After some rare showers and thunderstorms passed through the Bay Area early in the morning, skies cleared and an early morning westerly promised an epic day that will be remembered by all. Racing was pushed back to an 11am start to ensure optimum conditions. Race 15A started in a 15-18 knot westerly and building ebb. By the time B-Division made their way to the course, the puffs were hitting 21 knots and the chop was short, steep and difficult to navigate. A quick tack to port on a slightly pin end favored start line proved to be the name of the game. Straight line boatspeed in heavy wind and seas were essential skills for top finishes.
St. Mary's College and Yale battled all day long. A-Division skipper Thomas Barrows of Yale did his best to put his team in contention for the national championship win by trying to pull off a "Jane Macky" (his women's A-Division counterpart who overcame a 15 point deficit and scored snake eyes in her final A-set to claim the Women's National Championship one week earlier). Incidentally, with winds gusting to 24 knots and a strong ebb making it feel even windier, Barrows took second place in race 17A and immediately retreated to the rotation beach to snag Macky for the final race. Although St. Mary's Jesse Kirkland/Mike Kushner combo was able to box Barrows/Macky out at the start line, the Yale duo was able to squirm free and escape to the right side of the course and pass the entire fleet en route to a first place in 18A and a three point lead going into the final B-Division set. It was deja vu all over again. For the second time in a week, the final set was a winner takes all affair. St. Mary's B-Division duo of Michael Menninger and crew Jennifer Chamberlin would save their best sailing for last. With their backs to the wall, the young pair powered off the start line in both races and claimed the National Championship for St. Mary's in style with a classic "horizon job" in the final race -- in fact, Menninger was able to pass the tiller to Senior "Chambermaid" for the cross of the finish line in her final college sailing race. Congratulations to Coaches Adam Werblow and Bill Ward. A-Division players: Jesse Kirkland, Maddie Jackson, Megan Magill, Michael Kuschner. B division players: Michael Menninger, Kelly Wilbur and Jennifer Chamberlin. A tip of the hat to Yale University for their awesome performance during the Championship. A special thanks goes out to all the people who worked long and hard to make this event run so smoothly. First of all, Dave Santori for his help on Race Committee and for lending support from his Golden Gate Yacht Club. Don Becker served as Head Judge with help from John Pratt, John Mollicone, John Storck, Betsy Altman, Rick Hatch, and Eddie Conrad. St. Francis members and Regatta Co-Chairs Rolf Kaiser and Shannon Bonds did a fantastic job coordinating efforts between the club, Race Committee, and all parties. Stanford Coaches John Vandemoer and John Storck have been working hard on this event all year. ICSA representative Jay Kehoe came up with the idea to bring this event here and also volunteered his efforts to ensure a smooth event. ESPN U and Gary Jobson for covering the event -- we can't wait for the release! Chris Love and Pat Hitchens of Sailgroove for their candid coverage of all three events. Glennon Stratton of GTS Photos for his awesome pics. Sponsors: ICSA, Gill, APS, Marlow, Luminaria, Quantum, US SAILING, GTS Photos, Kattack, and Sail 1 Design. Finally, a big shout out to Mike Kalin for being an exceptional PRO and running such quality races on the challenging City Front this week. Final results can be viewed at: http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/spring09/coedresults.asp. ________________________________________________ icsa mailing list [email protected] http://www.collegesailing.org/mailman/?listname=icsa
