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SAILING COLLEGIATE DINGHIES CLINIC

…is a three-day clinic intended for high school and college sailors who wish to learn collegiate sailing techniques and practice like one of the top college sailing teams in the country.  It will be a great opportunity for sailing teams that need a little extra coaching boost to get some additional instruction.

All aspects of sailing the Collegiate FJ and 420 will be covered.  Specific topics will include straight-line speed, tacking, gybing, and boat handling for starting.  Please note, strategies and tactics may be covered in the clinic, however the focus will be on sailing the boats well. 

Sailing will take place in Harvard’s fleet of FJs and 420s.

NO HOUSING IS PROVIDED.

DATE:  April 22-24 (Tuesday – Thursday)

LOCATION:  Harvard Sailing Center, 45 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA   

COST:  $210 per sailor

For more information:

  Visit our website:  http://www.crimsonsailingacademy.com/clinics.html

  Email us: info@CrimsonSailingAcademy.com

  Call us at: 85 – SAILING – 1, (857) 245-4641

  Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CrimsonSailing

 By Airwaves writer Martha Pitt

Spring Diagnostic Pre-Season Team Race Technical Evaluation of Participants and College Sailing Teams Nationwide

As we dive into the spring season, it is time to take a look at each conference and who the projected team racing leaders will be over the next few months and into the championship season. Our coaches’ panel returns to help identify the potential leaders! The teams and sailors mentioned below represent some, but certainly not all, of the talent that will emerge from the various districts this spring.

Thanks to Matt Cohen (MIT), Ward Cromwell (College of Charleston), Bill Healy (Yale), Ken Legler (Tufts), Brendan Healy (Navy), Clinton Hayes (Stanford), and Jeff Bresnahan (Conn. College) for their contributions to these conference evaluations. Stay tuned throughout the season for our ICSA Team Race Rankings!

PCCSC

Stanford: Stanford is once again returning all its starters and looks to put the pieces together this season for a shot at a National Championship. The starting team is not known yet but look for 2 time All-Americans Oliver Toole ’14 and Kelly Ortel ’14, this year sailing together, Mateo Vargas ’14 and Tally Buckstaff ’14, along with Kevin Laube ’14 and Yuri Namikawa ’14. 5 of these 6 were the team that placed 3^rd at this year’s Hinman. Also looking to factor into the equation is last years Nationals starter Kieran Chung ’15 sailing with All-American Haley Kirk ’15, also Hans Henken ’15 and Antoine Screve ’16 will be strong starting candidates. Senior crews Helena Scutt (US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider) and Mckenzie Wilson will contribute throughout the wind range. Stanford’s new recruits will add great depth to practice. Look for freshmen crews Quinn Vangelos and Nikki Obel as potential starters with some of the Junior and Senior drivers. Having lead the rankings all last spring and but not quite able to keep it together for the big event, Stanford will surely be honing in on their skills to finish this season on top.

University of California Santa Barbara: UCSB will look to use its great recruiting class to make an impact at team race nationals. Sophomore Ian Stokes has some good fleet race results and will return this year to help the team racing campaign. Freshmen Stephen Long has been impressive this fall qualifying for Singlehanded Nationals and winning B Division at PCCs. He will certainly start as well. The 3^rd starting spot is more of a question mark. Freshmen Keenan Chung, younger brother of Kieran from Stanford, may start but took most of the fall off from sailing. Other possible starters include Cobi Allen ’16 and Grant Rickon ’16. For crews, certainly look to sophomores Natalie Davidson and Ginger Luckey to make the team. Also look for Kristina Miller ’17 and Preston Beye ’14 who both started at PCCs this fall.

University of Hawaii: Hawaii will compete against UCSB for the 2^nd qualifying spot out of PCCSC at Team Race Nationals. Long time team leader Adam Pokras ’14 will lead the way along with Women’s team leader and team race starter from last year Madeline Kennedy ’14. Their crews from this fall Ana-Melissa Kea ’14 and Katrina Berry ’15 will likely start.  Judging by fall and early spring results Giacomo Paoletti ’15 is a likely candidate for the 3^rd spot.

