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Volume CXXXII, Number 8 |
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Sailors fight stormy conditions
MELANIE KEENE
STAFF WRITER
The Bowdoin College Sailing Team experienced its most frustrating regatta action of the 2002 season. With extreme weather conditions and winds ranging from 10 to over 20 knots on Saturday and from zero to five knots on Sunday, the cold weekend took its toll on the sailors.
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| The Bowdoin Sailing Team descends upon the docks, preparing to man its vessels. Variable weather conditions, including extreme winds, frustrated the sailors this past weekend. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
The women sailed in the Harvard Victorian Urn. Representing the Polar Bears were Laura Windecker '03 who sailed with Caitlin Moore '06, and Allie Binkowski '03 who sailed with Jackie Haskell '05.
The Urn was the qualifier for the Women's Atlantic Coast Championships. The women's team had a stellar performance on Saturday, and by the day's close, they were ranked fifth out of 16 teams.
With high spirits, the women returned to the Charles River on Sunday, but were forced to endure strong competition coupled with extremely light and variable winds. They ended the day tied for seventh place with Boston University.
The result was heart wrenching. In college sailing, ties are broken by determining which team beat the other more times. Because the Boston University sailors topped the Bowdoin team more often, they won the tiebreaker. Only the top seven teams qualify for the Atlantic Coast Championships, so the Bowdoin Women Sailing Team lost its qualifying position in the tie.
Unfortunately, the coed team did not fare any better last weekend. Tyler Dunphy '03 sailed with Melanie Keene '03, while Eddie Briganti '05 and Ryan Cauley '03 sailed with Becca Bartlett '05 and Elliott Wright '05 at the coed Atlantic Coast Championship Qualifier at MIT's 61st Professor Schell Trophy. They too struggled through the shifty and cold conditions. Yet, the Dunphy, Keene, and Briganti team managed several top ten finishes, the highlight of the coed team's weekend.
The first year team also ran into some tough sailing at their championship, the Nickerson, held at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Frank Pizzo '06 sailed with Sabrina Hall-Little '06, Sabrina Wiss '06 and Roberto Hernandez '06. Additionally, Emily Bruns '06 sailed with Ellen Grenley '06.
These first years struggled, though they learned how to successfully sail the 420-styled boats at the new venue. However, both teams had top five finishes out of 16 teams, and they gained valuable experience against sailors with whom they will be competing for three more years.
This coming weekend marks the last event for the sailing team until the spring season begins in February. The coed and women's team will be competing at a combined event at Harvard where their goal will be to beat their chief rival, Massachusetts Maritime Academy.