| regatta report - Sloops Qualifiers 2005
September 24-25, 2005 A nine-hour drive to Detroit for the MCSA's annual Sloop Qualifiers - held in the Detroit Yacht Club's fleet of Flying Scots - did not stop a team of 4 Wisco sailors from getting excited for a chance to qualify for Sloop Nationals, to be held at Gull Lake Yacht Club in Michigan in Lightnings. With help from the Lake Monona Sailing Club, Rob Pickens, Matt Schmidt, Scott Eisenhardt and Tristan Sather were able to get some early training on Flying Scots before leaving Madison, helping them to prepare for sailing the unique boats in Detroit. On arrival to DYC, conditions were ideal. Wind was blowing with the direction of the strong (4-5 knot) current, meaning windward beats would be slowed by the rushing water while downwind spinnaker runs would be particularly quick. It was a tactical day and gains were made on both sides of the course. Wisconsin struggled early with the current and with battling against sailors who were used to the conditions and the craft, before pulling it together to nail a bullet in the third race and finish a long first day of W/L 2s (seven races total) in a tie for 5th place. Sunday, conditions flipped completely, with light winds prevailing from the opposite direction, meaning windward beats being pulled along with the current and difficult, slow spinnaker runs into it. Ultimately shorter races led to the Race Committee deciding to increase times around, maxing out at grueling W/L 5s by the end of the day. Wisconsin had flashes of brilliance, but ultimately could not move up the board to a qualifying position, finishing 6th overall. Congratulations to qualifying teams University of Minnesota and University of Indiana, and good luck to them as representatives of the MCSA at Nationals. Thanks go out to Lake Monona Sailing Club for their incredible willingness to assist in preparing Wisco sailors for the event.
A division = 12 Races
TOT
6. Univ. of Wisconsin 70 Scott Eisenhardt
Rob Pickens Matt Scmidt, Tristan Sather
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
6
Univ. of Wisconsin 8 9 1 6 4 5 4 6 4 BYE 7 10
Badgers 17 18 24 28 33 37 43 47 53 60 70
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