The Fowle Trophy, New England’s Team Race Championship was sailed on Mystic Lake, home of the Tufts University Jumbos. Forty degree weather and massive, unwieldy puffs greeted the sailors, Saturday morning. Appropriately, the feel of the regatta was that of a typical morning at West Kirby Yacht Club; with small courses, short on water, unusual marks sporting numbered flags whipping in the wind and great team racing, it was hard not to think of the Wilson Trophy, the UK’s Team Race Championship. To be able to capture this spirit of team racing made Tufts an ideal venue for this edition of the qualifier.
The #1 Yale University Bulldogs took care of business in victory. This was the expected outcome as Yale has been the best team throughout the past half-decade. It was the other 3 New England berths offered that were largely uncertain.
Last weekend we saw the seemingly immortal Bulldogs look beatable as they were defeated at the Marchiando by a hot #4 Dartmouth Big Green in conditions that did indeed look similar to what was seen over the weekend on Mystic Lake. However, nothing seemed to prepare some of the best team race teams in the nation for what would be rolling down the hills bordering Mystic Lake.
As some predicted, #12 Tufts looked good at home and in the lark, boats perfect for the lake and team racing in general. Tufts finished the regatta second overall and will be heading to nationals due to an extremely clutch finish going 5-0 in the top 6 final round. #11 MIT also looked strong. Not too unlike Tufts, this team knows how to team race in the unpredictable waters of the Charles River, the iconic college sailing venue in New England. That coupled with the coaching expertise of team race champion coach Matt Lindblad, MIT won the top-8 second round with a 6-1 record. Both Tufts and MIT boasted 15-8 overall records.
What few predicted was that the final qualifying spot would be decided between #4 Dartmouth, #2 Boston College and #13 Roger Williams. Tied with Dartmouth, nut owning the tie-breaker at 14-9, the BC Eagles claimed the final spot with a late win over Yale. Roger Williams finished one win behind with a 13-10 record. Neither #4 Dartmouth and #13 Roger Williams will be present in the field of 16 at the Team Race National Championship, May 27-19.
The #1 Yale Bulldog’s effort came from team race stalwarts, Ian Barrows (‘17), Mitchell Kiss (‘17), Malcom Lamphere (‘18), Nic Baird (‘19) and crews, Natalya Doris (‘17), Clara Robertson (‘17), Chris Champa (‘18) and Graceann Nicolosi (‘20). Yale finished the regatta with an impressive 18-5 record and the question now becomes, which of the qualifying teams is up to the task of knocking off the perennial favorite.
“We were happy to accomplish our main goal of getting to the Nationals this weekend, and coming away with a win was an added bonus in such a shifty, volatile venue,” said Yale assistant coach Joe Morris.
“There are some clear takeaways from the racing as well, so it’s great to have some focus on the things we need to work on in the long period between now and June, continued Morris. “The team is very talented, but diverse. Each of the sailors brings quite a different set of skills/personality to the group, which can be both very useful and very challenging in terms of balancing the starting team.”
Morris is a 2012 Yale graduate, All-American and Olympian. In reflecting on the success of this Yale team, Mr. Morris had this to say:
“The team’s recent success can be attributed to a number of things but, in my eyes, nothing else truly compares to hard work and focus. This group works hard, and much of that is a result of the culture created by the previous sailors and the head coaches Zack Leonard and Bill Healy. Having such a rich history stretching back to 1881, I think the team really values and is motivated by the sailing alumni from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s who work so hard to support the team behind the scenes. It’s a really special thing when the people you look up to, like Jonathan McKee and Steve Benjamin for example, are also rooting you on. The sailors really thrive with the idea of continuing YCYC legacy both on and off the water, as sailors and as people. For me, that is the best part to see, regardless of winning or losing in the end.”
The Prosser Trophy, this year hosted at SUNY Maritime College, is the Mid-Atlantic Team Race Championship. This year’s victory by the U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen with a 10-4 overall record, suggests a change in the guard in MAISA as Georgetown has won the event three out of the past 4 years. Surprisingly, #5 Navy finished the regatta tied with ODU at 10-4. A sailoff between the 2 teams decided the eventual champion.
#5 Navy has sailed strong all season behind the efforts of Peter Hogan (‘18), Michael Madigan (‘17), Patrick Snow (‘17) and Gary Prieto (‘18) serving as skippers with crews, Mary Robertson (‘17), Sarah Barkley (‘19), Mary Morocco (‘19), Brittany Slook (‘20), Ana Mier (‘19) and Molly Hanson (‘17). With no household names, this Navy team characterizes team racing as no individual part is greater than the product as a whole. With such upward trajectory, most feel that this Navy team poses the greatest threat to Yale. No one predicted that this team would climb to such a level and therefore it is hard to guess how high their ceiling truly is.
