Long day today at SSA, but the day was a good learning experience for the Severn School Sailing Team. This regatta almost never happened; we were within 2 minutes of cancelling the event, when the breeze finally came in from the N-NE at 4-7 knots. We were able to sneak in a full round robin and a final four. We were tied for the lead going into the final four, and the final results overall are below.
Being the first event of the season, most teams were rusty, and a few were missing key players, most notably Key School (word-play noted). Our team was missing our top 3 crews, but we were more than elated with the crew work of Aidan Morgan, Parker Bass, and our freshman standout, Marcus Adam. These guys did a great job on short notice, buoyed by some practice this week in that role.
We were blessed with good speed, especially from Connor Bayless/Aidan, and Steph/Parker. Stephan/Marcus did a really great job working hard over the course, and team racing where and when necessary, always thinking out there.
Our team was best at the end of the day, which was one of the best things to come out of this event. This is where both mental and physical conditioning shows. Do not ever underestimate the importance of being in shape all day, and you only can be that way if you are physically fit, and mentally tough.
There were some great moves out there today; too many to recount here and now.
We also made mistakes:

• Final beat coverage when winning. Don’t hesitate to win (fleet race in a 1-2 more). We hadn’t yet practiced final beat coverage, and it showed.
• when playing a team that likes to yell and foul, speed is your friend.
• Make the simple move when winning downwind. Do not engage or risk a play, or foul, when we have a winning combo.
• Know when you are over early. At least once we were late re-starting.
• Simplify first beats when winning. Fleet race, fleet race. Don’t do too much.

We missed having Coach Ian Duncan there today. He is, as always, a great hand and a great help. He is a flawless umpire, and would have done better than me out there. We missed two important calls in our loss; one was missed by my colleague in the RIB, and we both missed the call at the finish. However, that more than likely will happen again, and more than ever before I admired our team’s ability to shake off the loss and continue to climb the mountain.
Thanks as always to the parents who came and supported the team, and of course our players who came to watch and do the same:  Caroline Bayless, Peter Jensen, and Austin Smith.

For full Tech Score Results go here