Moody Trophy

Saturday: Conditions for collegiate sailboat racing don’t get too much better than what was had on day 1 of the 2012 Moody. We had breeze out of the south at 10-15 knots with maybe a few gusts a bit higher. The sun was out and the temps were in the 70s. We sailed in the “Outer Pond” in close proximity to Gardner Island where the rotations took place without much carnage. 8 races were completed in each division using windward/leeward courses with offsets and independent gates. We had a few small breakdowns that were handled in between races but none were filed. No protests were filed either.

Racing was really tight all day long, with crowded mark roundings and some really close finishes. Along with the great skill shown by the competitors, some fine sportsmanship was displayed as well, with many 720s taken and good camaraderie between races. Our volunteer judges of Will Whitman, Emma DeAguiar, and Jeremy Henry had a pretty uneventful day, but surely enjoyed the glory of their beloved Salt Pond.

The forecast for tomorrow shows we’re in for a much different day tomorrow…

Sunday: Unfortunately, the weather forecasters had it nailed all weekend. After a great Saturday, Sunday’s conditions were not race-worthy with unstable, very light northerly breezes that would never settle in. We waited it out all day on the Outer Pond and on Garner Island, but never attempted a start. (We were teased a few times.)

Sincere thanks are still in order to all of the Rhody undergrads who put the effort into this event: Thank you Will Snyder for being Beach Master, Zach Obrien and Darya Blout for running Markset, and Sam Cushing for chasing the wind around with the PRO. Also, to the Rams competing who still helped to make the event a success, thanks. And again, to our alumni who came back to help judge: Will Whitman, Emma de Aguiar, Kerry Mahoney, and Jeremy Henry, thanks for giving back. And finally, thanks to the Harvard and Connecticut College Sailing Teams who supplied the 19th boat and sails.

URI is proud to host so many great teams and we appreciate everyone’s effort to make it to The Salt Pond. The team who came the farthest, earned the win with great racing on Saturday. Congratulations Stanford.