Sailing | Tufts sails to 12th place in adverse conditions

A combination of poor conditions and a top-heavy field led to a rocky weekend for the nationally ranked No. 10 Tufts sailing team at the Navy Fall Invitational in Annapolis, Md. The Jumbos faced a cold and rainy Saturday and a 20-team field that included nine of the top-10 ranked teams in the nation, with only No. 1 Yale absent. However, Tufts was resilient, earning a respectable 12th-place finish.

The first two races on Saturday set the tone for the day. In the first, Tufts did not place higher than 10th in any of the four divisions, while in the second, the Jumbos rebounded to place no lower than eighth. Throughout the day's 12 races, they continued their inconsistency. Every division earned multiple top-10 showings, but the end result was a 13th-place performance heading into Sunday.

Senior Rachael Brill, who sailed in the A division with classmate Tomas Hornos, felt that the weather was unquestionably a factor on Saturday.

"The weather definitely started to affect us by the end of the day," Brill said. "The wind was pretty shifty, and Tomas and I were definitely cold."
 
However, the Jumbos were not ready to give in, and they got off to a strong start Sunday with second-place performances in both the B and D divisions in the very first race.

"In the first race, the current was pushing everyone behind the line. I was able to realize that and was out in front the whole race," said freshman Albert Nichols, who sailed in the D division.

From there, Tufts turned in a solid day all around, led by strong performances in the A division by Hornos and Brill and in the D division by Nichols; Hornos and Brill picked up only 84 points in eight races while Nichols had 75. The Jumbos managed to jump past the University of Miami in the final race to take 12th.

"Everyone in each division stepped it up a little," Brill said. "Saturday we had an OCS [crossing the starting line before the race starts]. The second day, we really picked it up. We were off the line with the other boats. We had clear air. We played the shifts really well."

Overall, Tufts got its strongest performance from the D division, which accounted for only 204 points, compared to the other three teams which all finished in the 230s. Nichols showed poise down the stretch, picking up a second place and two fifth places on Sunday.

"Going into the second day, we knew where we stood in the regatta," Nichols said. "We knew we could only improve from there. We just went into each race looking to do better than the last one."

The race was a great opportunity for underclassmen like Nichols and fellow freshman William Hutchings, who sailed in the C division and finished in 13th place. They found themselves in the middle of a regatta with many of the country's best teams, picking up valuable experience.

"It was a great opportunity for us to sail with some of the best," Nichols said.

Tufts also competed in two other regattas this weekend and posted similarly up-and-down results. At the Great Herring Pond Open at the Mass. Maritime Academy, Tufts finished seventh in a field of 18. The effort was led by impressive performances from junior Sally Levinson and senior Peggy Tautz, who is solidifying herself as one of Tufts' top skippers. The two combined for third place in the A division, only accumulating 40 points in eight races.

Finally, at the Captain Hurst Bowl at Dartmouth College, weather took its toll on both the event and the Jumbos. Due to a lack of wind both days, only four races per division were able to be run. The Jumbos struggled, posting only two top-10 finishes and ending up 18th out of 20 teams overall.

"Overall, we were a little disappointed," Brill said. "As long as we are more consistent next time, staying in single digits, we can place much higher. It was a learning experience. By the end, we all clearly learned a little bit."