Sailing Concludes Fall Season at Atlantic Coast Championship

The Harvard coed sailing team finished its fall season this Sunday, capturing an 11th place result at the Atlantic Coast Championship.

“The weekend was a mixed bag,” junior co-captain Andrew Mollerus said. “On the one hand, we weren't capable of this result a year ago.  As a team and individually, we have all made big strides over the past six months and it has clearly showed.”

The event, hosted by the Coast Guard on the Thames River, brought together 19 schools which competed in FJs. The United States Naval Academy, Boston College, and the University of Vermont took the top three spots.

Mollerus was joined by co-captain and classmate Sydney Karnovsky in the B division, where the Crimson posted its best finish of the weekend in seventh place. Senior Brian Drumm and junior Jacob Bradt took 10th place in the A division.

“On the other hand, we did not sail well at all this weekend,” Mollerus said. “On numerous fundamental points, we broke down and gave ground to our opponents where we shouldn't have.”

Bradt echoed Mollerus’ overall disappointment in the way the team’s season ended.

“Generally, I don't think that we felt as though we performed at the level that we know we are capable of,” Bradt said. “It leaves a bit of a sour taste in our mouths going into the offseason.”

Saturday presented rather unpredictable winds, but only one protest was filed that resulted in a disqualification. Although the wind on Sunday was far less strong, the day still witnessed a protest that brought about another disqualification of a team on the water.

Gaining a spot in the championship regatta demonstrated the great potential of the Harvard team, which put significant focus into preparing for the races.

“The mentality was simple this weekend: show up and turn up,” Mollerus said.

Despite feeling like the team didn’t perform at its highest potential, the sailors nevertheless took a lot positives from the regatta.

“I think that overall, the weekend was a success,” Bradt said. “It showed that we can remain a relevant player at top-level events, which is certainly an improvement from past regattas.”

Echoing Bradt’s tone of improvement, Karnovsky is already regrouping her squad for the spring season that begins in March.

“Looking forward, we plan to spend the off months meeting as a team to refine our knowledge of team racing,” Karnovsky said. “We want to continue to get in good shape so that we can hit the spring season ready to go.”

—Staff writer Tanner Skenderian can be reached at tskenderian@college.harvard.edu.