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S1D High School Team of the Year Awards Nominations Now Open!

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It’s that time of year!! Please send in your letter to [email protected] with your nomination for the High School Team of the Year.     Read below for more information

HIGH SCHOOL SAILING TEAM OF THE YEAR, presented by KO SAILING

Sail1Design supports high school sailing, because it is where future great one-design sailors, in may cases, are made. We are proud to present this award annually to the top high school sailing team in the country. Our panel of judges looks at the entire season of district events, and of course, the Mallory and Baker National Championship results. To win this award, at a minimum, the team must qualify for at least one of these events. We also look for participation in the Singhlended Cressy National championship in the fall. Finally, we encourage written nomination submissions. If you think your sailing team deserves this award, tell us why in a 200 word minimum letter, to [email protected]. This award is presented annually, in June, after the preceding year’s full high school sailing season.
Nominations close on 30 JUNE 2018AWARD WINNERS
2015-2016    –St. George’s School
2016-2017    –Point Loma High School

2017-2018    -???
 

Quantum Sails is Hiring!

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At Quantum, we’re connected to sailors everywhere through our love of sailing and our belief that facing every challenge head-on is infinitely rewarding. Quantum Sails is currently looking for a Grand Prix Sailmaker. (click here to see job ad)

For us, that means challenging convention – especially if that’s what it takes to help our customers and the sailing industry get to new, better places. As a company and as individuals, we embrace every single challenge you bring our way as our own.

Since 1996, we have focused on providing the best-performing products in sailing. Today, we’re equally relentless about delivering a higher standard of service, customer care, education, support and mentorship. It’s how we’ll continue to help sailors at all levels pursue their passions and achieve their aspirations.

Our commitment starts with our dedicated employees at more than 60 sail lofts around the world and includes hundreds more working behind the scenes to design, build and service Quantum® sails. 

Quantum has taken the art and science of sailmaking to the highest level to produce the most efficient and fastest sail shapes possible. Quantum’s proprietary iQ Technology® system was created by experts with over 20 years of knowledge and expertise in both sailing and the complexities of engineered structures. The computational tool set of iQ Technology® is used by our experienced designers to perform virtual testing and complex analysis of aerodynamic performance and determine the ideal structural requirements of each sail.

Integrating state-of-the-art sail design and manufacturing methods with on-the-water-testing, Quantum® sails are perfected to offer sailors of all levels outstanding performance, consistency and repeat-ability.

An Interview with Women’s College Sailor of the Year Dana Rohde

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Editor’s Note: It was very gratifying to review this article for publishing, as it made me recall the origins of this award. Since I am also a history teacher, here’s a little story for you. Way back in 2002, I owned “Quantum Sails Northeast” in Maine, and was running that business while coaching college sailing at Bowdoin. My loft was heavily invested in dinghy sails, and wanted to support college sailing, so I brought up the idea of a women’s college sailor of the year award to the partners of Quantum Sail Design Group. After some discussion, QSDG agreed, and that very next spring, I was off to Detroit on a plane, with the new crystal trophy sitting in the empty seat next to me, to present to the very first winner, Corrie Clement of ODU, the very first “Quantum Female Sailor of the Year Award.” Since then, it’s become a staple of the ICSA award ceremony, and it’s great now, as I sit here working with Sail1Design, to read an Airwaves report on the award I remember helping bring to life. Pretty cool. -ts

By Senior Airwaves Writer Taylor Penwell

How did you get into the sport of sailing?

My dad grew up sailing in Bellport, New York. He attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy where he met my mom, because my mom was so small he asked her if she wanted to learn how to sail. They were both on the team all four years of college, and were a part of USMMA team that won the coed nationals in 1982 and the team race nationals in 1983. My two older sisters sail, and my initial push to sail was due to my want to be like them. It did not take me long, however, to realize that I myself loved every part of the sport.

Where was it that you first started sailing?

My first sailing lessons were in Savannah, Georgia at the Savannah Sailing Center. This sailing center was on a small lake and was what was left behind after the 1996 Olympic Games. I took lessons here until I was about 8 and then began doing the summer program at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club in Beaufort, SC.

What appealed to you about racing?

I have always been a very competitive person when it comes to sports. So I inherently loved the competition of racing. When I began racing I was quite frankly awful at it, so the challenge to get better really excited me. I can still remember the distinct change in my racing when I stopped counting how many boats were behind me (because that was a smaller number of boats then those ahead of me) and began counting the number of boats in front of me. I am still working hard to get better and better at racing, and love the fact that you have never just figured it out or reached your best. You can always get faster, point higher, and become smarter.

What were some of the boats you sailed in your junior career?

I started in the opti like most other sailors, but really did not love it. I quickly transitioned out of the opti at the age of 12 and into the Laser 4.7. I quickly fell in love with the boat. It was faster, more technical, and more physical. I sailed the Laser Radial for most of my youth sailing, and trained with the Lauderdale Yacht Club (LYC) Racing team. I sailed club 420’s in some big regattas, but always jumped quickly back in the laser were my heart was. I also sailed High School sailing and that was always so fun, and made the transition into college sailing a little easier.

What were some of your favorite memories about sailing during your youth?

Oh man, junior sailing was awesome! I have so many good memories. The weekends I spent down in Fort Lauderdale sailing with the LYC team were always so fun. We would sail hard for long five hour sessions, come off the water and talk about sailing, then go straight back on the water to wakeboard and water ski – it was exhausting but a blast. Another cool memory was when I got to sail against my oldest sister Krysta at the Laser Midwinters in Clearwater, FL when she was a senior at the United States Coast Guard Academy. Krysta has always been one of my biggest idols in sailing and life in general, but I was never able to sail against her because she was seven years older than me. So it was just so fun being able to sail in a regatta with my sister. My best memory, however, was driving across country with my mom during the summer before my Junior year of high school to sail in regattas across the country. We packed up our small hatchback volkswagen with my laser on top and started out. Our first stop was Newport, RI for the Brooke Gonzalez clinic, then we headed to Chicago for the Lieter Cup, next to the Gorge in Oregon, then to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and finally home. There aren’t many opportunities in life to spend endless hours talking and hanging out with just your mom. This will be a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Tell us about some of your junior racing highlights?

Winning the 2013 Junior Women’s SingleHanded National Championship (The Lieter Cup), Placing 9th in the 2012 Orange Bowl Regatta in the Laser Radial.

When you were looking at college sailing programs, what things were you looking for?

