hank you so much for financially supporting my travels to Brant Beach, NJ for the 2021 Club 420 National Championship!!! This was a very enjoyable experience and a great way to wrap up our summer sailing.
The Sunday before the regatta started, Morgan and I spent the day driving from Rochester, NY all the way to Brant Beach, which took a little under 7 hours. We briefly visited the yacht club and the venue before heading over to our hotel and checking in for a night of rest. The next morning, we met up with our team and coach, Augie Dale, to unload boats and rig. After getting all sorted, we got out on the water for practice. The sailing area was just inside the bay, so we had nice, flat water with no chop. The water was also pretty warm, which was a very nice change of pace from the rainstorm and freezing temperatures we experienced in Rochester. We ended up only getting in a few hours of practice before the wind completely died, which was more than other teams got.
The next morning, we all arrived early to get our boats front row for the beach launch. We had a quick meeting with our team, followed by the competitors’ meeting. The forecast showed sunny, cloudless skies, which was very pleasant. However, the wind was coming from the wrong direction for a steady sea breeze, so we had a long period of postponement in the morning. Our coach took us out to swim and foilboard to kill the time, rather than just sitting out and baking in the sun. The breeze ended up switching around and filling in a little later in the afternoon, so we were able to get in a solid three races. The first race, we had a great start and won the pin. However, there was an unfortunate right shift, so we ended up rounding the weather mark pretty deep and had to spend the rest of the race digging our way back up through the fleet. The next two races were a lot more predictable. We were able to round in the top ten both times and finish with a three and one.
The second day, the breeze came in much earlier, but the forecast showed a lightning storm starting in the early afternoon. We got one start off, but midrace, the lightning came, and we had to race back in for safety. We waited on land in the shelter of the yacht club for a little while, but the torrential rain didn’t look like it was clearing up anytime soon, so the race committee sent us home for the day.
The last day’s forecast was a little grim, with absolutely no wind in sight in the morning. We got sent out to try to get in races, but we were only ever able to start before the race got abandoned. Luckily, right before the cut off time, the breeze filled in and we got one last race in, bringing the total to a whopping four.
Because we only got in a few races, we didn’t end up getting a drop, which was unfortunate, considering our first race made up 17 of our 25 total points. However, we were still able to end up in 3rd overall. I am pretty happy with this event and the end to our summer sailing. I had an amazing time, and I am so grateful to the BYC MSSF for making it happen!!!