News
Buccaneer Battalion Places First at JU Sailing Regatta!
3/5/2010 MIDN 1/C Kyle Saraceni, USF NROTC TAMPA, Fla—The Buccaneer Battalion Sail Team travelled to Jacksonville, FL to race in the annual NROTC Laser Regatta hosted by Jacksonville University. Upon arrival in Jacksonville, the team attended a dinner social at Sneakers Sports Grille on Jax Beach. At the social, the team had the opportunity to meet Midshipmen from the other schools in attendance. There were a total of nine schools each providing their own four person team for a total of 36 racers. Some of the northern schools brought as many as 16 Midshipmen to give them an opportunity to escape the snow back home for a few days and enjoy the beautiful Florida weather. Several schools in attendance such as Jacksonville and Tulane Universities have a reputation for being highly skilled in the sport of sailing. Combined with the light winds of the weekend, this regatta was one of the most challenging races in several years. The Buccaneer Battalion Sail Team (comprised of MIDN 1/C Kyle Saraceni, MIDN 2/C Charles Lane, MIDN 4/C Jonathan Wensel, MIDN 4/C Micah Joiner) raced individually in the 13’4” Olympic Class Laser Dinghy. Each individual competed in two races where points were accumulated towards a team score. The first two races were the slowest of the day due to almost non-existent winds. This caused the race officials to shorten the course in order to have enough time to finish all of the races. MIDN Saraceni came in 3rd in the first race and after the wind died in the second race, drifted with the current to last place. Patiently waiting with the sails trimmed, he finally caught a gust of wind and was slingshot past the fleet to the finish line for a come from behind win. MIDN Lane then took over and placed 1st and then fought for a close 3rd in his second race. Once MIDN Wensel got on the water, USF’s lead became almost untouchable. After the start of his first race he lapped almost half the fleet on the course coming in for an easy 1st, he then passed the entire field from a last place start taking another 1st place finish. After the first 6 races were completed, USF had a commanding lead with four 1st place finishes and two 3rd place finishes. MIDN Joiner now only needed to finish in the top 6 in both of his races to seal a win for the team. In his first race, he placed 4th making it almost impossible for USF to lose unless he did not finish his last race. After the start of his last race, MIDN Joiner ran into some equipment trouble causing the fleet to leave him behind. Once he fixed the tangles in his lines he caught back up for a solid 9th place finish. Once the scores came in USF was tied with Jacksonville University for first place. After several anxious minutes it was determined that USF had won due to a tie breaker. This was the first time in 10 years that another team besides Jacksonville University won the JU regatta! Overall, the day was a huge success for the team as well as the Buccaneer Battalion. The Sail Team looks forward to defending their title next year.
