Bowdoin Sailing

Bowdoin’s first years put up an impressive performance at the Nickerson Trophy, NEISA’s annual freshman championship, last weekend at Boston University. The team finished 10th of 17, beating three nationally ranked programs in the process. Alex Sutula (Cambridge, MA) was on the tiller with Mae Speight (Bar Harbor, ME) up front in A Division while skippers Katie Doble (Hingham, MA) and Jimmy Rohman (Larchmont, NY) and crews Isabel Low (Weston, CT) and Zac Fox (Boise, ID) split B division. The team came within three places of an automatic berth in the Freshman Intersectional, which BU will also host this weekend. The team is optimistic about their chances of getting a bid as an alternate. The weekend saw heavy breeze on the Charles with many wipeouts.

The Polar Bears had trouble replicating their rookies’ success at the other two fall championships, faltering at both the co-ed Schell Trophy at MIT and womens’ Victorian Coffee Urn at Harvard and not receiving postseason bids.

The final weekend sees the team at the Rhode Island State Championship at Salve Regina in Newport, the Horn Trophy team race at Harvard, and the No-Ringer and Crews Regattas at MIT.

Name: Kol Class of: 2007 (obedience school) Position: Dog
Academic Major: Retrieving (concentration in tennis balls)
Favorite Boat to Sail: Frank’s Camo Coach Boat
Best Thing About the Bowdoin Sailing Team: Racing DJ from the van

WHERE’S FRANK? WHERE’S FRANK? I LOVE FRANK! I LOVE FRANK! WHAT IS THAT? IS THAT FOOD? I WANT FOOD! I WANT FOOD!

Name: Caitlin Beach Class of: 2010 Position: Crew
Academic Major: Art History and History
Favorite Boat to Sail: Lark, Vanguard 15
Best Thing About the Bowdoin Sailing Team: Bethel Point, the vanimal, tack on the whistle drills, DJ’s pink shorts, Frank’s camo coach boat, Kol

I didn’t initially start out as a sailor at Bowdoin, having been a member of the swimming and water polo teams.  I came to the team with some (read: little) sailing experience and virtually no racing experience.  Though the learning curve is steep for new crews, the welcoming team atmosphere as well as the program’s versatility made the transition into a new sport infinitely easier for me.  This past season, I really enjoyed sailing for the women’s team - it has been a challenging but rewarding learning experience. Overall my time sailing here has definitely been one of the defining and best moments of my four years here at Bowdoin.  And it doesn’t hurt that we practice at one of the most beautiful venues of college sailing!

Name: Katharine O’Brien Class of: 2012 Position: Crew
Academic Major: Biochemistry and Eastern European/Eurasian Studies
Favorite Boat to Sail: Sunfish and 420s
Best Thing About the Bowdoin Sailing Team: The characters. Also, sailing is pretty fun on its own.

I loved to sail before I came to Bowdoin (and I still do), but I didn’t know what crewing in college was all about. Fortunately, you can learn a whole lot from the other sailors, and from Frank Pizzo, and have fun while doing so. Sailing is also a great escape from the pressures on campus, for me, where I can refocus on just sailing and chill out a bit, which is very helpful.

The Polar Bears did what they had to do at a competitive Oberg Trophy at MIT to secure a berth at the Schell Trophy, the de-facto NEISA fall fleet racing championship, next weekend on the Charles.

After a slow start, Bowdoin managed to climb back to 13th at the 17 team, three division event. With Alex Takata and Laura Heyl sailing A Division, DJ Hatch and Leah Hughes sailing B Division, and Alex Sultula and Mae Speight sailing C Division, Bowdoin held on their #15 NEISA ranking and qualified for the Schell. Many teams had their top starters at this event as a tune-up for that regatta, which is also held at MIT. First years Sultula and Speight posted a 9th place finish in C division on the back of four top three finishes down the stretch. The pair will sail the NEISA freshman champs, the Nickerson Trophy, at BU next weekend.

Just up the river Bowdoin’s support staff stayed sharp at Central Series 6, hosted by UVM at BU. Billy Rohman and Ben Berg placed 5th in A Division while Tom Charpentier and Katharine O’Brien finished 3rd in B Division as the team combined to take 4th, losing a tiebreaker for 3rd, at the 14 team event. Rohman, Berg, and Charpentier will be backups at the Schell next weekend.

