Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories
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Samantha Hemans at the 2020 I420 Atlantic Coast Championship
I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to travel back East to Connecticut to sail in the 2020 I420 Atlantic Coast Championship at Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT. It was a very good learning experience for me, as it was my first i420 Regatta. I had the pleasure of sailing with Noble Reynoso, who is a two-time club 420 Triple Crown Winner. Noble helped me a lot with getting to know the boat in regatta situations, and he also helped me get more comfortable starting.
I left California Thursday afternoon and arrived in Connecticut Thursday night. This gave us a chance to get accustomed to the time and to have a nice rest before going out the next day. This was our first time sailing our new i420, and it took some time to get all the items sorted. It was an adventure to see how we can make the boat better when going through it Friday afternoon.
Noble and I went sailing after I finished school Friday afternoon just to make sure everything was working properly. It was very light, so Noble blindfolded me while I skippered to help me get a better feel of the boat. The next day was the first day of the regatta. It was still very light, but it wasn't super cold, which was very nice. We had a long postponement because the wind kept changing directions. But once the wind started filling in and it settled on a steady direction, we got off three races. The race was a bit challenging as the wind kept giving headers, puffs, lifts and lulls. Once Noble and I got used to the wind and how it was changing, we got better with our tactics.
Noble and I kept improving throughout the Regatta. On the second day it was still challenging given that the wind kept shifting. But, Noble and I kept making better choices on the water which was shown by our results. I would say that the second day was easier because there was more wind. Noble and I realized that we are better in more wind, but we were still quite fast in the light stuff as well.
Overall, this Regatta really helped me learn a lot more about the boat. I was so happy I got to sail with Noble in my first i420 regatta. Thank you again for your support.