Warming Up For the Chilly Charles

Don't be fooled by the warm weather that has graced Cambridge this week. It is still cold down on the Charles River.

On the freezing Charles River in early March, sailors are definitely cooler than other land-loving athletes.

But Harvard's sailing team has an abundance of hot sailors to warm up the frigid air on the Charles. And the Crimson are hoping that the spring warms up enough to be invited to Chicago for the National championships (June 1-9).

"We're a deep team this season," Harvard Coach Ben Cesare said. "We've got a good spread across the board and because of this, I think we're poised to have an excellent spring."

Crucial to such depth are returning skippers Gordon Burns, Paul O'Connor and Julia Trotman. The three seniors, all former team captains, are the nucleus of what Captain Allison Peter calls, "one of the best teams we've had in the past few seasons."

Burns, a returning All-America, was named the 1987 Outstanding Collegiate Sailor and received last year's Senior Award (for sportsmanship). Burns, along with senior crew Geoff Kurland, who was ranked among the top-10 college crews last year, tore up the race course last weekend at the S.U.N.Y. Admiral Moore Intersectional Regatta. They cruised to a first-place finish with a comfortable 17-point lead. For the remainder of the season, Burns will be sailing with his regular crew, four-year varsity member Deb Dubin.

O'Connor, Vice-President of the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association, believes that Harvard has great prospects this year.

"I think we've got the best start [in the district] that we've had in a long while," O'Connor said. "It looks really good for us."

Recently, O'Connor and freshman crew Caitlin Murray clinched second in their division at an intersectional regatta in Charleston, Va.

Trotman and her regular two-year crew, Allison Peter, are also expected to fare well this spring. Trotman returns this season as a two-time recipient of the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association's "Sailor of the Year" Award. She participated in the Olympic trials last summer in Newport, R.I. Trotman also has sailed twice at the World Championships.

In the intersectional at the U.S. Naval Academy last weekend, the talented duo of Trotman and Peter nabbed second place, losing to Brown by five points.

Harvard's talent is further deepened by senior George Eberstadt and sophomores Jim Bowers, Paul Sabin and Dave Axelrod.

Eberstadt and Bowers will back up the team in varsity events. Bowers is sailing with Kurland, and together they could be formidable. Meanwhile, Coach Cesare is confident that Sabin and Axelrod can mature into an imposing duo this season.

"I think they're ready to show the fruits of their labor," Cesare said.

On the women's team, Captain Holly Edmunds' labor is paying off. She has slid in behind A-Division sailor Trotman as Harvard's top B-Division skipper. Edmunds and her crew, Liz Grant, finished a respectable ninth out of 18 boats at the Navy intersectional.

Such talent, along with a strong core of freshman sailors, should carry the team to the Collegiate Nationals this season. Judging by last fall's collegiate ratings--the women's team was second and the men's team eighth--and by their performance in the first two spring regattas, the sailors could very well be travelling to Chicago in early June.

The Crimson will first have to place in the top four at the New England championships April 29 and 30. And the women will have to place in the top five at Brown April 22 and 23. New England sailing programs are considered to be the most competitive in the nation, but Cesare remains optimistic.

"I'm fairly confident we can make it. We've broken a few barriers, placed in the top three in co-ed and women's events at the intersectionals so far, and we're a deep team," Cesare said. "I hope and pray that we'll make it. But, I don't want to be too confident because you know, the best laid plans..."

Keep Cool

Yes, they do often go astray. But winning or losing, these sailors probably will not have any problems keeping their cool.

"It's a cool team. Because we spend so much time together, on the road and on the water, there's a great camaraderie," Dubin said. Coach:  Ben Cesare Captain (co-ed):  Alison Peter Captain (women):  Holly Edmunds Home Regattas:  Charles River