ANTHONY HUDSON

WINS SOUTHEAST COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP

HOUSTON – Fifteen college sailors left the dock of Houston Yacht Club to compete in the SEISA Laser Championships for a single spot at the College Single-handed National Championships to be held this November at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

NOYC’s Anthony Hudson, now fully recovered from a seriously broken leg this past Spring, was sailing for the LSU Sailing Team.

The first race saw three general recalls in the light air. Starts are so important in the extremely short racecourse found in college sailing that general recalls are not a rarity in the least. After a race was finally started in the 7 to 8 knot breeze, Anthony found he had better than average speed, finishing third in the highly competitive race; all fifteen boats finished within one minute of the leader.

The second race saw the strongest breezes of the entire regatta, reaching 15 knots. Anthony saw his boat speed relative to the fleet increase dramatically, leading at every mark and winning the race and putting himself in a tie for the lead after two races, and the third place boat only one point behind.

The wind remained relatively strong for the third race, in the 8-12 knot range. After rounding the whether mark in second with the co-leader of the regatta directly behind him, he worked his boat as hard as he could downwind, but found himself in third at the leeward mark and the finish.

Now one point out of the lead, Anthony found himself in a fourth race with dying breeze. Rounding the whether mark in third, right behind the regatta leader, he covered him the entire downwind leg and achieved an overlap at the leeward mark. Anthony covered during the last sprint to the finish and scored a second in the race and moved into another tie for the lead. After four races, the regatta had become a two boat race, with the third place Laser 14 points back.

The wind continued to die for the fifth race. After the start, Anthony was the only boat to go right and rounded the whether mark in a secure second with the co-regatta leader deep in the pack. With little he could do, he inched his way back to fourth to stay two points back in the overall scoring.

In the sixth race, Anthony had to do nothing more than make sure no boat finished between him and the second place contestant. Going right after the start once again, Anthony found himself in 12th in the 2 to 3 knot breeze. With the water turning to glass, anything could still happen. By the time the fleet reached the leeward mark, he was in fifth and right behind the second place contestant, a comeback for the ages not yet complete. In the forty yards from the leeward mark to the finish, he passed three boats and finished second in the race to win the regatta by three points, having passed the second place contestant to increase his overall point lead.

Anthony will now represent the Southeastern Conference in the Single-handed Nationals in Norfolk, Virginia this November.