I was so excited for college sailing, so I was looking for schools that gave me a good opportunity to sail every weekend. I wanted to sail for coaches that took Womens sailing just as seriously as coed and wanted to sail with a team that worked hard everyday to get better. The USCGA sailing team truly lived up to all my expectations. We sailed every weekend in the sailing season. The coaches took every part of college sailing and every sailor on my team seriously, they treated us all equally no matter what – making us the first team in recent memory to finish in the top ten in coed nationals while sailing all female sailors. And finally the team is extremely hardworking and dedicated to not just the sport, but to each other.

Why did you decide to attend USCGA?

This was honestly such a hard decision for me, I was so scared of everything that came along with going to a service academy: swab summer (boot camp), being away from family a lot, and huge culture shock. I did not know what I wanted to do in life though, all I knew is that I wanted to help people in some aspect and I knew I would be able to do that at the USCGA. I had been accepted to the Academy and could not pass up an opportunity that offered me so much in the end. It ended up being the best decision I ever made. Every fear I had ended up being no big deal, and made me stronger in the end!

How do you feel you have progressed since your freshman year sailing?

I feel that I have become a smarter and less emotional sailor. Our team talks so much about the specifics of sailing and works so hard to understand the game more and more. Brian and Chris are two of the best coaches that I could have asked for, and have worked with me in being a stronger and less emotionally driven sailor.

What do you attribute to your success during your college sailing career?

My coaches and teammates, my awesome crews that have sailed with me the past four years and taught me so much, and my family. My family has supported me tremendously before college sailing and has continued through college sailing. I’m pretty sure that they will miss spending every Saturday and Sunday refreshing TechScore.

How do your team and coaches help push you to be better?

The team is incredible. We are so competitive at practice, almost simulating the feeling of regattas everyday. We also, though, are so close and friendly off the water, which helps in sharing information and getting better as a team. My team also just makes sailing fun, and when you’re having fun you’re always getting better. Brian and Chris do so much to push us. They take the time to get to know each of us and know what makes us tick. They know when we need tough love, when we need encouragement, and when we just need sound advice. Brian and Chris act as members of the team, when we do bad in a regatta they take just as much responsibility in the result as we do and work just as hard to get better for the next time. They make us internalize our failures but do not allow us to dwell on them. In conclusion, I just feel lucky to have sailed on a team with such hardworking coaches and teammates.

Can you review with us about this past season?

This past year was so busy with school and military obligations, so sailing was my escape and enjoyment everyday. I tried to just take in and enjoy every regatta realizing that it was my last year, which is honestly so sad. I did not expect to have the success this season that I did, but it was so excited when it all started to come together for my crew, Maddie Ekin and I, It is always more fun to win races and regattas, but the most fun part was sailing with the team we had this year.

What were some goals you had going into this season?

I did not know what to expect from this year because I had not sailed in many A-Division women’s regattas prior to this year. Early on in the season, however, my goals became to help our team qualify for both coed and women’s national championship and become the best team we could be by the championship.

Had you sailed in College Nationals any other years on your career?

I have sailed in Women’s Nationals all four years of college sailing. The team has made it to coed nationals all four years that I have been on the team, and have actually sailed in coed nationals for the last two years.

How’d Nationals go for you and your team?

Nationals did not go exactly how my team or I wanted it to go necessarily. The team, however, learned so much in that week and a half which will be so helpful in the years to come because the team is only losing myself and one other senior. I am so excited for the future of the USCGA sailing team.

How did you feel when you were announced as college women’s sailor of the year?

It was a lot of emotions. I was so excited and humbled to receive the award, but also so sad that my women’s college sailing career was officially over! It was something I truly never thought I would ever receive when I entered college sailing, but something I had always had my eye on. I have sailed against so many incredible female sailors this year that have pushed me so hard, so it was extremely humbling to receive that award.

What does it mean to have this award bestowed to you?

So many incredible women’s sailors who I have always looked up to have won this award, so being named to this list of sailors has meant so much to me. It was the best way to finish my college sailing career and to realize that the hard work that I have put towards this passion of mine has paid off. Every time I look at this award I think of how much fun I had in college sailing and how many truly incredible people I met.

What are your plans after college?

I will be reporting to the Coast Guard Cutter Juniper in Newport, RI as a deck watch officer. I will be assigned to this cutter for two years. I will be serving in the Coast Guard for at least 5 years.

What did you study in school?

Operations Research and Computer Analysis

How do you intend to stay connected to sailing moving forward?

I want to stay very involved with college sailing by helping the USCGA sailing team and in any other way I can help. I want to continue to sail in any way I can, which I think will be pretty easy while living in Newport, RI. I do not have any specific plans right now, because I know that first few months of working in the Coast Guard will be extremely busy but I know I want to continue to sail.

What does the sport of sailing need?

Sailing needs more grassroots sailing programs to bring non-sailing families into the sport.

What advice do you have for junior sailors who are interested in racing in college?

If I could give any advice it would be to have fun with junior sailing and sail whatever boat makes that most possible. Don’t make sailing a job, make it your escape. Finally, do not expect to come into college sailing as good as you left junior sailing, no one does. College sailing is hard and not exactly like any other sailing you have done, come in expecting to work hard and with hard work you can accomplish everything you want to. Have fun with it, it’s the best sailing you’ll ever do!

