JBoats annouced that they will begin, in 2012, producing a new J, the “J/70 Speedster,” and it is billed as a One-Design boat!!
To learn more:
JBoats annouced that they will begin, in 2012, producing a new J, the “J/70 Speedster,” and it is billed as a One-Design boat!!
To learn more:
The last day of racing at the Columbia River Gorge for the women’s collegiate sailors brought a long wind delay, but a sweet victory in the end for the University of Rhode Island.
Cascade Locks, OR (May26, 2011) – In the final day of racing at the Sperry Top-Sider/ICSA Women’s National Championship for the Gerald C. Miller Memorial Trophy, the women arrived and waited for wind until around 2 p.m. The delay on shore caused everyone to question whether any more races would be sailed today. It was cool and cloudy with rain on and off, but finally some breeze began to come down the river at about 2-7 knots from a westerly direction. A-division was able to fit in two races before the 5 p.m. racing cut off, but B-division only sailed one race, therefore only one race in each division counted today on Windward/Leeward courses.
A-division’s seventh race of the event and first race of the day was sailed in just enough breeze to get around the course and fight the current. The women were able to hug the shore a bit on the downwind to find current relief in the shallow water. Brown University, Yale University and College of Charleston led the race around the first windward mark and as the fleet spread downwind Yale was able to take the lead at the leeward mark and went on to win the first race. The breeze started to fill in with gusts, cold air and periods of rain. At this point, the University of Rhode Island managed to hold on to their lead closely followed by a number of schools: St. Mary’s College, Old Dominion, Yale, Georgetown and Connecticut College.
The 29er clinic hosted by Jen Morgan Glass was able to get out on the water and follow the racing. The girls got a great feel for the boats in the changing conditions. By the time B-division made it on the water for their seventh and last race of the event the breeze was up and the teams were all very close in points leaving B-division with close racing on the line. The start went off and St. Mary’s was first around the first windward mark rounding followed by Hobart and URI in hot pursuit. By the second windward mark URI had taken the lead. Around the last leeward mark rounding URI began to extend away from the fleet and easily won the race. It is an exciting day for URI as it is the first time they have ever made a presence at the Women’s National Championship. They won the event by ten points with four teams right on their tail. The winning URI team is: Amy Hawkins, Caroline Hall, Chanel Miller, Danielle Fougere and Katie Coupland. Miller is a freshman on the team and their B-division skipper, “I cannot even believe this as a freshman—to have this happen, it’s amazing.” Hawkins explains, “we had a lot of New England teams come and practice with us in Rhode Island to prepare for this event and they kept telling us the current was going to be this strong, but we did not believe them…now we do.” They certainly caught on to the conditions well.
It was a difficult event due to all of the postponements and stopping and starting, not to mention the challenging conditions that the Gorge presented; rain, its strong currents and unpredictable winds. The top five teams were very close and were swapping positions in the standings constantly. It was a great event with fair sailing and the Columbia Gorge Racing Association and Northwest Intercollegiate Sailing Association were excellent hosts along with all of their volunteer helpers. All of the collegiate teams raced hard and offered great competitive sailing. Up next is the APS/ICSA Team Race National Championships, the racing begins tomorrow at 10 a.m. Follow the event live online and for full results and information about this event and others visit the regatta website. Congratulations to all of the teams competing in the Sperry Top-Sider/ICSA Women’s National Championship.
Top Ten Teams:
1. University of Rhode Island
2. Connecticut College
3. St. Mary’s College of Maryland
4. Brown University
5. Yale University
6. Old Dominion University
7. Harvard University
8. U.S. Coast Guard Academy
9. Georgetown University
10. Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Nationals Website: 2011nationals.collegesailing.info
Video coverage of the racing and interviews with sailors are available on Sailgroove.
View photos of the event at GTS Photos: www.gtsphotos.com
The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. Visit www.collegesailing.org to learn more. The ICSA National Championships are sponsored by Sperry Top-Sider (www.sperrytopsider.com), Annapolis Performance Sailing (www.apsltd.com), Gill North America (www.gillna.com),
The third day of Women’s Nationals brought light winds to start but ended with close racing.
