The CdM Sailing team has been pounding their practices since the second week of September, in anticipation of their first varsity regatta, Sea Otter, on October 12th and 13th in Monterey, California. The sailors made it to Monterey despite the recent fires, some drove, others took a flight, and some even flew themselves!

Saturday morning, after the team had their breakfast, they walked down to Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club to wash and rig the boats they would be using for Saturday’s races. CdM was only racing in the gold division, with teams split up into set A and set B. After the skippers’ meeting, team strategizing meetings, and a cheer, the sailors were ready to race. Head Coach Adrienne Patterson and assistant coach Christophe Killian reiterated the strategies, “start safe, and safe more aggressively throughout the day.” Throughout the first day of races, there were big shifts in the winds, with two opposing wind directions which made racing extremely challenging, and threw some sailing off their game. The race conditions did not hamper the mood for CdM sailor Sophia Pearce, who said “it was pretty fun spending time with everyone and being able to get out on the water!” Saturday ended with a team debrief back at the hotel. Coaches strategizing and going over the next days’ race plans. The team went out for a much needed relaxing dinner, and rested up for Sunday’s races.

Early Sunday morning, after breakfast the team, headed down to the venue to wash and rig the boats for the second and last day of the regatta, The team members brought to the coaches’ attention that a certain part of one of the boats we were using had been stolen! The coaches sprung into action, and luckily borrowed a replacement part from another coach just in time for the races. The day started with stable winds, but as the day progressed, the winds grew heavier, giving reason for the race committee to shorten their race course. Many boats had capsized, having not been ready for the wind shift. As the races were coming to an end, the winds started dying down, making it virtually impossible to sail in light winds. The race drew to a close with the CdM sailing team snatching 1st, 14th, and 17th place in the Sea Otter regatta. The sailing team did an amazing job having only three weeks to practice together to create a dynamic synergy.