CNU Sailing

Frankly, this has been a poor season for us in terms of how we have placed in many of our regattas. We had expected it to be a very good one since virtually the entire team was expected to return. But the loss of our best skipper, the result of multiple suspensions relating to an unwillingness to comply with Athletic Department academic requirements, was a major blow and one we couldn’t totally overcome. In a smaller team like ours, the depth of talent isn’t so great and the loss of one player can have a major impact.

IMAGE: Taylor Gray, Jessica Thall, Maghan Magee, Taylor Morgan, Maxwell Plarr, Lynn Ball, and Amy Craven

But sometimes these setbacks can yield positive results, and in this case, it did. The remaining team members were quite close in ability and our practices became more productive for each individual. We were forced to try some new and different combinations that have worked out well. In a season when most of our new people were women, we put an all women’s team on the water for the first time in many years. While nearly everyone on the team made significant advances, Jessica Thal and Taylor Morgan made the greatest gains and this was clear at the Luce Regatta.

The Luce is what we often call “the Runner-up Bowl.” The teams that fail to qualify for the War Memorial may sail in the Luce where their scores for the season rank just below the last place team at the War.

Columbia had the strongest team at Hampton, and they took first place over the hosts, Hampton University. For most of the regatta CNU was in fourth place behind Villanova. Races 1 through 6 in both divisions were sailed on Saturday with good weather and good winds. A front came through on Saturday night and Sunday was far colder and the winds more shifty as they came off the land. Taylor Morgan and Amy Craven sailed the two remaining A division races and posted an excellent 3rd and 4th. Jessica and her crew, Maghan Magee, sailed all of the B Division races for the weekend, never placing below 4th. But their final two races, both second place finishes, were just what we needed to move ahead of Villanova by a single point.

Only our annual Alumni Regatta and our season ending trip to Charleston for the SAISA/MAISA Regatta remain for the season. But this will be a real “fun” event as many of our favorite competitors will also be there. William & Mary, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Hampton, Ocean County and Old Dominion will also be making the trip south on the weekend before Thanksgiving.

This was a regatta with wind, lots of wind – often above 26 knots. Saturday gave us southerly winds, warm temperatures, and steep waves with a long fetch. There were capsizes, a lot of wild planning and a lot of fun.

IMAGE: Lots and lots of waves on Saturday.

Sunday was quite different with the passing of a cold front during the night, We got gusty, shifty winds off the northern shore with rather flat water and slightly less wind velocity. With our two fleets of FJs and 420s, everyone was on the water and sailing all of both days. We sailed a full double rotation of 32 races with lengths of from 13 to 18 minutes and had everyone on their way home by 1:00pm on Sunday. Many of the finishes featured multiple overlaps at the line that only the Race Committee could accurately call.

Many thanks are due Wells Fargo – Advisors for sponsoring the event. Their most appreciated support allowed us to provide pizza from Sopranos on Saturday and T shirts for all on Sunday.

Thanks for regatta management to Lynn Ball, Taylor Gray, Brennann Russell, Katlin Kitchen, Forrest Swan, Maxwell Plarr, Taylor Morgan, Tyler Million, and our Assistant Coach, Kate McClintock. Thanks also to Doc Griffin from W&M and Alex Ambrossi of Hampton for help with protests and the support boat.

Congratulations to Hampton University for winning the event. The members of the winning team were Shane Horsford, Athner George, Andrew Shoemaker, and Ian Guagliardo.

IMAGE: Salisbury leads Hampton around a mark.

13 schools arrived at Washington College’s Truslow Boathouse to sail 12 FJs in a 8-14kt cold drizzle from the north east. 8 races were completed in both divisions on Saturday. Sunday opened with a very puffy, shifty 12 kt breeze from the North and 5 races per division were completed. One protest was heard and resulted in a DSQ.

IMAGE: Lynn, Maggie, Jess, Katlin (standing) Amy, Victoria and Meghan.

What an absolutely great weekend! That may sound strange given the weather we experienced – cold (47 degrees) and wind (10K – 20K+) and our rather inexperienced B division sailors. But one of our three prime goals is to make every sailor a better sailor and this, we did. This was our “estrogen weekend” when we took women and only women to an event. While Jessica Thal has been our B Skipper for better than a year, Victoria Miller and Maggie Gore were sailing their first college regatta. Frankly, we really didn’t know what to expect with these two sharing the skipper position in B Division. No, they didn’t tear the fleet apart. But race by race they got better and they were dealing with conditions that were as rough as any they had experienced. Both had to deal with capsizes in competition, penalty turns, and understanding rules. Through out the regatta we examined and discussed their weaknesses and in every case they improved. Their crews were Katlin Kitchen and Amy Craven. Katlin was sailing just her second event and Amy, one of our freshmen, had only a little more experience. As a coach, I couldn’t have been more pleased with the way they sailed and responded to coaching.

A division was different story. Jessica Thal and Meghan Magee are coming together as one of our very best combinations in recent years. Jess and Meghan finished in fourth place in A Division. Only one other time in the last nine years have we finished so high in A Division at this event. Indeed, Jessica’s and Meghan’s showing was one of the high points for the team this season.

Lynn  Ball, our co-captain, was along as a light air crew who never got on the water, but she was all we could have asked for as a captain and for shoreside support. All weekend long she was a major factor in keeping everyone sailing with a positive attitude.

We took seven of our nine women to Washington College. It has been quite some time that we have been able to put an all women’s team on the water and I have no doubt we will be doing it again. We do have more women on our team than ever before and they are all proving to be valuable contributors.

Again, this was a great weekend, for our sailors and for the coaches. This is indeed one of the best groups of men and women we have ever had.

I’ve said some reports are a pain and some are enjoyable to do. This was one of the best. We’ll send out pictures as soon as I can get my camera to give them up.