Sailing Battles Rust, Winds

The Harvard women's and co-ed sailing team's opened the spring season on high notes in different venues over the weekend. Representatives from the co-ed team travelled to the Truxton Umsted Intersectional Regatta at the U.S. Naval Academy, where it finished fourth. The women went down south to Maryland, where they finished eleventh.

"The weekend was a tough start to the spring season after having practiced a couple of times in a hole in the ice so far," said junior co-captain Sean Doyle.

In both locations, the team found its early-season versatility tested by the weather. The Truxton race began with very little wind to work with on Saturday, but a cold front passed overnight, creating gustier conditions.

Doyle, sophomore Michelle Yu and Susan Bonney finished 12th after 13 races in the A divison. The B and C boats each finished third in their respective pools, including Clay Bischoff's solo effort in the C.

At St. Mary's, the weekend weather was the same. Sunday's races featured much faster, sailing-friendly winds from the northwest. Both the A and B division crews finished 12th after ten races.

This weekend represented only the second full weekend of action for the sailing team. The Crimson had previously competed in the Charleston Team Race, finishing first after round-robin competition and second to host Charleston in the final four playoff.

Spring break next week will be the Crimson's most intense training period. The team hopes to return to the form that has the co-eds ranked first atop the International Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) standings and the women ranked sixth.

"If anything, these past few weekends have shown how much work we have to do," Yu said. "But they also show how much potential and strength we have as a team."