Thanks to Zach Karst's ('12) incredible planning, thus far the trip has gone off without a hitch. Sailors arrived on various flights yesterday and then traveled to the house in an almost comical convoy of cars. The highlight of the fleet is a black PT cruiser (which was originally promised to be pink) that will inevitably be featured in future posts. The house is absolutely amazing - the architecture is reminiscient of the French Renaissance era (not what you would expect of a typical beach house). It is located directly on the beach and is arranged around a centrally-located courtyard. Moving into the house could not have been easier as Zach had all of the living arrangements organized ahead of time. We decided to arrange meals in groups, based on tastes, to facilitate food shopping for the week. Dinner on Sunday was already waiting for us, thanks to a wonderful pasta dish prepared by Mrs. Degolia.

The week of practices got off to a good start on Monday, despite sub-optimal winds and slightly chilly weather. Chandler had the pairing practicing roll-tacks, gybing and general boat handling. After a winter devoid of sailing, the scene was chaotic at first, but as the day progressed the group came together. Drills like tack-on-whistle and follow the leader helped to fine-tune these essential skills.