Sailors Overcome Adversity

The waters have been choppy--but it's smooth sailing ahead for the Harvard sailing team.

Despite the tragic helicopter crash which destroyed the Crimson boathouse this February, the team continues its business as usual from the MIT boathouse.

And business certainly has been good so far.

The Harvard co-ed squad boasts an eighth-place national ranking after its first two regattas of the spring. The team cruised into third place out of fifteen schools at the Naval Academy and seized second place in last week's home event--the Boston Dinghy Club Cup.

"The team is the best it's been since I've been here," said third-year veteran Brett Davis.

Davis attributed much of the team's success its unusually sound depth. Alongside talents such as senior Nick Dubois, junior Mark Latin, and its latest freshman addition--Aussie sensation Dan Parkes--Davis envisions strong winds for Harvard's season.

Co-commodore Sarah Krause sees the team's depth as its strongpoint as well.

"Last year was an amazing year for women varsity skippers. Even though we lost all of them, the team's depth is excellent--so we're looking really good," Krause said.

Like Davis, Krause has optimistic predictions for the season.

"There is a good chance of having both the co-ed and women's team going to nationals," Krause said.

Certainly, Radcliffe sailers have the right stuff.

The Radcliffe squad flexed its muscle early on in the season, gliding into third place in February's match at Charleston.

After hitting rough water with a tenth place finish at St. Mary's, the women sailers hiked back to capture the second and sixth places in its next challenge at Boston University.

"Our second place finish was very exciting," Phyfe said.

Last weekend at Tufts, Radcliffe took advantage of strong winds to finish in fifth place.

"We're very competitive this season," captain Gaelen Phyfe said. "We have a bunch of good boats vying for the top spots."

The teams' successes thus far in the season seem to eclipse the fact that it has no facility of its own.

How did the team handle the loss of its boathouse at the beginning of the season?

"We couldn't believe it when we heard [about the accident]," Krause said. "We kept asking each other: are you sure that really happened?"

"Most of us were very shocked by the incident," Davis said.

Soon after, the Crimson moved its boats to MIT, where it presently holds practice. Further, Harvard had to build new docks for its boats and buy new boat covers.

"It was a big hassle to deal with the cleanup and mess--and then to move to MIT," Davis said.

"Worst of all, it put us back about a week--it was a major bummer, especially for our coaches," he said.

"We knew right away that practicing at MIT would be a hard adjustment," sophomore Tina Tolis said.

The adjustment, however, didn't break the team down.

"Dealing with the mess was kind of a bonding experience for us," Krause said. "We lost a week of practice time, but we're coming into our own now."