admin Sep/ 26/ 2015 | 0

LP Collegiate Cup 100% success!

Let me tell you a short story. First the scene, the end of the second of three days of racing:

Yale is in 2nd. Yale is one of THE teams in sailing. We are 9 points ahead with 4 races to go. We’re excited but we’re up against Yale and Yale is GOOD.

During the evening of the second to last day Addy’s dad texted her saying “By the way, I think the prize for first place is a trip to Italy” This is an exciting proposition but we are certain that he must be mistaken. Certainly if the prize for first place was a trip to Italy we would would have heard earlier and it would have publicized! In summary we didn’t believe him.

However to finish our excellent week on a strong showing (and on the off chance that Italy could be in our sights) Addy, Sydney and I on the bus make a pact to “Try to win this thing!” We’re going to sail the three of us and push through strong to the end of the regatta. At this point we think we are in 2nd but only slightly behind Yale. We find out in the morning that we are ahead of Yale but with only a 9 point margin and four races to go. Not much of a buffer!
We’re going to have to stay strong & super focused. Only four races! We got this!

The fleet races this regatta were of an unconventional format. A & B are racing together in one fleet with team scores summing. There is a constant aspect of adding points, calculating your two-boat combined team score. Sailing “dialed in” meant we were constantly weighing the advantages of going the same way as our teammate or splitting sides to cover both sides of the course. Constantly aware of where the Yale boats were and what places they were in. The only goal of a close regatta is to finish with less points than your opponent. For example, a 6th place finish with Yale in 8th would be a great race. We only needed to stay ahead of Yale!

Racing was very very close. The first race Yale closed the gap between our scores by a point, the next race we gained it back but one race could change everything. A bad start, a bad windward beat, hitting a mark, any of these and Yale would pass us.

The last race was a photo finish. Yale 1 finished 3rd, Sydney and I on their tail in 4th followed by a pack of six boats bearing down on the finish line. In this pack were Addy & Yale 2. If Yale 2 finished in front of Addy with more than three boats in-between we would loose the regatta by a point. Sydney and I held our breaths….

Addy finished one boat behind Yale. Sydney and I looked at each-other with excitement in our eyes. Did we have the win? We were too excited to jinx the possibility we’d miss-calculated. Yale 1 said I think you guys got it! My excitement built but we still weren’t certain. We slowly sailed towards the dock in a mix of excitement and uncertainty. Anna Tunnaclif motored up to us and said “Nice job ladies”. We had done it! USA Women for the WIN!

Addy, Sydney and I this time next year will be on our way to the LaserPerformance College Cup Year 2 in Lake Garda ITALY, all expenses paid. (See below the letter that confirmed the wisperings!)

Never have I ever been the subject of so much paparazzi. (LP photographers we love you 😉 )

Thank you LP for a fabulous experience! We’re excited for next year!