Day 1:
As the sailors woke up Saturday morning they were greeted with mild temps, slight haze and good breeze. The team regatta format allowed us to split into two teams representing Traverse City. Both TC teams started the regatta in the second round allowing for a chance to sit at the lakeshore and watch the first round sailors duke it out on the course. This team format is rather new for our sailors, so getting a chance to watch helped Coach Pete explain the course and some team racing tactics before they got started for the day. Eventually it came time to suit up and hit the water. Both teams got in their boats and made their way out of Belmont Harbor and took to the big lake. The two TC teams broke down like this. TC1--Eric-Abigail, Andy-Elle & Jack-Sam C TC2--Anna-Sam S, Ben-Jess & Abby-Shannon.
The breeze started out of the west making for flat water and puffy conditions. The fresh puffs seemed to be coming from the right side so defending that side paid off well, also making this an ideal set up for the spectators on shore. Both teams took a race to get acquainted to the team racing format and digital N course. But they soon settled in and excelled. Both teams showed that they are contenders in their district with some impressive team racing tactics.
The round robin format allows for the top two teams from group B to move up to the A group and the bottom two in the A group to move down to the B group. TC 1ended up with an impressive 4-1 record to lead the B division and excelled up to the A group. After a short delay and a quick lunch the sailors headed back out of the harbor and were greeted with an increasing breeze that was now hinting more northerly, bringing in more swells and chop. It was starting to get later in the afternoon so they decided to only have the A group take to the water. The B group is set to start off first thing in the am. TC 1 sailed impressive in the afternoon capping off the afternoon with an impressive win over New Trier to end the day.
The kids are all a little wind burnt, sun burnt and exhausted from all the intense sailing. Despite the red faces and tired bodies, they still had some energy to hang out some other sailors for the evening. The boys are stating with the MacAdam family an the girls are with the Hamilton family, both up in Winnetka and Wilmette. It was a fun filled evening for all as they got to meet some new friends from Minnesota and New Trier. After a little pleading from Coach Pete he was finally able to pry them away from their friends and shuttle them all back to their houses by the 11:00 curfew.
Tomorrow looks to be nice. Lighter winds and Temps in the 60's. Let hope the sailors get some rest and are fresh for the new day.
Day 2:
Day two brought much lighter winds and more sun. The wind today started out if the north east and slowly shifted south. Team two started the day out first and the crowed started to build on the seawall as the day got underway. The challenge today was to try and figure out the waves as they rolled across Lake Michigan and then bounced off the seawall. The teams did well today and TC 2 ended their heat with a strong win as abby managed to pull a sneaky gybe right at the finish to cross the line second behind Anna. Anna sailed a great regatta this weekend. Each race she got more and more comfortable in the boat and lead almost each race at one point, she even hung in to take the gun at the finish of a few races.
We had a nice break in the day and enjoyed a tasty lunch. We ended the day with both teams battling out on the water. The wind now was almost due south and the wave action was only getting worse. The teams started getting used to it and TC1 had an impressive last heat. They won all four of their first races taking the 1 & 2 spot on a couple of them. It came down to the last race of the day and the team truly gave it their all. They came up just short of winning all five but finished the day with an impressive 4-1 record.
Back on shore there were smiles all around despite the tired bodies. As everyone got all packed up it was now time to say good bye to Chicago and make the long trek back home.
All the parents were quite impressed with the progress the team has made and this team regatta is just what they needed to get them acquainted with this different racing format.
Coach Pete could not be prouder of how well each sailor did this weekend. Now that we have this team racing experience under our belt, the competition had better watch out, here comes the TC teams!!!
