The Camel sailors have braved a rough and prolonged winter on the Thames River to propel the success of their Fall season into the Spring. The team now steers toward a pinnacle national regatta after the academic year concludes in order to secure a spot as one of the top 20 teams in the country: The ICSA Gill Dinghy Championship.
“We finished the Fall season strong with one of our best performances at a New England Championship in several years and a ranking of 13th in the country,” said Benjamin Meyers ‘15. “With the return of a few juniors from abroad this spring we have been working hard with several top finishes in some of the early regattas of the season by both the co-ed and Women’s teams.”
Two seasons of racing in one academic year requires the team to maintain consistency and energy every day on the water. Practicing with the Coast Guard Academy’s sailing team has provided a unique training opportunity to work drills and simulate racing strategies. This season on April 6 the extremely competitive New England Team Racing Championship proved particularly challenging for the Camels; only four colleges achieved national berths.
“The hardest regatta of the season has been Team Race New England’s,” said junior Lea Bushnell. “Although it was at Conn where we have more knowledge of the venue, we had wind from directions we rarely see and shifty conditions made it hard to get races off. We sailed hard but were unfortunately not able to make it into the final round.”
Although the team-racing season is over, and with it, hopes of qualifying for the ICSA Team Racing National Championship, the fleet racing season continues. On April 20, the Women’s team finished 12th out of 17 teams at the New England Fleet Racing Championship under ideal conditions, while the co-ed team finished in ninth place at the CGA-hosted event.
“Looking forward, we will be graduating five seniors who all play an integral role on the team, but with some of our younger teammates stepping up to fill their shoes we hope to hold on to our top 20 ranking next year and continue to build on the improvements we have made as a team this year,” said Meyers.
This year, the team has dealt with a smaller roster consisting of 23 sailors and has found itself spread thin in the face of demanding weather conditions weekend after weekend, but remains undeterred.
“Our greatest strength is definitely our team as a whole,” said Bushnell. “At practice and at regattas we push each other to be the best we can be, but at the end of the day we are all great friends who support each other.”
This past weekend, the team competed at the co-ed New England Dinghies, finishing 8th. This finish has allowed the team to qualify for the National Championship in Maryland this June.
