The Dartmouth sailing team had mixed results this weekend, winning the Northern Series 1 competition, a home regatta at Mascoma Lake in Lebanon, N.H., and coming in fourth and fifth overall in the George Morris Trophy at Boston University and the Southern Series Seven at Salve Regina University, respectively.
The Southern Series Seven presented cold and light conditions on Saturday. Due to weak winds that completely died down around 3 p.m., only four races were completed.
Sunday, the second day of the regatta, brought perfect sailing conditions. The sunny and windy weather allowed Big Green sailors to exercise their skills on the water and resulted in a fifth place overall finish.
Michelle Hernandez '12 and Tim Scanlon '12 competed in the A-Divison and finished in fifth place, while Peter Hughes '11 and Sam Williams '12 placed second in the B-Division.
"The racing was pretty low-key," Hernandez said. "And they got us out early because most of the other schools have finals next week."
Dartmouth earned fourth place overall at the George Morris Trophy, hosted by Boston University on the Charles River. Racing began late on Saturday due to morning crew race and a bomb scare on the Cambridge, Mass., shore.
Between the late start and winds ranging from zero to five knots, each division was only able to race twice on the first day of competition. The second day saw more significant winds of 12 to 15 knots and gusts of up to 18 knots.
Bernie Roesler '12 and Rocky Merchant '12 sailed in the A-Division, placing seventh. Bo McClatchy '13 and Jenna Musco '11 competed in the B-Division, placing third overall and finishing just one point ahead of the second-place team for first place in the division.
Each division sailed eight races, and the McClatchy-Musco pair ended the day with three straight first-place finishes.
The Northern Series 1 began in unseasonably cold conditions early on Saturday morning, with icy rain pelting the boathouse at Mascoma Lake while the sailors took to the waters. Other teams appeared less prepared than Dartmouth for the weather, and the Big Green took first place overall.
The weather improved throughout the day and the sailors were met with favorable eight to 15 knot northerly winds.
Conditions were typical of Mascoma Lake during the 10 races held on Sunday, with northerly winds leading to occasional capsizes.
The regatta marked the first home race of the year at Mascoma Lake, which is Dartmouth's home venue.
"Our lake was frozen for our entire spring season through our national qualifiers, so that put us at a big disadvantage," Chandler Salisbury '13 said. "We made the best with what we had this spring and traveled to Boston or [the University of Vermont] during the week to practice, but we could not wait to get back out sailing on Mascoma."
Now that the lake is not frozen, the team is able to practice more easily for the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Team Race Championships, Dartmouth's home regatta next weekend.
"It's our last regatta of the season, so we're putting our all into every practice," Salisbury said. "It's not hard to do when you're so excited to just be sailing at home again."
