Saturday, October 4, 2014

2014 Cressy Singlehanded Qualifiers

Day 1

Gusty west winds, often exceeding 20 knots, challenged all sailors and volunteers. Initially, races were delayed as a result of strong winds causing anchoring issues with the race-committee boat.

As races began, it became clear there would be extensive separation between those finishing at the front and those who struggled with the heavier breeze. The last-place boat of each race often finished more than 10 minutes behind that of the first-place boat.

All Loyola Academy sailors fought hard to overcome the breeze. Fin Elliott, the only radial representative of LA, steadily improved his sailing throughout the day, finishing the last race of the day with a 2. R.J. Porter, Will Flocco, and Graham Post represented LA in full-rigs. R.J. started the day with a bullet, and continued the day fighting for second-place with fellow competitor, Dirk Phelps, of Traverse City Central. Graham Post and Will Flocco gradually improved their standings throughout the day, but had issues with the heavier breeze.

Day 2

After the first day of racing, R.J. was the only LA sailor still in contention for a qualifying spot to Nationals. Winds on the second day remained extremely gusty out of similar directions. As a result of fighting hard, so hard to the point that his ankles were blistered by the hiking strap, R.J. pulled off second-place, earning a spot to the singlehanded-nationals later this year in Washington.

The remaining three LA sailors all improved their standings throughout the day, while unfortunately being too far behind the top sailors to catch up in the points battle.

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