Cascade Locks, OR – Today was the third day of the Sperry Top-Sider/ICSA Women’s National Championship hosted by the Columbia Gorge Racing Association and the Northwest Intercollegiate Sailing Association. The sailors arrived at the Columbia River venue this morning to very little wind and a postponed for almost four hours. It gave Jen Morgan Glass the opportunity to begin her clinic and educate the women’s sailors who did not advance beyond the First Round qualifier for Nationals, about skiff sailing in 29ers. It was a cloudy day with temperatures in the mid to low 50s. Once the women were able to start racing both divisions completed four races.
Once A-division hit the water for their third race of the event and the racing sequence got started the breeze picked up to around 5-10 knots from the southerly direction. The Windward/Leeward course was set closer to the Oregon shore today, which meant that side of the course was desirable on the downwind legs because there is less current in the shallower water for the sailors to contend with, and it was less desirable upwind when the sailors want the current to push them up the course. The women appeared ready for the current today, as their first start was clean with no recalls.
It was close racing in the A-division set with the leaders in the race switching positions around each mark. College of Charleston fought back from mid-fleet to win the first race of the day. In race 2A, as with most of the racing thus far, the leader of the race changes frequently and when it looked like University of Rhode Island and the University of South Florida were going to lead the race, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Yale and Boston College finished the top three spots.
When B-division came out for their first set of the day they had about 7-11 knots winds, but their first start was a general recall. By the time the race got started again the breeze had died to around 4-6 knots—barely enough to fight the 6 knot current, so once they rounded the first windward mark there was not enough wind to complete the race and the fleet was sent in for a postponement. The sailors waited two hours when some rain came and brought enough breezes to get back in their boats. In the meantime the 29er clinic coached by Jen Morgan Glass, was able to get in the boats a bit and mess around in the light air.
Puffs of 15 knots started to roll down the river encouraging the B-fleet to get out to the starting line. The breeze continued to gust between 9-20 knots as race 3B progressed. The half of the fleet that did not compete in the First Round event seemed to be more comfortable in the conditions as teams like Stanford University and Hobart and William Smith Colleges were leading around marks. Harvard University, Yale and Connecticut College finished as the top three. The top of the fleet overall are very close in points at this point with a 12 point spread between first and fifth places. The wind started to get steady in race 4B around 8 knots, just enough to sail in the current. There was another general recall in 4B; it seems to be a common issue in the conditions on the Columbia River Gorge. St. Mary’s, Yale and Georgetown took the top three in this race.
In the last set for A-division, URI won race 5A. St. Mary’s College moved up to second place after winning races 5A and 6A—with an exciting finish in 6A overtaking Old Dominion at the finish. Megan Magill ’11 and Meredith Powlison ’11 picked up where their B-division Mimi Roller ’12 and Katie Gluskin ’13 left off, who won the previous 4B race. It seems as though the women had found their groove. St. Mary’s B-division also won a protest against URI from race 3B.
The breeze stayed steady at 5-12 knots for the B-division set. ODU took the lead overall after race 5B and URI relinquished their lead dropping to third place, but they were still within three points of each other. URI came back to win race 6B the last race of the day that ended around 8 p.m. Katie Gluskin from St. Mary’s explains, “it was hard to stay in it (racing mode) when you have postponements for so many hours…yesterday we thought we knew what we were getting into, but we really didn’t. Today we felt more comfortable and tomorrow will be even better because we will be even more prepared.” St. Mary’s had a strong showing in both divisions today, “You hope to be a team who can come to one of these events and win it on the last day, and we are a team who can,” says St. Mary’s head coach, Adam Werblow.
It still feels like it’s anyone’s regatta to win, the scores are very close and there is more racing to come. Tomorrow the exciting racing on the Gorge will continue. The fourth and final day of racing for the Women’s National Championship is tomorrow. Racing is scheduled to commence at 9 a.m. and the day will finish off with an awards banquet starting at 6 p.m. The Women’s All-America Team will be announced as well as the Quantum Women’s Sailor of The Year. On Friday, May 27 the APS/ICSA Team Race National Championship will begin and last until Sunday, May 29. Follow the racing online on the event website and watch videos on Sailgroove.