Optimist Sailor Development: Coach & Athlete Relation vs Parent Involvement

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By new Airwaves Optimist Reporter Bernat Gali Bou
Optimist Sailing is without a doubt a unique class among the wide range of existing fleets in the Sailing World. Targeted solely for kids, none has got the history, the curriculum and the reputation the Optimist Class enjoys around the World, and that’s why it has remained almost untouched, respecting it’s design, since it was introduced a long time ago.
Being the introductory class to the youngest athletes in this sport, I find sailing one of the most complex yet exciting sports a young athlete can be exposed to. The wide range of skills this young sailors are introduced to since a very young age (technique, fitness, tactics, rules, strategy, meteorology and so on) shape them not only as athlete but as a whole person for the rest of their lives.
Especially in this particular young age, the coach & athlete relationship is very analogous to a teacher & student relationship one might find at school. In their young years, the exposure they have to different inputs coming from different places is off the charts; and as a Coach, I believe we have quite a strong impact on how the sailor will sail for the rest of their life. This comes with a very strong responsibility, because at this age a person develops her or his own personality, and coaches can really make a difference.
Throughout the years I developed many sailors around the World (Spain, Myanmar, New Zealand, Iceland, USA) and I recognize the need of finding a point of balance when it comes to parents and their degree of involvement in the Opti Sailing Career of their child. Particularly in the Optimist Class, parents obviously are the sponsors, whom invest in their children and their passion for Sailing. Coaches are part of this investment, and because this unique situation, I find it essential to engage them in the process. The significant investment in time, money, and effort made by parents is evidence of their desire to help develop. This desire should be channeled in the right direction for the sailor.
In my experience, the Coach & Athlete relationship develops from mutual respect, a sort of give and take, and obviously from providing the sailor with the necessary knowledge and support so he/she can reach his/her goals in the future. How do we fit parents in then? How can we, Coaches, engage the parents in a way they feel involved but don’t step into our job?
I don’t really have an answer for it, but I learnt that honesty and communication can make a big difference in whether the sailor benefits from it or not. I’m no parent, but I understand how difficult it might be to send your child out on the water and not being able to know if he’s alright, if he’s having fun, if he’s sailing fast.. maybe these are the reasons why we see the increasing number of Parent Boats in the water following races as spectators in the last year. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe having them in the water following races it’s a great step forward, you can do it in any other sport as well, and it only benefits the Sport to keep growing up.
What I’ve found challenging in my experience is when the sailor comes from a family with a background in Sailing, where sailing is a topic in any lunch/dinner and one of the parents (or both) might be very accomplished sailors in the present or in the past. At this point, the Coach & Athlete relation should be strong enough for the sailor to put the Coach’s opinion and instructions ahead of the parents possible opinion on the start strategy or the last tack when finishing the upwind. I say challenging as the sailor will always be exposed to feedback coming from both ways (Coach and Parents) and it can turn very challenging if this feedback isn’t similar. In order to be similar, the Coach and Parents should work together to provide the sailor with the appropriate information, and mutual trust plays a big part in order to show the sailor that we all row in the same direction.
Optimist Sailors are amazing little persons, who face challenges in the water everyday, and it’s important for them to know they have the Coach and the Parents support all the time. In order to accomplish that, I strongly believe information has to flow from Coach to Sailor and from Coach to Parents so we keep our extraordinary young athletes engaged and focused in sharping their skills in order to achieve all their dreams.

Bernat Gali Bou
USNT Coach
Lakewood Yacht Club Head Opti Coach
S1D Collaborator

Please also check out Sail1Design’s Coaches Locker Room Article: How to Handle Over-Zealous Sailing Parents

2018 S1D Coach of the Year Nominations Open!

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Greetings, sailing fans!!! We’re sending out our annual call this year for nominations for the prestigious Coach of the Year Award. In true grass-roots fashion, we pick the ultimate winner only from nominees supplied by you, our readers. We are thrilled also to announce that again, Gill North America is our Exclusive Sponsor for this award, and will provide the winner with a well-deserved gift!
2017 S1D/Gill Coach of the Year Nominations Now Open!!Sail1Design annually seeks your nominations for the Gill-S1D Coach of the Year, for a coach that embodies the qualities (and more) listed in the article below. Sailors, this is your award! The Sail1Design staff chooses the winner only from our readers nominations! This is a great opportunity to recognize a coach that you feel makes a difference!
Last years deserving winner was Yale’s Bill Healy. See a post from the Yale Athletics website detailing this honor. Please also read excerpts from the incredible nominations that Bill received here.

Please write a detailed nomination letter to [email protected] .  Nominations close on 15 JUNE 2018

Past S1D Coach of the Year Winners
2018-  ???
2017- Bill Healy
2016- Bill Ward
2015- Frank Pizzo
2014- Chris Dold
2013- Steve Hunt

All good coaches, regardless of their chosen sport, share some important fundamental qualities that transcend technical knowledge, or specific x’s & o’s. In other words, whether it’s a basketball, tennis, hockey, football, chess, or sailing coach, there are certain key characteristics to good coaching, and none of these really requires technical knowledge of the sport they are in.
Here are some of those characteristics: logistics, organization, energy, leadership, passion, creativity, patience, dedication, motivational skill, humility.
I would bet that you could take a good coach, put him or her in a new sport, and that coach would find some success. Think about the best coach you ever had, and visualize that person in another sport, and you might see just how that person could adapt and still be a difference-maker.
However, we all know that great coaches not only possess these core qualities, but indeed they are also masters of the subtleties, rules, and technical chess moves of the sport they are involved in. Very often, great coaches are former players themselves, and often they are good, but not necessarily great players. In any event, it seems virtually certain that actually having been in the arena at some level, having been a true game player, is a necessary ingredient for a great coach.
So then, what an important advantage sailing coaches have, since the sport allows lifelong top-level competitive opportunities. While it would be impossible for a middle-aged football coach to live, first-hand, what his players go through on the gridiron, middle-aged sailors and coaches can stay current, and can compete right alongside the world’s best sailors, and even win world championships in sailing. Opportunities exist in team racing, match racing, and all types of one-design classes offer regattas, year-round. In this manner, sailing coaches have the ability to get inside the sport, at the highest levels, learn more, and feel the same things that their players go through out on the race course. The empathy gained here is a very powerful tool that great coaches employ when coaching.
Getting into the rhythm of a sailboat race, realizing first-hand the excitement and frustrations of the sport, preparing mentally for each race, “knowing when to tack”, these are all things that coaches must be able to talk to their players about, and talking to them about these things is so much more clear and present when done by someone who is actually good at them, and has done them recently at a high level.
For example, it was always easy for me to say to a team, “make sure when you are in FJ’s at the starting line to allow yourself more leeward room to accelerate since the foils are small and the boats need to go bow down first before they start lifting.” It was really easy to say. It was quite another thing to actually do it, and to go out on the starting line, in FJ’s, and practice what I preached. That was a LOT harder, and I drew a great deal of empathy with my players from that situation and recognized better ways to talk about it and to talk them through it, having been there myself. This is especially true in team racing, where coaches can see plays easily on the coach boat or on the drawing board, but it’s one thing to talk about a mark trap at Mark 1; it’s another thing altogether to go out and be able to execute it. Without being, or having been, in the arena, sailing advice and technical coaching can be somewhat hollow compared to other sailing coaches who know it first-hand and live what they coach.
So, when you look to your coaches for advice or to get to that next level, or if you are a interested in sailing in a college program, take a moment and check out the coaches resumes, just as they will most assuredly be checking yours. The list that makes coaches good coaches should be there for sure, but see if the coaches list how, or if, they stay current in their profession and have the passion to go out on the racecourse themselves. Great coaches usually always have a story, and very recent one, of a lesson learned at a regatta they sailed in themselves. They love to sail and get better, if only to become a better sailor and coach.
While there is a short list of coaches who choose to (and can) do it all, many top collegiate programs now share these coaching qualities by hiring an assistant or co-head coach, who is very often a recent college sailing alumnus and is active in dinghy racing and brings that empathy, right away, to the team. The head coach then ties everything together with experience, maturity, management, and knowledge of the game.
If you’ve ever noticed, baseball coaches actually suit up for games even though they certainly won’t be playing. This historically comes from the old “player-coach” model, and perhaps, this connects them with the game and the player more intimately. Sailing offers the unique ability for all ages to compete at the highest levels of the sport, and great sailing coaches take advantage of this, “suiting up” themselves and making themselves better at coaching by sailing competitively.
About Gill
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, GA is the exclusive importer and distributor of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, US and Canada. Gill is a worldwide apparel and accessories brand serving the marine industry with over three decades of experience . Gill specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company develops and markets a variety of performance-oriented, award-winning apparel and accessories for virtually every type of boating activity with product lines that include foul weather gear; interactive layering systems; footwear; gloves; bags; junior gear; scholastic gear and team wear.

