CNU Sailing

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.

This regatta is sailed in memory of Thomas E. Curtis Georgetown ‘68.  He was a great friend to all who new him and a very accomplished sailor whose life was cut short in a tragic accident while racing his yacht Obsession in the 1979 SORC race.  Tom is a member of the GU athletics hall of fame.  Tom’s sister Liz and nephews Curtis and Pierce came out to watch the races and root for the Hoyas.

Saturday was a beautiful day on the Potomac River.  The wind filled in at 11:30AM and was SE 6-8mph for the first four races.  The last two races in each division were sailed in a very shifty SW wind. Temps were in the high 70’s with bright blue skies.  Racing among the top 3
teams was very close.

Sunday brought another beautiful day on the Potomac River.  The wind filled in around 9:30AM and the first race started at 10AM.  Seven races were sailed in each division.  The first four in each division were sailing in a decent NW wind of 8-12mph.  The wind shifted to the WNW for the last 3 races and the beats got very shifty.  American and GW used their home water advantage to qualify for the War Memorial.  Many thanks to Kyle Assad and Michael Collins for hearing protests and to the Georgetown Sailors for running the regatta.

IMAGE: The entire CNU team for the weekend: Assistant Coach Kate McClintock, Maxwell Plarr, Taylor Gray, Jessica Thal, Lynn Ball, and Sarah-Daye Hand.

As well as we sailed last week, we sailed that poorly on Saturday. We sailed much better on Sunday, but with stronger teams from American and George Washington, who practice at this site with Georgetown, neither we, Hampton nor Maryland made the cut for the War Memorial. So, it appears that we will see many of our fellow South Region teams at the Luce Regatta. The location for that event is yet to be determined. Needless to say, our failure to make the War was a disappointment. But this was tempered by Jessica and Sarah-Daye’s first place finish in the final race of the regatta. This wasn’t just a win, it was an extremely well sailed race. In any race, there is a perfect way it can be sailed and the winner is the team that comes closest to perfection. Jess and Sarah-Daye came as close to sailing that perfect race as I have ever seen and we expect this to be just the first of many more for our sophomore skipper.

Of particular interest was the final placing of Virginia, Hampton, Maryland, Christopher Newport, and William & Mary – all from 8th to 12th which indicates the closeness of competition in the southern part of the South Region of the Middle Atlantic InterCollegiate Sailing Association.

IMAGE: Our very happy B Division team returning to the dock after their best race of the weekend.

Christopher Newport Team Members & Finishes

A Division
Taylor Gray, Maxwell Plarr, Lynn Ball
11-12-13-12-12-16-8-12-10-10-13-9-13

B Division
Jessica Thal, Sarah-Daye Hand
5-9-11-15-10-8-10-9-9-13-8-12-1

IMAGE: Sarah-Daye, Lynn and Jessica coming ashore after Jess and Sarah-Daye’s win in the final race.

Saturday had Easterly breezes all day with W 3’s & W 4’s.  8 races in each division completed. Two protests heard and both were disallowed. Sunday brought rain at report time and then a beautiful sunny westerly for nearly the whole day.  Breeze started SW and shifted right building to about ten knots. Fourteen races completed (all W 4’s) one protest resulting in a dsq.  Congratulations to top four South teams for qualifying for the War Memorial Oct 31-Nov 1st (St. Mary’s, Georgetown, UVA & ODU). Dan Winters, John Griffin & Mike Callahan heard protests.

Some events are fun on which to report, some are painful. This is one of the most pleasant tasks I have had in many years. First, here is why this event was so important. It was the first of two events at which we can qualify for the War Memorial regatta, in effect, the season’s championship. Four teams from the South Region may do so at this event. Also, the top four club teams from the south can qualify for the Club Championships on November 7-8. Two teams will qualify from those who did not next week at Georgetown. Note that Hobart, Washington, Navy, Fordham and USMMA are not from the south and participate only to give some of their team members experience.

IMAGE: Jessica Thal right after the final race

St. Mary’s, Georgetown, Old Dominion and Virginia qualified. That sets up a shoot out between CNU, Maryland, William & Mary, and Hampton for the final two spots. But the event has more significance for CNU because we have qualified behind Maryland most of the last few seasons. By beating them this week, we set ourselves up to do so again next week. Making the St. Mary’s performance of even more significance is the rapidly improving performance of our team that has many new sailors. The final plus for the weekend was the performance of Jessica Thal and Sarah-Daye Hand who went into the final two races of the weekend with Maryland a point up on us. Jess and Sarah gave us two points on Maryland in both races to let us finish in 10th place and three points ahead of Maryland. Next week is going to be exciting! But keep in mind that both Maryland and William & Mary are two of our favorite competitors and while the competition will be intense, it will also be a friendly competition that typifies our events in the South Region of MAISA.

IMAGE: Sarah-Daye, Jessica, Lynn, Taylor, and Brennan