It was another warm sunny day for the sailors at Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier at the U.S. Sailing Center in Long Beach, CA with temperatures in the high 70s. The close racing continued and challenged sailors as the day began with the Southern California Santa Ana winds fighting the sea breeze. This resulted in some shocking puffs and fleet inversions where one part of the fleet was sailing upwind while the other part was sailing downwind. The race committee had to abandon several races due to the conditions and eventually posted a postponement until the sea breeze filled in and the wind direction settled so racing could resume.

The first day of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s (ICSA) Coed Semifinals, where the 36 top college sailing teams in the country gathered to compete in order to vie for spots to the ICSA/Gill Coed National Championships May 30 – June 1 at the Gorge in Cascade Locks, Oregon, began with close to an hour delay this morning due to dueling winds. Once the breeze filled in from the southerly direction it provided an excellent sea breeze that ranged from 5 knots to 12 knots throughout the day with gusts to 16 knots. Six races were completed for both events in both A and B divisions. With sunny skies and warm temperatures, it was an excellent day for racing.