2018 SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate

Saturday morning welcomed sailors and coaches to Oriental from 16 SAISA and MAISA colleges from as far away as Pennsylvania and Florida with cool temperatures and hot breakfast. After chow and a warm welcome from the Mayor of the town of Oriental at the skippers’ meeting, sailors launched from Bow to Stern Sailing Center and proceeded to the mouth of Greens Creek and the open water of the Neuse River. Early races saw strong finishes from teams familiar with local conditions including the Drexel Dragons who were wrapping up their spring break training in Oriental, as well as Florida State, South Carolina and hosts NC State, all of whom have trained and raced on the Neuse before. Despite strong starts from these teams, the day was to be dominated by the Jacksonville women’s squad who secured the lead in the second race of the day and just did not let go. Morning conditions were blustery with winds from 12-15 mph, whitecaps and temperatures in the mid-50s.

As the day progressed, a surge from Clemson and the University of South Carolina brought them into contention as the afternoon warmed up and the breeze calmed down. As the sun peaked through the clouds, the mass of sailors, coaches, and spectators at the historic Stallings House and the waterfront Lou Mac Park welcomed the rising temperatures. Six races were completed in each division on Saturday and racers were sent in at 5pm to give them time to clean up and shower ahead of the evening’s NC-style pig pickin’ barbecue and celebration. Welcomed by more than 300 people from the town of Oriental, sailors enjoyed live music and great food. The local hospitality and camaraderie enjoyed by the teams in this regatta was welcomed and has proven to be a unique characteristic of this annual inter-conference event.

On Sunday morning, sailors were welcomed back to Bow to Stern where the Easter Bunny had left treats in their FJs. The Neuse was also welcoming with sunny skies and light breeze of 5-7mph. As the day progressed, conditions on the water improved with the westerly breeze strengthening to a consistent 10-12 and the blue-sky, sunshine-driven temperatures getting up well into the high 70s. The Jacksonville women’s squad continued to build on their lead with strong results while Florida State and Georgia Tech both made strong improvements climbing the leaderboard. As the afternoon approached, the race committee was able to complete four more races in each division before sending sailors ashore at 2:30pm.

Congratulations to Jacksonville University’s women’s squad for the regatta win, as well as their co-ed squad for a second-place finish, with the final podium spot being claimed by Clemson who sailed a strong, consistent regatta both days. 3D-printed FJ dinghy trophies fashioned from recycled filament were presented to the winning teams and the “No Macho” award was presented to NC State senior Caroline Eberhardt for good sportsmanship, hard work, and selflessness. Special thanks to Sailors for the Sea, and NC State Sustainability for their support and guidance in making this a clean regatta and sustainable event. Thanks to the town of Oriental for once again reminding us why it’s the Sailing Capital of North Carolina.

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.