Camels were previously known for their dominance on land, but now they have conquered the seas. At this weekend’s regatta, the Stu Nelson Women’s Intersectional, the Camels beat out the competition and finished in first place with a total of 97 points. They did so despite undesirable weather conditions, and bested tough opponents from eighteen other colleges and universities that included: Brown, Harvard, Stanford, Tufts, and Yale.
All of Conn’s skippers and crew preformed well, but by Sunday, the final results were in. Camels from the A Division, Maggie Shea ‘11 and Stephanie Kapinos ‘13, had a great 7th out of 18th place finish with 67 points. Conn’s sailors from the B division, Atlantic Brugman ‘13 and Katrina Salk ‘11, finished fantastically in first place with a total of 30 points.
Conn’s victory comes a week after the Camels finished in 8th place against a similar field in New Haven. Instead of having to fight the difficult waters of New Haven’s open-sea setting, Conn used its familiarity with the Thames to its advantage. The home waters allowed the Camels to sail incredibly well, finishing ahead of their #3 ranked Connecticut rivals, Yale, and proving their ability to compete with the nation’s best programs.
Last weekend’s win raises an interesting issue concerning Conn Sailing. Currently, Conn is one of the only sailing programs in the country without a boathouse. After driving up to Boston on Saturday to watch the Head of the Charles and seeing the amazing boathouses that Harvard, MIT and Boston University have to boast about, it really is a wonder that Conn is able to compete on a consistent basis with programs with so many more resources.
It’s understandable that Conn may not have the financial means to build boathouses like the ones on the Charles River. But with all of the athletic funding being pushed around to other teams, you would think sailing, one of the college’s most consistently successful sports (despite it being the only Division I sport at Conn), would see some of that money sent their way.
Right now, Conn sailors are forced to store their sails in their boats without cover. Considering the harsh weather conditions we all grow accustomed to here in New London, the sails are worn down and damaged much more at Conn than at other schools with boathouses. If anything, it seems as though the sailors deserve at least a building to store their equipment- even if it’s not a boathouse. Such a facility would not only improve Conn’s success on the water, but would also draw more talented sailors to New London and save the school money in the long-run by limiting damage to sailing equipment.
Next Saturday, on October 30, the Camels sail again to try to claim another victory at the Erwin Trophy Regatta, hosted by the Coast Guard. I would advise all who are interested to take the short trip down to our the waterfront to catch a glimpse of this spectacular, yet subtle, sport. If Conn places well, they will qualify for an invitational tournament in Florida at the end of the season.
Additional reporting by Mike Flint.
Photo By: Kira Turnbull
