by Lucas Masiello ’24

CHICAGO, IL – The URI Offshore Sailing Team performed valiantly at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta and Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta this fall, finishing first and third respectively.

The offshore team swept the five-boat J/105 fleet at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (GLIOR), held Sept. 23-25 in Chicago at the Columbia Yacht Club, with three first places finishes across eight races and never finishing worse than third. Light to medium breeze from the northwest and west made for tricky racing throughout the weekend.

URI fielded two boats at the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, held at the Larchmont Yacht Club in New York Oct. 8-9. J/109 Freedom, skippered by Bo Eaves ’23, finished third in the six-boat J/109 fleet. J/133 Rhiannon, skippered by Jo Riley ’23, finished third in the six-boat PHRF-Large fleet. Shifty and puffy conditions from the south and west made for tricky racing in tight, closely rated fleets.

URI offshore sailing also qualified for the New England Match Race Championships at the Harman Trophy, held at the Maine Maritime Academy Sept. 10-11. The championships will be held Saturday-Sunday at the United States Coast Guard Academy.

When not sailing offshore regattas, the URI Offshore Sailing Team practices match racing in Newport in J/22’s chartered from Sail Newport.