February Regattas
SCOR
February features one of the only keelboat regattas of the season, SCOR in Charleston, South Carolina, and the breeze was ON. Jack Schweda '24 was on the sticks, Cal Lutton '26 on main, Finn Tait '25 and Charlie Herrick '26 were trimming, Ivan Castaner '24 was in the pit, and Gavin Dempsey '26 was on the bow.
The team raced on Das Boot, a Dehler Optima 101 and became better acclimated to the boat with a practice day on Friday before racing all day Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather was foul, with heavy rain, wind, and storms rolling through during both practice and racing time. The team didn't get the results they hoped for, but they ate strombolis, wore their bangers on Sunday, learned a lot, and had a great time.
Huge thank you to Scott Herman and his family for their generous hospitality, great conversation, and willingness to host the team for the weekend. And of course, a special thank you to Jim O'Connor for allowing us to race his boat, and for his confidence in the team to push his boat in heavy conditions. Can't wait to be back next year!
USF Womens Team Race regatta
Marissa Tegeder ‘25, Carmen Lineer '26, Mary Castellini '25, Emma Komis '26, Sydney Mandel '26, and Lauren Salmi '26 traveled to the University of Southern Florida to compete in the first team racing regatta of the season. The team departed on Thursday afternoon to make the drive to southern Florida by Friday afternoon. The girls made the long drive safely and had a really good time along the way, and as soon as they arrived they took a quick walk to the beach for a sunset swim!
The first day of racing started out in the harbor as the sea breeze had not filled in yet. The morning breeze was around 4-5 knots with flat water. After lunch the sea breeze came in at around 8-12 knots and the racing moved outside of the harbor. The first couple of round robins were a bit tough while the honey badgers got warmed up after a long winter of no sailing, but as the day progressed their boat speed and tacks got better and were able to make some plays happen. After sailing, they gave Sam Bartel '22 a call for some advice on the starts and the downwinds, and as always, he gave some great tips and resources to use on the water for day two.
Day two started out with 5-7 knots out of the basin. A round robin and a half was sailed before the wind died as the sea breeze came in. After lunch the sea breeze filled and we went out for one last race in the beautiful 12-14 knots. Throughout the regatta, the girls found that it was important to set a lot of small goals and determine priorities for every race. It was overall a fantastic event where they learned a lot and got to brush up on their sailing skills early in the season. They were excited to see how much they improved throughout the event and were able to compete with the other teams, who have been able to practice this winter.
The Honey Badgers want to say a huge thank you to the Gorman family for hosting them and to Sam Bartel for helping them out with tactics and some great resources. Everyone is very amped up for the rest of the season!
Upcoming Regattas and Events
With the Spring semester underway, our team members are itching to get back on the water. Until Mendota sheds its ice, the team has lots of plans to prepare to compete and be successful this season, including chalk talks, workouts, out of conference regattas, and spring break.
Workouts and Chalk Talks
Our practice captains are continuing to lead team workout Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. These workouts have been a great way to connect as a team, as well as specifically do lots of core and cardio workouts and some yoga! They also plan to lead chalk talks every Thursday during team meeting, lots of which will focus on team racing.
Dylan Gorman '25 has also been setting up many great keelboat chalk talks recently. This past months talk featured speakers such as coach Ian Beckley with insights on basic keelboating and IOR safety officer Buttons Padin about positions and roles. For March, we are looking forward to hearing from alumni Doug Wake '22 as well!
Regattas
The first regatta of March will be also the first team race regatta for the Coed dinghy team of the year! On March 4th-5th, Lucas Quinn '23, Noah Hallerman '23, Charlie Herrick '26, Kate Thickens '23, Gavin Dempsey '26, and Carmen Lineer '26 will head to NOLA for the Garner-Tullis Team Race. They are looking to open the Spring season with a good performance against Tulane University and University of Texas.
After Spring Break, the Offshore team will travel to Coast Guard March 24th-25th for the J-70 Invite 2. This is the first time our team will attend this regatta and our sailors are looking to prove their skills in the J-70 against some of the best offshore teams in the country.
That same weekend, a group of our freshmen will sail at the first MCSA regatta of the season, 1st Year Icebreaker at Notre Dame. This regatta is always fun to meet and sail against new members of the college sailing scene, and we are looking to prove we have the best class of 2026 in the MCSA!
March will end with our MCSA Womens Fleet and Team Race Championship and National Qualifier hosted by the University of Michigan. After a successful Fall season in the MCSA, the Honey Badgers are looking to dominate another time this year and punch their ticket to Nationals at the end of the Spring.
Spring Break
The Wisconsin Sailing Teams annual Spring Break Training Trip is only weeks away and the team is very excited to escape cold Wisconsin and get back on the water in warm Austin, Texas!
Team members will reach Texas beginning Saturday, March 11th in preparation for the first full day of sailing at Austin Yacht Club on Monday, March 13th through the end of the week. The roster is made up of 26 members of the team, 15 skippers and 11 crew. We are excited to have coach Ian Beckley and guest coach from last years spring break Kyle Easton join us again this year to prepare for the rest of the Spring season ahead! We are looking forward to working a lot on team racing, tactics, boat handling, and more. Off the water, we are excited to bond as a team and soak up the sun!
SAILOR OF THE MONTH: Iván Castañer
Iván Castañer is a Junior on the team majoring in Civil Engineering. He is from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he started sailed optimists at Club Náutico de San Juan as a young child.
Iván's outgoing personality has made him an outstanding social chair for our team for the last 2 years. His goal through this is to have the team continue to be very interconnected socially and have fun on and off the water!
Iván is mainly a keelboat sailor on the team, mostly doing pit and mast, however enjoys steering for the match race team. This Fall, Iván sailed in the MCSA Match Race Championship and punched Wisconsin's ticket to Nationals. Recently, Iván did pit on the SCOR boat and had a great time the whole weekend, despite not having the fastest boat in the fleet. Regardless of the results, Iván and the group had a great time in Charleston thanks to their gracious host Scott Herman, and all look forward to going back!
Iván has been on the team since his freshmen year and credits it as being one of the most important parts of his college experience. His favorite wisco sailing memory was building a picket fence at IOR this past Fall. Besides the sailing, he will never forget exploring New York City late night with fellow team members Jack Schweda and Mary Daniels '24.
For the rest of the year, he is really looking forward to spring break, especially having fun and getting closer with the team, exploring and learning about the wonderful city of Austin, and improving sailing fundamentals/skills.
Go Go Iván!
CONNECT WITH UW SAILORS: JOIN OUR LINKEDIN GROUP
We're always looking for ways to build a stronger network between current and former Wisco Sailors. So, we've created a new LinkedIn Group to bring alumni and sailors together! Every Wisco Sailor has benefited from the incredible group of sailors that has come before then. Please consider joining this group (and inviting any sailing team connections) to strengthen these ties further!
Stay tuned for next month's Wisco Sailor to learn more about how things are going here in Madison. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest team news!
Credits:
Photos by Douglas Wake/Medora Media