Nationals Website: 2011nationals.collegesailing.info
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2011
Contact: Jennifer Vandemoer Mitchell
763-234-8286
The First Round of Women’s racing finished with Yale University on top and the Final National Championship has begun.
Cascade Locks, OR (May 24, 2011) – Today’s racing began with the final races for the First Round Women’s teams, who were competing to make it in the top nine to move on to race in the Final Round of the Sperry Top-Sider / ICSA Women’s National Championships. The conditions this morning were more pleasant than yesterday with lighter winds ranging between 14-17 mph and more sun shine with temperatures in the low to mid 60s. It was a westerly breeze and although the wind was more manageable, it made the current more challenging, the women had to work harder to fight its strength on the downwind legs. The women sailed Windward/Leeward four or five courses and were able to complete the event with both A-division and B-division finishing two races making the required event total of eight races.
The first race of the day (7A) began with a general recall as the sailors were adjusting to dealing with the current in the lighter winds that was pushing them over the line. The University of Rhode Island won the first race of the day. They finished up yesterday in third overall and despite the first day leader, Yale University, finishing in 11th place in the first race, Yale was able to hold on to their overall lead. In the B-division set the wind lightened up a little more to 11 mph and had a general recall in the first race. The second start was good and they had a clean start in the last race, 8B as well. URI won the last race of the First Round and Yale University hung on to their lead winning the qualifying round. The qualifying teams (in order) moving onto the Finals are: Yale, Brown, URI, Coast Guard, ODU, Harvard, University of South Florida, Eckerd and Georgetown. Find final results at the event website: 2011nationals.collegesailing.info
After a break for lunch, racing for the Women’s National Championships began. The sun still shining, the women sailed out to the course in 4-8 mph westerly winds. The racing moved along slowly in the afternoon as the sailors have to battle the current out to the starting line and the unusually light winds were only adding to the difficulty. ODU had a strong first race in A-division, showing that their last day and a half of racing in the difficult conditions paid off. In race 2A a few boats were over early, but not enough for a general recall and Georgetown University took the victory in that race. B-division’s first race had a slight delay due to lack of wind and once they got started they experienced slow racing for their first set due to the winds not being strong enough to fight the current. Once B-division made it in for A-division to switch in there was a postponement on shore. After an hour postponement the race committee called the racing for the day because the wind did not fill in strongly enough.
The University of Rhode Island sailors, in A- division Amy Hawkins ’12 with Caroline Hall ’12 and in B-division Chanel Miller ’14 with Danielle Sougere ’12, finished the day first overall. “What helped us a lot was having sailed in the First Round yesterday and today. We knew what to do on the downwind, it was familiar racing,” says URI’s head coach Clinton Hayes. It certainly shows in the current scores that the teams who have already been sailing for a day are at a slight advantage with some practice under their belts. The top six teams are all teams who competed in the First Round.
With only one set in each division completed the regatta is certainly still wide open for competition. The racing will begin tomorrow at 9 a.m., hopefully with enough breezes to keep the racing going. Visit the event website for results, live coverage and more information: 2011nationals.collegesailing.info
The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. Visit www.collegesailing.org to learn more. The ICSA National Championships are sponsored by Sperry Top-Sider (www.sperrytopsider.com), Annapolis Performance Sailing (www.apsltd.com), Gill North America (www.gillna.com),
DAY ONE OF WOMEN’S FIRST ROUND NATIONALS COMPETITION
Eighteen collegiate women’s teams vie for a spot in the final Nationals competition.
Cascade Locks, OR (May 23, 2011) – Today was the first day of racing for the final berths to the Sperry Top-Sider/ICSA Women’s National Championships. Eighteen teams competed today for a spot in the top nine that will allow them to advance to the final round of competition for the Gerald C. Miller Memorial Trophy. The top none from this round will be added to the nine already qualified teams in the Final Round of Nationals. The Finals are scheduled to begin tomorrow afternoon.
There was a slight delay to the start of racing this morning with a committee boat breakdown, but once the sailing got started it was a good day on the Columbia River Gorge. The sun was in and out with an occasional shower and temperatures hovered in the low to mid 50s. The air seemed chilly especially with the westerly breeze blowing down the river at 15-18 mph with gusts to 25 mph in the afternoon. The current was ripping in the river making for challenging conditions for the competitors. The courses run today were Windward/Leeward’s either four or five times around. Both A-division and B-division were able to complete six races.
