Crimson Struggles in Spring Regatta

As the ice melted and the temperatures rose this weekend, the No. 4 Harvard co-ed sailing team traveled to Newport, R.I. and took fourth at the Salve Regina Wood Trophy race. The No. 9 women’s team opened its season with mixed results at the Navy Women’s Regatta in Annapolis, M.D., taking sixth place despite limited outside training during the winter months.

WOOD TROPHY

After winning the Sharpe Trophy Team race last weekend, the Crimson traveled to Regina Salve University without co-ed captain Kyle Kovacs, who spent the weekend at home training with professional sailors. Instead, sophomore skipper Jon Garrity led the A-division with senior crew Ashley Nathanson, earning fourth place in the co-ed team’s second regatta of the year.

“It was good practice to get ready for the rest of the season,” Garrity said.

The B-division saw freshman Drew Robb as skipper and freshman Hyunjin Kim as crew.

Different from most regattas, the Wood Trophy combines the A and B fleets, allowing both divisions to race together. After 18 races, the Harvard B-division placed sixth, beating its own ninth-place A-division.

“We’re definitely working some kinks out,” Garrity said. “Both Drew and I were up and down, but we are making some big improvements for the rest of the season.”

The conditions at Regina Salve on Saturday were light and shifty, while Sunday’s constant wind did not provide any relief. But the Crimson used the situation to its advantage.

“Although it was a lower level event, it was good to go to the tournament,” Garrity said. “Regina Salve is where nationals are going to be next year, so we were able to check out the conditions in preparation.”

NAVY WOMEN’S REGATTA

The women’s team opened its season in sixth place at the US Naval Academy this weekend, competing at the Navy Women’s Regatta against a field of 18 teams. The lack of training on a frozen Charles during the offseason contributed to the slow start in the spring’s first intersectional.

“The fact that it was our season opener reflects on our performance,” sophomore skipper Megan Watson said. “Eventually we’ll do a lot better than sixth place, but for our first regatta, it was a pretty decent showing.”

Windy conditions on Saturday combined with choppy waves to produce a climate unlike that on the Charles where the team trains, but Sunday competition was characterized by a more familiar, flatter wind.

“It was difficult, and it’s always a challenge when your practice conditions are different from tournaments,” sophomore skipper Roberta Steele said. “But that’s a good thing.”

In the A-division, Watson and senior crew Christiana Dahlman earned 123 points, opening with a first-place race. Despite amounting another first-place showing and two second-place finishes, the Crimson fell to eventual winner Stanford.

Yale, St. Mary’s, Charleston, and Navy rounded out the top five, but Watson doesn’t think the results are a fair indication of the upcoming spring season.

“We were at a disadvantage in Boston having such a cold winter and with the Charles frozen,” she said. “Going out on the water this weekend was sort of a trial by fire.”

Steele, sophomore crew Lauren Brants, and senior crew Cassandra Niemi claimed eighth place in the B-division with 145 points, finishing in the top four on four occasions.

“Last year we had different people sailing together, so we were putting together a new regatta to train,” Steele said. “We had some good starts, but made simple mistakes that come simply from being in the offseason. After a week of practice, those won’t happen.”