On the water at St. Mary's

This weekend the Roger Williams University Sailing team is competing in the St. Mary’s Team Race held down at St. Mary’s College in Maryland. Forecast today was supposed to be windy and non stop rain. So much for that! There was a consistent light drizzle, overcast skies and the wind decided to come and go as it pleased.

There are 10 teams represent at the team race, and all are very competitive. Today we started off the regatta against, our good friends, but long time rivals the Boston College Eagles. We all had great starts, and quickly worked our way into a winning combination. This winning combination was held all the way around the course until the last beat, where there was some miscommunication, costing us the victory. It was a very frustrating time for the team, but we shook it off in order to concentrate on the next race.

In the next race, we were matched up against the Naval Academy. Once again we were in a winning combination until the downwind leg. The wind was very shifty (meaning that it was oscillating back and forth from one general direction) and the puffs on the water were in patches. Rounding the leeward mark, we felt as though we were still in control, with just an easy pass-back to complete. The wind unfortunately shifted for the worse, making it almost impossible to position ourselves into a winning combination.

Now with a 0-2 record for the day, the wind completely died, and we had a lunch break, not expecting to go back out on the water. Luckily the wind filled back in after half an hour, and we went out with an renewed confidence.

Matching up against Connecticut College Camels, we had a great start, and basically held it all the way around the course. This was a nice moral booster.

Up next was the home town locals, the St. Mary’s Seahawks. Right off the start, Jon Enright and Addy White jumped the gun, and had to return to the starting line to restart. It wasn’t a good start for the Rog, but with no intention to just give up, Sean Bouchard, and Bianca Rom team up with Cy Thompson and Kelly Stannard to make an impressive comeback. With precise boathandling, the 3 were able to sail right around the Seahawks, and move into a winning combination. This was a very good note to end on because it allowed us to finish with a 2-2 record, keeping us in contention to qualify for the finals.

All in all the day had its ups and downs, and we learned from our mistakes. We as a team are just as good as any other team out there, but we need to not think as much, and do what we do best. We sometimes make it harder than it really is, and as the days go along things are only going to get better.

- Cy Thompson