Freshman Mitch Kimball, James Hewitt, Tyler Davidson, Zach Nerod, Nick Lipinski, and Cooper DePriest left Ann Arbor Friday evening, stopping briefly at Salvation Army on the way out of town. They arrived in South Bend late in the evening but still in time to mingle with other new collegiate sailors, as well as perform tasks to win merit badges for the Boy Scout themed regatta party.
The freshman woke up bright and early Saturday for the first day of racing, with the winds on St. Joe's being characteristically shifty and dead. They donned the suits they'd acquired at Salvation Army the previous night in order to emulate the Men of Industry they will undoubtably become. Despite cold conditions, morale stayed high and the boys improved throughout the day as they regained their sea legs after a long winter off the water, with B-fleet sailors James Hewitt and Tyler Davidson staging an impressive comeback late in the day as they went from being in last by six boat lengths to catching a breeze and passing the entire fleet while rounding the mark, finishing nearly a full minute ahead of the second place boat.
Sunday conditions were much of the same, with almost all of the freshman arriving at the correct report time. They wrapped up the day with more improvements, and good times were had by all.
-Sarah Sloan, '16
