In the least successful outing of the season thus far, neither the co-ed nor the women's sailing team could carry the winning momentum from strong performances in late September to this weekend's regattas, as both squads faltered amid tough conditions and highly competitive fields.
This Homecoming weekend, Tufts had disappointing results at the Danmark Trophy, hosted by the Coast Guard Academy, while just nearby, two sailors competed at the Women's Singlehanded Championship hosted by Conn. College. The Jumbos failed to perform at Danmark, placing 17th out of 20 teams, while the two women came in 12th and 13th out of 14. However, the Jumbos also participated in a few smaller regattas around New England, which yielded some positive results.
The Danmark Trophy is one of the most competitive regattas of the fall season. At this year's event, 17 of the top-20 nationally ranked squads were present. On top of that, the Jumbos' attempts to finish well were not made any easier with the shifty weather patterns, which were present throughout the regatta.
"In a regatta of that caliber, every time you make a mistake, you lose boats," senior Margaret Rew, who crewed in the A division boat, said. "Mentally, that can be a difficult thing to overcome, especially at the incredibly shifty Coast Guard venue."
The A division skipper, junior Massimo Soriano, and Rew had a rough time at this event, coming in 13th in their division. Both Soriano and Rew agreed that the weather was inconsistent, creating difficulties for their boat. By the second day, however, the sailors had adjusted their strategies to compensate for the breeze's shiftiness, which led to improved results. The Jumbos hope to be able to use this experience to recognize and improve upon certain aspects of their racing leading into the later stages of the season.
"We look forward to taking that knowledge and building on it at the Moody [Trophy] at University of Rhode Island next weekend," Rew said.
The B division boat did not fare well either, finishing 19th out of the 20 competitors in its division. Skippered by junior Nicolas Russo-Larsson and crewed by senior Roisin Magee, the B boat, which had been performing at a high level in the past few regattas, encountered its biggest challenge so far this season.
Russo-Larsson was extremely disappointed with his results.
"I had a tough time dealing with such a poor performance," Russo-Larsson said. "I was not on my game."
Magee shared a similar sentiment of frustration but remains positive about future regattas. She says that the team knows that it has a lot to work on in terms of starts and being able to handle all kinds of conditions.
"I'm sure that this weekend's mistakes will give us the drive we need to succeed in our coming regattas," she said.
Just down the Thames River in New London, Conn., two Jumbos participated in the New England Women's Singlehanded Championship, a qualifier for the Women's Singlehanded National Championship in early November. The level of competition at the regatta was sky-high; the top six finishers were women on the U.S. National Sailing Team, while other competitors were All-American sailors with a variety of national and international experience, according to junior Renee Gagne and sophomore Mariel Marchand.
Gagne and Marchand were up against some of the best sailors they had ever faced.
Nevertheless, Gagne and Marchand sailed hard, coming in 12th and 13th, respectively, out of a field of 14. Though the Jumbos struggled to keep up with most of the competitors, the day proved to be a valuable learning experience.
"It was a little intense to begin with and as the wind picked up, the physical demand to control the boats and keep them flat was more difficult," Gagne said.
On the bright side, Tufts dominated in a variety of smaller-scale regattas over the weekend.
At the Smith Trophy at MIT, featuring the largest fleet of the year at 26 boats, Tufts came in 13th. The teams of sophomore William Hutchings and junior Reeves Bright in the A boat and freshmen Solomon Krevans and Eliza White in the B boat sailed Tech dinghies. A new experience for these sailors most accustomed to the Larks of Upper Mystic Lake or the more widely sailed 420s, they struggled with the transition but pulled out with top finishes nonetheless.
The Hewitt Trophy hosted at Bowdoin College was a bright light for the Jumbos, as they came in second place overall. Sophomores Albert Nichols and Charlotte Welbourn represented the A division and took first, while first-years Ben Weigel and Kathleen Kwasniak sailed into second in the B division.
With mixed finishes this past weekend, the Jumbos hope to perform more consistently at the various upcoming regattas. This coming weekend, the Jumbos' top boats will head to University of Rhode Island for the Moody Trophy, where they hope to return to form against another highly competitive field.
