Regatta First Timer

So I got the privilege to take part in being crew for North Idaho College's boat "Study Aboard" in the Spud Cup regatta this past weekend in Sandpoint. The crew consisted of myself, David Witt, Paul Chivvis, and our skipper Jon Totten. To say the least it was a huge learning experience for me! The first day was hectic for sure not only had I over done it more than a bit the night before but we didn't have much practice as a team together on the boat. This made things like flying the spinnaker crazy! The winds were fairly strong the first morning which made it quite fun other than the occasional leaning over the side to hurl and feeling like I was going to die. I feel like I rallied well and pulled my weight. After the races there was food and good times provided by the organizing group for the race, not sure who was putting it on? But they sure did a great job. I was fun for me to chat with a lot of seasoned sailors and racers that have been around for a while. I got a lot of good information about sailing in Mexico and good tips for cruising in general. The second day of racing we got up early and got out on the water for an hour of practice before the rest of the fleet. This was more than valuable for us as a team. By the time of our first race on the second day our crew was working like a well oiled machine. It was fun to have things going so well and everyone knowing almost exactly what we were doing and when to do it. Jon did incredibly well at dictating what he wanted us to do and exactly when to do it. Unfortunately the winds were not what they were the morning before and made the second days races a bit of a grind. Even though we didn't do incredibly well in our class it was fun for us to duke it out with a few boats in our class every race. I think we all learned a lot and I think we plan to come back next year with more practice and hope to be far more competitive. After returning last night Kevin and Phil came over and helped out on the boat for a bit. Well Phil just kinda talked on the phone and hung out but it was good to have him there. I think that the boat has definitely helped lite a fire of sailing in him. Kevin and I worked on finishing up bolting down the starboard toe rail, which let me tell you is no easy task...Holy cow! I think that may be about all for now...but as always I wish you all the best. Have a great day!

-Jesse