April 10, 2007
Boston, Mass. - Though the team finished second, "It was a weekend of many firsts for the Cardinal," commented Edward Conrad of the weekend in Boston. It was the first time the team sailed on Mystic Lake in Medford, MA or on the Charles River in Boston, MA; it was the first time they competed in Larks; and it was the first time in his college career that senior skipper Brian Haines donned a drysuit. Also, this was the first year the Friis and Marchiando team races were held in conjunction as one event at two different venues.
Stanford started the regatta on Saturday at Tufts, were they completed a double round robin against Dartmouth (6), Yale (1), Tufts (12), University of Rhode Island (13), Boston University, St. Mary's College (2), and Brown (11). Roger Williams (8), Harvard (5), Coast Guard (19), Connecticut College (17), MIT, Bowdoin, Charleston (9), and Navy (14) completed a single round robin at MIT. The top four teams from each venue moved on to the Gold Fleet, which was hosted by MIT on Sunday. Stanford sailors struggled with the extremely cold weather, different boats, and super shifty conditions that prevailed on the Mystic. In the shifty conditions, races were never over until they were over. In one race against Boston University, Stanford raceed to a stable 1-2-4 combination out of the leeward mark and looked to have the race won half way up the beat, but were surprised when the last place BU boats sailed by them in a localized puff near the finish line. Leigh Hammel said, "No one has ever apologized for beating us before."
At the day's end on Saturday, Cardinal sailors, Brian Haines, Kelly McKenna, Emery Wager, Leigh Hammel, Edward Conrad, and Becca Levin, managed to squeak into the Gold Fleet with an 8-6 record behind Dartmouth (13-2), Yale (12-3), and Tufts (9-5).
Sunday's conditions were more extreme. The outside temperature was about 38 degrees with puffy wind from the east. The format was a single round robin. The Cardinal started off well despite the cold, winning the first three races before lunch. After the first race, Emery Wager griped, "My hands feel as though I put them in a pile of snow and fell asleep for 15 minutes. I've never experienced pain like this." Kelly McKenna pointed to the ice that had built up on the shrouds and jib sheets.
During the lunch break, umpires heard an open protest hearing that allowed all of the competitors to hear both sides (Yale and Harvard) argue their point and respond to the umpire questions about the situation. Senior crew Becca Levin relished the opportunity, exclaiming, "I've never seen a protest before." Protest hearings usually involve the two or more skippers who are involved with the incident; rarely are crews invited into the room.
After lunch, the Connecticut College Camels took a race off the Cardinal, as did the Dartmouth Big Green. Stanford was 4-2 going into the last race against an undefeated Yale squad; tied with Harvard and Dartmouth. If we lost, then we would finish fourth; if we won, we'd finish second. Shortly after the start, Edward Conrad and Joanna Madsen had to take 2 penalty turns, leaving Brian Haines with Kelly McKenna, and Emery Wager with Leigh Hammel to get control of two other Yale boats. Fortunately, Yale failed to recognize that the weather mark had been moved to the right and consequentially over stood the layline. Stanford rounded the weather mark in a 1-4-5 combination. Haines/McKenna dropped to 2nd and tried for a passback with Wager/Hammel, meanwhile Conrad/Madsen charged high and fast to the inside. Conrad/Madsen got into position at the leeward mark to set a nice mark trap, allowing Haines/McKenna and Wager/Hammel to sail fast in the 1-2. Yale put the final nail in their own coffin when the crew fell head first out of a chasing boat. Assistant Coach, Amanda Callahan commented, "I'm glad to see that we survived the cold Northeast, but more glad to see that we performed well under pressure."
The two Stanford teams will be traveling again to the Northeast this weekend for the Admiral's Cup at King's Point in New York and to the Moody Trophy at the University of Rhode Island.