2018 Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year, All-Americans and More Announced

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NORFOLK, V.A. (June 2, 2018) – At an awards ceremony following racing for the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship, the honors for the Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year, Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship Award sponsored by US Sailing and the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy for the Best Overall Team were presented. The names of the winners will be added to the ICSA Hall of Fame display located in the Robert Crown Center at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

The Everett B. Morris Trophy is awarded annually to the Marlow Ropes College Sailor of the Year for outstanding performance at the highest level of sailing in the collegiate year. The trophy is named in memory of a distinguished journalist who spent more than 30 years, as a yachting writer and editor. This year there were two finalists for the prestigious award: Stephano Peschiera (Lima, Peru), College of Charleston ’18 and Greiner Hobbs (Tampa, Fla.), Hobart and William Smith Colleges ’18.
Although each of the sailors had an incredible year of competition, the winner, calculated by the numbers, is Stephano Peschiera.

Peschiera had an incredible year of racing including winning the LaserPerformance Men’s Singlehanded National Championship, the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship, placed second overall at this Gill Coed Championship and won intersectional and other top events throughout the season among other great finishes and having previously been named an All-American.
“Stefano had a great year at ICSA Championships,” says Ian Burman, chair of the Awards Committee. “All in all, it was just enough to earn the award over Greiner Hobbs, who had the strongest year in coed fleet racing.”
“When I arrived at Charleston, my main goal was to qualify Peru for the Olympic games,” says Peschiera, “But then I found out all of the incredible opportunities that college sailing has to offer. I learned to sail a double handed boat and managed to work really hard with my crew in order to get better each day. Now I look back at the incredible sailors I have had the pleasure of sailing with and against and I am very thankful for it.”

“To get this award means the world to me and it took me working really hard through college to earn it,” he says. “I think placing well at college nationals is a very hard thing to do because of the competitiveness of the fleet and also the pressure,” says Peschiera.

“I think the team did great this year in every national championship, not placing worst than third in any of the six national championships,” he says, “And I am sure the team will keep up the level and will keep killing it in the years to come.”

“I want to thank my closest teammates Augie Dale, Katie Loundsbury, Carter Cameron, and of course my college crew of the year Grace McCarthy. I also want to thank my coaches and family for the support they gave me through out this journey,” says Peschiera.

The winner of the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy for best overall collegiate team is College of Charleston with 99.20 points. Boston College was in second and Hobart and William Smith Colleges in third. The team with the most Fowle points, which are compiled results of the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded, Men’s Singlehanded, Match Racing, Coed Semifinals, Women’s, Team Racing, and Coed National Championships, determines the Fowle trophy.

The Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship Award is awarded annually to the Sportsman of the Year. The trophy honors Robert Hobbs (MIT ’64), past Executive Vice President of ICSA, past President of U.S. Sailing (1992-1994), and former chair of the U.S. Sailing Olympic Committee.

This year’s finalists were Sterling Henken (Coronado, Calif.), University of California Santa Barbara ‘18, Malcolm Lamphere (Lake Forest, Ill.), Yale University ‘18 and Charles Lomax (Annapolis, Md.), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point ‘18. This year’s winner is Charles Lomax.

“Charlie really stood out as someone who sailed at the highest level all four years, always gave his all and was a pleasure to sail against,” says Burman. “One of the nicest and most gracious sailors on the water every weekend.”

Lomax also recently won the Mid-Atlantic conference Sportsman of the Year award and is known by his competitors as the ‘nicest guy’ on the water.

“Charlie is the ideal college sailor, someone who is always fun to see at regattas, always has a great attitude even when faced with adversity, and is always willing to help out a fellow sailor if they need it,” says one of Lomax’s nominators.

In Lomax’s address to his fellow competitors he expressed his gratitude to the people who have supported him.

“Thanks to my parents who gave me the foundation to be the person I want to be – without whom I would not be standing here,” says Lomax. “I also want to thank the entire Kings Point Waterfront staff and I hope they know how impactful they are.”

The Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) also announced the 2017-18 All-American Crews, Coed Skippers and Honorable Mentions (the Women’s All-Americans were announced at the Sperry College Sailing Women’s Nationals awards ceremony). The names of the winners will be added to the ICSA Hall of Fame displayed at the Robert Crown Center at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

A committee of representatives from the seven conferences in the ICSA selects the ICSA All-America Team. This year’s committee is: Ian Burman (chair), MAISA; William Martin, MAISA; Geoff Pedrick, MCSA; David Thompson, NEISA; Michael Kalin, NEISA; John Vandemoer, PCCSC; Ward Cromwell, SAISA; Charles Higgins, SEISA; Scott Wilson, NWICSA.

To select an All-American skipper, the committee evaluates a competitor based on their competitive record in inter-conference competition as well as conference and national championships. The committee analyzes how this record compares to fellow competitors, the quality of the competition the record was achieved in, and results achieved competing with different crews, the span of the record over the fall and spring seasons, and how the record compares to previous All-American winners in past years.

For All-American crew selections, the committee uses criteria similar to skipper selection, but also considers: demonstrated leadership (may consider seniority), outstanding body mechanics and boat handling skills as well as proven ability to improve the results of the skipper(s) with whom he or she sails.

The committee selects up to 18 Coed All-American skippers and additional Honorable Mentions, together totaling no more than 25 and up to 20 All-American Crews and additional Honorable Mentions together totaling not more than 30 honorees. The committee is not obligated to select the maximum number of honorees.

Here are the names of the All-American Coed Skippers, Crews and Honorable Mentions.

UPDATE: In a previous release on June 2, the ICSA All-Americans were announced and there has been a correction to the listing. Wade Waddell (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Boston College ‘19 is an ICSA Honorable Mention Coed All-American Skipper, he was previously listed as an ICSA Coed All-American Skipper.

