Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories

Dylan Sih at the 2023 South Shores Regatta

Results

Thank you so much for your continued support of my sailing, which has allowed me to travel to Sayville YC in Blue Point, NY to compete in the 2023 South Shores Championship. After three days of racing, we ended up placing 13th out of 88 teams, and although we were aiming for better, we still had many high points throughout the event and were able to enjoy our time on and off the water.

We started off the first day safe but consistent, with all single digit scores for the first four races of the regatta. Furthermore, the wind had steadily built throughout the day, so by the last race, we had some super fun conditions which allowed us to fully plane around the whole course! My crew, Dillon Garcia, and I even switched spots on the sail in just for fun, and I happened to go flying around the front of the boat as we pitch-poled and flipped…

Unfortunately, I came down with a pretty bad flu after the first day, so I wasn’t in ideal condition for racing on the second day. Nonetheless, we were still able to stay in it, and although we ended up having one deep race, we were able to discard it and still be in the hunt as all of our other scores from the day were still single digits.

On the last day, my flu wasn’t getting any better, but we were ready to race. Although we started off the day with a tough race, we pulled ourselves together and followed it up with another solid single digit. Unfortunately, in an attempt for a much needed top three finish, we tried to win the pin, but were unable to get off well, and had to catch back up the rest of the race.

Although results wise we fell short of our expectations, it was gratifying in itself to see the drastic improvements we’d made over the summer – especially in regards to the mental side of the sport – come together for this last event. Thanks again for all of your help and I look forward to continuing to sail and race!