“This weekend’s success came from a season full of hard work and cooperation from all players whether a starter, back up driver, heavy air specialist, or snacktician/shore crew,” said coach, Dillon Paiva.
“We graduated two seniors from last year’s nationals team and everyone that returned was determined to do better. We have tried to keep calm and have clear heads all season, avoiding protests and umpires whenever possible. A win at the Prosser confirms what [head coach] Ian [Burman] and I have known and felt about this team all season long,” continued Paiva. “We have a long way to go and a lot to accomplish before Memorial Day Weekend, but we are excited and motivated to get there.”
The #2 Georgetown Hoyas finished the regatta third over with a 9-5 record. #6 Hobart and WIlliam Smith College finished tied with #9 George Washington University at 8-6 and advanced to nationals in the last MAISA spot after a 1-race sailoff victory over The Colonials. Congratulations to all teams advancing to the National Championship!
In the South Atlantic, The SAISA Team Race produced two teams to the nationals championship. The #7 College of Charleston Cougars defeated the Eckerd Tritons to win the regatta. Both teams advance to the National Championship.
2017 SEISA Team Race Championship at Texas A&M Galveston sent the undefeated Texas A&M Aggies to the Team Race National Championship.
#1 Yale, #5 Navy, #7 Charleston, #12 Tufts, ODU, #11 MIT, #2 Georgetown, #6 HWS, #2 Boston College, Eckerd and Texas A&M has now all qualified for Team Race Nationals leaving 5 spots remaining for NWICSA, PCCSC and MCSA.
Notably, #4 Dartmouth, #9 George Washington, #13 Roger Williams and #8 Bowdoin ended their seasons on the outside looking in.
SAISA Coed Fleet Race was held at College of Charleston. With 5 berths allocated for the Coed Semifinal Regatta, this was SAISA’s fleet race qualifier. #7 Charleston won the regatta after 11 races sailed in each division by a small margin over USF, 67 points to 69 points respectively. Stefano Perschiera (‘18) and Grace McCarthy (‘18) of Charleston won A-Division with 28 points while Jason D’Agostino (‘17) and Sabine Zinserling (‘20) won B-division for Eckerd. Eckerd finished 3rd overall, Jacksonville 4th and University of Miami 5th to round up the qualifying positions.
“We were definitely underdogs to qualify coming into this regatta,” said Greg Koman, one of the coaches at Miami. “But the team did a great job of having consistent first row starts, seeing the big picture on the race course and avoiding major mistakes,” continued Mr. Koman “Those were the goals. I knew that if they could do that then we would have a chance. They did, and they turned it into a berth to Nationals.”
Congrats to all five teams, good luck at the semifinals, May 30.
MCSA Women’s Championship were held at University of Michigan. Eight teams were competing for 4 qualifying spots to the ICSA Women’s Semifinal regatta. University of Wisconsin won decisively with 23 points in 18 races, 9 in each division. Kate Klement (‘17) won A-divsion with Korina Hendricks (‘17) while Andrea Sullivan (‘18) and Carolyn Keck (‘19) split time with Maggie Houtz (‘19). The Wisco Women won both divisions. Northwestern finished 2nd, the Michigan Wolverines 3rd and Notre Dame finished in the 4th spot, edging Minnesota by 2 points.
In NEISA the The Emily Wick Trophy was held at the United States Coast Guard Academy. Breeze was up as the #3 Yale University Bulldogs won the event easily, scoring 182 points in 30 total races. Freshman, Louisa Nordstrom with Claire Huebner (‘18) and Isabelle Rossi De Leon (‘17) won B-division for the Bulldogs and Junior, Casey Klingler finished second in A-division with Christine Klingler (‘20) and Caroline Colwell (‘18). #7 Rhode Island finished second overall behind an A-division win by senior Rachel Bryer sailing with Hannah Scanlon (‘18). #4 Charleston finished 3rd overall.
Written by Chris Klevan
Photos provided by Ken Legler and Hannah Noll
Blog
S1D Team Race News: 2017 Baldwin Cup Report & Results
By Airwaves Writer Dillon Paiva
The Baldwin Cup is a yacht club challenge type regatta hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Newport Beach California. This event is one of several regattas just like it that together make up a circuit of yacht club challenge team race regattas. Other regattas on the circuit include the Morgan Cup at New York Yacht Club, Lee Trophy at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, and Soiland Cup at Southern Yacht Club. These are not your typical open events where anyone can sign up, your yacht club must be invited. One of the hardest events for a club to get an invite to is the Baldwin.