ICSA Honorable Mention Coed All-American Skippers:
Kai Friesecke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), George Washington University ‘18
Jeremy Herrin (Bohannon, Va.), Old Dominion University ‘18
Peter Hogan (Charleston, S.C.), U.S. Naval Academy ‘18
Will Logue (Cos Cobb, Conn.), Georgetown University ‘20
Charles Lomax (Annapolis, Md.), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point ‘18
Trevor Long (Hockessin, Del.), Massachusetts Institute of Technology ‘19
Gary Prieto (Southold, N.Y.), U.S. Naval Academy ‘18
Nick Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.), Harvard University ‘18
Wade Waddell (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Boston College ‘19
ICSA Coed All-American Skippers:
Martim Anderson (Lisbon, Portugal), Roger Williams University ‘18
Nicholas Baird (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Yale University ‘19
Mackenzie Bryan (Christiansted, USVI), Roger Williams University ‘18
Augie Dale (Pewaukee, Wis.), College of Charleston ‘19
Hector Guzman (Huixquilucan, Mexico), Hobart and William Smith Colleges ‘20
Greiner Hobbs (Tampa, Fla.), Hobart and William Smith Colleges ‘18
Ty Ingram (White Plains, N.Y.), Massachusetts Institute of Technology ‘18
Will La Dow (San Diego, Calif.), Stanford University ‘18
Stephano Peschiera (Lima, Peru), College of Charleston ‘18
Romain Screve (Ross, Calif.), Stanford University ‘21
Sean Segerblom (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Georgetown University ‘20
Scott Sinks (San Diego, Calif.), Boston College ‘18
Christopher Williford (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Dartmouth College ‘19

ICSA Honorable Mention All-American Crews:
Annabel Carrington (White Stone, Va.), College of Charleston ‘19
Sophia Diserio (New York, N.Y.), Dartmouth College ‘18
Maddie Ekin (Paulsbo, Wash.), U.S. Coast Guard Academy ‘20
Christine Gosioco (Manila, Philippines), Harvard University ‘19
Taylor Kirkpatrick (Portsmouth, R.I.), Stanford University ‘20
Sonia Lingos-Utley (Yarmouth, Mass.), Yale University ‘21
Lily McGrath (Falmouth, Mass.), Boston College ‘18
Lydia McPherson-Shambarger (Annapolis, Md.), St. Mary’s College of Maryland ‘19
Ana Mier (San Jose, Puerto Rico), U.S. Naval Academy ‘19
Elizabeth Pemberton (Osterville, Mass.), College of Charleston ‘18
Caroline Teare (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands), Georgetown University ‘21
Elena VandenBerg (Annapolis, Md.), Stanford University ‘18

ICSA All-American Crews:
Jennifer Agell (Huntington, N.Y.), Roger Williams University ‘19
Rebecca Anderson (Northport, N.Y.), Roger Williams University ‘18
Lizzie Bohan (Newport, R.I.), Boston College ‘18
Julia Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.), Brown University ‘18
Lindsey Kloc (Barrington, R.I.), Hobart and William Smith Colleges ‘19
Katharina (KB) Knapp (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), Yale University ‘18
Carter Little (Charlotte, N.C.), Old Dominion University ‘18
Katherine Lounsbury (Jensen Beach, Fla.), College of Charleston ‘20
Meaghan MacRae (Melrose, Mass.), Georgetown University ‘18
Michael McBrien (East Patchogue, N.Y.), Roger Williams University ‘18
Grace McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.), College of Charleston ‘18
Rebecca McElvain (San Diego, Calif.), Dartmouth College ‘19
Graceann Nicolosi (St. Thomas, USVI), Yale University ‘20
Haley Okun (Darien, Conn.), Hobart & William Smith Colleges ‘18
Emma Perry (Lexington, Mass.), Boston College ‘19
Kennedy Placek (San Francisco, Calif.), Stanford University ‘18
Sameena Shaffeeullah (Danbury, Conn.), Massachusetts Institute of Technology ‘19
Maya Weber (Amherst, N.Y.), Hobart and William Smith Colleges ‘20

MIT Wins Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship

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NORFOLK, V.A. (June 1, 2018) – Today was the last day of the Gill Coed National Championship. This is the final of three high caliber spring college sailing national championships that were run on the Elizabeth River, hosted by Old Dominion University. After four days of challenging conditions and competition the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has won the national title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy.

The sailors arrived to very little wind this morning and had a slight delay before racing began in about 5-8 knots from the southwest. It was a hot and sunny day and the winds did lighten up off and on, so the sailors had some more delays through the day and a wind shift to the northwest.

There was another long delay midday, but the race committee tried again to get the sailors out for at least another race, however the wind did not cooperate, and the day ended with two races in each division to make the regatta total 14 races. The race committee tried up until the deadline, but called the racing just before 5 p.m.

The competitors sailed in FJs and Z420s on windward-leeward courses. Principal Race Officer, Gary Bodie, and his team did the best they could with the conditions today – a dying shifting breeze.

MIT stayed on top of the leader board for the two days of the Finals and beat the defending champions College of Charleston. The Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy was donated by a group of nationally known yachtsmen as a memorial to Henry A. Morss, a Boston yachtsman and 1907 Bermuda Race winner, as well as an MIT alumnus and benefactor.

The top teams in this regatta were consistent and close throughout the event, but MIT separated from the pack early on and held their place at the top of the fleet. Both the A-division and B-division sailors won their fleets and were 57 points overall ahead of second place.

“We were able to make comebacks when we didn’t’ start well and when we did we were able to capitalize on boat speed,” says Matt Lindblad, head coach for MIT. “ This group of sailors is exceptional, all of the team members are. They are able to make a commitment to sailing with their most rigorous academics. Sailing is one beat behind academics for these guys.”

“Our goal this year was to win this Nationals,” says Lindblad. “It was the first thing we talked about this year and we thought we could do it. We knew it would not be easy, but we hoped this is where we would be at the end of the season.”

“Hard work, skill and some luck played a part,” he says. “We are definitely feeling good. We have been through heart break and success together so this is the perfect culmination of the positive attitude everyone has had.”

It has been 57 years since MIT last won this championship, in 1961.

Sailing for MIT was: Ty Ingram ’18, Sameena Shaffeeullah ’19 and Greta Farrell ’18 in A-division and Trevor Long ’19, Julia Cho ’20, Greta Farrell ’18 and Marcus Abate ’20 in B-division.

College of Charleston finished in second place, which they held throughout the Finals. They finished just two points ahead of third place overall and won the Oxford University Trophy.

