This weekend Jack Swikart, Pati Andrade, Mac Agnese, Meg Harding and I headed to Toms River, New Jersey for our first big regatta of the season.

Friday night we feasted on a home-cooked meal with the other half of the team, and then headed back to the Swikart’s house to get some rest knowing we’d have an early start on Saturday.

After leaving the Swikart’s at 7:30 with some quick food pitstops along the way, we arrived at Toms River Yacht Club to cloudy skies and a massive white tent being pitched on the lawn. We rigged our boats, Jack and Pati had the dreaded Tech in A division, while Mac and I had the 420 for B. After it poured for a minute, the sun came out for the rest of the day.

Starting in some fairly light breeze, we set the standard for the day early, showing consistency in each race, even as the breeze started to pick up. Mac and I started with a string of firsts, and Jack and Pati started with a 4th which would be their worst finish of the day.

After three sets in winds that had gotten up to 14-18, Meg and I switched off in the 420s. After a few challenges in their first race, Meg and Mac continued to dominate the B fleet, as Jack and Pati kept cleaning up in A.

With no lunch break and strong winds, it wasn’t long before we reached the halfway point of the regatta. After nine races, Jack switched into the 420 and Mac into the Tech to finish off the day. They both continued to extend our lead in the standings, finishing the day consistent with how it had started.

With the wedding impending, we were off the water by 3:30 with a commanding 48 point lead in the standings. As a reward for a great day we took a detour to see the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, and then headed back to the Swikart’s to eat with the rest of the team and compare stories and bruises from the day.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed out to finish off the last six races. The wind, despite sunny skies, was blowing hard even early in the morning. Meg and Jack started off again in the 420s while Pati and Mac prepared to finish off in the Tech.

After both pairs struggled a little bit with consistency in a breeze that topped out around 22 knots, they both finished with solid last races that confirmed our lead over St. Mary’s. After the world’s longest search for a sail bag, we headed back to Penn, my first college regatta under my belt.

Thanks to OCC and Toms River for hosting the regatta. Also, big thanks to the Garths for feeding us on Friday, and the Swikarts for being such great hosts all weekend.

Full results can be found here: http://scores.collegesailing.org/f13/central-fall-1/

Catie Hopkins ’17