'Varsities' took place from the 20th to the 22nd of February, in the sheltered waters of Wexford Harbor. The circuit is made up of 4 events with the Intervarsities being the final event on the circuit. The previous 3 events had been cancelled due to either too much wind or not enough. The forecast did not look very promising in the run up to the event and it was feared that another event would be lost.
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| DCU 1 2 3 |
As the forecast predicted, it was 'breeze on' on Thursday for the first day or racing. The teams launched with storm sails sails hoisted with the forecast set to build. The 25 college teams from around Ireland and two visiting Scottish teams were split up into four qualifying groups for the first day. It was the first time the DCU team had been team racing since the 2013 Varsities so we were expecting it might take some time to get back into it. We managed to come away with 3 wins out of 5 races on day 1. A loss to the eventual runner's up, UCC1 will stick out as the one that got away. As we led the race 1,2 around mark two before a 'navigational error' let them back into the race. Lesson learned - sail to the right mark! It was an anxious wait while the fleets were decided for the next day. We were relieved that our 3 wins was enough to qualify us for the Gold fleet.
Day 2 was another breezy one. We were now drawn against the top teams in the event. The other teams training and practice in the boats showed. At times we struggled for pace against some of the better drilled teams, while other times we were outdone by better team racing. We finished the day with 0 wins. The top 4 teams from the two gold fleet groups went to the quarter finals while the remaining 4 teams went into the Silver fleet quarter finals.
Our silver fleet quarter final saw us come up against a well practiced UCD team. The race was anyone's after the first beat, with both teams still in the mix. UCD however managed to take the lead coming in to mark three. They made no mistake after that and safely covered us to the finish to end any hope of a place in the semis.
So my fourth and final Varsities complete... It's been an unforgettable 4 years and probably one of the reasons that kept me in college for the first two years.
