College Sailing Regional Teams Championship

What a marvelous day that greeted sailors. Blue skies and windy, building from 8 to a steady 15 with higher gusts. Six 20-22 minute races in some fun chop were completed by Goat Island which saw a tight fleet in every race and several capsizes in the bigger puffs. Some teams took advantage of the waves downwind surfing when they could. Breeze direction was perfect for spectators watching from the end of Fort Adams. Breeze was predominately from the SW forcing sailors to pay attention to the right hand shifts wrapping around the fort. No protests were filed nor were there any Rule 42 violations. The on the water judges had a nice day spectating. One minor breakdown which was quickly fixed by the safety boat driven by Lucas. Live streaming and social media posts occurred throughout the day and the media boat also served periodically as a safety boat driven by Cam. The last race, a course five when legs and guts were dying was a Reeces race, won by Bates A AND B divisions, a close 1, 2 punch at the finish line

The day wrapped up at King Park in Newport with Monster Dogs and brownies from MMA. There are many people to thank for a successful day, so stay tuned tomorrow.

The first race on Sunday started at 10:30. Teams faced vastly different conditions today as compared to yesterday. Breeze ranged from 5-8 in the first set and began building throughout the second set. The left was predominant and paid off most of the next four races. Teams that kept their heads outside the boat and noticed the flag shifting took advantage of some right-hand shifts. Mark roundings were crowded at the top, offering great viewing for the Media boat. Small mistakes on the runs impacted sailors as boats moved in and out of the top four spots throughout the runs. Salve’s A team put on a great show today with their aggressive boat handling.

Cumulative scores today moved the top three teams closer together, bringing this championship down to the last set. Maine Maritime jumped into the lead and beat Bates. Congratulations to MMA on winning the 2024 College Sailing Regional Teams Championship.

Races were run by PRO Lisa Downey. Helping on the RC boat on Saturday were Devyn Weed and Autumn Horsey who managed scoring. Peter Daugherty-Miller moved from the mark boat and joined the RC boat today. Scott Senatore gathered together a stellar media team with Parker Finkelstein, lead photographer, supported by Morgan Melo and Jack Brennan, who were also on cameras and social media. Cameron McLean drove the media boat, allowing for live streaming of some starts, interviews with competitors, and thousands of pictures taken over the last two days. The links will be sent to teams as soon as pictures are ready to be posted. Thanks to the Communications Committee, who helped coordinate the ability to use some NEISA social media.

The Mark boat, run by Lucas Wiatrowski (thanks for lending it to us, Lucas and family) and supported by Kathleen Hanson, Gavin Tucker, Andrew von Glahn and Amelia Fisher, managed the course and minor breakdowns. The shore staff included a mix of Mark Boat staff, and Julia Cotsonas was added to that. Thanks also to alumnus Nick Mercier for the loan of his huge rib to allow for coaches to be on the water both days. Thanks also to Martha Parker, and the Wiatrowski and Cotsonas families for housing for this large team effort.

A huge shoutout goes to Devyn Weed, the Event Coordinator. She was the manager behind the scenes, organising all aspects of this event, from housing to food to van drivers and so much more. It wouldn’t have been as successful without her.

A big thanks to Salve Regina for immediately agreeing to use their facility while this regatta was in the planning stages.

- Diana Weidenbacker - UNH Sailing Team Coach

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.