The 2019 Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s series of National Championships began today in Newport, R.I. on Newport Harbor. The Sperry College Sailing Women’s Semifinal Championship hosted by Brown University with the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) also supported by the University of Rhode Island. The semifinals are the precursor and qualifying event for the Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship Finals, which will begin Thursday, May 23 at 10 a.m.
The semifinals are divided into two fleets, an Eastern and Western semifinal, each with 18 teams from across the nation. The top nine teams from each fleet will advance to the finals on Thursday. The competitors are racing on windward-leeward courses with four legs.
Today racing was in nice sunny conditions with cool winds from the west/northwest averaging around 10-20 knots through out the day. Sailors had to navigate a short difficult chop and an outgoing tide most of the day. The Western fleet sailed in Z420s and the Eastern fleet sailed in FJs.