Coach's Corner for September 23
Today we sailed our first regatta of the season over at UConn-Avery Point, participating in the Donaghy Bowl. At the regatta were Tufts, Johnson & Wales, Mitchell, Wesleyan, UMass-Dartmouth and UConn (2). There were a total of seven boats in the regatta.
After a two-hour delay in the morning due to a lack of wind, we got underway around 11 a.m. Sailing in A-Division was Eli Smith and Alex Bollela. In the first set they scored a 3,3. Sailing in B-Division was David Pressler and Chelsea Abbenante. In the first set they scored a 4,4. After this second set, the wind began to fill in around 10-15 knots. Eli/Alex scored a 2,1 and David/Chelsea another 4,4 (but it should be noted that they rounded the first mark of each of their races in 2nd). With the wind gusting, Alex was replaced by Jared LaFosse-Baker. Eli/Jared went out and struggled in a boat with some technical issues. They ended the day with a 5,6. David/Chelsea also struggled in the last set of the regatta with a 6,7.
As a coach, I had a goal of finishing in the the top 3 for this event. Knowing this was both David and Eli's first college regatta in a while, but also knowing their abilities, I thought we would do pretty solidly in this event. After hearing a protest at the end of the regatta that resulted in JWU being disqualified for a race, we accomplished my goal of a third place finish for the event. All in all, the team did very well on the water and exuded excellent sportsmanship and friendliness on land.
I want to thank the following parents for coming to support the team: Mrs. Highter, the Smiths, the Lees, as well as the three Mitchell students who came to cheer the team on.
Here are the final scores ... I'm very proud of the team!
All the best,
Coach
