This weekend (September 21-22), Max Ryder, Cary Kane, Caroline Garth, and I headed north to not-so-SUNY Maritime to compete in our first double-handed event of the year.

After a veritable feast of lasagna and cupcakes, we spent a restful Friday night an at the Garth’s house in New Jersey. The next morning, we awoke at 6:30am, went to Grandma’s Bagel’s (which gave Naval Bagels a run for its money), and drove an hour to the Bronx.

After a one hour wind delay, the forecasted southeasterly breeze and storm system began to fill. The first set was completed in 5-7 knots. In A division, Cary and I led the pack consistently on the upwinds. After some difficult downwinds, however, we posted 3rd and 4th place finishes. Caroline Garth (New Jersey State Champion) and Max also came off the line well, posting a 2nd and a 7th for their first set. The wind built progressively — much to our frustration as one of the lighter teams — peaking at 16-22 knots for the last rotation. At the end of the day we won a protest in A division against Columbia and finished out Saturday in 5th place overall.

After dining with the rest of the team at the Swikart’s house and staying another night at the Garth’s, we returned to SUNY on Sunday. We sailed six races in both A and B fleets, handling breeze up to 24 knots. In terms of results, Sunday proved more challenging, and we posted a number of midfleet finishes.

Towards the end of the day, we sat next to Cornell in the standings. In perhaps the greatest alliterative showdown in the history of Penn sailing, Caroline challenged Cornell in the last two B division races. Despite a fantastic set, we lost out by only 9 points.

Ultimately, we finished 6th place out of 18 teams. Full results can be found here:
http://scores.collegesailing.org/f13/maritime-fall-open/full-scores/

Thanks to the Maritime sailors for running twelve races in tricky race management conditions on the East River. Also, a huge thank you goes out to the Garth family, who hosted us for the weekend, and Mr. Garth who drove us to SUNY and back. Also, we are extremely grateful to Mr. Swikart, who drove us from Penn to New Jersey on Friday, and from New Jersey to Penn on Sunday!

Fair winds,

Joe Farned ’17