The University of Virginia Pre-Season Scrimmage
The university of Virginia now has six FJs that are in very good shape, a new location and a new dedicated faculty advisor, Patrick Garcia. With all these advancements, the team felt it was ready to host an event and, with a financial boost from the ICSA, they hosted their first event on September 5 & 6. The date was picked because the schedule was clear this early in the season. William & Mary and Christopher Newport both sent eight people and this allowed the event to be run with two teams from each of the three schools. For all it was a great way to give new and returning sailors a head start on the season.
Best of all, the event let us know that Lake Anna will be a terrific location in the future for regattas in the southern part of MAISA. The facilities are great and the water is fresh and clean. This may be one of the few venues where sailors can also go swimming without fear of contracting some disease or encountering a floating body! And, tides? What are tides? Further, UVA seems to have a great relationship with their hosts, the Lake Anna Yacht Club and even the local community is in support.
This first event also pointed out the two draw backs – lots and lots of power boats and their wakes (This was Labor Day weekend after all!) and the light airs that are so common inland and during the summer. However, these problems will both be largely solved with the scheduling of next year’s UVA event on the Weekend #7 when most of the powerboats are gone for the year and the winds are much better.
Sailing for CNU were Tyler Myers, Sarah-Daye Hand, Taylor Gray and Kate Doyle as the “Captains.” Maxwell Plarr, Meghan Magee, Taylor Morgan and Amy Craven sailed as the “CNU” team. In spite of the fact that we had three people sailing in their first event, four entering their second semester of sailing and one with just two years behind him, the “Captains” won the event with the “CNU” team second. This was a good showing and great developmental experience for all.
Apart from the sailing, the event featured the usual camaraderie that has become typical of sailing in the southern part of MAISA. The teams traveled to Charlottesville for an evening together with some of the sailors attending the William & Mary and Virginia football game. Needless to say, the W&M team was much happier on the Sunday than were the UVA team.
IMAGE: Kate, Taylor Gray, Taylor Morgan & Amy Craven
This event should mark the first of many popular events for the UVA team and you can be sure that CNU will put the event on its high priority list. Our sincerest thanks got to the many UVA team members who worked hard to make this a great event. In this effort, they were quite successful.