Frosh Soph 2024 was yet another beautiful weekend in San Diego hosted by UCSD at Mission Bay Yacht Club. The classic mix of competitive and new sailors were more on fire than ever before, with chaotic moments that always ended with smiles and not a thought of protest. Saturday’s conditions were a very steady 10 knots that grew throughout the day, which also posed the classic motif of the Frosh Soph division: capsizes! Our two Frosh Soph boats finished overall at 6th and 14th out of 22, and our Open Division boat finished 5th. Notably we had a new sailor Carsten participate in the Open Division, where he stayed consistently top five and picked up a 2nd and 3rd place in his last races!

This weekend was especially important to me, as this was my first time as a skipper in a regatta! I had been enjoying the position throughout practices this and last semester, and finally felt my skills were up to speed to pester my Captain and President to give me a shot. My races started on Sunday in the lighter breeze, but the shape of the wind on the courses was similar to the day before with a much more consistent course right. I planned with my crew to tack immediately to catch the better air, then work my way up and stay far right out of the windward mark pinwheel. My crews Ally and Katherine, both new on the team, were fantastic in staying calm, focused, and staying patient in the often tricky winds we were faced with. The regatta has always been a great introduction to collegiate racing for new sailors and new students, and as always we are proud to have provided the opportunity for so many people to get out on the water. And of course, we celebrated this fantastic regatta with a long-standing Cal tradition, running and jumping into the frigid Pacific waters after our day of racing on Saturday. Much love, San Diego!