By Ginny Worcester, SAIL BLACK ROCK Racing Coach
Seven collegiate teams – Tufts, URI, Coast Guard, Fairfield University, Sacred Heart University, Salve Regina and Wesleyan – competed in the inaugural Sacred Heart Invitational, hosted by SAIL BLACK ROCK and Captains Cove Seaport in Black Rock, CT on September 20 & 21, 2014.
This fleet racing regatta was sailed in SAIL BLACK ROCK’s Flying Juniors. Each team comprised four to six coed sailors, sailing A and B division, with substitutes on hand. Saturday brought strong southerly winds from 10-15 knots with 3- to 5-foot swells making for very fast and exciting racing conditions for all the competitors. Fortunately, both the weather and water temperature were unseasonably warm.
Both A and B divisions raced simultaneously off the shores of Black Rock. The Race Committee, consisting of regatta organizer and SHU coach Dave White and PRO and SAIL BLACK ROCK Race Coach Ginny Worcester, were able to run 16 races on Saturday, eight for each division. Sunday brought increased warmth and humidity, with light winds ranging from 4 to 6 knots. Five races were sailed for each division, before having to abandon due to lack of wind, almost completing a full round robin.
Parents and other spectators enjoyed watching the racing from Bruce Williams’ Destroyer launch Chief. In the end, Salve Regina took third with 67 points, Coast Guard Academy finished second with 62 points and University of Rhode Island won with 51 points. All competitors were given a tote bag from vineyard vines with goodies inside and the winning teams were awarded bronze, silver and gold rope bracelets.
This was the first time SAIL BLACK ROCK hosted an intercollegiate event and it was a huge success. The Sacred Heart Invitational will now become an annual event on the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association calendar. Intercollegiate racing began at Pequot Yacht Club in nearby Southport, CT in 1928, noted White in his opening speech, adding, “It was nice to bring it back home!”
This fleet racing regatta was sailed in SAIL BLACK ROCK’s Flying Juniors. Each team comprised four to six coed sailors, sailing A and B division, with substitutes on hand. Saturday brought strong southerly winds from 10-15 knots with 3- to 5-foot swells making for very fast and exciting racing conditions for all the competitors. Fortunately, both the weather and water temperature were unseasonably warm.
Both A and B divisions raced simultaneously off the shores of Black Rock. The Race Committee, consisting of regatta organizer and SHU coach Dave White and PRO and SAIL BLACK ROCK Race Coach Ginny Worcester, were able to run 16 races on Saturday, eight for each division. Sunday brought increased warmth and humidity, with light winds ranging from 4 to 6 knots. Five races were sailed for each division, before having to abandon due to lack of wind, almost completing a full round robin.
Participants in the First Annual Sacred Heart Invitational pause for a photo in front of SAIL BLACK ROCK headquarters at Captain’s Cove Seaport. (The Tufts team was not present for this photo.) © Maureen Reilly
Parents and other spectators enjoyed watching the racing from Bruce Williams’ Destroyer launch Chief. In the end, Salve Regina took third with 67 points, Coast Guard Academy finished second with 62 points and University of Rhode Island won with 51 points. All competitors were given a tote bag from vineyard vines with goodies inside and the winning teams were awarded bronze, silver and gold rope bracelets.
This was the first time SAIL BLACK ROCK hosted an intercollegiate event and it was a huge success. The Sacred Heart Invitational will now become an annual event on the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association calendar. Intercollegiate racing began at Pequot Yacht Club in nearby Southport, CT in 1928, noted White in his opening speech, adding, “It was nice to bring it back home!”
