Saturday dawned bright and early with the Penn Sailing team meeting at 7.30am on campus and leaving for the Corinthian Yacht Club shortly thereafter. It was a bit fresher than most of us had anticipated with the temperature hovering in the low 60s for most of the day. While some of us went for a quick coffee run, the others started preparing for the regatta. There were six teams in total which meant that we had to do a minimum of six sets, or twelve races between the two divisions.

The other five schools arrived a bit later and by ten o’clock we were able to start the first race. The race courses throughout the day were either W4 or W3, with a downwind gate. The Ocean County Vikings dominated from the start, putting in consistently strong results of 1st or 2nd place finishes. Meanwhile, the Quakers averaged 4th and 5th place finishes in both divisions. We got into the groove as time went on though, and netted a respectable number of 2nd and 3rd place finishes. Unfortunately, with only 8 sets in the entire regatta, the good results were unable to offset the initial ones and both A and B Divisions finished in 5th overall.

Philly Fleet Race was a very enjoyable experience for all who took part. More than half of us were competing for the first time, and had only sailed the FJs a couple of times in our lives, so it was really more of a learning experience than anything. It was good to get acquainted with the format of college sailing regattas, with the two divisions and rotation of boats, while having the familiarity of home waters. I look forward eagerly to the next regatta.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Bleustein of the Daily Pennsylvanian.

– Sherlyn Chen, ’16