Salt Pond Invite

It was a blustery day on the Salt Pond, with wind readings in the mid to upper 20's from the NNE. RC elected to postpone until 1245 in hopes the gusts would diminish, and this luckily came to fruition which allowed us to head out to the upper pond. Six races were completed in a more consistent NNE breeze of 15-20kts. Only one course adjustment was needed.

In Race 1A URI dominated throughout and finished with a comfortable lead, with UVM and MMA rounding out the top three positions. URI again showed their strength in Race 2A, though MMA and the CGA Bears followed closely behind, both with excellent maneuvers at the bottom gate. Race 3A saw URI, MMA, and the Salve Seahawks rounding out the podium. However, URI found themselves over early in Race 4A and allowed CGA to claim victory, with RWU and MMA behind them.

In B division, Race 1 saw a slight uptick in velocity which made the downwind legs rather difficult. A few competitors went for a swim, though spirits remained high. In the end, it was RWU, URI, and CGA in the top three respectively. Not far behind them were UVM and Salve, all bunched in a tight pack. In Race 2B, RWU proved themselves to a comfortable first place finish, followed by URI and BU. In both fleets, the racing is quite close and exciting to watch.

A job well done to all competitors for sticking it out in trying conditions. Tomorrow is calling for a touch less breeze with a more prominent easterly component.

Day two of the Salt Pond Invite. Racing commenced at 1040 after a downwind journey through the narrows, and conditions allowed for a total of 8 races completed. The NE breeze started at 12-15kts, though increased with the passing cloud cover at times. A few slight course adjustments were made in response to the oscillating shifts coming over Pine Tree Point.

In A division, the Coast Guard Bears excelled and claimed the most 1st place finishes for the day. Two instances of being over early proved costly in Races 6A & 7A, allowing RWU and BU to prevail. URI remained consistent in the top 5 and kept the pressure on. Also shining through were Salve and BU, both with first place finishes in later races. Finishes were close throughout the day.

In B division, BU continued to improve with almost every race and forced URI, RWU, and CGA to fight to the end for every last point. This led to crowded mark roundings, tacking duals, and photo finishes. In the end, URI B complimented their teammates in division A and helped secure a first place overall for the event. To round out the podium, it was the RWU Hawks and CGA Bears respectively in 2nd and 3rd.

Well done to all competitors, and congratulations to the top finishers. Although a challenging weather weekend, we appreciate the resilience and high spirits of all teams who came out. A special thanks to the URI sailors on the support team in helping run a successful event. Up next on the Salt Pond is the Moody Trophy, Sept. 28-29.

The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.

The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.