Sailing Leaves Competition in Its Wake

One of the most successful teams at Harvard is unknown by the average Crimson fan. One of the most successful teams at Harvard is also Harvard's only co-ed Varsity team. Half of one of the most successful teams at Harvard is comprised of walk-ons with no sailing experience. One of the most successful teams at Harvard has won two of three National Championship races this year, only they have done their winning so quietly that few have noticed. The Harvard sailing team is a study in just how far hard work, skill, cooperation and camaraderie can take you.

The Crimson generally field three coed boats at an event like the New England Regatta., held April 28-29. Each boat has a skipper and a crew member, and they race in fields, with the first place vote receiving one point and the goal being, like golf, to have the least possible team score.

Harvard's team, while comprised of many walk-ons, is very talented. The Crimson can boast of having three All-Americans on their roster in Junior Captains Sean Doyle and Susan Bonney, and junior Margaret Gill.

In addition to All-American honors, the Crimson sailors have received individual accolades as well. In a vote by their sailing peers throughout New England, Doyle was chosen as the best coed skipper, with Gill taking 4th place and sophomore Clay Bischoff taking 6th place. Among coed crew, Bonney garnered a 6th place finish and sophomore Michelle Yu was selected 7th.

Going into New England Regatta, Doyle and Yu were paired in one boat, Gill and Bonney manning the second boat, and Bischoff and sophomore Lema Kikuchi in the third.

Both captains went out of their way to highlight the important contributions brought by the team of Bischoff and Kikuchi.

"Clay Bischoff and Lema Kikuchi really stepped up this year to fill in the spot on our race team that was vacated by an All-American duo who graduated last spring," Doyle said. "The result was a team with strong individual links and the ability to trust each other to makes the right moves," he said.

The concept of a strong team made of strong individuals trusting each other is something that Doyle has seen in practice all year long. As evidence of the team's character, Doyle cited the New England Team Championships as indicative of the character of the team. On that day, Harvard lost their first race but rebounded, winning every single remaining race that day. Doyle could also cite another example of Harvard's toughness.

"We won a major race against the Tufts team at the New England Team Racing Championship, and then had to re-sail the race because one of their boats had broken down. The re-sail occurred at the end of the day, when the sun was setting we were tired, but we won again and ended the day in the first place," Doyle said.

The Crimson's results from this year read like a laundry list of success: 1st at the Moody Trophy , 6th at the Admiral's Cup, 2nd at the Frii's Team Races at Tufts, 1st by an incredible 74 points at the Boston Dinghy Club Championships, 3rd at the Southern New England Team Race, 4th place in the Truxtun Umsted Championship at Navy, 2nd place at the Charleston team Race, 2nd place at the New England Team Race Championships, and first place at the New England Dinghy Championships.

"For the first time in twenty years we are favorites to win several National Championships, we've already won 2 out of 3 that have happened so far [Women's singlehanded and Coed triplehanded in the fall]," Doyle said.

"We've been No. 1 nationally in the collegiate rankings for the better part of the year," Bonney said. "And we have won or been in the top three in every national championship so far this year."

The Crimson, which still has an important chunk of their schedule to race, will host, along with MIT, the National Team Racing Championships. The Crimson is one of the favorites heading into the races, which takes place on the Charles River from June 3-5. After those races on their home "turf", Harvard heads off to the choppy waters of the Atlantic from June 6-8 for the Dinghy Nationals.