ILS’s Sailing team headed over to Sarasota last weekend, yet despite the weak weather conditions, managed to finish in  the top five.

The teams, Varsity and Junior Varsity, competed against 18 different teams in the SAISA South Point- In District Regatta. ILS finished with a total of 49 points which landed them in 5th place.

The early morning began at 7:30 am as sailors began rigging two boats, one for JV and one for Varsity. The 8 team members came together to talk about predicted weather conditions and how the course was going to be set up.

“Unfortunately our coach was not able to make it to our regatta which left it up to the team to assign who is sailing with who. Since the wind was very light, we had our light air crews (people who weigh the least), and our light air skippers sail. Being a senior, I definitely felt pressure to set a good example for the rest of the team because due to lack of wind, it was easy to get frustrated,” said senior Danny Riano.

The sky was blue, the air was light, and the Royal Lions were ready to take on any weather available.

The winds began to build to around 8 knots by the first few races, as sailed by seniors Danny Riano and Caroline Caudron in A division. B division was sailed by sophomore Umi Noritake and senior Holland Ramos. JV was sailed by freshmen Keith Grupenhoff, sophomores Marco Andres, Soleil Aurignac, and freshman Isabella Gallo.

Due to a die out in wind pressure, A division was told to wait out on the water for about an hour before racing could begin again. When the sailors were called back on land, it was a brief 15 minutes before racing was resumed. The wind pressure was up to about 15 knots by 2pm, which made a great afternoon for sailing.

“Because I am heavier, I don’t sail well in light wind, which was unfortunate for this regatta. I was really proud to see my team be able to overcome the unideal weather conditions because I know it couldn’t have been easy,” said junior Jadin Gonzalez.

A division finished with 31 points, which placed them in 8th. B division finished the day with 18 points, which left them in 3rd.