RALEIGH, N.C., April 14, 2019 - NC State wins the 2019 SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate Regatta in one of the closest finishes of the season. Eighteen teams from as far away as Pennsylvania and Florida competed in this year's event, a two-conference regatta between the South-Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic. Marking the 5th year of the competition, this year's regatta was the closest contested yet.
Regatta Weekend Recap: With an opening ceremony on Saturday morning including a welcome from the Mayor of Oriental and breakfast provided by the three dinghy clubs of Oriental, the Oriental Dinghy Club, the Sailing Club of Oriental, and the Neuse Sailing Association, the 2019 SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate Regatta was underway.
This year’s regatta once again delivered on outstanding sailing, excellent conditions, great fun, and unrivaled hospitality. As college sailors descended on the Sailing Capital of North Carolina, the town welcomed them with signs and open arms. Together with the Oriental In-Water Boat Show, it was a very busy weekend at the mouth of the Neuse River.
In lighter morning conditions, Jacksonville University and Clemson University set the pace for the first rotation. As the wind built later in the morning through midday, the home team NC State Wolfpack started to surge into the podium mix with a string of bullets in A and B-divisions, overtaking Clemson for the regatta lead by the start of the third rotation with JU in lock-step. As the afternoon continued, the wind died, and storms began to roll in across the Pamlico Sound. Just after 1630, the RC sent sailors back to shore for the day after completing race 4B and Jacksonville holding onto a 1-point lead overall.
Sunday morning offered a more relaxed shoreside as sailors filed into Bow to Stern Boating Center after a Saturday evening of hospitality in Oriental including a BBQ and live band, as well as a celebration bonfire. Breakfast was once again provided by ODC, SCOO, and the NSA and very few if any food remained by launch time. As sailor, coaches, and spectators lined the shoreline at the historic Stallings House and Lou Mac Park on South Avenue for the start of Sunday racing, a southerly breeze began to build. With hints of whitecaps showing, Jacksonville and NC State continued to battle it out for the lead in A-Division, while the Captains of Christopher Newport University began their own ascent in B-Division leaving four teams within 5 points of the division win going into the final rotation.
In the final rotation, NC State’s A-Division continued to chip away at Jacksonville’s division lead finishing up the three-race set with two bullets. Despite the effort the Wolfpack wrapped up A-division just two points shy of Jacksonville, leaving the regatta podium to be determined in the final B-division rotation.
This would prove to be one of the closest and more exciting regatta finishes in recent memory. With Clemson, CNU, and Jacksonville in close range, NC State’s B-division squad had to not only protect their lead in the division but also make up ground overall in very close racing. In the first race of the final set, NC State’s boat – then leading the race – capsized unexpectedly only a few boat-lengths from the finish allowing several boats to pass and leading to panic on shore for Pack fans. As Jacksonville approached, the carnage, the sailors righted the FJ and NC State finished only seconds ahead of the Fins in pursuit. In the final race of the day, Jacksonville’s B-division made an emphatic statement with a bullet, but they needed NC State to finish worse than 4th to leapfrog the hosts for the win. In the end, NC State finished in 3rd and secured the overall regatta win, their first win at home at the SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate. Jacksonville finished the regatta in second with Clemson rounding out the podium in third.
Many thanks to the hard-working race committee, mark boats, and regatta organizers, especially our friends at Bow to Stern Boating Center. Thanks to the organizers of the Oriental Boat Show for their generosity providing each sailor with free passes to the boat show, and helping regatta organizers with this year’s event. Thanks to the volunteers in Oriental, generous housing hosts, and members of the NC State team who put in lots of hours to make this event possible. Lastly thanks to all of the teams who came to sail with us and enjoy the great hospitality of Oriental and Pamlico County, North Carolina.
Photos can be found in the SAISA Media Folder (http://bit.ly/SAISA_media). Don’t forget to include an attribution if using photos! There’s even a great story up on TownDock about the regatta: https://towndock.net/news/2019-sailpack-regatta.
