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Southwestern Sailing Team Wraps Up Fall Season

Will Turner, Patrick Kelly, Brooks Turcotte and Cole Carlson represented Southwestern as the MASSA Gold Fall Fleet Race Championship in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Submitted photos

The Southwestern Sailing Team traveled to Fort Monroe, Virginia on Friday, Oct. 19 to compete in the MASSA Gold Fall Fleet Race Championship, a two-day event sailing in the FJ class.

Eighteen teams from the four Mid-Atlantic states representing all five MASSA leagues converged on the Youth Sailing Virginia facility to find deceptively mild temperatures in the mid-60s that were masked by chilly light drizzle combined with 10-12 mph winds carrying gusts throughout the day reaching just under 20 mph. The Southwestern winds clocked right to almost West over the course of the day. Seas offered minimal waves. The rain let up shortly before the day’s racing concluded at about 5 p.m.

Representing Southwestern Sailing Team was Will Turner skippering with Patrick Kelly as crew for A Division, and Brooks Turcotte skippering with Cole Carlson as crew for B Division. The first day of the regatta accomplished nine solid races in each division. Most races were 17-20 minutes in duration. The fleet finished within a tight two minutes of each other during most races.

“So many teams came up to the first rounding mark at the same time that it seemed to create a blockage with every team fighting for right-of-way to round first,” Coach Hunter Farris said. “Usually we see the fleet split during that initial 10 to 15 seconds of the start. In this case, the teams were all so on-point that it took the first windward mark for anyone to fall into single file lines and gain advantage over another.”

Southwestern took a solid eighth place in the first race of the day but wind gusts proved difficult, causing both A and B Divisions to flip during the following races. Despite such setbacks and skilled competition, the sailors managed to climb their way back up through the fleet to earn three eighth-place finishes, two seventh-place finishes and two sixth-place finishes with fifth place being their highest finish of the day. Freshman skipper Brooks Turcotte ended up with the low point score for Southwestern at the regatta. This was his first time sailing at MASSA Gold.

Southwestern Sailing Team hosted the Chautauqua Lake Fall Invite on Oct. 14.

With clear skies and a very stiff breeze, racing was abandoned the second day of the event due to gale warnings that extended throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Southwestern ultimately finished 10th place out of 18 teams, with 110 points in A Division and 89 points in B Division, for a final total of 199 points.

Southwestern has qualified for the MASSA Gold Championship every season, both spring and fall, since the team began in fall 2015.

“This is our big regatta of the racing season,” Farris said. “It isn’t very often that we are able to sail against most of these teams from out of state, just twice a year, but these teams we will continue to see again and again at such high level regattas and into college sailing as well. These sailors are some of the best in the country. This is where we set our sights when training throughout the season.”

“I’m proud of what our team accomplished but we also have several good points to improve upon before we face this competition again in the spring,” Farris added.

The Southwestern Sailing Team is now looking to switch gears and compete in the MASSA Keelboat Championships to be held on Dec. 8-9 at St. Pete Yacht Club in Florida.

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE FALL INVITE

The Chautauqua Lake Fall Invite was held on Oct. 14, at Lakewood Beach where 12 local and state high school teams competed in Z420s on a beautiful autumn day.

The morning started with light chilly winds coming in from the south but filled in nicely and shifted to the west as the day went on. The sun kept everyone in attendance in good spirits and warm as they watched and cheered from the shoreline. Sailing for Southwestern Team in A Division was Cameron Turner with Cole Carlson, and Will Turner with Patrick Kelly sailing in B Division.

Six sets were sailed for a total of 12 races during the regatta, with Southwestern Team holding a strong lead throughout the day. Southwestern took nine first-place races along with two second-place races and one third place for the winning low point total of 16 for the regatta. They placed first overall, with Nichols School taking second overall with a point total of 45 and Pittsford High School placing third overall with a total of 51 points.

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