Week 6: October 13-14
The Huskies competed ​in five regattas this weekend, their most packed schedule all season. The team did well enough at each of the three scored regattas that as of now, they will all factor into the Huskies' final NEISA ranking at the end of the season.
​
Match Race New Englands @ Corinthian Yacht Club
The top 8 keelboat teams in New England traveled to Marblehead, Mass, to compete in the extremely unforgiving yet exciting racing discipline known as match racing. At the Huskies' 2nd ever NEISA match racing championship, the team competed hard against some of the top match racing teams in the country, including defending national champions Boston College. The regatta was contested in conditions very different from the Charles, with lots of open space and chop. The Huskies improved rapidly over the course of the weekend, although Saturday saw them finish last in the round robin portion of the event. On Sunday, the team fell to #1 seed Boston College in the quarterfinals before beating #5 Tufts and losing to #3 Yale to finish 6th overall. The Huskies team consisted of skipper Kyle Riggs ('21), tactician and mainsail trimmer Caleb Niles ('22), jib trimmer Erin Coyne ('20), and Will Crane ('21) manning the foredeck.
​
Women's Showcase Alt-Finals @ Boston University
The Women's Showcase tournament also wrapped up this weekend, with the Huskies nearby at Boston University for the alt-finals. The Huskies' reliable women's team of skippers Carolyn Corbet ('21) and Victoria Pajak ('22) and crews Kelley Phippen ('22), Coleen Ross ('20), and Morgan TerMaat ('23) put in another strong performance, sailing to a 7th out of 18 overall finish. The B Division boat of Pajak sailing with Ross then TerMaat finished 3rd in their division, and both boats recorded a race win. The women's team will have a weekend off after this before returning to action at New England Championships at Bowdoin on the last weekend.
​
Ross Trophy @ Vermont
Frigid conditions and light wind on Lake Champlain made the Ross Trophy at Vermont a tough competition for everyone, and only nine teams managed to make the trek. The Huskies completed the four and a half hour commute Friday night though, and come Saturday were ready to go. Crew Sarah Pierce ('22) made her college debut, sailing with skipper Adrian van der Wal ('22), while Sumner Strumph ('22) and Julianne Mozzer ('21) made up the other Northeastern boat. The fleet was combined, so all 18 boats were on the course at the same time, which created some significant line congestion. Choppy waters and light breeze meant maintaining momentum was key, and the team did this well, especially in the last race of the day, won by van der Wal and Pierce.
​
Invite @ Mass Maritime
On Sunday, Mass Maritime hosted a promotional regatta in their new fleet of FJs. Ben Palmer ('22), Julia Zaleski ('22), Carter Brock ('22), and Jack Denker ('23) competed against a fleet with significant talent range. The wind oscillated massively the whole day, but the sailors had good awareness regarding spotting the puffs and lifts, finishing exactly in the middle of the fleet in 7th out of 13.
​
Crews Regatta @ Mass Maritime
Prior to hosting the Invite, Mass Maritime hosted a crews regatta on Saturday. In order to be eligible skipper, a sailor could not have skippered a regatta yet this season. The experience gained from running crews races often in practice gave Husky crews a distinct advantage, and Romain Astié ('21) and Bridget Maguire ('22) stepped up to make the temporary switch, with a little help from crews Jack Denker ('23) and Julia Zaleski ('22), each finishing 3rd in their division for a 2nd overall finish out of 9 teams.
