Spring Lake Team Race

What a perfect day for high school sailing and an introduction to team racing for many sailors!!!

The morning found 60 sailors from 8 teams gathered at Spring Lake Yacht Club with temps in the 30's. The breeze filled in nicely from the NE at 5-8 mph just in time for the race committee and course crew to set a course and get the first race sequence started at 09:15:25 (25 seconds after posted first start time in NOR). Temps had warmed to 50's by that point with bright sunshine.

The breeze held pretty steady in the 4-10 mph range with direction consistent until about 14:25 when it suddenly died. It was calm for about 2 minutes before the shore breeze thermal kicked in from exactly 180 degrees opposite the morning's direction. The finish boat and start boat simply changed locations on the Digital N and races continued.

The wind piped up through the remainder of the afternoon to a high of 16-21 mph. There was only one capsize during the day and the sailors quickly and calmly righted the boat and continued the race. Sailors throughout the day displayed good spirits and excellent sailing ability which clearly improved as the day progressed. Exactly what we like to see at these Tier 3 events.

Two round robins of 28 races were completed for a total of 56 races with the last race of the day getting started at 17:59:45 (15 seconds before cutoff). It was a full sunny day of fast paced sailing with perfect conditions.

A huge thanks to Jenn Colvin who organized all of the food and kept the clubhouse in order. Also to all of the Spring Lake parents who donated food and their time. They say "it takes a village" and this is another example of members of the community selflessly coming together to make this sport available to kids throughout the region.

Thanks also to Spring Lake Yacht Club for use of the facility. The new floating docks provide just about the most perfect venue for high school sailing that you can imagine.