Harvard Sends Five Sailors to Nationals

They are a mix of a veteran seniors and wet-behind-the-ear freshmen. For some it is their first time at Nationals, but for others it’s old hat. One thing they all are is a testament to the talent and depth of the Harvard sailing team.

This weekend Harvard will send five sailors to the Singlehanded National Championships in Houston. The Crimson’s contingent includes captain Clay Bischoff, senior Clemmie Everett, junior Jennie Philbrick and freshmen Genny Tulloch and Vince Porter.

“It is very exciting that five players are going to go [to Nationals], two of them freshmen,” co-captain Michelle Yu said. “It’s a special event for them as individuals and for us as a team.”

That five sailors from the same team are headed to nationals is a minor triumph unto itself—the New England region was allotted just four men’s slots at the Singlehanded National Championships. Bischoff and Porter secured those positions at the New England Singlehandeds, where they finished first and third respectively.

Singlehanded competition features a captain without a crew sailing a laser, not the two-man larks that Harvard usually employs. To prepare for the uncommon boats, the team has been practicing in them once a week since the women qualified for their national tournament in early October. Other than that weekly preparation, the Crimson has not been able to devote too much time to singlehanded sailing.

“There are big regattas every weekend, so it’s hard to look too far ahead and focus entirely on one event,” Philbrick said.

Still, the juniors and freshmen have been heeding the words of graybeard Bischoff, whose trip to Houston will be the third time he has headed to Singlehanded Nationals.

“The advice I’ll be giving to my teammates is to just concentrate on being as consistent as possible because it’s a long regatta,” Bischoff said. “People tend to lose focus on doing basic sailing strategy correctly because they are so worried on getting familiar with sailing the boat.”

Bischoff’s thoughts were echoed by his teammates, who all anticipated a difficult challenge.

“It will be tough to make up for mistakes in this [National] fleet,” Everett said. “And no one will be able to do it with boatspeed alone.”

The conditions in Houston will partially dictate the way the competitors sail, with the weather forecast calling for open water and winds. That is a change from the usual on the Charles, which has light and shifting winds. The sailors who best adapt to the different conditions will be the ones with the most conservative plans of attack and the most improvement over the course of the weekend.

“If we focus on being smart first and foremost, we’ll be fine,” Bischoff added.

—Staff writer Timothy M. McDonald can be reached at tmcdonal@fas.harvard.edu.