The Oxford University Trophy is awarded to the second place team in the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. The Oxford University Yacht Club team and its captain Jeremy Thomas presented this trophy in 1954 on the occasion of the first of a continuing series of college regattas between British and North American teams held alternately in the United States and Great Britain every two years.

Sailing for Charleston was: Stefano Peschiera ’18 and Grace McCarthy ’18 in A-division and Augie Dale ’19 and Katherine Lounsbury ’20 in B-division.

Georgetown University finished in third place, moving ahead of Hobart and William Smith Colleges today by one point winning the Metropolitan Sailing League Trophy, which was first presented in 1971.

“Today was a super hot day, so we kept the sailors under the tent and hydrated, but it was a mental challenge to stay focused all day,” says Mike Callahan, head coach for Georgetown. “Our A-division was really consistent and sailed well and I am really happy with their performance. Our B-division had some younger sailors who rose to the occasion and I am proud of their sailing.”

“What kept us in the races was good starts, getting off the line clean and out in the top of the fleet so we could use good tactics and boat speed,” says Callahan.

Sailing for Georgetown was: Sean Segerblom ’20 and Meaghan MacRae ’18 in A-division and William Logue ’20 and Caroline Teare ’21 in B-division.

The Robert Allan, Sr. and Robert Allan, Jr. Trophies are awarded to the low point “A” and “B” teams, respectively, in the Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. Ty Ingram ’18, Sameena Shaffeeullah ’19 and Greta Farrell ’18 won A-division from MIT with 73 points, 16 points ahead of second place. Trevor Long ’19, Julia Cho ’20, Greta Farrell ’18 and Marcus Abate ’20 won B-division with 63 points, 15 points ahead of second place.

Final Overall Results (14 races)
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 136
2. College of Charleston, 193
3. Georgetown University, 195
4. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 196
5. Stanford University, 225
6. Roger Williams University, 234
7. Yale University, 248
8. George Washington University, 253
9. Old Dominion University, 273
10. U.S. Naval Academy, 276
11. University of Rhode Island, 286
12. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 293
13. Dartmouth College, 294
14. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 303
15. Boston College, 314
16. University of California Santa Barbara, 353
17. University of South Florida, 356
18. Eckerd College, 364

To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: http://2018nationals.collegesailing.org/

Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will provide some live coverage during the events sponsored by US Sailing and LaserPerformance, streaming from the event website.

Follow the events via the regatta app from US Sailing, learn how to sign up here: ICSA Nationals App

Additional social media updates will be available throughout the events on the regatta website.

Photo Credit: Colin Grey Voight, https://colingreyvoigt.smugmug.com/College-Sailing-Nationals-2018
Facebook and Other Social Media Outlets: Colin Grey Voigt
Instagram: @colingrey

College of Charleston Sailing is Hiring

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The College of Charleston Varsity Sailing Team is made up of 60+ sailors who sail a wide variety of boats. About 40 sailors make up the Dinghy Team that compete on Lasers, 420s, FJs, and Sloops. The rest make up the Offshore Team that trains on a Melges 30 (Cougar) and J36 (Soul). The Varsity Sailors are treated like any other varsity team at the College with mandatory team workouts, mandatory study hall hours, mandatory practice and other varsity athlete responsibilities like maintaining an exceptional GPA.

College of Charleston, recently crowned 2018 ICSA Team Race National Champions, defending last years title, seeks an Assistant Sailing Coach.

 

College of Charleston Wins ICSA Team Race National Championship

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NORFOLK, VA (May 28, 2018) – Racing was completed today in the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship on the Elizabeth River hosted by Old Dominion University. This is the second of three spring college sailing national championships. The top sixteen collegiate team racing teams in the nation competed for the national title and the Walter C. Wood Trophy and the defending champions, College of Charleston won the title.

The day began with a 180-degree wind shift; so racing was delayed but got started around 11 a.m. when the wind settled into a northeast direction around 7 knots. The winds stayed light and temperatures were about 80 degrees under cloudy skies.
Principal Race Officer Michael Collins kept the course running well all three days of the event. Along with the team of umpires, it was a great regatta with top-level team racing.

Going into the final four Charleston led the regatta; they were the leaders at the start of each day of the event. In their first race in the final four, however, they lost to Georgetown University. They turned things around for their next two close races and won them both to move on as the regatta champions.

“We are feeling good,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for College of Charleston. “The top four teams were all really tight and our guys sailed really well. We were over early in the Georgetown race and Augie Dale [and Katherine Lounsbury] got us back in the race. They were our fastest boat out there today.”

“I told the team if you get off the line, then no one can beat you – we have great boat speed,” says Cromwell. “We are stoked, they worked really hard all season and came together well. The team put in a lot of effort and we had great conditions in Charleston to practice in, and it was great to see the sailors peak this week.”

“We will have some fun to celebrate the win, but we will put our heads down and get ready for the Semifinals tomorrow and hope to have another four days off good racing,” says Cromwell.

Sailing for Charleston is: Christophe Killian ’18, Elizabeth Pemberton ’18, Augie Dale ’19, Katherine Lounsbury ’20, Stefano Peschiera ’18 and Grace McCarthy ’18.

After the final four racing there was still a three-way tie for second place. The sailing instructions called for a sail off for the podium finish. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Roger Williams University and Georgetown University all had a 18-7 record.

The rainy weather and the light wind held on for some more racing in the sail-off. The three teams all fought hard for the remaining podium finishes and even after the additional races each team had one win and one loss, so the tie was still in place. The scoring reverted back to using points to break ties, but included the points from the sail off round.

Roger Williams finished in second place having sailed a very good event and made it out in front of Hobart and William Smith, who was in second place after yesterdays racing.

“We went out today and took it one race at a time,” says Sean Bouchard, assistant coach for Roger Williams. “We wanted to stay calm and keep it simple and mechanical. Easier said than done, but this is a seasoned team who has sailed together a lot and they were able to transition well with the races and the conditions.”

“We had the potential to win today and that was a great position to be in,” says Bouchard. “I am proud of their mentality, ability to bounce back and proud of how they sailed.”

“I am so incredibly proud of the team and how they have progressed over the last four years,” says Amanda Callahan, Roger Williams head coach. “They have an amazing chemistry – you can’t fake it, can’t buy it – they have been amazing to work with.”

Sailing for Roger Williams is: Mackenzie Bryan ’18, Jennifer Agell ’19, Martim Anderson ’18, Rebecca Anderson ’18, Conner Harding ’19 and Michael McBrien ’18.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges finished in third place after a hard fought regatta.

