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Volume CXXXII, Number 18 |
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Ahoy! Sailors brave rough winds
MELANIE KEENE
STAFF WRITER
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| The sailors look forward to warmer and gentler weather. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
The Bowdoin College Sailing Team is back in action. The sailors traveled to Galveston, Texas for spring break where they spent a week practicing in warm waters and fair winds-for the most part.
However, during one of the last days of their trip, they made the local newspaper when winds whipped up over 60 miles-per-hour and capsized the entire fleet.
While some boats were able to make it back to shore, the Coast Guard was dispatched and conducted a rescue mission of Bowdoin athletes. No sailors were hurt, and it proved to be a thrilling and memorable experience for everybody.
The brave sailors returned to New England this weekend in good spirits, and the women's team was well prepared for their first regatta of the season, the President's Trophy held at Brown University.
The Saturday regatta opened with light and shifty breezes, but this fluky wind did not phase Allison Binkowski '03 and Jackie Haskell '05 in the A-division. The duo started the day with a first and second place finish.
While the second day was extremely shifty, the B division sailors, led by Laura Windecker '03 and Caitlin Moore '06, picked up the pace, and the women's team sailed strong.
Binkowski said, "The Rhode Island winds were no match for the Polar Bears after surviving the 'perfect storm' in the Texas bayou." The women's team sailed to fifth place in a ten-team field, with A-division finishing in fourth place, one point out of third.
Currently, the Polar Bear sailors are experiencing polar-like conditions as they clear their boats and venue from ice and piles of snow. However, the team looks to get in some practice out on the water before the regattas this weekend. The coed team will sail in the Veitor Trophy at Coast Guard, while the women's team heads to the Joseph Duplin Trophy at Tufts University.
Rounding out the regattas this weekend, the first years will be sailing at Boston University.
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