Sailing Third At Annual Regatta

Like peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, or a Tuesday night and HUDS’ latest squash concoction, the sport of sailing goes together with clear skies and sunny weather.

So along with the return of milder temperatures and a spring climate this past weekend, so too came the opening of the 2010 spring season for the Harvard sailing team.

The beginning of the spring campaign was marked by just one regatta this weekend, the Sharpe Trophy Team Race at MIT, which is a light schedule compared to the two, three, and four regattas the Crimson will compete in over the next three weekends respectively.

“Our first real day together as a team was this past Thursday,” sophomore skipper Brendan Kopp said, “So we were only able to get one or two practices in before our first regatta this weekend. Our main goal was to just get out on the water and to rotate as many people as possible into the boats.”

With these rather reserved goals in mind, Harvard was nonetheless able to post a third-place team finish among the six squads competing over the two-day affair on the Charles.

The Crimson co-eds posted an 11-7 record overall, with a 9-6 mark coming in the three round robins against the rest of the six-team field.

Harvard’s 9-6 record matched Tufts and Brown for the best mark in the round robin portion of the regatta, but the Jumbos and Bears were able to move on to the championship round because each took two of their three races against the Crimson.

In its final round of competition on Sunday, Harvard beat Boston College in two of their three matchups, securing third place for the Crimson, as Tufts came away from the regatta as the team champion.

“We were pleased with out results,” rookie crew Alma Lafler said, who was competing in her first top-tier competition as a member of the Harvard sailing team.

“The wind picked up over the course of day one, which was good, and there was a lot of wind throughout day two, which was nice because we were able to finish all of the races we started. The sun also made our races much more enjoyable. It was weather I didn’t expect so soon in the season.”

Four duos graced the water over the course of the weekend for the Crimson, as juniors Teddy Himler and Quincy Bock teamed up as a skipper-crew combo, while junior skipper Alan Palmer and Lafler made a team.

Also, junior John Stokes skippered alongside senior crew Michelle Konstadt, and Kopp rounded out the pairings with third-year crew Meghan Wareham.

“Everyone’s boat handling is going to be a little rusty after taking time off,” Kopp said.

The Harvard team was only able to lift weights while on campus over the past few months.

Some individual members were forced to sail on their own while they were away from Cambridge.

“Some of us are new to team race sailing, and the team has been very patient in helping everyone get used to the format,” Kopp said.

The newcomer Lafler also noted how the team was supportive in helping its less experienced members get accustomed to the Crimson squad.

“The communication between boats is only go to improve as the season progresses,” the freshman said.

Harvard will be able to improve on its communication and fix any weaknesses with new team experiences during its spring break trip to Maryland next week.

“We are going to be able to practice in Maryland with the teams from St. Mary’s and Yale, so that should help us improve as a team, and we will hopefully be able to try team and fleet style racing down there, which should help us gain experience” Kopp said.

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