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Hosted in early April every year, the Baldwin Cup presented by J.P. Morgan Chase is on every team racer’s calendar. The regatta is sailed in a fleet of Harbor 20 keelboats in 4 vs 4 races. The Harbor 20 is an excellent class that is primarily fleet raced, but certain aspects of the boat make it a good choice for the Baldwin Cup: the class has very strict one design rules which makes for even boats, they are easy to race with two people (no spinnakers at the Baldwin), and have a keel with a long chord length which improves down speed maneuvering. All of this adds up to make an ideal platform for team racing. Anyone who has tried to get boat owners to lend their vessels out knows how difficult it can be, but NHYC pulls out all the stops for this regatta, getting members to lend over twenty four boats for racing. For this event, each team is comprised of eight sailors with everyone on the team required to be: a member, or spouse, of the club they are representing, twenty one years old, and with at least four members of the team being thirty years of age or older by the start of the regatta.
Every regatta takes immense amounts of time and energy to pull off a great event. The backbone of all of that work is a strong volunteer base. The Baldwin not only has some of the best sailors competing, the fleet contains Olympians, Team Race World Champions, and College Sailors of the Year, but they have an incredibly long list of dedicated and hard working volunteers. Those who dedicated their time include: Race Committee, umpires, boat owners, pit crew, host families to provide housing for competitors, media team, sponsorship team, and shore logistics. They have so many volunteers that an entire page on the regatta website is saved for a list of all the people who gave their time to make the Baldwin Cup such a great event, and a staple in the team racing community.
The racing itself takes place in beautiful Newport Harbor, right in front of the host club. Every other day of the year, the harbor is crowded with boats on moorings and sailing a major event like this would be challenging if not impossible. For this Baldwin; however, the club manages to clear the mooring field and have the boats relocate for the duration of the regatta. With a harbor empty of mooring balls and their boats, and a race course set right off of the yacht club, sailors get to experience one of the closest things to a stadium that exists in our sport. Throughout the event, there is live commentary over several speakers by announcer Brooks Clark of Boats N’ Prose and Adam Deermount. This, among other things such as the spectacular view, weather, and Goslings Rum, draws a crowd of spectators to watch the exciting team racing live and in person.
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Bill Crispin has been the Regatta Chair for this regatta ever since it’s inception in 2008. I asked him what makes the Baldwin Cup so special?
“The venue, the volunteers and competitors. The Venue is right in front of the club docks not more then a eighth of mile away at the furthest distance. You can see every start, every mark rounding and every finish right from the dock. Stadium racing at its finest!
The Volunteers donate their boats and take pride in each one being equal and ready to race! All of the boats have sails that are only used in this event. All sails are fresh and equal. The many other Volunteers work hard and long to bring the best support to the competitors, racing and social functions!”
This year was the tenth edition of the Baldwin Cup, and it certainly did not disappoint. Twelve teams from across the country (one from across the pond) competed to become only the sixth team ever to win the coveted Baldwin Cup. The regatta was sailed in three stages. Stage one was a complete round robin of all twelve teams where each team gets one chance to compete against every other team. St. Francis Yacht Club led with a 10-1 record after stage one.
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For stage two, teams were split evenly into gold and silver based on their win/loss record from the first stage and would complete a double round robin within their group. This year presented race committee with a challenge because after stage one, there were five teams tied for the last spot in the gold group, but after some complicated math, the tie was broken and the defending champions, NHYC Thunder, squeezed into the gold round. The competition was tight to say the least, and after stage two, St. Francis YC and NHYC Lightning were tied for the lead with records of 15-6.
Stage three was a first to two wins knockout bracket, with teams one through five from gold, and the winner of silver. St. Francis YC and Lightning both had a first round bye. This is when the tensions rise and pressure is on for everyone as the sun started to go down on the last day of racing. Due to wind delays, this year’s racing ran especially long with navigation lights already illuminated on support boats for the last races. The final match ended up being between the two teams who were dominant the whole regatta, St. Francis YC and NHYC Lightning. The home team of
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Newport Harbor Yacht Club Lightning proved to be dominant going 2-0 in the championship match to become this year’s winners of the Baldwin Cup!
Mark your calendars for this regatta next year, and whether you are there to compete, volunteer or spectate, you will not be disappointed. To learn more about the Baldwin Cup, please follow the link below.
http://baldwincup.com/
News From Selden: A Foiling Opti? Yes!
