November 14, 2005

(Photo by Amory Ross '06)

Despite abnormally warm temperatures and plentiful wind the Bozzuto Boathouse and HWS sailing docks are suddenly very quiet. The Hobart and William Smith sailing team wrapped up the fall season this weekend with a seventh place finish at the Coed Dinghy Atlantic Coast Championships (ACC) at St. Mary’s (Md.) College, and a 12th place finish at the Women’s ACCs at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Arguably the biggest regattas of the fall, both championships drew the Eastern seaboard’s best sailors; qualifying teams traveled from as far as southern Florida to compete in both events.

In the Coed ACC’s, HWS was represented by juniors Trevor Moore (Woodstock Union/Pomfret, Vt.) and Mandi Markee (Torrey Pines/Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) in A-division with junior Brian Clancy (Boston College/Scituate, Mass.) and sophomore Laura Golson (Marin Academy/Ross, Calif.) sailing in B-division.

Conditions remained light throughout the weekend with wind speeds of 4-7 knots on Saturday, building in strength to 7-12 knots on Sunday. HWS beat out Dartmouth College with a bit of luck during the last race on Sunday to finish in seventh out of 18 teams overall, one spot ahead of the Big Green. Dartmouth crossed the line early but failed to turn back, earning a DSQ while HWS sailed away to an 11th place finish. The gap was enough to allow HWS to finish in front on the weekend.

Moore and Markee struggled to find consistency in Saturday’s light conditions, but managed to finish eighth overall in A-division with five top-five finishes in 15 races. Clancy and Golson also had trouble hitting stride, posting eight top-10 finishes and winning races six and eleven on their way to a ninth place finish in B-division.

Representing the Herons in New London, Conn. were seniors Augusta Nadler (Tabor Academy/Marion, Mass.) and Molly Lawson (Noble & Greenough School/Duxbury, Mass.), juniors Lauren Anderson (New Canaan/New Canaan, Conn.) and Kate Brush (Champlain Valley School/Hinesburg, Vt.), and sophomores Kate Wilson (Prout School/Hope Valley, R.I.) and Marilyn Cassedy (The Bishop School/San Diego, Calif.). After a third place finish at the MAISA Women’s Championships on Nov. 6, the Herons were looking for a strong finish but had trouble managing Saturday’s difficult conditions that included strong current and light winds, finishing 12th overall out of 18 teams. While not the outcome they were hoping for, it was a marked improvement over last years 17th place finish at the same event.

Nadler and Lawson teamed up for the second weekend in a row, calling on Anderson for Sunday’s races in the breezier conditions that built to as much as 15 knots. Nadler, Lawson and Anderson scored six top-10 results, finishing 14th in A division. In B division, Brush, Wilson and Cassedy recorded seven top-10 finishes, posting their best race on the very last of the weekend with a fourth place finish. The trio finished the weekend in 12th place overall.

With the fall season finished, HWS sailing resumes competition in mid-February when the spring semester gets underway. Spring sailing, the shorter of the two seasons, concludes at the ICSA North American Championships, beginning May 24 at the College of Charleston where HWS will look to defend the two national titles it won last spring in Austin, Texas.

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