Proving that last year’s success was no fluke, the GW Sailing Team yesterday earned their second consecutive berth at the MAISA Championships, the America Trophy. The Colonials had been training hard since the frigid days of early February (And during the entire Fall season) for this moment, and all of the hard work paid off in convincing fashion. The field of teams at the MAISA South Division Qualifier Regatta was made up of our closest regional rivals, with whom we battle all year long. They included University of Virginia, University of Maryland, Hampton University, William and Mary, Virginia Tech, Salisbury University, and Christopher Newport University. American University and St. John’s College were unfortunately forced to withdraw at the last minute. 

Arriving at William & Mary’s sailing venue on Saturday morning, it was hard to tell that April was actually here. Temperatures hovered in the upper forties, and a Westerly wind howled down the length of the James River at speeds varying from 14 mph to 28 mph. Nevertheless, these conditions were nothing GW hadn't seen before. Indeed, the previous week, we had faced even worse weather up in Boston.

Sailing in A-Division for GW, Will Ricketson ’11 and Kaitlin Denney ’11 reveled in the strong wind. The University of Virginia, George Washington and Maryland quickly found themselves locked in a close battle for each race, and whenever the wind reached its peak, they seemed to be the only three boats that could maintain full control. 

In B-Division, Meredith Carroll ’11, Anne Laterra ’11, and Skye Kussmann ’13, despite being a comparatively light crew/skipper combo, proved to be consistently fast in their division as well (Anne and Skye alternated on the boat all weekend). In big breeze, many schools like to man their boats with big, heavier guys to counterbalance the force the wind exerts on the boat. However, Meredith, Anne and Skye enjoy bucking this trend, and calmly went about posting great finishes. 

In B-division, our moment of greatest triumph also turned out to be our moment of greatest frustration. During race 3B, the breeze reached perhaps its strongest level of the weekend, clocking in at 28 mph. The FJ, the class of boat we race in, is highly unstable in such conditions. On the second leg of the race, to the horror and amazement of everyone on shore, a series of big puffs swooped in and succeeded in flipping over every boat in the fleet- except for Maryland and GW. After valiantly fighting on for three more legs, spray often enveloping the entire boat as it reached top speed, Meredith and Skye won the race, to the cheers of their teammates on shore. However, in an unpopular move, the Race Committee deemed the race invalid due to “safety concerns,” erasing our victory. Nevertheless, we used this injustice as motivation for the rest of the event, and in the end it helped propel us to a qualifying spot. 

Saturday night the team was treated to a wonderful dinner in Colonial (How fitting?) Williamsburg by Coach Jay Sterne, and then got to bed early to prepare for the critical final races on Sunday. 

Sunday was much warmer, and much calmer. In A-Division, GW lost much of the speed advantage it enjoyed the day before in the big breeze, but still managed to stay in the top portion of the fleet. In B-Division, the Colonials seemed even faster than the day before, but were hampered by equipment breakdowns in the somewhat aged W&M fleet. During one race, the jib halyard shackle broke and suddenly GW was racing with one sail instead of two! 

Despite difficult weather conditions, controversial management decisions, and equipment failure, GW never wavered in our goal to qualify for the America Trophy. By the end of racing on Sunday, we had earned our second place spot by a wide margin over third place Hampton University. The top three teams advanced onto the next round. It was a tense weekend to be sure, but one which we can all be proud of. 

We hope you will cheer us on at the America Trophy on April 16-17. We will, as usual, be underdogs against the big varsity powers, but backing down is simply not our style. Wish us luck!

-Will Ricketson ’11


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