News from our sponsor, Selden: The Foiling Opti was figured out by Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg. Seldén provided the blocks and are happy to be a part of this hilarious happening taking Optimist sailing to a whole new level. Axel Rahm sailed and the Seldén Tech Department shot the video.
Spring 2017 ICSA Team Race Rankings #3
Brought to you by Dynamic Dollies
Another two weeks have gone by and another batch of exciting team race regattas. Since our last rankings, we saw the major regattas: Jan T. Friis Trophy, Admiral Moore, Aaron Szambecki, and Lynne Marchiando. Things got shaken up at the top, bottom and all in between in this edition’s rankings. This coming weekend, every school in our rankings except Stanford has their conference championship. We will finally see who is best in their region, and who will make it to the Team Race National Championship hosted by the College of Charleston. This year, MAISA and NEISA have four berths each to the championship and SAISA has two. It will be an exciting weekend for sure! Tune in to Techscore to follow along as the racing happens.
Coaches who participated in the poll ranked their top 15 teams in the country based on results from the previous two weekends and gave comments on each team.
| Rank | School | Total |
| 1 | Yale | 75 |
| 2 | Dartmouth | 70 |
| 3 | Boston College | 64 |
| 4 | Navy | 59 |
| 5 | Georgetown | 56 |
| 6 | Bowdoin | 48 |
| 7 | Hobart William Smith | 45 |
| 8 | George Washington | 43 |
| 9 | College of Charleston | 30 |
| 10 | Roger Williams | 24 |
| 11 | Tufts | 23 |
| 12 | Stanford | 21 |
| 13 | MIT | 15 |
| 14 | St. Marys | 9 |
| 15 | Old Dominion | 8 |
| Also receiving votes: Harvard, US Coast Guard Academy, University of California Santa Barbara | ||
Coaches who participated in the poll: Ken Legler (Tufts), Bill Healy (Yale), Clinton Hayes (Stanford), Johnny Norfleet (Fordham), Dillon Paiva (Navy).
| Rank | School | Ken | Bill | Clinton | Johnny | Dillon |
| 1 | Yale | No longer undefeated but still the best | Dartmouth had their number at the cold and snowy Marchiando | Finally lost some races at MIT this past weekend but an undefeated win at the Friis 2 weekends ago keeps them on top | They may have slipped to mere mortal status this past weekend at the Marchiando but they are still the best team when they have their best three boats on the water | Still the best, but the gap between defending champions and the rest of the field has closed substantially |
| 2 | Dartmouth | Steadily climbing to 2nd in the Friis and 1st in the Marchiando | Jumps up the rankings with their performance at Marchiando, quick to react to to make plays | Looking like a top 3 team these days! Looked better then Yale this weekend. |
Came out screaming at the Marchiando and won convincingly. I don’t think they’re better than Yale but recent results put them as the clear #2 above BC |
Huge win at the Marchiando right after a second place finish at the Friis, clearly one of the best in the nation, and will give Yale a run for their money at the Fowle this weekend |
| 3 | BC | Following a miserable Saturday (in more ways than one) huge Eagle Sunday | Things seems to go a little better with veteran Reineke around, 3rd at the Marchiando | A Little up and down this season but still sailing like a top 5 team | Slipping as of late but don’t let that fool you. They are still a strong favorite to qualify out of NEISA | Slipped a bit in the last two weeks, not a good time to do so just before the qualifer, but they are still an excellent team with great chemistry |
| Ken | Bill | Clinton | Johnny | Dillon | ||
| 4 | Navy | Beat Georgetown at Admiral Moore and MAISA champs are at the same venue | Solid win at the Admiral Moore held at SUNY Maritime. Also the host of the MAISA qualifiers, great confidence booster | Big win at the Admiral Moore. Navy continues to justify their high ranking | Looking like a clear favorite to qualify out of MAISA. Big win at the Admirals over Georgetown at the same venue as the Prosser Trophy this coming weekend. | Pleased with a win at the Prosser Venue, this team has proved themselves all season |
| 5 | Georgetown | Still MAISA’s best but watch out for Navy | The Hoyas are not the dominant MAISA TR team this year. Its so close in the Mid Atlantic! | Coming out on the wrong end of a tie break at the Admiral Moore drops the Hoyas a spot | Lost to Navy in a tie at the Admiral Moore but a higher ceiling and better overall season results keep them as my top in MAISA and 4th overall | Still the deepest team in MAISA, expect a strong performance at the qualifier this weekend |
| 6 | Bowdoin | This could be Bowdoin’s best team racing unit ever | 3rd and a 5th at the Marchiando and the Friis respectively. Solid and looking good heading to Tufts this weekend for the NEISA qualifiers. | Looking more and more legit as the season goes on | Looking more and more like the 4th best out of NEISA. Their skills will be put to the test on Mystic Lake this weekend. | I’m sure coaches Pizzo and Radtke will tell you they saw this coming, but it has been a shock to me seeing Bowdoin become one of the best team race teams in the country |