The most challenging aspect of the day was getting used to the strong currents that would carry the sailors over the starting line early, therefore, making sure to time starts accurately became an essential part of the day. The upwind legs were very quick moving as the boats were sailing with the current, but once they reached the windward mark to turn downwind the racing would halt, “the current compressed the fleet on the runs changing the pace of the race because once you rounded the mark everything slowed tremendously,” says Mitch Brindley, president of the ICSA.
It was a good day for New England sailors, the top four teams are from the New England district and leading the event all day were Yale University (New Haven, CT) sailors Claire Dennis ’13 with Heather May ’13 in A-division and in B-division Emily Billing ’13 with Amanda Salvesen ’14. “Being patient on the downwind is what set us apart in the racing today, people would cross in the middle of the run too early. It was about staying consistent and not making big mistakes,” says Salvesen. In preparation for the event the Yale sailors spent a lot of time discussing the conditions that they were going to face in the Gorge and they were ready for the windy conditions.
Behind Yale is Brown University (Providence, RI), whose sailors also enjoyed sailing in the big breeze, but John Mollicone, head coach of the Brown Team says, “tomorrow we will be better on the starting line.” Sailors Elizabeth Barry ’11 and Jessica Claflin ’13 in A-division and Emily Dellenbaugh ’12 with Cecilia Strombeck ’11 suffered being over early in their second B-division race, but will certainly have learned about the conditions today to prevent it tomorrow. There were a couple general recalls today, but not as many as one would expect with the boats travelling at almost six knots in the current.
There is a 60-point spread between first and ninth places with 5th – 9th place only a few points apart. It was a day of close competition and the conditions mean that anything can happen on the racecourse. The prediction for tomorrow is for lighter breeze, which will help to keep the races moving and hopefully keep the sailors from capsizing and having to chase down their boats in the strong current. “Today we saw standard spring Gorge weather, with puffy winds and some light rains, but we are on target for tomorrow to get our minimum of 8 races off in each division,” explains Kyle Eaton, the regatta chairman.
Racing will begin again tomorrow at 9 a.m. for the First Round women’s. If all of the required races are completed in the morning, racing is set to begin for the Women’s Final National Championships Round at 1 p.m. Find full results and follow the racing and scores live on the event website: 2011nationals.collegesailing.info
Top Nine Teams
1. Yale University
2. Brown University
3. University of Rhode Island
4. U.S. Coast Guard Academy
5. Old Dominion University
6. Georgetown University
7. Eckerd College
8. Harvard University
9. University of South Florida
The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. Visit www.collegesailing.org to learn more. The ICSA National Championships are sponsored by Sperry Top-Sider (www.sperrytopsid
er.com), Annapolis Performance Sailing (www.apsltd.com), Gill North America (www.gillna.com),
1. TABOR
2. Newport Harbor
3. Hotchkiss
4. Point Loma
5. Antilles
6. Lake Forest
7. St. Thomas
8. Norfolk
9. Corona Del Mar
10. Annapolis
11. Rockwall
12. Bainbridge
For speciifc scores go here:
http://www.highschoolsailingusa.org/NationalsResults/11BakerResults.htm
The teams have been finalized and the 2011 Intercollegiate Sailing
Association’s National Championships will begin next week and continue for
nine days including three regattas.
Cascade Locks, OR (May 20, 2011) – The Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s
three national championships, ICSA/Sperry Top-Sider Women’s National
Championship, ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship, and the ICSA/Gill
Dinghy National Championship commence Monday, May 23 with the Women’s event,
which will last for four days immediately followed by the Team Race
Championship and the Dinghy Championship consecutively each lasting for
three days. All of the events will be sailed in Club Flying Juniors (CFJs).
These exciting events are the highest caliber regattas in the collegiate
sailing year and are the culmination of two seasons of intense competition.
