Day one of Youths saw a steadily increasing sea breeze that began at roughly 1:00 in the afternoon. As we sailed out in hiking conditions, it soon picked up and we were trapezing and nearly overpowered when we arrived to the starting line. The first race blew 13-15 knots, with an epic amount of windswell due to the bay’s incredibly shallow waters. After running four one hour long races in the breeze which increased to 20 knots by the end of the day, we sailed in around 5:00 exhausted and dehydrated from the 94 degrees of heat and high salt content. It was so salty in the water, I kept a water bottle under my hiking strap to spray into my eyes so I could see where I was going. We ended day one with a capsize around the weather mark whilst in second place, and I proceeded to cut my leg open on the centerboard trying to right it. The race committee told me of an increasing number of cases of a virus in the water that I should be incredibly worried about with open wounds, so we dropped out and sailed in early to treat it.
As Day two arrived, we were hungry for a chance to come back and keep the boat upright. We sailed in idyllic 420 conditions, with 15-18 knots the whole day and an even hotter sun, at 98 degrees with intense levels of humidity. We sailed aggressively trying to push to win the favored pin, and it ended up not working out so well. Then on the last race we started by ourselves and kept the boatspeed up, rounding the top mark in second and finishing 8th for our best finish of the regatta. Sailing in was very hopeful for a late comeback in the standings and an ability to sail the way we felt we should be sailing.
Day three was by far the most epic day of the event, and one of the more crazy days of sailing that I have ever had. We started the day out with a steady 15 knots, which increased to the high 20’s, puffs to the low 30’s. With an eight foot deep venue, the standing chop on the racecourse was 4-6 ft., making for the ability to surf waves for nearly a minute at a time. The starting gods were not very kind to us as we had some issues with accelerating as did most of the fleet, but on the last race we were launched off of the pin and by ourselves, rounding the top mark in 5th. We smartly decided against a kite for the top reach as it was too tight to handle, so we jib reached and maintained our position. Then Greer lost her footing as I dove the boat down on one of the biggest waves I’ve ever surfed, and she fell into the boom from trapezing, causing an instant capsize. We came up okay, with me ending up 25 feet from the boat. As we got it upright, the boat rush and rolled to capsize on the other side, with the boom coming around and hitting Greer in the head. After ten minutes of trying to get the mast out of the mud, we were on our way well in last place. Greer didn’t remember the incident that caused her to hit her head so hard, but was incredibly determined to not only finish the race but to make up the 500 yard gap between us and 31st, and not finish last in the race. We got everything together and sailed as hard as we could, and ended up catching that boat. On the way in, I notified the race committee that my crew had hit her head, and she was rushed into see a doctor for fear of a concussion. After some very extensive testing and a very worried skipper waiting at the door just out of sight (she was fuming that I had told anyone) I heard from the judges that she was going to be alright. After a sigh of relief we went home and prepared for the first truly light air day of the event.
The last day only one race was needed to hit the race committee’s number, so we took our time getting out. After sitting around for an hour bobbing up and down on the water, it was time for us to head in, not having raced. For the second year in a row, “this never happens here, I swear” came into effect and we were skunked in one of the windiest and most consistent venues in the country. At the awards ceremony, we were very quiet as we not only didn’t perform to our expectations but we felt we both hadn’t sailed to the best of our ability. Then, our names were announced for the 420 fleet sportsmanship award for teamwork and safety on and off the water, and looking out for each other as if we were family. We felt incredibly honored for this achievement and it is one that we will not forget anytime soon.
I would like to thank the San Diego Yacht Club Competition Fund for helping fund our trip to Corpus, as well as all of my youth regattas over the years. As I cap off what seems to be my last youth event, I am so incredibly grateful for the large amount of support that San Diego Yacht Club has given me over the years. And as I write this from my dorm in Georgetown University, I look at my burgee on my wall and am proud to represent this amazing yacht club around the world.