WEB UPDATE: Harvard Finishes Trifect For Bid to San Fran

As the end of each school year approaches, the Harvard sailing team has one number on its mind: three. Three regattas, three national championships, and hopefully for the Crimson each spring, three chances to continue competing after the close of the semester.

Coming in to the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Team Race Championships this past weekend, Harvard had achieved two-thirds of its yearly objective. It had previously qualified for the ICSA Women’s National Championships and the ICSA/Gill National Dinghy Championships. The final piece was qualifying for the ICSA Team Race National Championships in San Francisco the final weekend of May, a spot it could earn with a top-three finish at the two-day affair this weekend.

Although it faltered a bit at the close of the day on Saturday, the Crimson battled back throughout the day Sunday to tie Yale for second place at this weekend’s competition, qualifying for collegiate sailing’s national championship trifecta in the process.

“It is our goal to qualify for all three of the national championships every year,” senior skipper Jon Garrity said. “We are excited to head out to San Francisco, and hopefully we will be ready for the windy conditions out there.”

Harvard posted a 10-4 record during the event, hosted by Roger Williams University. Boston College won the regatta’s team title this weekend with a mark of 11-3, ensuring the Eagles are able to join the Crimson and the Bulldogs on the west coast for college sailing’s most important team racing event of the spring from May 29-31.

Harvard opened its racing this weekend by winning its first five competitions, as three duos manned the waters for the Crimson. Garrity teamed up with sophomore crew Grace Charles, sophomore co-ed captain Alan Palmer skippered alongside senior crew Lauren Brants, and sophomore skipper John Stokes and third-year crew Michelle Konstadt all contributed to Harvard advancing to Sunday’s gold round robin.

“There was a light breeze on Saturday,” Stokes said. “We had a great team effort, as we opened the weekend well.”

Despite some struggles late in the day on Saturday, the Crimson came out sailing well on Sunday in much windier conditions. In the first three races of the day, Garrity teamed up with junior crew Winston Yan, while Palmer worked with Stokes, and sophomore skipper Teddy Himler and Konstadt were a duo out on the water for Harvard.

“It was super windy on Sunday, so we changed up our pairs a little,” Garrity said. “The range of conditions we faced this weekend and the way in which we sailed in them is a true testament to our team.”

Stokes, who switched from skippering the first day to crewing on the second day, echoed his more experienced teammate’s words.

“As the breeze changes, we need to take advantage of different people’s strengths,” Stokes said. “We were able to shuffle people around and show the great depth we have.”

Brants and sophomore Quincy Bock helped finish off Sunday’s competition for the Crimson, as they crewed alongside Palmer and Himler, respectively. Harvard’s next team racing event will be the national affair in a few weeks, where it will try to improve upon last year’s fifth place finish.

“It is going to be very windy out in California,” Stokes said. “We need to hike hard out there and try to make it through two tough days of sailing. We have gotten a lot better at sailing in breeze this season, and hopefully we will be able to perform well in San Francisco.”

Garrity noted the specific preparations the Crimson will undergo in the next few weeks leading up to its trip out west.

“We need to practice in big breeze, in open water venues, where we have to deal with more waves,” Garrity said. “Anything is possible once the competition begins out there, so we feel nationals is a great opportunity for us.”

—Staff writer Thomas D. Hutchison can be reached at tdhutch@fas.harvard.edu.