Over the weekend the team went to St. Mary’s College of
Maryland. This was the first time for some of the team to the venue on the St.
Mary’s River where the 2014 ICSA College Nationals will be held. Therefore the
team was excited to compete at the venue less than 8 months away from
nationals.
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| Left to Right-Seago, Wallace, Etheridge, Smolenyak and Ramos |
Saturday included classic Chesapeake conditions with a 5-12
knot northeasterly breeze, with 70 degree temperatures and sunny skies. These conditions were familiar to A division
skipper Alex Ramos ’15 from Annapolis, MD, who was sailing with Karinne
Smolenyak ’14 in FJ’s. Chesapeake native Tom Etheridge ’16 came as a heavy crew
for the weekend, which was an advantage because the combined team of Mr. Ramos
and Tom provided excellent coaching for the team. Alex Ramos’s parents and
sister came from Annapolis, in addition to Tom’s parents, who drove up from
Norfolk, VA, for additional support for the team. The team definitely had plenty
to eat throughout the weekend. In B Division, we featured Ryan Seago ’14 and
Elizabeth Wallace ’14 who sailed the first 9 races in 420’s on Saturday. The
conditions weren’t as shifty and puffy as the Charles River last week, but the
river featured 10-30 degree shifts with 5 knot pressure differentials around
the course. This forced the teams to be on top of their tactical game to
perform well, boat-speed wasn’t everything. The team was in 13th of
18 after the first day after 12 races were completed. A and B divisions
switched between FJ’s and 420’s after the 9th race.
Sunday featured almost identical conditions, with slightly
less wind, 5-10 knots from the northeast again.
The team performed even better on Sunday with numerous top 10 finishes
and a few top 3 finishes. By the end of the day A division ended up in 11th
and B division in 10th, but because of the incredibly close competition
in the middle of both fleets the team ended up overall in 13th of
18. We would like to thank the Etheridge’s and Ramos’s for their support this
weekend at the regatta and Tom Moulds for hosting the team at his house in St.
Mary’s.
-Ryan Seago '14
