It has been said that Mother Nature can be especially tricky in New England. Who can disagree after we were briefly teased with sunshine and a dry, somewhat grassy Green, only to have a foot of snow dumped on us in recent days? As we fought to keep our shoes dry over the weekend here in Hanover, the Dartmouth Sailing team warded off impending pneumonia while racing beautifully in the harshest of conditions this past weekend.
Indeed, official race publications cited "snow, sleet, rain, drizzle and frozen drizzle" as the mix of conditions that greeted the sailors at the 45th Jan T. Friis Trophy, hosted by Tufts University.
Instead of the standard lettered divisions with equal numbers of races in each, this event called for a 45 round-robin race series to begin, followed by another 15 round-robin races to determine the lower six teams and a 12 race double round-robin for the top four teams. Whew.
Teams of Scott Hogan '04 and Amo Loring '04, Peter "Sea Man" Fleming '05 and Liz Hyon '05 and Andrew Loe '06 with Elisabeth Kreter '05 and Todd Whitehead '06 started off with a sizzling hot 9-0 record in the early going.
"Dartmouth sailors proved they can be the best team in the nation on Saturday by sailing to a 9-0 record against seven of the top 15 teams in the nation," coach Brian Doyle said.
The miserable conditions took their toll in the later races, however, leading to a 9-6 final record. A well-deserved fourth-place finish rewarded the sailors for their tremendous efforts against stiff competition and unrelenting weather. Tufts won the race on its home water.
The Tyrell Trophy, put on by the Beavers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presented Dartmouth with more of nature's wrath, including furious winds gusting up to 25 knots.
In a combined effort of the young and old, first year sailors Paul Durkee '06 and Clare O'Keefe '06 raced to an impressive fourth-place finish in the A division, while seasoned veterans Brian Mason '03 and Andrea Pool '03 took the eighth spot in the B division.
The combined score placed Dartmouth in sixth overall out of 12 teams. Massachusetts Maritime Academy took home the top honors, followed by Connecticut College and host M.I.T.
Meanwhile, back at the famed Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the Big Green was in action in the 18th Admiral Alymers Trophy. A solid fifth- place performance in the A division featuring Garrett "The Captain" Holmes '05, followed by a ninth spot in the B division, led to an eighth-place standing in all.
Contrary to the bad weather, the atmosphere at the regatta was inviting. "While the weather this weekend was rather cold and sketchy," remarked skipper Jon Kling '04, "the camaraderie at Tufts was warm and engaging for all."
Tufts University claimed first place with Boston University close behind in second followed by Brown University.
In the Ted Ferrarone Team Race Trophy put on by the rival Yale Corinthian Yacht Club in Branford, Conn., the Big Green sailors found themselves again in a regatta of a different format.
The rules dictate two series of round robin racing to narrow the field to the top six teams, who then compete in a single elimination tournament. After the first round robin of 55 races amidst spotty rain, Dartmouth sat comfortably in fourth.
However, the next series proved to be killer, as the Big Green narrowly missed the cutoff for the championship round, placing seventh overall out of 12 teams. St. Mary's College won the event, with Tufts University in second and University of California-Santa Barbara in third.
The final event of the weekend was a Metro Series Regatta hosted by Harvard. The combined force of Greg Hammond '04, Anna Weinberg '05, Emily East '06 and Rachel Holmes '04 finished second out of 12 teams.
Thus far this season, Dartmouth has placed in the top three an impressive three times, a trifecta that has vaulted the team to the top of the leader board for the Metro season series.
In this past weekend of racing, the Dartmouth Sailing Team proved once again that it can and will succeed in any conditions, no matter how grim. The sailors will build on the triumphs and progress of the last two weeks heading into this coming weekend, ever thinking about the Big Dance at the end of the season.
