Sailors 11th at Nat'ls

The Harvard varsity sailing team closed out one of its finest seasons ever last week with an eighth place finish in the North American Dinghy Championship and an 11th place showing in the National Team Race Championships.

In the North American Dinghy Championships at Kings Point, N.Y., the sailors found themselves in eighth place after two days of competition, trailing first-place Charleston by 102 points.

The Crimson could not improve on its position, however, finishing with 272 points, 127 behind champion Kings Point-which edged out Charleston by four points. Yale, the only other Ivy team in the competition, finished with 247 points.

"It wasn't good," Harvard's John Pernick said. "We didn't sail as well as we though we would. It wasn't a terrible performance, but it could have been better.

In the "A" division, Harvard skippers Gordon Burnes and Peter Wagner tallied 144 points, good enough for ninth place overall. Petra Schuman crewed for Burnes, while Deb Dubin crewed for Wagner.

The Crimson's last regetta of the season was at the National Team Race Championships, also at Kings Point, N.Y. Harvard finished the championships with a 2-9 mark to secure an 11th place tie with Michigan. Navy captured first place with an 11-0 performance.

Harvard's two victories came over Michigan and Washington. Brown, the only other Ivy school in the competition, tied the University of Texas for ninth place with a 3-8 record.

This year marked only the second time the Crimson has qualified for the national finals since the competition began 11 years ago. It was also the second straight year that the sailors have reached the Team Race championships.

Harvard Coach Mike Horn will wrap up his career as varsity sailing coach this week when he leads the Radcliffe sailing team into the Women's North American Intercollegiate Championships. Horn steps down after 16 years as varsity sailing coach.