IOWA CITY – After a middle-of-the-road finish this past weekend at the University of Iowa’s home regatta, the ISU Sailing Club is looking forward to the rest of its season.

Two days and 20 races placed the club seventh out of 14 participating teams.

“I did pretty bad,” said second-year skipper Eric Roman, sophomore in chemical engineering. “This was probably my worst [Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association] race.”

Every fall, the University of Iowa hosts its Davis Cup. Taking place north of Iowa City on Lake MacBride, the regatta is held in memory of the Iowa Sailing Club’s founder and professor of political science, Lane Davis.

Races always start going into the wind, and with the exception of some variable winds this weekend, the weather was ideal for sailing.

“It makes it a tougher race when you have to really pay attention to the wind,” said skipper Bobby Roe, senior in aerospace engineering. “It’s perfect. This is great weather for sailing.”

To participate in regattas, the team must have four members: two for the A boat and two for the B boat.

“We weren’t quite sure if we’d have enough to make a team,” Roe said. “We’re not doing too bad for having new crews.”

Sailors at this regatta piloted what is called a “Flying Junior,” or FJ. This two-person vessel is steered in the rear by the skipper and is supported by another person in the front called the crew.

Getting and keeping interest in sailing is difficult in landlocked Iowa, Roman said.

However, the sport did interest members of Iowa State’s international community. Having no experience in a sailboat before this weekend, Salla Laulaja, exchange student from Joensuu, Finland, and Katrin Hollinger, junior in genetics-agriculture, found success at their first regatta.

“I was looking for something and thought sailing would be nice,” Hollinger said. “It was a great weekend.”

To make the boat lighter and to keep the total weight of the boat around 300 pounds, most sailing pairs consist of one male and one female.

During the two days, the two pairs participated in 10 races each, never placing lower than 10th and putting up a second-place finish in the second race. Winning the event was annual sailing powerhouse, the University of Wisconsin.

As the weather turns colder, the club will still travel to MCSA events.

The club is hoping to improve their abilities before the Area West Regatta, which will take place in Madison, Wisc., on Lake Mendota during the first weekend in November.

“I expect us to be better,” Roman said.

“I think we can pull out a top four at Area West.”

To help the team improve, the next event will be the Harken Clinic in Madison on Oct. 14 and 15. This learning experience will feature past Olympians and sailing coaches who will share their knowledge over the course of two days.