Sailing Falls Short at ACCs

This weekend the Harvard sailing team learned that everything can't go your way all the time.

At the Women's Atlantic Coast Championships (ACCs), held at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., Harvard fell victim to rough currents and finished a disappointing sixth place.

Meanwhile, the co-ed team was struggling through its ACCs at the Old Dominion course in Norfolk, Va. Harvard's contingent came into the event ranked fourth in the nation, but had trouble with the unfamiliar open-water conditions and could only muster a 12th place finish.

At the Women's ACC's, 16 of the top sailing teams on the East Coast--including eight from New England--met for a two-day, 16-race event. The Crimson qualified for the event by placing in the top five at the Urn Trophy qualifying regatta, held two weeks ago at the Harvard Sailing Center.

Representing Harvard in Division A of the double-handed racing were captain Cori Ermler as skipper and senior Becky Rosen as her crew. Division A raced in the 420-model yachts. In Division B, fresh man Margaret Gill and senior Lauren Toretta navigated an FJ-model yacht.

On Saturday, neither pair sailed well. Their difficulties stemmed from the difficult currents on the Coast Guard course, which they do not typically encounter on the Charles.

"We're used to the shifty winds on the Charles, and these conditions were unfamiliar to us," Ermler said.

Besides the waters, Harvard also had to contend with the most competitive field of sailing teams at any regatta thus far. The team stayed mid-fleet through many of the races, and ended in 11th place at the end of the day.

Sunday's conditions were a bit more breezy. The wind speed was 15-20 knots, a full five knots faster than the day before, and the shifty breezes were a bit more familiar to the sailors. Gill, the skipper in Division B, showed exceptional improvement, and her boat actually rose to third place in its division. Ermler also gained a few points on the field, although she scored sporadically from race to race.

Harvard ended up sixth in total points, behind Dartmouth, Tufts, BU, Saint Mary's and Georgetown. The Crimson was a full 11 points behind the Hoyas, but safely 13 points ahead of MIT, who finished seventh.

"We really didn't perform up to our potential, and we were a bit disappointed in the results," Ermler said.

Fortunately for Harvard, the ACCs are only a precursor to the series of spring regattas, which will commence right after the waters thaw. The women's team will have the entire winter to refocus, and can process its fall regattas in preparation for the spring races.

At the co-ed ACCs, Harvard sent five sailors to the two-day, two-division, 12-race event.

Captain Pete Strothman and freshman Susan Bonney sailed in Division A, while junior Christian Taubman and senior Brian Fox sailed in Division B. Freshman Sean Doyle subbed in for Fox on Sunday. Both divisions sailed in FJ-model yachts on both days.

As in the women's regatta, the field of 16 teams at Old Dominion was quite deep. Harvard had qualified by winning both the Danmark Regatta at the beginning of the season and the Shell Trophy two weeks ago.

Thus, the Crimson was a favored team at the ACCs. It was expected to live up to its billing as the fourth-ranked team in the nation.

Unfortunately Harvard was thrown by unfamiliar racing conditions. The course was a wide, open-water layout: the emphasis was thus on straight-line speed.

Again the Crimson, accustomed to a style of veering and cutting through the Charles River shifts, was faced with the unfamiliar, open-eater style of racing and struggled to adapt.

"The reality was that we didn't adjust very quickly to the conditions' we are used to sailing on small lakes and narrow rivers, and not on the wide Old Dominion setup," Fox said.

On Sunday, the team did make up some ground on the field, improving in overall race points, but unable to climb above its 12th-place standing from the day before. Georgetown won the event and Harvard was also eclipsed by beatable rivals Old Dominion, Tufts and St. Mary's.

"This regatta was disappointing with in itself, but it is only a progress report for the spring regattas," Strothman said.

The team did not intend to peak at the ACCs, as this regatta is only a prelude to the national championships, which will occur in the spring portion of the racing season.

"We know that as a team, we need versatility and adaptability to adverse conditions. This will be an important goal for the spring races," Fox said.

As the fall sailing season comes to a close, a few of Harvard's sailors will compete in individual events.

Next week, Strothman will travel to the University of Southern California for the single-handed nationals. Over Thanksgiving weekend, he will represent his country in the U.S.-Japan Goodwill Regatta, held in Newport Beach, R.I.

Margaret Gill and Brian Fox will both be available as his crew for this esteemed event.