By Megan Pluth | NB Indy
Santa Ana breezes postponed racing for the ICSA Coed Dinghy Semi-Finals hosted by USC this past weekend off the Belmont Pier.
Unpredictable winds forced the race committee to abandon a few races before postponing until 12:30, when the sea breezes began to take over. Finally the 36 teams from across the country were able to fight it out for the 18 positions available for ICSA Coed Dinghy Nationals.
These 36 teams were split in to two groups: Eastern and Western. By a flip of a coin, the Eastern group was determined to start the racing. The race committee ran modified trapezoid courses to manage the two fleets sailing simultaneously. This format was used for both the Rose Bowl Regatta and College and High School Pacific Coast Championships earlier this year. The courses ran smoothly, but racing was cutthroat. Judges heard more than 14 protests on Saturday alone.
Sunday’s breezes proved to be more consistent, finally evening out to 14 knots by the end of the day. This allowed the race committee to complete a total of 12 races for the Eastern group, but due to time constraints, only 11 races for the Western group.
Local sailors dominated this weekend’s racing. In the Eastern Fleet, Georgetown took the win with Charlie Buckingham leading the way with a first in A Division. But Georgetown couldn’t have taken the win without Chris Barnard’s 4th in B Division. Barnard was only two points out of an overall first in B Division. Meanwhile, locals Mac Mace and Perry Emsiek edged out Navy, Harvard, and Georgtown for a win in B Division, helping Charleston to a 4th place finish overall.
The Western Fleet also had some healthy competition. Blair Belling and Heather May both crewed for Yale, placing 2nd in A Division. Meanwhile, Chris Segerblom took 2nd in B Division solidifying Yale’s overall 2nd place finish, just behind Boston College. Michael Menninger, sailing for St. Mary’s, took 4th place in A Division leading his team to a 5th place overall finish.
Now, the top nine teams from each fleet will advance to the ICSA Coed Dinghy Champs May 30–June 1 at the Gorge in Cascade Locks, Oregon.
Advancing teams, in their order of finish, are: Georgetown, Harvard, U.S. Naval Academy, College of Charleston, Stanford, Brown, Tufts, Connecticut College and Old Dominion University from the Eastern group; Boston College, Yale, Roger Williams, University of South Florida, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, University of Miami, Hobart & William Smith College, Eckerd and University of Rhode Island from the Western group.
Follow all of the Nationals action at http://2011nationals.collegesailing.info/