California State Long Beach: CSULB has had some really good results including a 3^rd at Fall PCCs. The team will most likely include top match racer Shane Young ’14, Mark Ryan ’15, and John Hill ’14. For crews look for Foya Lazare ’14, Nicholas Santos ’15, and Anna Rubino ’16. This team has some real experience under their belts and could very easily steal a spot at Nationals.

California Maritime Academy: Cal Maritime is always a threat and just barely lost out on Match Race Nationals this fall. They have 2 coaches and a good facility but can they put in some disciplined practice and quality for Nationals? For Starting skippers they are looking at Chris Vilicich ’16, Andrew Lamb ’14, and Scott Doyle ’14 with crews Elisabeth Mckee ’17, Stephen Katz ’16, and Eileen Welch ’14.

University of Southern California: UCS has some good experience in Cam Hutcheson ’14 but will struggle with depth. Possible other starters include John Coakley ’16, Kendall Sanson ’15 and Pravan Chugani ’16. For crews, look for Adity Radhakrishna ’17, Taylor Dupont ’17, Hollis Barth ’16, and Caroline Carney ’16.

University of California San Diego: They were impressive last year and got to the final 4 in the McIntyre Team Race but with inconsistent fleet race results it’s anyone’s guess how they’ll show up this spring. The team will likely include skippers John Olson ’14, Nicholas Delfino ’16, and Tyler Wooldridge ’14 along with crews Elsa Felgar ’16, Cheyenne Wright ’16, and Hayley Chong ’17.

 

NWICSA

University of Washington: Washington is a very strong west coast team with some good results to back it up. Senior Karl Haelsig sailing with Sarah Redmond ’15 have been their best boat followed by Kris Thompson ’16 and Caylin Cordray ’14. Lily Grimshaw ’15 and Molly Utter ’14 have some good coed results and may be their 3^rd.

Western Washington: Western Washington had the top 2 spots at their singlehanded qualifier with Paul Foley ’14 going to Nationals, so they have potential to be a threat.

University of Victoria: With a better than mid-fleet finish at Fall PCCs, Victoria could be a team to watch. It is still very unknown how they’ll show up for team racing.

University of British Columbia: This is another Canadian team competing a lot in the Northwest this fall. They had a great 2^nd place finish at the conference’s North-South but are still untested in team racing.

Oregon State: Oregon State qualified for Match Race Nationals and seems to be a solid top 5 team in the Northwest. Lets see if they can take that match race experience into the team racing season.

 

MCSA

It’s been a rather tough winter in the upper Midwest.  Unless they are ice boating, they are likely watching more basketball than sailing until March Madness settles down.

University of Michigan: Michigan seems to have taken over from UWisconsin as the strength of the Midwest. The team has been on the rise for a couple years now and they just took a pretty big leap forward with the addition of junior transfer (from Navy) Alex Ramos who sails with the very dedicated Karinne Smolenyak.  Combined with senior skippers Will Cyr and Ryan Seago, they should easily win the MCSA champs and possibly beat some top ten teams at the show.  It seems the tradition of combining Naval Architecture and college sailing is alive and well in Ann Arbor.  Big Blue traveled to seven East Coast Regattas this past fall, and posted wins in three keelboat regattas.  Closer to home they won their second straight Timme’s and dominated the Big Ten Team Race.

University of Wisconsin: The Badgers are
not done and remain one of the largest and strongest teams in the country not near an ocean.  It’s unclear if star skipper George Kutchenreuter still has one semester left as he did not sail in the fall.  Without George they rely on depth as displayed when they finished 1-2 at the Sugar Bowl.  Their top boat was sailed by John Kinzel with super I-420 crew (and soon to be skipper) Charles Bocklet.  They also feature Connor Trepton/Elliot Busta and women’s skippers Leslie Poole and Laura Wefer.

University of Minnesota: The Minnesota Badgers could field an all women’s team racing squad with Emily Oltrogge/Emily Johnson, Alison Kent/Allison Forbes, and Sarah Ellis/Paige Boegeman.  Then again their best skipper is probably Drake Lundeen but only when he is sailing with a member of their women’s team.

