This February, I had the amazing chance to compete at the c420 Midwinters in Jensen Beach, Florida. This was made possible thanks to the generous grants my team received from BYC MSSF. This regatta was the largest sailing competition I have done so far. The experience that
my crew (Alex Stauffer) and I gained from it was so helpful.
We flew into Miami Airport on Thursday, then drove up to Jensen Beach and rested up to prepare for all that was in store for us the next day. Friday was spent putting together the charter boat and practicing in the Indian River. Our coach, Adrienne Patterson, and our
teammates arrived that day as well. The Jensen Beach venue was a very new and interesting place to sail for me, as I had never sailed somewhere with waters so shallow. After a lot of practice, we finally started to feel accustomed to the area and ready for the days of racing to come.
On Saturday, our first race day kicked off with a very long postponement. We quickly learned that the East Coast has much higher standards for how much wind is enough to sail! However, the wind finally came in, and our team towed out to the race course. That day, the wind was
around 10-12 knots. There were around 80 boats in the fleet, and we got the chance to practice starting on a line with lots of boats and long courses, unlike what we’re used to in Newport Beach. On Sunday, conditions were similar. I felt that our starts were improving through the day. Alex and I ended up in the Silver category.
Finally, on Monday, the wind showed up. A front rolled in and gave us around 13-16 knots of wind, which was nice. Unfortunately, I had a mishap with the boom, and we withdrew for the last two races so I could get checked for a concussion.
Overall, this was a really fun regatta that I enjoyed immensely. I think that this experience will help me to prepare and know what to expect as I continue to race c420s. I am so grateful to coach Adrienne and to the MSSF for their support of my sailing goals.