Bowdoin’s women’s team, coming off a disappointing finish at the Yale Women’s Intersectional last week, stumbled again at the Stu Nelson Intersectional at Conn College this weekend. The team hopes to rebound with a good finish at the Victorian Coffee Urn at Harvard next weekend.

Name: Leah Hughes Class of: 2011 Position: Crew
Academic Major: Government with a minor in Theater
Favorite Boat to Sail: FJ’s. Larks are neat too.
Best Thing About the Bowdoin Sailing Team: The people on the team.

One of the most exciting parts of my day at Bowdoin is getting into the sailing van at the Polar Bear and heading down to Bethel Point (One of the most beautiful sites. Ever. I’m kind of in love with the sunsets there.). The ocean, the sounds, the feeling of your quads after five minutes of hiking, and yes, even the smell of my gear at the end of the season - I love it all. When I’m around the team, I’m ready to laugh and enjoy myself, even when I’m treading water in March next to a capsized boat. That’s the beauty of the Bowdoin Sailing team; while we maintain a competitive edge during the weekends, traveling all over New England to show our stuff, we still have fun and stay connected with our teammates - I know that there will always be people to rely on because I am part of the team here.

Name: Billy Rohman Class: 2011 Position: Skipper/Heavy Crew

Academic Major: Economics

Favorite Boat to Sail: Lark, Vanguard 15

Best Thing About the Bowdoin Sailing Team: Getting out of my drysuit

I’ve been on multiple teams throughout my life and have never come across a greater group of characters than the Bowdoin Sailing Team. There is always entertainment and a great story to be heard in the boat house. Everyone on the team is unique.

Bowdoin posted its third 3rd place finish at a two-day trophy event in a row last weekend at the Great Herring Pond Open at Mass Maritime.

Sailing in puffy, shifty conditions in 420s (not the best combination), Alex Takata and Laura Heyl finished 5th in A division and DJ Hatch and Ben Berg took 4th in B division on a day when consistency was difficult to achieve for any team. Racing was canceled on Sunday in the face of 30+ knot winds.

The finish gave Bowdoin a further bump in the NEISA rankings. The Polar Bears are now ranked 15th behind nationally ranked BU. Mantaining a top 16 ranking next week will give Bowdoin a berth at the Schell Trophy, NEISA’s annual fall co-ed championship at MIT and an automatic bid in either the co-ed Atlantic Coast Championship or Atlantic Coast Tournament in mid-November.

The Polar Bears pulled off a stunning victory at the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, and placed at the other two events they competed in this weekend.

Bowdoin won the J/105 division at the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, hosted by the Storm Trysail Club at Larchmont Yacht Club in New York. The event, with about 300 college sailors from 32 schools competing on 40 borrowed keelboats across 5 divisions, is the largest intercollegiate event in the country. Bowdoin sailed on alumnus Dr. Carl Olsson’s Morning Glory in the largest division of the regattas. Unlike most of the top teams at the event, Bowdoin has no dedicated “offshore team.” Bowdoin’s top sailors enjoy and recognize the value of time in dinghies so events like these are usually staffed by experienced dinghy skippers and crews with limited keelboat experience. This year’s team consisted of DJ Hatch on helm, Billy Rohman trimming main, Jimmy Rohman trimming headsails, Joe Henderson in the pit, Zac Fox at mast, and Tom Charpentier on bow. The six only managed an hour of practice together the night before the regatta. Charpentier, Henderson, and Billy Rohman are also veterans of Bowdoin’s 2nd place finish at the event two years ago. This year’s results are posted here and photos are available here and here.

In what would ordinarily be the top story of the weekend, Bowdoin placed third at its home event, the Nicholas Barnett Trophy. Sophomore Alex Takata and senior Laura Heyl dominated A division, winning by 24 points in 14 races. Senior Charlotte Williams and Junior Coco Sprague finished 4th in a very competitive B division. Bowdoin scored convincing wins over their top opponents in the NEISA co-ed rankings, boosting them to 16th following the weekend.

The Lady Polar Bears also got some keelboat action this weekend, sailing triplehanded Ynglings at the Women’s Olympians Regatta hosted by SailMaine. Skipper Jane Koopman, mid crew Clare Henry, and forward crew Katie Doble finished 3rd at the 4 boat regatta, winning their last race. The women retain a 9th place ranking in NEISA. This coming weekend they face a tough challenge at the Yale Women’s Intersectional.