Checking out the FJ beat.

I found myself back at the MIT Sailing Pavilion this past weekend crewing at the Charles River Open Team Race. Having sailed this regatta some years ago and competed there at a number of college regattas since, I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for: good competition, some crazy wind shifts, and lots of races.

© Ryan O'Grady

Power-reaching up the Jersey Shore.

Sailing World’s roving big-boat correspondent Ryan O’Grady sailed in Leg 1 of the Atlantic Cup as the media crewmember onboard Jörg Reicher’s Class 40 Mare with co-skipper Ryan Braymaier.

Despite what some of my friends (and parents, and professors) seem to believe, I only spend a fraction of my time traveling for sailing. Most of the time I’m here in Boston, doing regular 22-year-old things: going to school, and going to work. I’d imagine that most SW readers are familiar with the undergraduate experience. Something I’ve been reflecting on a lot this year, that you may be less aware of, is the relationship between my job and the racing I do.

My preparations for the Atlantic Cup had me feeling like this would be just like any other distance race. A week before the event, I pulled out my gear, and started to check the weather forecasts online. I dug out my lifejacket and replaced the CO2 cylinder and strobe after manually inflating it and letting it sit overnight to ensure there were no pinhole leaks. I was ready for this, or so I thought.