HAMPTON, Va. – Shane Rickie Horsford’s win in the Hampton Yacht Club Fall Fling Dinghy Regatta this past weekend capped a busy couple days for the Hampton University sailing team, which got things started on Friday with a meeting for interested students.
Friday’s meeting, which resulted in roughly 10 interested students, was designed to teach incoming students, current Hamptonians and people from throughout the community what sailing is and how it’s run. First-year head coach Alessandro Ambrosi said the idea behind the meeting stemmed from the fact that Hampton University’s campus was surrounded by water, but a lot of people weren’t aware of the sailing program.
“We did this for two reasons,” Ambrosi said. “We wanted to develop sailing within the university (through recruiting), and to grow a presence within the Hampton Roads community.”
When the Fall Fling Dinghy Regatta began on Saturday, the interested students witnessed the action as
Horsford (Antigua, West Indies) took the win and
Andy Shoemaker (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished second. This was not a college regatta, and the Pirates were the only collegiate team represented.
The regatta was met with light winds, making for pleasant conditions throughout the weekend.
The Pirates will return to action Nov. 21-22, when they travel to Charleston, S.C. to compete in the SAISA/MAISA Regatta. For more information on Hampton University sailing, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at
www.hamptonpirates.com.