Bermudian sailors Jordan Vieira and PJ Rodrigues helped Eckerd College claim a share of top honours after a dramatic, weather-disrupted weekend at the Charleston Fall Interconference regatta in South Carolina.
The Tritons produced an inspired final-day surge across the tricky tidal waters of Crab Bank, mounting a fierce comeback to finish tied for first place in a competitive 15-team fleet.
Saturday's opening proceedings required patience from the outset, with light breezes forcing a wind hold until 12:30. When racing finally got under way at 12:45 in Club 420s, crews contended with an ebbing current and testing winds of 5-6 knots, with occasional puffs touching eight knots.
Vieira led Eckerd's charge in the A Division alongside crew Angelina Manchuk, while Rodrigues paired with Peyton Seidle to spearhead the B Division effort.
Four races were completed before looming thunderstorms rolled into the Charleston area, forcing an early abandonment. Avery Guck rotated in to crew for Vieira in the day's fourth and final race.
At the close of day one, Eckerd sat poised in fourth place overall on 45 points—bolstered by an 18-point haul from Rodrigues and Seidle, while the A Division sat sixth on 27.
With officials keen to beat a 15:00 cut-off on Sunday, the fleet hit the water early, and Eckerd immediately made their intentions clear with a clinical opening double.
Vieira and Guck took an emphatic bullet in the A Division, matched stride-for-stride by Rodrigues and Seidle, who sailed home to take race victory in B Division.
That dream start set the tone as the Tritons chipped away at the deficit in shifty conditions, featuring 5-6 knot breezes and gusts reaching up to 12 knots.
However, nature intervened around 13:00 when the wind completely died out. Officials recalled the A Division before sending the B Division back ashore 20 minutes later as conditions deteriorated further.
With Race 9A officially voided, the results reverted to the completed rounds, confirming Eckerd College in a share of first place on the final leaderboard.
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