Sailors, With All-American Doyle, To Contend for Regional Honors

The varsity sailing team last Fall completed its best season since the early sixties, and with All-American sailor Robbie Doyle returning, the team seems to be a contender for a top berth in New England this Spring.

Captain Joe Worth leads a group of four experienced skippers: former captain Jeff Storer, Abbott Reeve, and Doyle, who took the fall off after sailing in Britain this summer for an American Collegiate team. The Crimson lost only one skipper from last year's team-Harker Jaye, who graduated last Spring.

This past fall, the varsity, sailing the heaviest schedule in New England, finished with a record six first, two seconds, and nine thirds. In two major victories, the team took its first Big Three Championship since 1962 and upset M. I. T. in the Greater Boston Dinghy Championships.

Last Spring the team grabbed a surprising fourth in the New England Championships, only a few points behind M. I. T., Coast Guard, and the University of Rhode Island.

Strong Team

"I feel that we have such a strong team, that I've arranged the heaviest schedule in New England again this spring-21 regattas. That means we will have at least eight people sailing every weekend, and as many as 16 on three occasions," Horn said.

Harvard's Faculty Committee on Athletics recognized the "seriousness of the sailing team" by awarding it major sport status. Resulting from action by Storer and Worth, the changed status will provide ten varsity letters in sailing every year.

The sailing season opened last weekend when Doyle and Worth participated in a contest between selected skippers of New England against those from the Mid-Atlantic area. New England won.

The team opens its season next Saturday in the Navy Spring Invitational and sails every weekend through May 17. The North American Championships are held June 15-20.