Hey Pilot fans! I’m Kelsey Kincaid, a freshman coxswain, and I’m excited to be guest-blogging for Kaelynn.
 
This past weekend the top eight traveled to Seattle to scrimmage against the renowned University of Washington (Editor’s note: See below for some photos from the weekend). UW extended this invitation to us after our performance at the Portland Fall Classic regatta last October. As a second-year program, we are very grateful to have the opportunity to practice with a team as skilled and talented as UW.
 
The road trip up flew by with all of us bonding over our love of food, specifically Nutella. Driving into Seattle was exciting, especially since some of us had never been there before, myself included. After a quick practice on the water at UW, we went to teammate Hannah Johnson’s house for a night of games and delicious food. The team ended the night by watching the movie Peter Pan (the one featuring Jeremy Sumpter of course), which by the way teammate Jamie Opra can quote word for word.
 
Our scrimmage took place Saturday morning, and it featured a set of pieces varying in length. These took place near the Montlake Cut, which was great practice since we will race there again later in the season. The team left everything on the water and it was great to get a taste of the competitive atmosphere.
 
Overall it was a fun weekend of team bonding; we’re excited for what’s to come this spring season!
 
-Kelsey Kincaid