| 7 | HWS | Their freshmen is the real deal | Sailed in the Marchiando instead of the Moore. Hmm. But sailed to a 5th place at a very difficult event | Continue to perform as expected. Very consistent results this season | They have been consistently in the top but haven’t put together a full event to compete for 1st at a major team race. They are a favorite to qualify at MAISA but anything can happen on the East River. | Haven’t played against any MAISA teams in the last two weekends, but had two very good regattas in NEISA, we’ll see if young star Hector Guzman can perform under pressure |
| Ken | Bill | Clinton | Johnny | Dillon | ||
| 8 | GW | Close with Bowdoin but in only head-to-head, GW prevailed | Third MAISA team at the Admiral Moore just ahead of St Mary’s. The Prosser Trophy is going to be a nail biter | A little slip against some lower ranked teams cost them a little | Like Hobart, they have had some solid finishes and taken wins off the top dogs but haven’t put together a full event. They would appear to be the 4th best team in MAISA. | Only 1 win in the championship round at Admiral Moore hurts them a little, but still proven to be a strong team all season |
| 9 | Charleston | Found some consistency of late and back in my top ten | The Cougars had a tough week last month but seem to be finding their stride again after 6th at the Marchiando and a 4th at the Moore | A little redemption with some better results the past 2 weekends. | Cooper River Cross Current Double Modified Port Triangle. Do you know what that is? Because they do. | Definitely some redemption over the past two weeks, but not the dominant team they were hoping for at this point in the season |
| 10 | Roger Williams | Nipped out Tufts and MIT last couple weeks | With a 7th at the Marchiando, 5th NEISA team, the Hawks look to improve at the NEISA quals to snag a spot at the nationals | Strong top 10 team. They will definitely be in the fight for a spot at Nationals | The Rog has been looking better in recent weeks but I’m not convinced they can make it out of NEISA. | Made the top group at the Friis and Marchiando, a definite contender for a qualifying spot in NEISA |
| 11 | Tufts | Tough second day at the Marchiando | Home field advantage could be huge for the Jumbos this weekend | Probably the most likely team to upset the favorites and qualify for Nationals since they’ll benefit from home field advantage next weekend at the qualifiers. | The results put them firmly outside the top 4 as either the 5th or 6th best team in NEISA but they have a clear advantage in the Larks on Mystic Lake. Will it pay off enough to push them through to nationals? | In similar spot to Roger Williams, but with a big home water advantage with the Fowle on Mystic Lake |
| Ken | Bill | Clinton | Johnny | Dillon | ||
| 12 | Stanford | Inconsistent but hot at the Admiral Moore | Should easily qualify for nationals from the west coast, but their young team is a little inconsistent with a 12th at the Marchiando and a 2nd at the Moore | Very mixed results the last 2 weekends. Beat some top 5 teams at SUNY then lost to unranked teams at MIT. | A strong finish at the Admiral Moore but they did not look great at the Marchiando. The field outside the top 5 is so tight that they could really be anywhere from 6th to 15th. | A little inconsistent this season, but a tie for first at Admiral Moore keeps them in top 10 |
| 13 | MIT | Tough first day at the Marchiando | The Beavers could also feel comfy at the shifty Upper Mystic Lake | Another team with an outside chance. Consistent results all season. | Better than their result showed at the Marchiando just barely missing the top group. The Beavers will certainly contend for a spot out of NEISA | In the bottom group at their home event last weekend, but still had 13 wins, don’t be surprised if you see this team snag some big wins at the Fowle |
| 14 | St. Marys | Seahawks clawing their way back into respectability | Won their sail-in to the MAISA quals and also decent 6th at the Moore | Went 16-0 to close the team race challenge after an early loss. They certainly aren’t the favorite out of MAISA but anything can happen with 7 of the 8 teams at the Prosser capable of qualifying for nationals. | Handily won the Team Race Challenge to earn a spot at the Prosser this weekend, we suspected they would get better and they certainly have | |
| 15 | ODU | Big win at home earns a spot back on the board | On paper the 6th best in MAISA but don’t be surprised if they put up a fight to qualify out of the Prosser. | First time ever winning the Szambecki! Will be very tough fight for last two spots out of MAISA |
ICSA News: Women Start the Queue for Nationals; Team Racers Look for Momentum Heading into Conference Championships
Let us begin with a correction from last week’s article; It was stated that the top 4 finishing teams from the SAISA Women’s Championship were advancing onto the National Women’s Semi-final regatta, however, actually, the top 5 finishing teams will advance. Congratulation to the Clemson Tigers on their performance, finishing 5th overall, sorry for the oversight and good luck at the ICSA National Women’s Semi-Final Regatta!
