This year's Santa Barbara Open regatta was one the Triton team will be sure to remember. This event is one they go big on every year, this time being no exception; UCSD took over 35 sailors! Another unique aspect of this regatta is that the team camps at Lake Cachuma; or at least, they tried to.

It rained nonstop from the time they got there until they left. This was the heaviest rain Santa Barbara has seen in over 100 years. Tents flooded, gear got soaked, clothes got wet - it seemed like the Tritons would never be dry again. But the racing on Saturday proved to be fun, at least for the first rotation. After a short on-shore postponement due to light wind, A rotation got out on the water and ran two good races. B rotation got out there and was met with some great wind as well. However, that was the last of the good wind for the rest of the weekend.

JV A rotation was stuck out on the water for an hour and a half before there was enough wind to run a race; and even then, it was such light wind that at points, it almost looked like the racers were sitting still in the water. Conditions stayed that way until race committee called it a day around 3:30pm in the afternoon. It was about this time that the rain went from heavy to extra heavy, pelting the sailors as they slowly drifted back into the harbor.

Unfortunately, conditions did not get better Sunday, as the wind stayed incredibly light all day. The frustration was evident in every racer; this was not a regatta where the Tritons got to show off their skills. The team was pretty disappointed in how they did, but considering how many strange factors were at play, they've decided to put the event behind them and start preparing for their more intense racing season during winter quarter!