“It was great sailing and tight racing – just what you want in a final four,” says Scott Ikle, head coach for Hobart and William Smith Colleges. “It was incredible that we went back to scoring off points after the sail off, but it shows how evenly matched the teams are and is a great testimony to how good they are.”

“Of course we wanted to do better, but we are proud of our accomplishment and it is a good way to end the year,” says Ikle. “It is an improvement from last year and to have a podium finish is great, there are plenty of teams who would have liked to be third. We did a great job and these top teams were great to sail against all season long.”

Sailing for Hobart and William Smith is: Greiner Hobbs ’18, Haley Okun ’18, Charles Miller ’19, Lindsey Kloc ’19, Hector Guzman ’20 and Maya Weber ’20.

Georgetown finished in fourth place. They sailed very well with only one loss in the final four and the sail off round, but combined with their previous record they were not able to place on the podium.

Sailing for Georgetown is: Roger Dorr ’18, Rebecca Fung ’19, Haley Shea ’19, Sean Segerblom ’20, Meaghan MacRae ’18, William Logue ’20, Caroline Teare ’21, and Rose Edwards ’18.

Racing continues tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Gill College Sailing Coed National Championship at Old Dominion University. The event will begin with two days of Semifinals racing followed by two days of Finals racing.

Final Results (wins and losses):
1. College of Charleston, 20-5
2. Roger Williams University, 19-8*
3. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 19-8**
4. Georgetown University, 19-8 b

5. Stanford University, 14-8 c
6. Boston College, 14-8 d
7. Yale University, 14-8 e
8. George Washington University, 10-12

9. Dartmouth College, 7-8
10. Cornell University, 5-10 e
11. University of California at Santa Barbara, 5-10 f
12. University of South Florida, 4-11
13. Texas A&M University at Galveston, 3-12
14. University of Wisconsin, 2-13 e
15. University of Michigan, 2-13 f
16. University of Washington, 0-15

* Total points scored when tied teams met (83)
** Total points scored when tied teams met (84)
b Total points scored when tied teams met (85)
c Number of races won when tied teams met (3)
d Number of races won when tied teams met (2)
e Number of races won when tied teams met (1)
f Number of races won when tied teams met (0)

To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: http://2018nationals.collegesailing.org/

 

 

FULL RESULTS HERE

Point Loma HS Wins Team Race National Championship

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After two predictably nice days in San Diego, with temps in the high 60’s and winds out of the west at 6-12 knots, the Point Loma High School Pointers dominated the 2018 ISSA Team Race National Championship from start to finish, ending up with a perfect 17-0 record.
Twelve top team racing teams from around the country were hosted by San Diego Yacht Club, sailing club FJ’s out of the Malin Burnham Sailing Center. This was a great event. Congratulations to the champions, PLHS.

For full results go here:
https://scores.hssailing.org/s18/high-school-team-racing-nationals-baker/

 

Boston College Wins Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship

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NORFOLK, V.A. (May 25, 2018) – Today was the last day of racing for the Sperry Women’s National Championship Finals hosted by Old Dominion University. The top eighteen women’s collegiate teams in the nation raced for the Gerald C. Miller Trophy and Boston College took the win.

Racing began at 10 a.m. in sunny, hot and humid conditions. Temperatures stayed in the 80s. The winds were from the south oscillating on the course around 6-10 knots. There were a number of general recalls today with the sailors eager to start and shifting winds. Racing wrapped up around 2:30 pm.

The sailors completed six races today in both divisions in FJs and Z420s on windward leeward courses with four legs for a total of 18 races in each division for the event. The conditions made for close racing as the wind shifts were big and there were big gains to be made, but also big losses and the fleet would split and condense on the course.

The Principle Race Officer for this event, Cara Vavolotis, did a great job managing the racing for all four days of the regatta.

Going into today’s competition the top five teams were close and Massachusetts Institute of Technology was leading the event ahead of College of Charleston. Boston College, William Smith College and Brown University were close behind and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy started to gain ground as well. The racing was exciting to watch today especially in the last set when Boston College, Charleston, MIT and William Smith all could have walked away with the National title.

In the last A-division race Boston College was over early and had to fight their way into the race. This gave Charleston and William Smith an opportunity, but Boston College’s B-division, Sophia Reineke (a new freshman skipper on the team) and Lily McGrath helped their team with a strong last set and closed the four point gap to take them exactly where they needed to be – winning a tie breaker with Charleston to claim the title.

William Smith College’s A and B-divisions both had a good last set which gave them an edge over MIT landing them a spot on the podium and winning the Ann Campbell Trophy for third place overall.

Sailing for William Smith College was Bailey Carter ’19 with Haley Okun ’18 in A-division and Katherine Cox ’20 with Sarah Warren ’18 in B-division.

College of Charleston finished in second place winning the Kleckner Trophy.

“It was another day full of ups and downs,” says Mitch Hall, assistant coach for Charleston. “We were right where we wanted to be and our team sailed a great regatta, but the Eagles sailed well and fast.”

“We started to focus on BC and William Smith in the last races and not split from them, or try and take too many chances, but try and keep them in view,” says Hall. “But even when BC was down, they are fast and they caught up. But we also could not have asked for more than our women gave, they sailed well.”

Sailing for Charleston was Alie Toppa ’20 with Annabel Carrington ’19 in A-division and Paris Henken ’19 with Liza Toppa ’20 in B-division.

The Sperry Women’s National Champions and winners of the Gerald C. Miller Trophy is Boston College. This is the third time that the Eagle women have won this trophy, they took home second place at this event last year.

“Today went great, it could not have gone better,” says Greg Wilkinson, head coach for Boston College. “We continued to fight for every point and it worked. It’s something we have been focusing on, but especially at this event.”

“We wanted to eliminate the noise around us and focus on each race,” says Wilkinson. “Even in the last races, I doubt it felt good for the women [to be over early], but the only thing that mattered was sailing the boat in the next race, that’s what you have control over.”

Sailing for Boston College was Isabella Loosbrock ’19 with Emma Perry ’19 in A-division and Sophia Reineke ’21 with Megan Bamford ’18 and Lily McGrath ’18 in B-division.

After racing, awards were presented at the Old Dominion Sailing Center, for the top teams and also for the first place finishers in each division. Bailey Carter ’19 with Haley Okun ’18 won the Madeleine Trophy, awarded to the low-point A- division team. They finished with 79 points total, 25 points ahead of the second place pairing from U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Louisa Nordstrom ’20 with Graceann Nicolosi ’20 from Yale University won the Judy Lawson Trophy, awarded to the low-point B-division team. They finished with 90 points, just two points ahead of the second place pairing from the overall winning school, Boston College. Nordstrom also won this award in this event last year.