The racing will take place in Cascade Locks, Oregon approximately 40 minutes
east of Portland, on the Columbia Gorge River where the currents and winds
can be particularly strong and challenging for the competitors. The strong
winds are due to temperature gradients between the desert and pacific coast
while the cold and quick moving currents are due to the large volume of
water the river carries and the chilly snowmelt and runoff that flow into
the river. The Columbia Gorge Racing Association (www.cgra.org) and the
Northwest Intercollegiate Sailing Association (www.nwicsa.com) are hosting
the events and have been working diligently to arrange for a series of races
at their beautiful venue. To learn more about which teams are competing and
to follow the racing live, visit the event website (
2011nationals.collegesailing.info).
The Women’s Championship starts Monday morning with an 8 a.m. report time,
the event begins with a single round robin First Round of qualifying races
for the 18 women’s teams who have made it to a semifinal round, but not yet
made it to the final competition round. The First Round group will race
until they complete at least the required number of races (16) for nine
teams to join the nine previously qualified Finals teams to compete for the
Gerald C. Miller Memorial Trophy. Once the 18 final teams have been
determined the Finals racing will commence in a single round robin and
continue until May 26.
For the nine women’s teams that did not make it to the Final racing there
will be a clinic for them to participate in May 25 -26, run by head coach
Jen Morgan-Glass, a board member of the *Skiff Sailing Foundation* and
President of the U.S. 29er Class. Kyle Eaton, the Regatta Coordinator for
the events, is particularly excited to have Morgan-Glass come with a team of
skiff coaches, 29ers and 29erXX boats for the women to practice in, “with
the ISAF announcement of the Women’s Skiff Class in the 2016 Olympics, this
is a great opportunity for women sailors to be introduced to the class. They
will be sailing on site with the Finals racing which adds another element of
excitement.” The clinic will include drills and racing for the women to
rotate through and gain a solid introduction to the boats.
The ICSA/Sperry Top-Sider Women’s Championship will culminate in an awards
banquet at 6:00 p.m. at the Port of Cascade Locks Pavilion, with dinner and
the announcement of the winners of the event. Jen Morgan-Glass will also be
a guest speaker at the banquet. In addition to the racing awards, the
announcement of the ICSA Women’s All-America Team will be made as well as
the Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year.
Racing will begin on May 27 for the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship
with an 8 a.m. report time for the teams. The 14 teams have been divided
into two groups of seven and each group will complete a single round robin
to determine a “gold fleet” of the top eight teams. Group One will race
first in the morning and Group Two will commence racing at 1 p.m. on May 27.
Once the top eight teams have been determined that “gold fleet” will
complete a double round robin to determine the top final four teams while a
single consolation round robin will be held for the six remaining teams who
were not in the “gold fleet.” The four top teams will compete for the Walter
C. Wood Memorial Trophy. The racing will be completed on May 29 followed by
an awards banquet at 6 p.m. at the Port of Cascade Locks Pavilion to award
the winners and enjoy dinner.
The ICSA/Gill Dinghy National Championship will commence May 30 at 8 a.m.
for 18 qualified collegiate coed teams. It will be a single round robin of
racing scheduled to continue through June 1. The teams will be competing for
the Henry A. Morse Memorial Trophy and the winners will be awarded at a
banquet held at the Port of Cascade Locks Pavilion at 6 p.m. Morgan Larson,
a world celebrated American sailor will be a guest speaker for the evening.
Other awards presented at this banquet will include the ICSA Coed and
Honorable Mention All-America Teams, the ICSA Crew All-America Team, the
Fowle Trophy, Quantum College Sailor of The Year, Leadership and Service
Awards as well as the new member of the ICSA Hall of Fame.
The field has been set and the nearly 30 schools scheduled to compete in the
events have been practicing hard in the last week in preparation for the
biggest regatta of their season, the National Championships. The 9 days will
cover a variety of different weather conditions and racing run and judged by
premiere sailors in the sport. This is sure to be a series of challenging,
but fun and exciting sailing. To learn more and follow the racing live visit
the event website: www.2011nationals.collegesailing.info
Contact: Jennifer Vandemoer Mitchell
Melges 24 Worlds Video on Sailgroove.org
By Aimee Poisson
Lesson plans, the weapons of choice for organized teachers and professors, are also indispensable tools for coaches and instructors in all sports, but especially sailing. Having a plan is absolutely necessary for all classes and borrowing the structured lesson plans from teachers can be a great way to structure your practices and clinics. Sailors (particularly kids) come to a sailing practice or clinic in order to learn new concepts and build upon skills. As their coach, it is your responsibility to instill the message in a way that will help them achieve their goals and increase their understanding of the sport. [Read more…] about Sailing Program Lesson Plans: What to do?
