The Big Green's coed sailors headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this weekend for the Schell Trophy, where winds ranged from five to 20 knots on Saturday and 20 to 50 knots on Sunday. To give the landlubber an idea of just how windy 50 knots is -- according to the Beaufort Wind Scale -- at 48 knots the sea surface becomes white with streaking spindrift, trees are uprooted, and considerable structural damage occurs.
While these perfect storm conditions sent most of Boston's population searching for shelter, Dartmouth's sailors were undaunted. Erik Storck '07 skippered A division, combining with Killarney Loufek '07, Anne Megargel '09 and "Big" Ben Sampson '08 to finish fourth in the 18-boat field.
Not to be outdone by their teammates, skipper Andrew Loe '07 teamed with Betsy Bryant '08, Adele Wilhelm '08 and Megargel for fourth out of B division's 18 teams. The group's combined effort earned them third place in the 18-school battle of New England's best. The finish also secured the Big Green a bid for the Coed Atlantic Coast Championship.
"It was gnarly out there," said Sampson. "When you look around and only a few other boats [in an 18- boat fleet] are upright and the spray is hitting your face so hard it hurts, you know the conditions are pretty insane."
In light wind, patience and agility are keys to success, while heavy breeze makes strength and stamina paramount. In windy conditions, sailors lock their toes underneath "hiking" straps and rely on quad and stomach muscles to extend their bodies as far out of their boat as possible for maximum leverage -- aiming to keep their boat flat and moving at maximum speed. While light weight can be an advantage in average winds, skippers often shed their usual crew in favor of taller, more muscle-bound crews for windy conditions.
Just down the infamous River Charles, Dartmouth's lady sailors battled difficult conditions at Harvard. In A division, Wilhelm and Kate Hacker '07 started strong, but fell victim to the weekend's strange winds and the oddities of Harvard's lark (Harvard's version of the collegiate dingy which can only be described as old and British).
Dartmouth brought in Kendall Reiley '09 who combined with Hacker for two stellar races to close out Saturday; the trio's performance was good enough for 10th in the 15-boat division.
In B division, Becca Dellenbaugh '10 and Stephanie Gagnon '10 continued to silence the competition, finishing third of 15 teams. Sunday's gale force winds were too much for Harvard's aged boats to endure. The regatta's second day was canceled.
Overall, the Big Green women combined for seventh place, which allowed them to qualify for the Women's Atlantic Coast Championships.
Further north, Dartmouth's freshman team battled varying winds, torrential rain, snow and hail at the New England Freshman Championship, hosted by the University of Vermont. In A division, Ben Bier '10 teamed with Cindy Kahlenberg '10 to finish 12th in a competitive 17-boat field.
In B division, Matty Cohen '10 left his normal role as a crew to skipper. Despite their relative inexperience, first-time pairing of Cohen and Kathy Oprea '10 led to a sixth-place finish.
Dartmouth's newcomers were also prevented from competing on Sunday due to wind in excess of 30 knots and monstrous waves which sent the crew from UVM's test boat to the hospital for stitches. Saturday's three races constituted the regatta, and Dartmouth combined for 11th of 17 teams, qualifying for next weekend's Freshman Atlantic Coast Championship at Brown.
The Big Green sailors have two weeks of final preparation for the fall's culminating coed and women's Atlantic Coast Championships. Both the coed team, ranked sixth, and the women's team, ranked eighth, hope to close out the season with victory and augment their already solid national ranking.
