By Zack Downing, Staff Writer

The Corsairs sailing crew is actually the most appropriate to bear the name Corsairs, as they sail the high seas with a quest for victory.

The UMass Dartmouth sailing team, coached by Jerry Jennings, opened their season on the Charles River competing at the Central Series 2 Regatta.

It was a tough competition for all involved, with teams facing winds of up to 25 knots.

One of the Corsairs’ boats was forced to retire early because of the dangerous conditions.

The sailing team looked to bounce back on September 24th back up in northern Massachusetts, competing at the Ross Regatta in Charlestown.

This day’s competition contrasted with the event on the Charles,as there were only light winds most of the day. Even though those conditions aren’t risky, they can still frustrate any sailing team, as slow winds means slow motion.

UMass Dartmouth had two boats out on the water to compete. One crew was the trio of sophomore Isabel Rombult, junior Alix Blair, and senior Courtney Grippin.

Rombult and her team had a solid showing out on the water at the Regatta.

Out of the many races, most of their finishes were somewhere around 6th or 7th, which is at the top half of the field.

Despite the light winds, they figured out how to make it work and raced to finish each heat respectably, ending up on 9th place in the overall bracket.

The second Corsairs boat was manned by seniors Hannah Desilets and Michaela Carrier, along with junior Shannon McKeown.

They battled the same light winds that the rest of the teams faced, but still finished all their races within the allotted times.

Overall, the Desilets crew finished most of their races behind Rombult’s boat, and they ended the day’s competition with a 12th place spot on the bracket.

The Corsairs’ next sailing competition was initially going to be on Mystic Lake with Tuft’s Women on October 6th, but it was cancelled due to high surf.

The next match for UMass Dartmouth will now be October 15th for the Providence College Invitational, at the Rhode Island Yacht Club in Cranston, RI.