Fishwagons Race in O'Day Qualifier

Last Sunday, the Fishwagons traveled to Portland, Maine to compete in the O’Day Qualifier (or as it is called colloquially: ‘New Englands’). Eight teams raced each other in a total of sixteen races with the top three teams moving on.  Sadly, Marblehead did not move on and will not compete for the O’Day trophy, but the team had a great day, finishing in fifth, four points ahead of St. John's Prep.

It was a great day of racing with nice, sunny weather and somewhat steady breeze. The wind was shifty for most of the day, with boats having to adjust course and settings in the middle of a race to accommodate wind shifts, however it was a good experience for the team. Since Marblehead harbor does not experience many sudden changes in wind direction, Portland offered a good experience for the team: The ability to race with shifty winds, against fine teams and against a current coming from Casco Bay.  With the shifty winds, and the wind speed dropping during the day, everyone sailed. To start we had Peter Lynn (skipper) and Alan McKinnon (crew0 in A Fleet. After the first set Alan was replaced by Lily Roberts (crew) for the rest of the day. B Fleet started out with Camille Homa (skipper) and Will Hundahl (crew). Then Will was replaced by Alex Kerai (crew) for the next set and after that Will went in as a skipper with Emily Ivers (crew) for one set and then with Emily Mills (crew) for the final set of the day.

The team fared well over the course of the day.  Every time there was a stumble during a race, they quickly picked themselves back up for the next race. Each fleet sailed a set of two races and each fleet did very well throughout the day. There were some great races by Peter Lynn  who, with Alan McKinnon got a fourth and first, and then with Lily Roberts got two thirds and a fourth, among others.  Camille Homa and Alex Kerai did well together placing fifth in one of their races while Will Hundahl and Emily Ivers repeated that placing just two races later.

It was a great day of sailing with the Fishwagons doing well at the qualifiers and coming in fifth beating St. John's Prep.  This past Monday the team traveled to Swampscott to team race them and on Tuesday St. John’s Prep came to Pleon and team raced the Fishwagons. Both results will be in next week’s recap. Until then you can grab your shades this afternoon and come watch the Fishwagons from any spot in the harbor!