2011 Gill/ICSA Dinghy National Championship

[MLovett]

May 31

GILL/ICSA DINGHY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DAY 1


It was a slow start in light winds for the first day of racing at the Dinghy
Championship.


Cascade Locks, OR (May 30, 2011) – Today was the first day of the Gill/ICSA
Dinghy National Championship where 18 teams from across the nation have
qualified to compete in Cascade Locks, OR for the Henry A. Morse Trophy. Gill
North America <http://www.gillna.com/> is a title sponsor of the event with
the ICSA <http://collegesailing.org/>; it is hosted by the Columbia Gorge
Racing Association <http://www.cgra.org/> and the Northwest Intercollegiate
Sailing Association <http://www.nwicsa.com/>. The teams arrived to the
sailing venue on the Columbia River Gorge to fairly light winds around 6
knots and the wind continued to fluctuate throughout the day with a few
postponements until the wind finally filled in the evening from a westerly
direction at around 10 knots. A-division completed four races and B-division
completed…races on a Windward/Leeward course four and five times around.



The racing got started in light steady winds for the first two A-division
races. Teams were looking to the right side of the course to stay in the
current that would help to push them up the course on the upwind legs. Yale
University and Boston College started their day off strong in A-division
finishing the first set in first and second. Right behind them were Hobart
and William Smith Colleges and Georgetown University. Once B-division came
on the water for their set, the wind had died down and the boats were barely
moving on the course. This caused the race committee to postpone the racing
until enough breeze filled in to continue to have fair races.



B-division waited on shore for three hours until the wind finally picked up
enough to send the fleet back out to the course. The races were competitive
and close with the fleet pretty compact at times and boats finishing very
close together. Hobart and William Smith’s B-division sailed well getting
two firsts in their set followed closely by Harvard University and Boston
College. Once B-division completed their set the wind died down again and
the racing was postponed for another hour.



By 5:30 p.m. A-division was back on the water starting their third race of
the day in about 10 knots of westerly breeze. In the second race the wind
died down around 6 knots challenging the sailors’ patience. Roger Williams
University, coming down from their high of just winning the APS/ICSA Team
Race Nationals, started to show up with the leaders on the racecourse. They
finished third in race 4A behind Hobart William Smith and St. Mary’s College
of Maryland. B-division went out on the water, but the wind would not
cooperate, “It was similar to the Women’s event earlier this week where the
wind just stayed really light—we didn’t have any rain today, though,” Kyle
Eaton, the regatta chairman explained.



In the last sets of the day the wind petered out, but the racing stayed
close. Hobart and William Smith kept their focus despite the late hours of
racing and finished the day on the top of the leader board. It is still very
early in the regatta and there is a lot more racing to go, “I hope that Dave
[Thompson ‘11] and Sam [Blouin ‘12] continue their good work…We have had a
great start to the regatta,” Scott Ikle, head coach for Hobart and William
Smith, proudly states. Ikle continues, “The conditions today were truly
challenging, no wind and a lot of current. It made for very long tedious
runs.” Lets hope for better conditions tomorrow and a lot more races.



Some of the competitors who have competed in the previous two National
Championship events are accustomed to the conditions the Gorge has been
presenting over the last week, where the wind and weather are not very
predictable so keeping focus on and off the water becomes an important part
of success. Racing is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. for the second
day of the Gill/ICSA Dinghy National Championship. Visit the event website
for full results, live coverage and more information.



2011nationals.collegesailing.info

[MLovett]

May 31


GILL/ICSA DINGHY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DAY 2



Despite a long morning postponement the sailors had great afternoon breeze
and racing in day two of the Championship.



Cascade Locks, OR (May 31, 2011) – Today was the second day of the Gill/ICSA
Dinghy National Championship on the Columbia River Gorge. The day began with
little wind until around noon when the wind came up and B-division headed
out to the course first because they finished two races short of A-division
yesterday. The wind was a steady 8 knots from a westerly direction with
temperatures in the mid to high 50s. Both A-division and B-division
completed six races today, however B-division is still one set behind A in
the series.



The breeze gradually built throughout the afternoon and there was no room
for error on the racecourse as the racing was close and the fleet stayed
fairly condensed. Boston College, Harvard University, St. Mary’s College,
College of Charleston and University of Miami all started the day out
strong. Although Hobart and William Smith suffered a disqualification in
race 6B for a foul, sending them back in the scores, they managed to bounce
back to third overall at the end of the day although only one point ahead of
St. Mary’s College.



St. Mary’s A-division Michael Menninger ‘11 with crew Franny Kupersmith ’11
had a great day sailing very consistently and leading A-division at the end
of the day, “They are a really good team, a nice pairing. They are super
quick downwind and they stayed out of trouble. They were also able to judge
the lay lines well today, which has been troublesome on the racecourse,”
explains Adam Werblow St. Mary’s head coach. Menninger also sailed a race
with Ben Lezin ’12 today. St. Mary’s finished the day in fourth place
overall.



By race 6A the wind had increased to 14-knots gusting higher and the
competitors were sailing hard. Harvard turned it on today with consistency
in both A and B-divisions. Harvard’s A-division sailors Alan Palmer ‘11 and
Quincy Bock ’11 were able to close the gap this evening, now only two points
behind Menninger and Kupersmith. They won the last race of the day and Mike
O’Connor, head coach of the Harvard team explains, “It was important to get
that bullet, we needed it, we have a big gap to fill [for first place
overall].” O’Connor described the stressful downwind legs: “It is incredibly
close racing, there are 10-12 boats abreast on the runs, so the trick is to
use a puff to take you the whole way down. On the final approach to the mark
it was important to have good boat placement and not get sucked into the
pack of boats behind.” Harvard’s B-division, John Stokes ‘11 and Meghan
Wareham ’11 placed second in four of the eight races they have sailed in the
event. They finished the day third in their division.



Boston College finished the day on top of the leader board with a ten-point
lead over Harvard. Tyler Sinks ’11 with Laura McKenna ’13 and Lucy Wallace
‘11 in A-division and Taylor Canfield ’11 with Emily Migliaccio ’11 and
Patrick Hession ’13 in B-division are sailing strong in their divisions
staying in the top of the fleet in each race avoiding mistakes. Canfield and
Migliaccio are leading B-division by 18 points, “They are really quick and
got off the line well, there was nothing too special about their sailing
today other than they were sailing really well,” says Greg Wilkinson, Boston
College’s head coach. “They [the team] had a good feel for what was working
upwind and especially downwind, we spent some time working on the
downwinds,” Wilkinson admits. Finding the pressure was particularly
important today because of the winds oscillating up and down. The fleet is
very close and the racing will continue to stay intense and competitive,
especially in the top half of the fleet.



It was another late day of racing for the competitors who showed stamina and
focus on the racecourse today. The final day of racing for the Gill/ICSA
Dinghy National Championship is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. Find
full results, information and a live Twitter feed on the event website.



2011nationals.collegesailing.info