CNU Sailing

Saturday’s racing was attempted twice, however no wind appeared except for a small thermal as the land warmed throughout the day. 3 Knots was not reached and no races were completed. Temperatures climbed into the mid 90’s, and attempts to race were abandoned around 3pm.

On Sunday 3 races were completed in each Division for a regatta as temperatures again reached 95F. Winds out of the WSW at 7-10 Knots, diminishing to 3 Knots after the first A rotation. Courses were Gold Cups, Windward-Leeward twice around, and Windward-Leeward. One protest was heard resulting in a DSQ.

Taylor Gray’s first place in A Division was particularly of note because the event was sailed right in his back yard. Because Taylor is from the Williamsburg area, we have always given him the chance to sail in the William & Mary events. And, he has always posted some of his best finishes there. We’ll be back at W&M in the Fall and we expect Taylor to lead the team there once again.

Evan Miller who skippered in B Division will be transferring to Ohio State University for the Fall and this was his last event with the team. Evan has been an almost perfect team member and we only wish he could have had more success on the water. But his contributions to the team at every practice have been invaluable. He will always be welcome back for alumni events and any other time he may be in our area.

Lynn Ball crewed for Taylor and, as one of our very best, she was great. Meghan Magee who crewed fro Evan has proven to be our best surprise of the Spring. She has advanced her knowledge dramatically and she has been a most willing and reliable crew. We expect nothing but good things from her in the future. Simply put, we could not be any happier with her performance and progress.

In spite of the difficulties resulting from the weather, everyone had a great time at the Colony Cup. All of the teams are from the South Region of MAISA and the competitors are all well acquainted and, in many cases, close friends. So, all the time spent ashore turned into one great social event. I understand the parties were great as well. Taylor Gray’s parents were well appreciated hosts on Saturday evening.

Our most sincere thanks got to John Griffin, the William & Mary Coach and his entire team. They put out a tremendous effort and the CNU team is most appreciative.

Saturday was a beautiful day of sailing on the East River!  Winds started as a light 5-7 knots westerly and shifted left before eventually coming in around 15 knots from the North for the final 2 races in each division.  Currents maxed out at about 2.5 knots before subsiding in the afternoon.  Eight races were competed in both divisions and no protests were filed.

Unsettled conditions dominated the Sunday, with a light northerly starting the day that eventually clocked to the East and died.  As the current built and the breeze died conditions became marginal, resulting in some very long downwind legs.  Racing was postponed after 14 races in A division in order to wait for the wind to return.  A very light northerly allowed for the completion of race 13B, so race 14A did not stand.  No protests were filed.

Tthis was difficult event for both the organizers and the participants. The East River is known for its tides and they made sailing difficult for all. Even the very best teams in MAISA had a tough time. Check out how St. Mary’s (#4 in the nation) A Division, All-American skipper fared! Both Ben and Jessica had their good times and bad. We had hoped that our early season experience at Charleston, where the tidal flows are similar, would help. And they probably did. Jessica was one of only two freshmen skippers at the event and she beat the other from Cornell by seven points to take 13th in her division. We can only speculate on how well she will do in her later years. She and Lynn will finish out their season at Webb Institute on May 16th, one of the real “fun” events of the year. While we would have liked to have done better, our 12th place was as good as we posted at the War Memorial in the fall, but we did so just two points behind Colgate, the 11th place team. Because an A Division race may not be counted without a corresponding B Division race, Ben lost a final A Division 2nd place finish that could have moved us up into 11th. But those are the breaks of the game!

A special thanks to the NY Maritime Sailing Team who ran an excellent regatta in difficult conditions!

On Saturday Lake Erie was very uncooperative, supplying 20 knot winds gusting to 27 out of the North with swells up to 5 feet. A deliciously warm breakfast and lunch got the full attention of all sailors, as races were first postponed until 12:00, then until 2:00. Faced with no abatement of wind or waves and the idea of pulling sailors from the 35-degree water, race committee decided at 2:00 to cancel all sailing for the day. Temperatures in the low to mid 40’s.

In Cleveland fashion, Sunday’s weather was world apart from the previous day. With sunny skies and a very pleasant 10 knots from the Northeast, it was a great day of sailing. The Intersectional finished strong, managing to fit in 5 races per division. Temperatures in the mid 40’s.

This year the event was run at Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, Ohio. Both the OSU students and the people at EWC were great hosts and made us feel quite welcome. With the cold temperatures, there was always a hot pot of coffee ready and breakfast and lunch were provided.

During the ten years we have been attending this regatta, we have varied from 17th to 12th in rankings in MAISA. We have been very competitive against some of the best teams in the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association. Indeed, we nearly won it on two occasions. We have always had winning this event as a goal that we one day hoped to accomplish, but it now appears that we will not. This event simply isn’t up to the standards we are accustomed to with MAISA. Since it is an exceptionally expensive regatta with an 1130 mile round trip, quality of the event is extremely important. We do not expect to request this event for next year’s schedule. Several of our team members are from Ohio, but they realize that securing the best events for the team with a good expenditure of our funds must decide.

IMAGE: Ben, Brennan, Tyler, Lynn, Taylor, and Jessica

Thanks to Kate McClintock, our assistant coach and the team members who spent this long weekend in the cold. The racing may have been poor but our team members are always great company with whom to spend a weekend. No racing is without some benefit and we did get some valuable experience sailing in a leftover slop and a dying wind that may prove valuable later in the year.