Gopher Invite

The University of Minnesota hosted the Gopher Invitational this past weekend, May 11-12, at the Wayzata Community Sailing Center.  The University of Michigan sent 5 freshman sailors to the event. The group nicknamed themselves 'The Dream Team' and consisted of Blake Carlson '15, Zachary Frankel '14, Taylor Landeryou '16, Cody Oeung '14, and Andrew Roth '15. Twelve teams from the MCSA competed, and notably the new St. Olaf College sailing team raced in their first regatta.

The first day of sailing was canceled due to extreme wind conditions of 30-40 knots.  It was reported that 17 boats simultaneously capsized at a near by regatta.  During the down time there were lectures on racing strategy, tactics, and rules.  Sunday's races went smoothly. The winds were strong in the morning, but became shifty by the end of the day. The novice wolverine sailors stayed competitive all afternoon on the gated windward-leeward course, but were ultimately beaten out by the veteran gopher sailors.  The young group learned a lot from the experience and had a fun time on and off the water.

-Zachary Frankel '14