The goal of the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta presented by ShopRite of Carteret is to give a unique keelboat experience to college sailors from around the world. From dinghy sailors – who may have never stepped on anything but a 420 – to experienced offshore teams with their own boats, the IOR is a rare opportunity to compete in a big boat event with 32 other schools on the water simultaneously. Co-hosted by Storm Trysail Club and Larchmont Yacht Club, volunteers offer up their time and boats to inspire and motivate these sailors to seek out more racing opportunities outside of college. This event is free of charge to all participants. This year’s edition treated sailors to challenging big-breeze conditions. Saturday started very wet with no wind, forcing the new PRO and recently retired Tufts sailing coach Ken Legler to issue a postponement. Eventually, the rain subsided, allowing the Race Committee to get off one race for all the classes before a squall forced all teams to get ashore in the afternoon. “The view from the bridge of the Satan’s Toe (LYC’s RC boat) allowed me to see how the wild conditions challenged every team. It was exciting to watch to say the least!” said Legler. After a party under the protection of a tent at Larchmont Yacht Club, the rain eventually passed, leaving a cool, crisp and sunny Sunday with a 15-20 knot westerly, permitting the 36 boats that were divided into six classes to get in three more races. “Many of the sailors tell me that this is the event they look most forward to all season and how they sincerely appreciate the owners who share their boats with us,” said co-chair Ann Myer. In the J/105 fleet, five teams duked it out around the racecourse with Princeton finishing on top of the podium. When asked what they attributed their win to, skipper Jasper Waldman said, “Two-thirds of the team had never raced a sailboat before arriving at Princeton, but we’ve been able to foster a strong team culture centered around communication. This served us tremendously this past weekend, keeping morale high in the rain, bouncing back from breakages and allowing me to focus on driving the boat fast.”
For the full results, please visit: https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=16268
All photos are online: https://stormtrysail.org/ior-2023-photos/
If your school is interested in 2024, please fill out an interest form: https://stormtrysail.org/ior-2024-interest/.