Other teams in the Midwest have a few experienced individuals but lack the depth to challenge the bigger powerhouses.  Michigan State finished 4th at Sugar Bowl (MCSA teams sandwiched home team Tulane with 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th) as Bill Weiland/Elizabeth Dust led the way.  Northwestern and Notre Dame also had some good individual performances this fall and the “A” division at the season opener – the Fall Fury at Wisco – saw a pair of freshmen from Iowa win!  Let’s wait and see what else they do before talking Buckeye team racing.

 

SEISA

Even though SEISA is the largest geographical district in the country, it has one of the smallest participation rates with only four teams at last year’s team race nationals’ qualifiers. We will see if 2014 is the year for SEISA to show us the talent it has hiding away!

Texas A&M University at Galveston: Galveston dominated the SEISA qualifiers last year remaining undefeated, but their lack of regular team race competition during the season proved to be a challenge at the championship. Having graduated their three starting skippers from that championship team, the team is definitely in building mode having rotated through many skipper/crew combos this fall.  We will see if Trey Hartman ’15, who finished 13^th at the Men’s Singlehanded Championship last fall will be a factor, and if some of the other skippers like Jacob Hafemeister ’16 and Ryan Murphy can prove themselves on the team race course.

Tulane University: Tulane has always been a factor in SEISA, and they have the potential to make big moves with Coach Kaity Storck pushing them. Female skippers Alexandra Payne ’15 and Jessica Oswalt ’16, who represented the team at the Women’s Singlehanded Championship in the fall, lead the team through the fall season, and we expect that other regular skipper Michael Swanson ’16 might be the third to join the team racing roster. Keep an eye on the Green Wave to wash away the SEISA competition!

Texas A&M University: These other Aggies have shown that they could be in contention on the team race course this spring.  Twins Tracy and Erin Hawk ’16 have shown themselves as both skippers and crews, and Travis Conger ’14 has sailed at the top of the conference fleets.

 

SAISA

SAISA will continue to see the same three teams fighting it out for the 2 spots to Nationals this year.

Eckerd: The Eckerd Tritons’ most likely leader will be Junior Tony Collins.  Senior Bobby Savoie and Walker Banks may see some playing time, but we may also see freshmen Alejandro Monllor or Jason D’Agostino stepping up to the plate. The Eckerd crews will likely include sophomores Jessica Resnick, Sarah Hanson, and senior Meredith Weber to help carry the team through the season and into qualifiers. They have a strong squad to contend for a Nationals berth.

University of South Florida: The USF Bulls’ team leader will likely be senior skipper Christopher Stocke sailing with sophomore crew Ali Yarbrough. Sophomore skipper Fernando Monllor will likely see time with sophomore Rebecca Campbell, and Connor Brady, a junior transfer from Roger Williams will likely round out the squad with freshman crew Katie Berg, all helping to push the team to perform this season.

College of Charleston: The Charleston Cougars will play a young squad including sophomore skippers Jake Reynolds and Ryan Davidson paired with junior Ali Blumenthal and sophomore Emmy Stuart.  Junior Nick Johnstone will likely round out the squad playing with sophomore crew Septima McAdams. Other skippers could include sophomores Dodge Rees paired with junior Tierney Driscoll, sophomore Reed Baldridge paired with Chloe Dapp as well as Chase Shaw, and Beka Schiff if the wind comes up. The Cougars will undoubtedly bring sound tactics and superior boat handling. They will be breaking in a few new team race drivers, but whomever they sail will be ready to compete! After just missing the Final Four at Nationals last year, the Courgars will surely be on the hunt to get back on top.

Other teams we hope will soon make the leap to team racing include the Jacksonville Dolphins with new coach Jon Faudree and the Miami Hurricanes.

 

MAISA

St. Mary’s: The Seahawks look to be the strongest returning powerhouse in MAISA this season, returning all starting skippers from their runner-up performance at the 2013 ICSA Team Race Nationals.  Seniors Josh Greenslade, John Wallace, and Victor Diaz de Leon are all returning to school for the spring semester.  Led by team race coaching aces Bill Ward and AdamWerblow, I’d look for this squad to be one of the best in the country, especially come championship time.

