Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories
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Sophia Mulvania Summer C420 Tour
C420 North American Championship
I wanted to thank NHSF for making it possible for me to spend my summer on the east coast. I spent time from June-August participating in Brooke Gonzalez, New Englands, North Americans, Nationals, CJ Buckley.
The summer started with Brooke Gonzalez Clinic in Rhode Island. This clinic was a great opportunity for my skipper, Reade Decker, and I to improve on our boat speed and boat handling before attending regattas. This clinic was extremely beneficial as we were able to train against sailors from all over the country, and work with many top level coaches.
From there we travelled to Connecticut to race in the New Englands Championship. This was a light air regatta that relied heavily on boat speed. Being from Newport Beach this was perfect conditions for my skipper and me. We were doing well up until the last 2 races where we chose the wrong side of the course and ended up placing 15th overall.
North Americans was the longest regatta of the summer with it being 4 days long. This took place in Rochester, New York. We had good wind conditions the entire regatta and were able to average about 4 races a day. Starting was very important for this regatta which was something our boat struggled with. This regatta served as the perfect opportunity for us to improve our starts in large fleets.
Next we were off to New Jersey for Nationals. Unfortunately, the conditions weren’t great for this regatta, and we were only able to get 4 races in. The second day of the regatta we were postponed due to no wind. Once the wind finally filled in the race committee was quick to try and get a race off. Unfortunately the race was abandoned mid race due to lighting. The third day was very light and we spent about 4 hours postponed. We were only able to get one race off all day which unfortunately ended the regatta without a drop.
After New Jersey we spent 4 hours in the car driving to Rhode Island for CJ Buckley. This event was the highlight of my summer as it was the most competitive and exciting event. Our team only had 2 days of practice before the event but they were very productive. Once we arrived at the venue we were unsure of where our team would stand and were eager to begin racing. We ended up making it to the final four with only one loss. Once we were in the final four we had to do best of 3 with the 4th place team to see who would make it to the finals. We ended up losing our first race but then were able to come back to win the 2nd and 3rd races. In the finals the wind was dying during best of 5. We lost our first race and won the second. By the time we made it to the third race, the wind had shifted 90 degrees and died significantly. The race committee made the decision to then change the finals to best of 3. The last race we were a little unlucky as the wind filled from the right while our team was trying to make it to a puff on the left. We ended up getting 2nd overall, but it was a ton of fun and an amazing experience.
Thank you so much for making this summer possible. It was an amazing opportunity and I learned a lot and had a ton of fun! I couldn’t have done it without NHSF, I am looking forward to continuing sailing with all my experiences from this summer.