Dear BYC Maritime Sciences and Seamanship Foundation,
Thank you for your support of my crew, Grace Vandervort, and me in the 2013 Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship Regatta for the Ida Lewis Trophy. This regatta was our first Club 420 regatta and we were both really excited to participate. The regatta was held at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, which made us more comfortable knowing that it wasn’t far from home.
We towed over to BCYC the afternoon of June 22 with big smiles on our soon to be sunburnt faces. Once we finished the 5-minute tow to BCYC, we unloaded our boat into Spot 17. With the guidance of our fellow BYC sailors we got registered and put on our bow numbers and sail numbers. After our boat was completely regatta ready, we socialized with other competitors. Despite living fifteen minutes away from the regatta venue, my crew and I chose to stay with a host family in order to meet another team. We were placed in Commodore Madden’s house with a team from Annapolis, Maryland–Grace Lucas and Emma White.
Sunday and Monday consisted of on land clinics in the morning and on the water clinics in the afternoon. Grace and I were placed in a group along with Madeline Bubb and her crew, Eliza Moody, for the entire week. Although we did well on Sunday, our best day was on Monday when we had top 10 finishes in the practice races. Afterwards our coaches, Richard and Alice, asked us to get up in front of the class and explain why our boat was one of the fastest on the water. I was a bit hesitant to get up in front of everyone, but Grace jumped at the chance and gave a great presentation.
On Tuesday morning I was so nervous as I packed my sailing gear into my bag, anxiously awaiting the first race. That anxiety did not last long though, which helped me get my best finish (9th place) in the first race. We continued to do well until the wind picked up to a steady 14 knots, which was difficult for a team as light as us.
After listening to JJ Fetters inspirational talk the evening before, I was ready Wednesday morning for the long day of sailing ahead. After a 2 hour delay due to lack of wind and general recalls, the race committee launched the first race of the day at 1400. Though the race was slow, most boats were able to finish the first race. Then came the second race, painful for any to watch, but even more so to sail. Most boats in that race could conclude that at one point they were moving backwards or not moving, as can I.
On the last day we did a little better and completed all four races. We ended the day in 31st out of 39 boats, which we were content with for our first Ida Lewis regatta. Also, we were really happy to see our friends Bayley Davidson and Carolyn Smith win the regatta the last year that they were eligible to compete. Besides learning so much and watching our friends do well, we were instilled with a sense of camaraderie due to the new peoples this regatta has introduced us too.
I would like to thank the foundation again for its support. Throughout this experience I have learned so much and met people from Hawaii to the Virgin Islands. With the support of the foundation I hope to be able to attend this regatta next year when it is held at American Yacht Club in New York and continue the tradition for years to come.
Sincerely,
Kerri Luttrell