ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Scattered throughout opposite points of the country, the Eckerd College coed unit and 12th-ranked women's sailing program took to the seas over the weekend in California and Rhode Island as the spring season continued.
The Tritons made their presence felt in one of the largest fields at the St. Francis Invitational in San Francisco while EC's nationally-ranked women's unit tested their skill up in Providence.
The coed team took fourth of 27 while the women placed 16th of 18.
Head Coach
Kevin Reali joined the team out on the West Coast while assistant coach
Zack Marks accompanied the women up to the Northeast region.
“We are going to restructure practice for the month of April,” reflected Reali following the weekend performances. “We're hoping that we can peak when we have our last intersectional and get into district championships.”
“In California, we did well in a large field,” he added. “The teams were that beat us were consistent on the starting line and we weren't able to be as strong in that area as we had hoped.”
The Tritons finished the St. Francis Invitational by winning separate races each day. With 27 teams in the water at once, jockeying for position once the race gets underway becomes a complicated task.
Improvement on the starting line has been a rehashed topic by the EC coaching staff this spring and while the concept might seem basic, the dynamics are much more intricate.
“Often times, you can sail out of a tough start,” explained Reali. “It differs with the types of racing. In California, it was a large fleet on a short college course and there was no opportunity to get your stride and pass people because the lanes become closed to you. The boats in front will have options.”
“We had made a lot of starting improvements but kind of regressed over the weekend,” he added.
Up in Rhode Island, Marks reported the weather was comfortable all weekend in the 50's, but with wind coming from the northwest over the land, the current was consistently changing and kept the field on its toes with instant course changes.
The Tritons' women finished 12th at the end of competition on Saturday, but were hovering around eighth before going into the last set of races.
“We were hoping to get better on the last day,” Marks said. “The fleet was very good and if you made one mistake, it costs you big. We can pinpoint our mistakes and improve from here."
Next weekend, the coed program will make another venture to Charleston, S.C., where the Tritons are slated to compete in the SAISA Coed Championships.