Cascade Locks, Oregon – May 27-29 2011
by Martha Pitt
The Event: Now that all of the regional team racing championships have been completed, the fourteen berths for the ICSA/APS National Team Race Championship have been filled and the teams are gearing up to head to Cascade Locks, Oregon at the end of the month to sail for the title. Team racing challenges teams to combine boat speed, tactics, knowledge of the rules, and racing strategy with their ability to work together and sail as a cohesive unit to defeat opponents in a true test of comprehensive sailing skill. The teams that will be competing in the Gorge in a few weeks have all proven their ability to effectively team race, and their skills will surely be put to the test as they face each other for a chance win the coveted championship.
Check out the ICSA TR Rankings
The Format: The teams have been seeded into two groups according to where they finished in their regional qualifiers. The two groups separately sail a Qualification Round Robin to determine the final eight, where the top four teams from each group move on to the Winner’s Double Round Robin. The bottom six teams in the regatta sail a single Consolation Round Robin. All scores from the Qualification Round are important, but some more so than others depending on which teams make it into the top eight and the bottom six. Though the overall records do not carry over from the Qualification Round, scores from races between opponents that were in the same groups initially are carried over to the first Winner’s Round Robin and the Consolation Round (i.e. in the first Winner’s Round, teams will only sail against the teams that they have not yet faced, and the scores for the other races will be taken from the Qualification Round). That way, by the start of the second Winner’s Round, each team remaining will have faced each other an equal number of times. After completion of the second round robin, the top four teams will all face each other one more time to determine the winner of the Walter C. Wood Trophy, and the national title.
The Contenders: From the Mid-Atlantic, Georgetown sits atop many lists for this year’s nationals predictions, and rightfully so. They have a lot of experience at this event from year’s past, and have already proven themselves consistently throughout the season. Coming off of a win at their qualifiers and led by former College Sailor of the Year Charlie Buckingham, they are sure to be a force in the Final Four. Defending champion St. Mary’s has always been a force with whom to be reckoned, though this year they have struggled more than usual to stay at the top, plagued by injuries to their top sailor, Michael Menninger. The final team qualifying from MAISA is Hobart and William Smith, another very strong team that is equally consistent. HWS has proven to have a cohesive style of team racing that has been tough to beat. Both of these tough competitors will have to work hard to make it back into that Final Four round, but are certainly capable.
The three New England teams that qualified will pose a serious threat to those hoping to make it to the finals. Boston College has been a strong competitor all season on the team racing circuit with Taylor Canfield, Tyler Sinks, and Annie Haeger topping the rankings most of the season. All three sailed in Nationals last year along with all of their crews, finishing second to St. Mary’s in a tie-breaker, so the Eagles have a strong and experienced squad returning to vie for the championship. They dominated in the NEISA qualifier, losing only two races the entire event, and will look to do so at nationals as well. Yale and Roger Williams also qualified from New England, finishing second and third, respectively. Yale had a slower start to the season, but have certainly shown more improvement than any other team in the country. Their performance at the qualifier proves that they are ready for the tough competition and will be a force in the Gorge. Roger Williams, actually making their debut at Team Race Nationals, is one of the fastest teams on the water, especially in FJs, and certainly has the team racing skills to match. Cy Thompson has led this team through plenty of tough competition, so we will see if they can sustain it for one more event!
Having dominated team racing in the Southern Atlantic conference, College of Charleston is another serious contender, coming off of an undefeated qualifier and an overall prosperous season. With a deep team carrying lots of experience, they will surely be amped up to improve on last year’s fourth place finish at this event. USF and Tulane have also qualified from SAISA, and will have to go above and beyond what we have seen from them so far this season to make it into the Winner’s Round.
