor we have a more consistent sea breeze and smoother land masses. The Tufts sailing team has joined our practices and this is very helpful as it allows us to sail all 18 boats and simulate real regatta conditions in a competitive fleet.
After Nationals I will be returning home to Florida for a short time before driving back North. I will be taking a summer class during the second session in order to stay on track with my degree and on weekends will be racing in the F18 circuit like last year. My goals for this summer include gaining more experience on foiling catamarans, Marstrom 32, and in kiteboarding. I will place links to the event page of the National Championships at the bottom of this post when they become available.
BU Sailing Team Facebook page
New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Facebook page
Intercollegiate Sailing Association Facebook page
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| Shot from the Tradwinds Regatta in January. |