Georgetown: Another major player in MAISA and certainly on the national scale. Georgetown should be particularly strong this spring with skippers Nevin Snow and Alex Post.  I would certainly expect playing time from the ICSA Men’s Singlehanded Champ, Greg Martinez, as well as some time from Sean Golden.  Generally a quite disciplined team, I would look for this squad to be raging hard this semester. Winning the ACCS in very tough conditions makes you believe this group can do anything. They lost starters due to graduation, but seem to be ready to for their next hurdle. Look for the Hoyas to be very fast.

Navy: The Midshipmen should also be firing on all cylinders this semester with the return of senior skipper Mike Grove and last year’s Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year Finalist junior Mary Hall.  Playing time from sophomore Mike Popp and freshman Patrick Snow should also be expected and should all contribute to Navy being quite a factor on the circuit this season.

Fordham: With Olin Paine returning and taking on more of a leadership role, Fordham should be a total spoiler on the road this season.  Coupled with the help of Coach Reed, and skipper Connor Godfrey, the Rams are certainly not to be counted out. 

Old Dominion University: Old Dominion should also never be counted out of the rankings.  Esteban Forrer may have a tough time finding the support he needs to get his team up to strength however, but the leadership and help from crews Chloe Constants and Jill Fettibone should be extremely valuable, with the obvious guidance from a phenomenal coaching squad down in Norfolk.

SUNY: SUNY will certainly turn some heads this spring.  Led by freshman star Nick Valente and Coach Russ
, the Privateers are sure to take some big wins.  If Valente, with help from Julia Paxton, keeps up his hot streak from the Fall, this team should be tough to take out.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges: Hobart should obviously never be counted out of the lineup.  The squad is going to be hurting this year a bit with the loss of senior Johnny Norfleet, but the Statesmen and Herons have a strong core group of crews in addition to the leadership of Coach Scott and Louis Padnos.

 

NEISA

Yale: The 2013 APS Team Race National Champions’ loss of Cam Cullman and Heather May due to graduation is big.  Yale is returning All-American crew Kate Guamond, with skippers Chris Segerblom and Graham Landy.  The hole left by May and Cullman will have to be filled by many including Max Nickbarg, Ian Barrows, Charlotte Belling, Sarah Smith and top crews Eugenia Custo and Amanda Salvesen and Will Feldman.  Luckily for the Elis, this year’s recruits have proven to be remarkably fast in all boats and conditions. There is other young talent on this team that will push these starters, and as always, they will be a tough team to beat.

Brown: These guys won the NEISA Team Race Champs last year and finished 3rd at Team Race Nationals but they lost All-American skippers Colin Smith and Tommy Fink who had some of the best on the water communication out there.  All-American crew Ashley Noble was also lost to graduation.  Tyler Rice ’14 and two-time All-American crew Louisa Chafee ’14 return to anchor the team with skippers Luke Adams ’15 , Judge Ryan ’14,  and transfer Pearson Potts ’16  with crews Helen Lord ’14, Lydi Whiteford ’15, and Jessie O’Dell ’16 all in the mix this year.  Look for Brown to be competing to win.  They have the experience and the talent to go all the way.

Roger Williams: With coaches like Amanda Callahan and Colin Merrick, who can count these guys out?  But you do need some talent and the Hawks have it.  They are returning Tyler McDonald ‘15, Conor Corgard ‘16 and Henry Vogal ‘15.  This is one of the only teams that is returning three skippers that sailed in last years nationals.  However, they did lose College Sailor of the Year finalist Alec Anderson, which is huge!  Some leadership from returning junior crews Abby Preston and Wendy Ruess and the Hawks will have three strong boats on the line. Winning the Hap Moore Team Race Regatta this fall should give the group some confidence this spring.

Boston College: A young group of well-trained and well-disciplined Eagles will continue their team racing dominance. After a disappointing finish at last year’s championship, the Eagles will surely be ready to soar this season. Will Bailey ’15 and All-American Raul Rios ’16 have the speed to take down many opponents, and surely Women’s Singlehanded Champion Erika Reineke ’16 and Dominic Bove ’15 will be players as well. Elizabeth Barnard ’15, Shelby Hamilton ’14 and Katherine Wysocki ’15 are strong crews to help carry the team to victory. Throw in freshmen Harry Koeppel and Max Simmons and strong crews like twins Doyle and Riley Calhoun, their formidable “A” and “B” teams will make for very strong training sessions. Coach Greg will have this group ready for opening day and it will be hard to find a soft spot in their game.

