Although it was week two of the conference season with points events in both divisions underway, the spotlight for this week's SAISA Sailors of the Week is on Miami where the U hosted both Men's and Women's SAISA Singlehanded Conference Championships, qualifier for the 2019 ICSA LaserPerformance Singlehanded National Championships held later this year. The week leading up to the event saw forecasts all over the place, but when the men took to the water on Saturday it was pretty glassy and racing was abandoned until the afternoon. When the wind did show up, it really showed up and the College of Charleston's Steven Leuck was there for it. Leuck last competed in SAISA Singlehanded in the fall of 2016 finishing 5th in that contest behind a slate of fellow Cougars that year. In his return Leuck took the lead from the first race, put distance between himself and the field early, and held on until the end for the regatta win despite a late charge from host Miami's Marshall McCann. Conditions were definitely a factor in the outcome of this regatta and Leuck adapted well to the building breeze to win a tough event in a very talented field. Congratulations to Leuck on earning this week's SAISA co-ed Sailor of the Week. He will be joined by Miami's McCann, and Charleston's Benn Smith to represent SAISA at singlehanded nationals.
The ICSA sailors defeated the visiting British sailors 2-1 in the 2019 Lord King Match Race. The racing took place out of the US Naval Academy on Tuesday September 17 in two of the Academy's Navy 44s.
As a courtesy to the visiting sailors, BUSA was given the option to choose either: Starboard entry for race one (and race three if necessary), or pick which of the Navy 44s to race in. Seeing as the fleet of 44s are all equal, the savvy Brits chose starboard entry.
Sunny skies welcomed sailors to the Eckerd College waterfront to kick off the Fall 2019 college sailing season this past weekend with the SAISA Women's Open and the SAISA Coed Open regattas. Both events were competitive and as conditions changed over the course of the weekend, several sailors delivered outstanding performances.
Leading off the weekend with a bullet in the first race, SAISA Women's Sailor of the Week, USF Bulls' sophomore crew Carolina Perez-Rovira guided skipper Marina Barzaghi and her team to a regatta victory and the low score on the day in a competitive combined fleet. Shifty conditions put crews across the fleet to the test and Rovira was up to the task. At the conclusion of the Women's Open, Rovira joined her teammates already racing in the Coed Open where she made an immediate impact on the USF scoreline in the very competitive A fleet. The Bulls and Rovira made a strong push on day two of the coed regatta earning the final podium spot in 3rd, as well as qualifying for the ICSA Coed Showcase Semi-finals held later this season.
*** Toland and Sheridan are NEISA Women’s Sailors of the Week ***
*** Giblin and Clarke are NEISA Coed Sailors of the Week ***
SEISA Racing Schedule
