Saturday March 1, 0-35 knots (diabolical) (SW-NW)
On Saturday March 1, Columbia Sailing participated in the Sea Wolf Women’s Regatta. The team arrived at Port Jefferson Yacht Club at 7 a.m. courtesy of senior Alex Yuen and head coach Loghlen Rickard. The Lions kicked racing off at 10 a.m., sophomore Elizabeth Frost and first-year Wren Greeley-Havard topped A fleet, finishing 2-1-1. The wind was puffy, ranging between 5 to10 knots and coming from shore, making it a very shifty race course with a lot of gains to be made. The Light Blue had a poor start to the second race, but tacked onto the port side, ducking the fleet and making it out to the right where a huge right puff came in and shot the duo up to the top mark–finishing almost a leg ahead. The course was where the mooring field is later in the season–very close to shore right along the docks–making for easy rotations but shifty conditions.
Then, first-year Eva DeCastro and sophomore Amelia Thomas took over in B fleet with a 1-2-1 result, playing the shifts and pulling off roll tacks that asserted their dominance on the water. The wind picked up, nuking by 3 p.m., but quickly died to almost 0 knots by A fleet’s fourth race. Throughout the day the two fronts fought for dominance as the Lions sailed up the course in near thirty degree shifts. The race committee attempted to shift the course appropriately with the wind, but the oscillating shifts made it hard for the course to stay consistent. The geography of Port Jefferson meant that while the wind was coming from the South West, the puffs always filled from the right of the course first, despite big shifts on the left. The team quickly realized that looking up the course was crucial to staying on top of the fleet.
In the final A fleet race, the new front finally won and a gust of 30 knots came from the North West just as Frost and Greeley-Havard started the downwind leg. As soon as they crossed the finish line, a puff ripped across the course, flipping a boat, and Frost and Greeley-Havard fought to reach the shore. Within a minute the glassy water was whitecapping and the serene and sunny day was gone.
Despite the B fleet foregoing its last race, the Lions took home the dub–their first women’s regatta win, and first win of the season! Frost and Greeley-Havard tied for first in A fleet, while DeCastro and Thomas finished in the single digits with nine total points, taking the lead by seven points and carrying the team to first place!
Next for the Lions: Admiral Moore Team Race Regatta ⛵️⚓️
Check out the scores here! https://scores.collegesailing.org/s25/seawolf-women-open/
