UC Irvine Club Sailing Team

The lady anteaters packed their foulies, beanies, and fleece jackets to head to Cascade Locks, Or to sail in the Women’s Semi-final championship. They arrived early Sunday morning and met up with UCI alumni Eric and Juliana Knopf, who drove all the way up in their RV-van to help coach the women’s and team race teams this week. Eric drove the team around to check out the sailing center and into the town of Hood to do some touristy things, include visiting the Full Sail Brewery. Sailing commenced Monday morning, with dark gloomy clouds in the sky and puffs forming on the water. The girls, one of the only teams not dressed in “team dry-suits” held their own in the windy and cold gorge conditions. In A fleet, Ashley and Martha proved to hold their own, having a few top 5 mark roundings and a 5th place finish. After being on the water for an hour while race committee set the course, they were able to figure out the ripping current lines and use them to their advantage on the course. Kate and Blair also continued to learn throughout the day and finished the day with a solid 10, 12 set. The wind reached a high of 24 knots and the water temperature around 40O. Between sets, the freezing ladies were able to warm up in the heat of the Knopf’s RV as well as make hot chocolate and Cup of Noodles to prepare for the next set. At the end of day 1, the ladies were tied for 12th with the Naval Academy.

Day 2 begun earlier than most other college regattas, with the first start at 9:00am. The current remained the same, but the wind was significantly lighter than the previous conditions. Both divisions were only able to get one set off before semi-finals ended to prepare for nationals. Highlights from day two include Ashley and Martha rounding the top mark in 1st place in the first race and finishing the race in 2nd.  The key really was to read to current and pick the right side of the course, as well as secure a clear lane downwind while fighting the current.  The ladies were able to hold their 12th position at the conclusion of the Semi-finals, putting more points between them and Navy.

The ladies were also able to debut the teams brand new pennies! The anteaters no long don the "Wa Mu" logo or the sun stains on the old pennies.  From recent alumni and supporter donations, we were able to purchase a whole new set of pennies, designed by our very own Martha Davis and Kate Andersen!

Coming in as a late berth for semi-finals, the lady anteaters proved to be a competitive force. Having many top of the fleet finishes, the ladies were very proud of their strong finishes and the tough conditions allowed them all to continue to learn with each race. A HUGE thank you to Juliana and Eric Knopf for all their help these past two days! The Lady anteaters definitely would not of been able to be as successful as they were without their help. As well as a shout out to Danielle Richards who is enduring the cold Oregon weather for two weeks as an ICSA rep. Tonight, the rest of the boys flew up to Oregon to meet the ladies for team race nationals, starting tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for more updates and check out the photos below!

And check out Ashley and Martha's interview on Sailgroove.com !!

http://www.sailgroove.org/coverage/238795-Sperry-Topsider-Womens-National-Championship-College-Sailing-Nationals/video/492110-UCIs-Ashley-Hobson-and-Martha-Davis