MIAMI, Fla. – Three Tars competed at the SAISA Women's and Open Singlehanded Championships this weekend, racing Laser Radials on Biscayne Bay in the championship regattas hosted by the University of Miami.
The weekend began with the SAISA Women's Singlehanded Championship. Light conditions initially kept competitors ashore before the fleet headed out around 11 a.m. Racing began in a 4–5 knot easterly breeze, which gradually strengthened to around eight knots through the first five races. A shift in the wind forced a course reset before four more races were completed in a 6–9 knot southeasterly breeze to close out the championship.
Annie Samis represented the Tars in the women's field, taking fourth overall with 28 points. Samis finished inside the top five in eight of nine races, highlighted by three race wins. She crossed the line first in the fourth and fifth races before closing out the championship with another victory in the ninth and final race.
Following the conclusion of the women's event Saturday afternoon, attention shifted to the SAISA Open Singlehanded Championship. With an unfavorable forecast looming for Sunday, competitors looked to get as much racing in as possible before the end of the day. After an initial wind delay, a strong northwesterly breeze filled in as storms developed nearby. The weather held off long enough for four races to be completed in winds ranging from 6–14 knots before conditions began to fade. A fifth race was started but ultimately abandoned, sending the fleet back to shore for the evening.
Sunday began with calm conditions on Biscayne Bay, delaying the return to the water until a sea breeze developed around midday. Racing resumed in a 5–6 knot east-southeasterly breeze, with conditions building and shifting throughout the afternoon. Four more races were completed before an approaching thunderstorm forced the abandonment of the ninth race and sent competitors back to shore. Continued lightning in the area ultimately brought the championship to a close after eight completed races.
Caleb Kinnear and
Matthew Sexton represented Rollins in the open field. Sexton finished 14th overall with 100 points, earning his best result of the championship in the opening race with a 10th-place finish.
Kinnear finished fifth overall with 51 points, posting six top-10 finishes across the eight races. He saved his best performances for the final stretch, taking runner-up in the seventh race before closing out the championship with a win in the eighth and final race.
Rollins returns to the water next weekend for the SAISA Women's and Open Top 9, set for September 19-20 and hosted by the College of Charleston.