Photo by Jeff Dusek
The 2017 Sailpack Oriental Interconference was held by North Carolina State University. The Jacksonville University Fins won the event with an impressive scoreline. Freshman, Alfonso Garcia Bringas, sailing with sophomore, Shaynah True, won A-division for Jacksonville. Jack Gower (‘20) and Paula Resto (‘20) of Jacksonville University won B-division.
The Sailpack Interconference was the largest regatta held in the history of the NC State Sailing Team, featuring more than 120 sailors and coaches. In sharp contrast to snowy regattas in New England, Oriental featured 10-15 knots, sunny, blue skies and 70 degree temperatures. The rotations took place on the dock off the lawn of the historic Stallings House where, NC State volunteer head coach Dana Magliola said, “Shore-side accommodations were really great and rotations were hosted from the dock at the historic Stallings House whose yard provided an almost festival-like feeling for teams, sailors, and spectators. Lounging, cornhole, curated tunes provided by one of the SailPack’s own sailor and college-radio DJs, and stunning vista porches for doing just a little homework created a great on-shore college sailing atmosphere.”
With authentic-pig-BBQs and a live band they really put on a show, hopefully reminding sailors of the greatest aspect of our sport; the college-sailing community.
“We aimed to make this a regatta that draws college sailors to one of our favorite places, the coastal home of the SailPack, Oriental, North Carolina while also providing the mostly-club-based teams an opportunity to have a high-caliber, competitive regatta outside of conference competition,” said Dana Magliola, who organized the regatta. “It turned out great and we’ve heard from literally every school that participated that they’ll be gunning for berths to this event in their conference drafts next fall. We hope they’ll come back and there’s no doubt Oriental will welcome them back.”
The 36th Lynne Marchiando Trophy was sailed in conditions varying from twenty five knots with snow and temperatures in the low 30s to five knots and 60 degree with sunny skies. Teh top NEISA teams were present and performing at their best as the Conference Championship is less than a week away. The Charles River produced ideal tune-up conditions for the flukey lake sailing predicted to be present at Tufts next week.
The Dartmouth College Big Green won the regatta behind the stellar efforts of [skippers] Robert Floyd (‘17), Charles Lalumiere (‘17), Duncan Williford (‘18), Christopher Williford (‘19) and [crews] Madeleine Cooney (‘17), Rebecca McElvain (‘19) and Paige Clarke (‘20). They won 12 out of 14 races in the double gold round robin and went undefeated in the qualifying round. Throughout the regatta the Big Green did not lose a race until Sunday afternoon.
Dave Thompson, Assistant coach at Dartmouth said, “Our team did a great job fleet racing throughout the entire regatta and not getting caught up in team racing early on in races. The conditions made it easy to get unbalanced and pass boats, which we have been focusing on as a team.”
Thompson continued, “We focused on having good starts and keeping the umpires out of the races. We have treated each of our team race regattas this year as the same with the goal of improving at each regatta and preparing us for the Fowle Trophy.”
This is notable because Dartmouth’s victory was relatively decisive over the Yale Bulldogs, which suggests a shift in power in NEISA and perhaps the nation.
This was the first team race interconference win for the Dartmouth Big Green since the Ted Ferrarone Team Race, April, 2002. In contrast, this was the first time in the past calendar year that the reigning Team Race Champion, Yale has not finished first in a team race in which they have participated.
The Yale Bulldogs finished second overall with a 10 and 4 record while the Boston College Eagles finished 3rd overall at 8-6.
The Dellenbaugh Women’s Trophy was sailed in temperatures similar to the Marchiando Team Race, only, due to the nature of the venue, featured much gnarlier wind and waves. The Brown University Bears showed the nation that they can sail at the highest level in Women’s Sailing, with a decisive victory, 46 points overall. Juniors Lindsey Baab with Grace Gagnon (‘18), and Abigayle Konys (‘19) dominated B-Division with 15 points after eight races. Baab, Gagnon and Konys only had one race with a finish outside the top-3, and that was a 4th.
Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick’s (‘17) effort, with crews Maxine De Havenon (‘19) and Haley Carter (‘17), was not far behind the Lady Bear’s B-Division standout. Ms. Grapengeter-Rudnick’s scoreline showed only two races outside the top three. However, Casey Klingler (‘18) with Claire Huebner (‘18), Christine Klingler (‘20) and Natalya Doris (‘17) won A-division by 1 point over the Brown Bears with 30 points after 8 races.
Yale finished 2nd overall with 89 points and Charleston finished 3rd with 112 points.
The SEISA Women’s Championship was held at Texas A&M. After seven races sailed in each division, the Tulane Green Wave and the Texas A&M Aggies were tied with 31 points overall. Though Tulane won the tie-breaker, both teams will advance to the National Women’s Semi-final regatta. Congratulations and goodluck to both teams.
Haley Walker (‘18) and Amanda Olson (‘19) won A-division for the Texam A&M University at Galveston.
The Washington Huskies won the NWICSA Women’s Championship with 8 points after 3 races held in each division. Chloe Dawson (‘20) and Camille Ottaway (‘20) from the Western Washington University Viking won A-Division with 4 points. Shaan Shrider (‘19) and Athina Ebert (‘17) won B-Division with 3 points.
University of Washington and Western Washington University qualified for the ICSA Women’s National Semi-Finals Regatta. Congratulations and goodluck!
Profiles in Youth Sailing: Team Next Generation USA
By Airwaves writer Taylor Penwell
Next Generation USA is a team of extremely accomplished American sailors who will be representing the United States in the upcoming Red Bull Youth America’s Cup and thereby demonstrate to the sailing world the quality and skills of America’s up and coming sailors. The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup will be held in Bermuda in June of this summer. The event is the premier competition for youth sailors between the ages of 19-24, which brings together and showcases the talents of the best youth sailors in the world as they compete in a series of races on AC 45 Foiling Catamarans.
Team Next Generation USA is comprised of six sailors. Team members include Helmsman Carson Crain, Tactician Reed Baldridge, Wing Trimmer Matthew Whitehead, Bowman Markus Edegran, Soft Sail Trimmer Scott Ewing and Grinder Preston Farrow. What makes their story interesting is that the Team Oracle, the cup team representing the United States, decided to back a youth team from the regatta host Bermuda instead of a team of American sailors. Many of the other youth teams have known for a year or two they were going to be competing in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, but for team Next Generation USA which only formed last summer, it has been a fast and crazy ride just like the AC 45F. The team had to secure its spot to represent the USA by completing an evaluation by Red Bull event organizers. Next Generation succeeded over team 13Fifty, the other American youth team.
Next Generation USA’s main goals are to:
- Demonstrate that the USA has the talent to not only compete, but succeed at the highest level of sailing.
- Form a long-term foiling multihull team that is one of the best in the world and create a pathway to continue to develop the Next Generation of high performance sailors in the USA.
I had the chance to interview the teams Bowman Markus Edegran and ask a few questions about Next Generation USA.
Q: What is team Next Generation USA for those who don’t know?
A: We are a group of young sailors that came together last summer in hopes of representing the USA in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda. Our goal along the way is to inspire younger athletes in the US to train in high performance boats and to try to raise the level of American competitors in these high performance classes.
Q: How did the idea for the team form?
A: The idea started from our Helmsman Carson Crain and then he soon reached out to Reed Baldridge and then myself. We had to submit our online entry form to Red Bull by the deadline at the end of last spring and after that we started calling around the college sailing community to look for sailors with high performance experience.
Q: Tell us about the qualification process
A: Technically there wasn’t a guaranteed spot for the US for the Red Bull Youth American’s Cup. The only guaranteed spots were for the six countries that were being represented in the American’s Cup. The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup will have twelve teams, and the six other spots could go to any country. For the US it came down to an evaluation on the GC32 by the Red Bull Youth Sailing Director Hans Peter Steinacher. The other American team 13Fifty had their evaluation in France and we had ours in Spain and after five days sailing the boat we had a two day evaluation that determined which, if either, team would secure a spot.
Q: What kind of sailing experience did your team members have before this campaign?
A: Carson Crain was a windsurfer campaigning for the last Olympics, Reed Baldridge was a successful college sailor in the Singlehanded and Match Race fields. He is also involved in the Moth and Waszp classes. Matt Whitehead was a Wing Trimmer in the last Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, is a four-time F18 Youth World Champion, and ran an Olympic Campaign in the Nacra-17 class. Scott Ewing is the 2016 US 49er champion, competed in the 2016 Red Bull Foiling Generation event, and is also experienced in the Moth class. Preston Farrow is our team’s Bermudian American and is great addition to the team physically. Lastly I was lucky enough to have a pretty successful youth sailing career that led to being an important part of successful college sailing teams. While in college I had the desire to sail faster boats and got involved in the 49er class and since then have picked up kite foiling, Waszp sailing, and the M32 class.
