Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories
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Ashley Highland at the 2022 C420 Midwinter Championship
Thank you so much for supporting us at the 2022 C420 Midwinter Championship in Jensen Beach, Florida! It was Ryan and I’s first Midwinters and second regatta sailing together, and we ended up finishing in 4th out of 118 boats. It was a great experience for us to learn from the varying conditions and great coaches.
We flew to Jensen Beach three nights before the regatta started, giving us two full days of practice leading up to the event. We spent most of the first practice day fixing up our boat, as we experienced some issues, but it was ready to go by the end of the day. The first practice day was pretty windy, and it gave us good practice in the breeze, something that we did not get much of at home. The second practice day was light, a stark contrast from the day before.
The first day of racing, we started off strong, getting first in the first race. The day started off light, but suddenly after the first race it started blowing 15 plus knots and raining. We got off one more race in the rough conditions, and Ryan and I finished in 5th. Because of the rain and heavy wind, the race committee sent us in after only two races. The second day we kept up the good work, and stayed consistent, finishing in 10, 1, 4, and 3 in the four races. Our results from the first two days set us up in the Gold Fleet for the third and final day of racing. The last day we experienced rough starts, but were able to gain throughout the upwind and downwind legs of the races. We were extremely consistent, minus our throwout, finishing in 9, 9, 9, and 23. Overall we had a great time sailing, and we learned so much about adapting to different conditions. Thank you so much for your support!