Tufts: The Jumbos have been the bridesmaid but not the bride in the last two New England’s, one position out of qualifying both years. They return two-time All-American Will Haeger and a duo of “thirds” from previous years, David Leibenberg and Alec Ruiz-Ramon at the starting helms. A wacky lake and Larks could be strong practice for a potentially wacky Conn. College race course for New England’s.

Dartmouth: Five of the Big Green’s starting six from 2013 NE’s return including all three helms – All-American Matt Wefer, last year’s Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year Deirdre Lambert, and Scott Houck, along with All-American crews Carissa Crawford and Avery Plough. With the changed team racing format in NEISA, the likely-still-frozen-in Big Green will have to utilize spring break training and early regattas to ready themselves for New England’s.

Connecticut College: Senior and four year starter Kevin Martland will be leading the Camels. Jordan Borthwick, Bryce Kopp, and IG Schottlander will see some time skippering as well. Returning starting crews Grace Medley, Lea Bushnell, and Kim Bolick will help guide the boats around the course, though senior David Rex and junior Ben Myers will jump when it gets windy. After a great performance at the 2013 Team Race New England Champs (7th), they followed up in the fall with a 3^rd place breakout performance at the Hap Moore Team Race Regatta. Conn. Is hosting two huge team race regattas this spring – the SNETER (Southern New England Team Race) and the New England Team Race Championships. Camels may very well out-perform their 2013 record with the confidence from sailing on that tricky Thames River! 

Harvard: One year older! The Harvard Crimson are making their move. Keeping a core group together through thick and thin has always been the Harvard formula. The Crimson return all three of their 2013 Ferrarone winning boats: Gram Slattery/Sarah Pierson, Brian Drumm/Jacob Bradt , and Michael Drumm/Richard Bergsund. Throw Andrew Mollerus/ Sydney Karnovsky in to the mix, and they could surprise a few. They rotate seamlessly depending on conditions and boats; you never know who you will be sailing against. They are aggressive and never give up on any race or any play!

University of Vermont: The Catamounts are returning their top four helms: Michael Zonnenberg, Jordan Factor, Nate Jermain and Michael Booker, and top crews Catherine Mitchell, Sara Anibal, Lauren Jones, and Bridget Murphy. The Cats are fast, and with some frigid early practices, could be quite fierce.

MIT: Inserting some new blood and fast boats to returning starter David Alfonso/Iris Xu, the Engineers will fill the final two boats with one of the following: freshmen Alec Stewart/Paige Omura; David Larson/Jordan Ladd; and/or Joe Paggi/Kayla Ngan. The Engineers, along with a few other NEISA teams, will need to sail themselves into New England’s before they can worry about Nationals.

Boston University: Returning all three starting helms from ’13, Ryan Astwood, Cam Fraser and Ian Towill, the Terriers always seem to be on the upswing during regional spring championships, so it’s hard to ever count them out.

Bowdoin: Many of their top sailors were studying abroad in the Fall 2013, but they project to have the same starting helms – Michael Croteau, Tom Peabody, and Kaylee Schwitzer – as their 2013 squad which nearly unseated Yale in the opening round of New England’s last year. The Polar Bears have learned the game well and just need to hit the water. Add in experienced V-15 team racer senior Pete Edmunds and a first year Jack McGuire who sailed A division for most of the fall. They are looking forward to having a solid second team to practice against, which will make a huge difference in preparation for some of the bigger team race events this season.

Northeastern: It’s hard to ever nail down who is sailing each semester for this school whose academics run on a one-on, one-off school/co-op program, but the Huskies can be fast and are beginning to gain some stability.

University of New Hampshire: They enjoy the team racing game, but like much of northern New England, the Wildcats might be iced-in through their qualifier INTO New England’s (and maybe even past Team Racing New England’s this year).

 Team racing is in the air! Check out some of Sail1Design’s articles on this great part of our sport:

• Turkey Team Race: The Rebirth of Youth Team Racing?
• Team Racing Talk: Starting
• The Future of Team Racing