Nov. 19, 2008
The Atlantic Coast Championships this past weekend were the final regattas of the fall season before the Mids head into their winter downtime. At the Coed ACC at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Navy's dinghy team looked to continue its string of strong finishes and cap off Navy's best season in dinghies in quite some time. On the first day, the lake was glass and no races were completed. Sunday was the exact opposite, however, as gusts to 30 knots were seen on Seneca Lake. The breeze was blowing across the lake from the boathouse, leaving some very considerable shifts and puffs. The conditions suited the Navy team well and in a short series of only five races per division, Navy came out in fourth overall out of the 18 teams that qualified for this very difficult event. Andrew Vann sailed with Andrew Hotchkiss and finished fourth in A division while Robert Vann and Clark Hayes finished fourth in B. With all of the top teams in the country in attendance, Navy's strong finish should allow the Mids to move up from their current seventh place national ranking heading into the winter.
The Women's ACC at Georgetown saw some challenging conditions as well for Navy's women's team, which has shown a great deal of growth and promise this fall. On Saturday, the fleet raced out in the Potomac River in a building southerly breeze. The current was running against the wind and there were not many shifts as the breeze was blowing straight up the river. Only four races were completed in A division and three in B before a storm cell moved through and ended racing for the day. On Sunday, the breeze blew out of the west and there was really no good place to have a racecourse at the Washington Sailing Marina. The course was then set in the Washington Sailing Marina Lagoon and the races were only 10-15 minutes in duration. In the lagoon, there were huge puffs and shifts which the sailors couldn't see until they were already there. Tina Pryne and Theresa James finished 12th in A division and Trisha Kutkiewicz, Emily Taynor and Katherine Adler were 15th in B. Navy ended up 13th overall out of the 18 teams that qualified.
# GO NAVY #
