Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories

Michael Sentovich at the 2024 ILCA 6 North Americans

Results

Thank you to the Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation for the support at the 2024 ILCA North Americans at New Bedford Yacht Club on Buzzards Bay. Over 100 boats from all over the country, and a handful of international sailors made up the ILCA 6 fleet. The first day of racing was delayed on shore for a few hours due to rain and thunderstorms. After about four hours of postponement, the racing began. The storm system killed the wind and it was light and variable conditions. After attempting to get a start off, thick fog set in over the racing area and RC called it for the day with no races. The second day was much better conditions. Following, a brief postponement waiting for wind and a few large shifts, racing began. It was a consistent 5-7 kts throughout the day with puffs getting up 10 kts. Day three was a completely different experience, breeze started off at about 12-14 but after a large left shift, it built to well over 20kts. Racing in the big breeze is usually my strong suit but the downwind legs revealed a massive hole in my game that I need to work on. The final day of the event brought rain and unpredictable shifty and variable conditions. The day started out with a breeze of about 14kts but suddenly died to only about 6.

I ended up finishing a little bit outside the top 30 in a fleet of a hundred. I was a bit disappointed with the results given the amazing boat speed and great starts/first-weather legs I set myself up with. Nonetheless, this event was a great learning experience and I was grateful to have the opportunity to sail against such a high level of competition. I felt that I gained good experience in heavy breeze, flat water, and big fleet sailing. Again I would like to thank the Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation, my parents, and coaches for all the support that made this regatta possible for me.