Getting back into the swing of things, GW Sailing headed to their second regatta of the season at Hampton, VA this weekend. The Edward Teach Memorial, named after the notorious pirate Black Beard, brought out the best in our young group of buccaneers even as they braved squalls and rainy seas. Saturday morning brought delicious bagels, bad weather, and directional challenges, but our young sailors arrived on the scene with determination in their eyes.  

In A Division, Colin McFaul ’15 (KiKi the Deck Monkey by night) made his college sailing debut with strong finishes all morning. His crew, Sarah McCormick ’14, adjusted to the shifty conditions and kept an impressively positive attitude through the wind and rain. In B-Division, Co-Captains Kaitlin Denney ’14 and Sonya Ropek ’14 decided to switch things up. Kaitlin, normally a crew, skippered the boat in a relative state of chaos and shambles. Tillers were flying, feet were flailing, the occasionally need for a roll tack put Kaitlin’s “butt slide boom limbo” style of crossing the boat on display. Things began to come together towards the end of the day, however, and the team demonstrated several mid-fleet finishes in the afternoon.

After the day was called off early due to weather and rotation mix-ups the team headed to the apartment of alumni and self-appointed “Team Spiritual Director” Jack Bell. The bonding commenced over Pixar movies and Mexican, followed by a late evening soirée at the ODU sailing house. When the number of Colins (and KiKis) in the room got to be overwhelming, the team returned home for some much needed rest.

The next morning, Colin sailed A-Division with crew Meagan Murphy ’15 amid rotation difficulties and confusions. Spiritual-Director-turned-On-The-Water-Coach Jack Bell offered his advice from the Hampton coach boat (Special thanks to Jack for all his support and hospitality!). In B-Division, Kaitlin and Sonya continued to improve, placing 2nd in their second race of the day. GW finished 6th overall and is looking forward to continuing practicing on Potomac this season.

-Kaitlin Denney ’14

Full Results Here:

http://scores.collegesailing.info/f11/edward-teach-memorial-hampton/