Reporting from the Midwest is University of Wisconsin, last year’s championship hosts, and Northwestern University. Wisconsin has shown vast improvement over the past few years and is certainly on an upswing in talent, increasingly getting themselves to the top of the fleet. Breaking into the top eight at last year’s event, they have put themselves on the map, so to speak, but they will still need to be on their A-game to compete with the traditional college sailing powerhouses. We haven’t seen as much of Northwestern on the national circuit as we have with most of the other teams, so hopefully they will surprise us with the speed and skills necessary to compete on the race course.
Finally, three teams will be representing the two conferences on the West Coast. Stanford, with undoubtedly the strongest freshmen class on the water, is young but fierce. With a steep learning curve, this team doesn’t have as much college team racing experience behind them, but don’t be fooled; the young team has some serious talent and should not be overlooked to do some damage. Joining the Cardinals from the PCCSC are the UC Irvine Anteaters, and with plenty of team racing experience and speed, they will make the qualifying round very challenging. Finally, the local team at the Gorge will be the University of Oregon, the lone team to qualify from the Northern Pacific conference. U. of Oregon is another team that we haven’t seen much of on the national circuit, so we look to seeing what they’ll bring to the competition!
The Countdown: Just over two weeks remain until the championship begins, directly following the Women’s Nationals. Teams have been training hard all year, and with the expected solid breeze that is characteristic of the Gorge, the teams that have been pushing themselves both mentally and physically are sure to have an edge at this venue. Over the course of three days, the fourteen teams will take their skills to the water to fight for the top spot; for one team, in just twenty races, picking through the competition one opponent at a time, they will prove that they deserve the title of 2011 ICSA Team Racing National Champion.
Check out the ICSA TR Rankings
Visit the official ICSA Team Race Nationals website:
www.j24eastcoastchampionship.com
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2011
North Sails’ Nick Turney to Provide Free Coaching for J/24 ECC
The 2011 Hillman Capital Management J/24 East Coast Championship (ECC) is pleased to announce the
addition of another fine coach to assist competitors free of charge at this world class event. Nick Turney, of
North Sails, will help to bring a new level of service and support to participating sailors.
Nick Turney grew up in Toledo Ohio. He spent his childhood racing Optimists and other smaller one design
boats such as Interlake’s, Lightning’s, and Thistles out of North Cape Yacht Club, in LaSalle, Michigan. Over
the course of his Junior Sailing career, he qualified twice for the US Sailing Bemis Finals, and once for the
Smythe Finals. Working for North Sails Toledo while going thru school, he learned the fundamentals of sail
repair and construction. Nick has been a sail maker for 10 years holding various positions in sail repair, new
sail production, floor manager, and most recently, owner of North Sails Cleveland. Nick has an impressive
track record in the Midwest and Lake Erie, racing on anything from one design boats to larger PHRF and IRC
yachts. Nick currently focuses his time on the Thistle, Lightning, and Highlander one design classes, and races
in the Farr 40, Melges 24, J22, and J24 classes. He has achieved many top 10 finishes in World, North
American, and National championships in these classes.
At the East Coast Championship, Turney will be on the water to observe races and note in particular, teams who
may be struggling. Later on shore, Turney will conduct debriefing sessions with the goal of providing strategies,
tactics and tips to the lower tier finishers.
As the regatta schedule is finalized, pre-event coaching and a tuning workshop may be added to the practice
day. More details will be announced closer to the regatta date.
For further information contact:
Mark Hillman Tel:240‐744‐4500 email: [email protected] www.j24eastcoastchampionship.com
As we head toward the ICSA Team Race National Championship, the Sail1Design ICSA Team Race rankings provide some insight going into the big event. For the first time this spring, we have a new #1, Georgetown, supplanting Boston College atop the rankings. A big mover this time was Yale, vaulting up to #5, while Charleston stayed steady along with Roger Williams, but Harvard took a fall as they missed qualifying for the big dance. Here are the latest top 15 ICSA Team Race Teams:
https://www.sail1design.com/rankings/icsa-rankings
This is a list compiled of what our panel thinks are the top teams in the country, and some did not qualify for the National Championship. To see the complete list of qualified teams, click the link below:
Stay tuned for more on the Team Race Nationals!