Racing continues tomorrow with the LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship, which will take place over the next three days on the Elizabeth River in front of the Old Dominion Sailing Center. The top sixteen collegiate team racing teams will report for racing starting tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Women’s Final Results (18 races):
1. Boston College, 246*
2. College of Charleston, 246*
3. William Smith College, 258
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 265
5. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 278
6. Brown University, 300
7. Cornell College, 309
8. Yale University, 312
9. University of Rhode Island, 325
10. Dartmouth College, 352
11. Boston University, 354
12. George Washington University, 356
13. University of South Florida, 376
14. Connecticut College, 402
15. Harvard University, 424
16. Stanford University, 434
17. Georgetown University, 459
18. University of Pennsylvania, 460
*Number of high place finishes

To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: http://2018nationals.collegesailing.org/

Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will provide some live coverage during the events sponsored by US Sailing, streaming from the event website. Live coverage began May 25 for the final day of Women’s, and will continue May 27 and 28 for the final round of eight and final four of Team Racing, May 30 for last day of Gill Dinghy Semifinals, and both days of Finals May 31 and June 1.

Follow the events via the regatta app from US Sailing, learn how to sign up here: ICSA Nationals App

Additional social media updates will be available throughout the events on the regatta website.

Photo Credit: Colin Grey Voight, https://colingreyvoigt.smugmug.com/College-Sailing-Nationals-2018
Facebook and Other Social Media Outlets: Colin Grey Voigt
Instagram: @colingrey

Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year and Women All-Americans Named

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NORFOLK, V.A. (May 25, 2018) – The Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year and Women’s All-American and Honorable Mention were announced during an awards presentation at the Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship at the Old Dominion Sailing Center.

The Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year is awarded annually to an individual who has performed at the highest level of competition in district and national championships. The ICSA All-America committee evaluates with great detail all of the finalists’ results and calculates the winner.

Quantum believes that women sailors should receive the same recognition that male sailors receive in the sport to acknowledge their excellence in sailing and continue to foster the growth of women’s sailing.

There was only one finalist this year, which shows how dominant this sailor was on the women’s circuit and how deserving she is, this year’s Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year is Dana Rohde (Richmond Hill, Ga.), U.S. Coast Guard Academy ’18. Rohde had an incredible year of competition, winning eight women’s events and placing second in A-division in the 2018 Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship. She has also been named a Women’s All-American and honorable mention every year of her college sailing career.

“Her record definitely stands alone this year,” says Ian Burman, chair of the ICSA All-America Committee, of Rohde.

“This award honors the most elite in the sport and she is that,” says Brian Swingly, head coach for U.S. Coast Guard Academy. “I am proud and thrilled for her, she is an incredibly professional athlete and works hard everyday to make herself and teammates better. I cannot think of anyone more deserving.”

Rohde started sailing at age 6 in the Savannah, Ga. area. Her father is a sailor and graduated from U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point and managed to turn her mother into a sailor also. Rohde is not the first in her family to sail at Coast Guard, however, she has two older sisters, Devon Rohde ’15 and Krysta Rohde ’11, who paved the way.

“I never expected to win this,” says Rohde, “This year was about doing the best we could and that was my focus. This is the best way to end my women’s college sailing career. It will be a reminder of the great time I had sailing in college and the great friends I made.”

Rohde studied operations research and computer analysis while at the Academy and will be an ensign, assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Juniper as a deck watch officer in Newport, RI. She will be in the Coast Guard for the next five years. She has no certain plans for sailing other than continuing to do so in Newport next year and beyond.

The Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) also announced the 2017-18 Women’s All-America Team. The names of the winners will be added to the ICSA Hall of Fame displayed at the Robert Crown Center at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

A committee of representatives from the seven conferences in the ICSA selects the ICSA All-America Team. This year’s committee is: Ian Burman (chair), MAISA; William Martin, MAISA; Geoff Pedrick, MCSA; David Thompson, NEISA; Michael Kalin, NEISA; John Vandemoer, PCCSC; Ward Cromwell, SAISA; Charles Higgins, SEISA; Scott Wilson, NWICSA.

To select an All-American skipper, the committee evaluates a competitor based on their competitive record in inter-conference competition as well as conference and national championships. The committee analyzes how this record compares to fellow competitors, the quality of the competition the record was achieved in, and results achieved competing with different crews, the span of the record over the fall and spring seasons, and how the record compares to previous All-American winners.

The committee selects up to 10 Women All-American skippers and additional Honorable Mentions, together totaling no more than 15. This year the committee selected 10 All-American skippers and five Honorable Mentions.

ICSA Honorable Mention Women’s All-American Skippers:
Ragna Agerup (Oslo, Norway), Brown University ‘20
Audrey Giblin (Monmouth Beach, N.J.), Dartmouth College ‘20
Emily Haig (Beach Haven, N.J.), Massachusetts of Technology ‘21
Taylor Ladd (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.), Harvard University ‘18
Hannah Steadman (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Brown University ‘20

ICSA Women’s All-American Skippers:
Lindsey Baab (Saratoga, Calif.), Brown University ‘18
Bailey Carter (Winter Park, Fla.), Hobart & William Smith ‘19
Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.), College of Charleston ‘19
Sarah Hermus (Bellport, NY), University of Rhode Island ‘18
Casey Klingler (Larchmont, N.Y.), Yale University ‘18
Isabella Loosbrock (Excelsior, Minn.), Boston College ‘19
Louisa Nordstrom (Sarasota, Fla.), Yale University ‘20
Sophia Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Boston College ‘21
Dana Rohde (Richmond Hill, Ga.), U.S. Coast Guard Academy ‘18
Alie Toppa (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), College of Charleston ‘20

Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year
Dana Rohde (Richmond Hill, Ga.), U.S. Coast Guard Academy ‘18

To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the event website: http://2018nationals.collegesailing.org/

Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will provide some live coverage during the events sponsored by US Sailing, streaming from the event website. Live coverage will be May 25 for the final day of Women’s, May 27 and 28 for the final round of eight and final four of Team Racing, May 30 for last day of Gill Dinghy Semifinals, and both days of Finals May 31 and June 1.

Follow the events via the regatta app from US Sailing, learn how to sign up here: ICSA Nationals App

Additional social media updates will be available throughout the events on the regatta website.

Photo Credit: Colin Grey Voight, https://colingreyvoigt.smugmug.com/College-Sailing-Nationals-2018
Facebook and Other Social Media Outlets: Colin Grey Voigt
Instagram: @colingrey

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