Dinghy Sailing Enjoys Solid Performances At Great Herring Pond Open, Navy Truxtun Umsted Regatta
MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME DINGHY SAILING
Great Herring Pond Open/Navy Truxtun Umsted Regatta
Saturday - Sunday, October 17-18, 2015
Keith Hartford Sailing Center, Bourne, Mass./Annapolis, Md.
BOURNE, Mass./ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Massachusetts Maritime dinghy sailing team was in action at a pair of events over the weekend, as the Buccaneers hosted the Great Herring Pond Open at the Keith Hartford Sailing Center while traveling to the inaugural Navy Truxtun Umsted Regatta on the waters of Chesepeake Bay.
Junior George Luber (North Redington Beach, Fla.) and freshman McKenna Jarvis (Dedham, Mass.) comprised the Massachusetts Maritime “A” boat on the opening day of competition in the Great Herring Pond Open, while the duo of sophomores Sergio Gratta (Sarasota, Fla.) and Christopher Dawson (Mashpee, Mass.) served as the Buccaneer “B” entry, with freshman Catherine Haines (East Haddam, Conn.) taking over for Jarvis on the second day. The two vessels combined for four top four finishes in Saturday’s conditions that saw shifting winds, as Gratta and Dawson posted two additional top four performances in heavier winds on Sunday. Overall, Massachusetts Maritime sailed to a ninth place finish in the final team standings.
The Truxtun Umsted Regatta drew top teams from around the country to Navy for the weekend, as the Buccaneers were one of only four New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association squads to participate in the event in which four divisions of sailors competed in their own class of boats simultaneously.
Junior Emily Casella (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) and sophomore Jeffrey Adam (Newport, R.I.) raced in Z420’s and FJ’s in Massachusetts Maritime’s “A” entry on the weekend, posting a pair of sixth place finishes among the 19 entrants early on and climbing into the top half of the fleet on two other occasions. Sophomore Monica Chilcot (Plymouth, Mass.) and freshman Frank Reeg (Spring Lake, Mich.) competed in the “B” division for the Buccaneers and placed consistently in the mid-fleet throughout the weekend, as the duo finished ahead of Cornell, Penn and SUNY-Maritime in divisional competition.
Junior Kyle Brego (St. John, Virgin Islands) raced in the “C” division for Massachusetts Maritime in full rig Lasers, as he posted mid-fleet performances in a division that featured a fleet full of top-ranked singlehanded sailors, including potential Olympians. Brego bested competitors from Merchant Marine, Fordham, Cornell, Wisconsin and Jacksonville with a 14th place overall finish.
Freshman Matthew Schaefer (Stratford, Conn.) made his collegiate singlehanded debut in the “D” division for the Buccaneers, as he was the only rookie to compete in the division for the duration of the weekend while sailing in Laser Radials. Schaefer placed 15th overall and finished ahead of seasoned collegiate sailors in the competition.
Massachusetts Maritime will be in action next weekend at the prestigious Navy MacMillan Cup while also racing at both MIT and Roger Williams.