Q: What can you tell me about your achievements so far?
A: We competed in the Chicago Summer Series and then in the Winter Series in Miami in the M32 class. The M32 isn’t a foiling catamaran but is a good boat for us to train in. In Chicago we finished 3rd which was great, it was our first event as a team and because boat is fairly simple, we picked it up quickly and beat some good teams. Recently we sailed in the Winter Series and it was a tight eight boat fleet. Only three points separated 3rd place and the last place 8th. We were in 3rd after the first day but the second day had challenging conditions for us and we ended up in 6th. Those are the only events our team has officially done as there is a very limited number of events that are appropriate for our team. We have also been training on a GC32 in Spain and we would have liked to do an event in that class but we haven’t been able to yet.
Q: Tell me about some of the other teams you will be competing against?
A: A few teams are in a similar situation to us. They are doing as much as they can and chartering a GC32 whenever they get the chance. At the other end of the spectrum there are other teams that own a GC32 such as the Bermuda and British teams. These, along with the four other programs, are backed Cup teams and have known for some time that they would be competing in the youth event. A few of the other teams have also been competing on the GC32 circuit. Even though the GC32 isn’t the exact same boat used for the event, the skills transfer over well to the AC 45F. The rules for the event limit the time teams can practice on the AC 45F to make it more of an even playing field for all teams.
Q: What has it been like to fundraise for this campaign?
A: We are still trying to fundraise and find corporate sponsors to put on our boat for the event. The total for this campaign includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in fundraising. It is a constant struggle with a campaign like this but we are doing lots of private fundraising and are getting there. Anyone who wants to donate can go on our website and donate! (www.nextgenerationusa.org)
Q: Off the water what kind of fitness/nutrition do you have?
A: The AC 45 has a very physical element to the boat so we have partnered with Opex Fitness and SPT (Sailing Performance Training). Our trainer, Mike Kushner, trains us off the water and makes sure we are eating the right things and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We send him video and other updates when we are traveling so he can keep helping us remotely. Mike has a lot of experience in the GC32 class and knows quite well the physical efforts that are required, so it works out quite well.
Q: How has the fitness changed your team?
A: There is a weight limit for the event and we all have our target weights. We are still working on getting the weight across our team dialed in and are working to get out bigger guys a bit leaner and lighter and our smaller guys are trying to put on a bit of weight to make sure we have the proper strength for the boat. The weight limit for the boat is around 1,060 pounds.
Q: Tell me about the largest challenges the team has faced so far?
A: The largest challenge so far was meeting the requirement of chartering a GC32 for the evaluation. By December 1st we had to have have a week on the boat in the books and we ended up not doing our first week of training until the last week in November because we were unable to lock down a boat until then. Since then it has been a struggle to get more training in the GC32. Behind that, the fundraising had been the biggest challenge for sure. There are expensive event fees, chartering fees, and travel fees. Ideally we would have a bit more support and backing from larger organizations. It’s a little rough but we are figuring it out and making good progress.
Q: What is the cost to charter a boat like the GC32 and the entry fee to the event?
A: The cost of chartering a GC32 is very high due to the nature of the boat and the maintenance that is required to keep one running smoothly. The costs of the training blocks we have done on the GC32 and AC45F along with the event fees add up to a staggering six figure number.
Q: Who has been coaching you in training?
A: Our coach is 49er Olympic Gold Medalist and three time World Champion Iker Martinez. Iker is now involved in high performance catamarans like the Nacra 17, M32, and GC32. He and his team have coached us in our GC32 training in Spain and will come down to Bermuda for our training this week. Iker will also be in Bermuda with us for the big event this summer.
Q: How will the practice doing to be between now and the event?
A: We are allowed seven days of training before the official training that happens right before the event. We are completing our seven days throughout a ten day period in Bermuda. In the next two weeks our team and the Bermuda team are sailing on Oracle’s AC 45F and sharing time. After we get back to the states I am planning to head a campaign in the M32 class using the fourth Winter Series event as a tune up for the World Match Race Tour competitions to follow. I will be supported by crew (Matthew Whitehead, Scott Ewing, and Ian Stork) that overlaps with our Red Bull Youth America’s team and the racing should be a good experience for all of us going forward. We also plan to have one more training on the GC32 in early April. That will probably be our last practice as a team before we go back down to Bermuda in late May to get ready for the official training.
