Mystic Lake Team Race

Sailors were greeted by chilly temps in the upper 40s, and a seemingly stable Northeasterly; a breeze direction consistent with regional winds aloft. Nonetheless, for the 3rd regatta day in a row, the painstakingly squared course was immediately broken by a sudden 90 degree right shift as soon as the first starting gun of the day fired. The first two starts easily fetched the first mark on starboard, and the flight was abandoned while the course was reset for the ultra-localized Southwest pattern, as temps plunged towards the upper 30s, and gusts climbed into the high teens. Surprising the seasoned PRO, this pattern persisted without need for major course adjustments until about 1 pm, when the breeze began to tick slowly back to the forecasted Northeast, with breeze continuing to build until puffs reached the low end of the 20s (the biggest puff measured by anemometer was 19 knots, but was certainly not the strongest of the day). In the standings, the Hawks alighted to an early lead, ending the day with an impressive 13-1 record, with their only loss on account of a freak auto-tack capsize against the Jumbos. Meanwhile, After a series of protests, URI found their way into a tie for second with Tufts at 9-5, while Coast Guard and Brown tied for fourth at 7-7. An Elephant-sized thank you to race committee Blake Vogel, Stephan Chiampo, Gus Macauly and Grant Schmidt, and an even bigger thank you to Dory Russell for stepping up last-minute despite working a TEMS night shift on Friday.

Sailors arrived at the Mystic early Sunday greeted by calm waters. As boats were rigged, a band of rain came through, propelled by winds aloft that failed to reach the surface. Around mid day, the PRO gave the ill-advised order to launch boats as an unforecasted Northwesterly puff filled briefly across the lake, but before a course could be set, the Mystic glassed off once again. Unfortunately, because no further races could be completed, the ties from Saturday stand.

Thanks to Greta Kline for stepping up to help last minute. And thanks to all the competitors for a fun weekend of Team Racing! We will be sure to get our wind machine running again in time for the next event.