The UC San Diego Sailing Team was thrilled to once again host the opening fleet racing regatta of the season for the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference! It was a sunny weekend out on beautiful Mission Bay and we had ten schools in attendance, from UC Berkeley all the way to Arizona State. The UC San Diego Frosh-Soph regatta is a fun, relaxed competition aimed at introducing new athletes to the sport of sailing, and only sailors in their first or second year of college sailing are eligible. The UC San Diego Open is run side by side with Frosh-Soph for the upperclassmen. Racing started at 11am sharp on Saturday, with a steady 7 knot ocean breeze. Running the two regattas side by side with a total of 31 boats on the same, small race course can be challenging, but thanks to our great race committee volunteers we were able to run 10 races. The wind picked up around midday and everyone was surprised by a moderate breeze seldom seen on the bay. On Sunday the breeze did not match up, and the races were postponed for a short time in the morning. We finished six races and ended early at 2:00 so the teams visiting from far away could make it home at a reasonable hour. Our team finished 14th, 16th, and 21st in Frosh-Soph, and 5th and 8th in the UC San Diego Open. Donated by our volunteer coach Philip Freedman, this year we now have two perpetual trophies for the winners of our regattas. Congrats to USC for taking home first in Frosh-Soph, and to the Berkeley Bears for winning the UC San Diego Open!
Frosh-Soph has special meaning for me personally, as it was my first ever regatta three years ago when I joined the sailing team. I had little previous experience sailing, and no experience racing before coming to college. The team welcomed me along with a wave of other inexperienced Freshmen. After sailing in my first regatta, I knew that sailing was the sport for me. Now, as a Senior and Captain of the team it is my pleasure to help run the event and introduce our new Triton sailors to the team and sport that have both given me so much over my years at UC San Diego. Go Tritons!!
Sam Rohrbach
UC San Diego Sailing
