2013 Sailing Season: Edward Teach Memorial Regatta

The sailing team only had one home regatta this year, which was the Edward Teach Memorial that we have every year. This regatta is hosted by Hampton University at Strawberry Banks. The event doesn't get a lot of Hampton publicity, and since Strawberry Banks stopped being a boys dorm, most students don't even know where it is. During the school year, most students aren't allowed to go there, even though it has a very convenient beach. But once every school year, all of the college sailing programs in the Hampton area congregate there and take advantage of the great winds and sailing the location has to offer. This is also usually our first regatta of the season, so it is usually the first time that our new sailors get to participate in a real regatta. 

First person in the Marine Science Center is always a great achievement. Don't be fooled by the sunny looking weather outside, it was freezing cold in September. From what I can tell I have on 4 top layers in that photo, and I'm not even in the water yet. 

Mrs. Schuker providing us with our regatta breakfast. Always super healthy, and I get to choose which brand of orange juice I want before anyone else. 

Coach Ambrosi giving us a briefing before the regatta starts.  

Coach discussing race committee things with Dr. Schuker the head of the Marine Science department. 

Who knows what they're talking about....all these boys are from the islands, so when they get together, they turn off their American accents, so they could be talking about sailing or football. 

The lovely Veronica Maccari, our "A" Divvision skipper eating her strawberry yogurt. This is her first year at Hampton University as Coach also recruited her from Italy. 

Josh is also new to the team, and is one of our "A" division crew

This regatta was a great start for the Hampton University sailing program, and was the only regatta we won the whole fall season. We somehow didn't have enough cups for the prize giving ceremony, so we had to have a singing competition to see who would get the full set. 

My regatta trophy!

2013 Sailing Season: War Memorial Regatta

I don't post often enough. This semester has been a pretty hectic one for me, trying to balance out the academic, athletic, and social. The athletic side was sometimes the most frustrating, because those weekends become pretty crucial in the middle of an architecture project. Trying to stay in contact with my group when we have a presentation the next day was hectic too. But on the whole I think I was pretty successful.

During this sailing season I had some of the best regatta results of my sailing career. We made our main goal of the year, participating in the War Memorial Regatta at Old Dominion University. The regatta itself was intense, freezing cold water, crazy high winds, and fierce competition. I was sailing with my usual skipper Guidi, and the boat took on several gallons of water throughout the day. It was still pretty fun. You know you're working hard when you're taking off layers in 40 degree weather. 

Old Dominion University's Sailing Center. A new building, with a classroom, lockers, bathrooms, and offices. I nearly designed a similar building for the Hampton University Master Plan project we just did. 

Everybody paying attention during Saturday's skipper meeting except.... Guidi.....and I guess me too since I was taking the picture. 

The Italian Sailing Ladies!

Hampton University Sailing Girls, all rocking the blue and white in one form or another. This was our first day with our new Varsity Sailing jackets and boy did we use them. 

The "B" division! Notice that my jacket is the only one with the first name, since my last name is almost 15 letters and would have wrapped around my entire arm. Still love it though. 

Please pay attention to the girl on the far left wearing SHORTS! And she wasn't close to being the only one. Even if I kept sailing into my fifties, I don't think I will ever be about that particular lifestyle. 

Veronica and Albert in boat #6 getting ready to head out for the first race. 

Boats lined up on the ramp getting ready to take the plunge into the icy depths. Being in B Division has its perks, since we are usually not the ones who have to put the boats into the water, but we are usually the ones who have to bring them back in after almost 8 hours of sailing. 

Kimannee and Guidi discussing strategy and wind shifts and other things that are generally over my head. I just pull the ropes!

It's always crazy to me how the water on the shore looks really calm and flat, but when you're in the boat looks like the scene with the Kraken from Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Return of the shorts in November from Princeton, and we're waiting for the boats to come back in so we can head out. 

Team Italia again, all wearing our new jackets. So stylish. And so many pockets!

All together now! Please ignore my salt covered spray pants.... I think the boys were busy drying off and warming up in the van.

The Architectural Details of Banjul

I just got back from my fantastic winter break in The Gambia, West Africa. Of course I visited a lot of cities and districts, my favorite part of the country will always be Banjul. Banjul is the capital city of the Gambia, having a population of more than 30,000 and covering an area of 36 square miles.

During the New Year Festivities, I got the opportunity to watch a masquerade competition. This is a yearly event, with people coming from all over to watch the dancing and partake in the experience. It was a fantastic excuse to go to Banjul and soak in the culture as well as the architecture. So my pictures of the buildings will be interspersed with my images of the festivities. Make sure you read to the end, because I'm including a video!

many of these buildings are so old that all the paint gets washed away in the rainy season, and if left unpainted for long enough, get a unique brownish color and texture.



Natural, built in ventilation is very popular since airconditioning can be expensive. It is mainly in Banjul and other urban areas that you will see multi-story buildings.

A corner store, alot like a 7-Eleven where you can buy everyday things and some of them serve food, like sandwiches and meat pies.



Garages are not usually built into the buildings, and people normally park on the street. It is interesting to note that they have actual blacksmiths make the gates and doors so you get to see a lot of craftsmanship that you wouldn't really get to see anywhere else.

 

A hunting with an unusual design. i don't know why I found this one particularly scary,
it probably had to do with the unusually small face.



The July 22nd Arch located at the entrance of the city.

I can't actually tell if this is grafitti or a store sign.

A traditional krinting house. These houses can be found throughout the Gambia
and are traditionally made with local sustainable materials such as palm trees and mudbrick.
 

An example of a masquerade which are locally known as "huntings" or "kumpos"

You can see the minarets of a mosque peeking out from behind this house.

It is pretty common to have window guards in Gambia.



A really unique hunting with a real moose on top for the head of the costume.



Here is the video I made of the huntings performing that day.

 

 

For the Gambia, Our Homeland

For winter vacation, I have traveled to the Gambia, in Western Africa. I consider it my hhomeland because my family is from here, and I lived in the Gambia for 5 years. I also attended high school there, at Marina International School. I am very excited to be back, as I haven't been back since I started college. I will of course be taking lots of pictures of my trip, and I'll be sharing them here.

The trip here was basically a 2 day trip, going from DC, to Charlotte North Carolina, to London, to the Gambia. I didn't really get to do any sightseeing in London, but I wasnt too sad because the weather was awful. The best thing about London was their money exchange, which actually dealt in dalasi, unlike most countries, and their store Boots. The meal deal for 3.79 pounds saved my life n the flight to Africa, and it was delicious.

We finally got to Gambia after a 7 hour flight on Gambia Bird Airlines, with a stop-over in Freetown. We arrived at 7pm, which isn't too bad of an hour, but it means that I couldnt see much of the scenery.

Our Gambia Bird airplane after arrival in the Gambia

I've mostly been relaxing on this trip, as it is my vacation, but I'll still try and post pictures when I have time. There is so much I want to see and do while I'm here and still have time. I have already filled my food quota, having eaten all the things I wanted, including benachin, chicken afra, domoda, and butterfish and chips, all within the first week.

So here are some of the pictures I've taken so far, not in any particular order. Enjoy!

Men gathered underneath a shady tree

 

 

Truck delivering crates of soda

Traditional Yellow and Green Gambian Taxis



Souvenir and Tourist Market at Cape Point