Joseph Teno, Bryan Stenson, Chris Bohl, and Noah Charles drove out to Western Michigan to compete in the Boudeman Regatta October 17-18. Of seven teams, NU came out in third (second in A's, fourth in B's). Wind was great on saturday allowing for 8 races per division, but unfortunately there was no wind on sunday and no races were completed. The team had a great time and the Bohl/Charles team had a great first regatta. Everyone was pretty happy with the outcome of the weekend.
-Joe Teno
On the weekend of our annual fall regatta, Timme’s Tune-Up, five Northwestern sailors left school for the warmth and sun of Santa Barbara and the Pacific Coast Championships. Nick Campbell flew out first, got a car from his house nearby, and picked up the rest of the team – Tod Reynolds, Geoff Pedrick, Maija Mikkila, and Noah Aldonas – when we got to the airport. From there, we traveled to UCSB where we met up with our host from the UCSB team and instantly proceeded to fall asleep.
Saturday morning we woke up and drove to the sailing site, got our charter boats all sorted out, and rigged while enjoying the plentiful sunshine. One thing I learned that morning: PCCSC kids are very slow (“laid back”) riggers. By the time we had our skippers’ meeting and got on the water, it was already 11am. We sailed out to the race area and practiced boathandling while waiting for the races to start. Since we were sailing FJ’s and we only sail 420’s in the Midwest, this practice time as crucial. Despite apparently blowing 30+ a mile offshore, the wind on the race course was very light and shifty all day. This suited Tod and Maija, who sailed his way to three respectable finishes in A fleet before our lunch break. Geoff and Nick did not do quite as well in B fleet and Lasers, respectively. After our lunch break, Lasers sailed their third race of the day in a quickly dying breeze and the two FJ divisions were sent in when it became apparent that it was not going to build again. In-N-Out was the universally agreed upon dinner choice, giving both Geoff and Maija their first experiences eating there.
Sunday brought another day of warmth and sun, but with the pleasant addition of good breeze. We got racing earlier than on Saturday and fit in eight races by the end of the day for a total of 11. The wind was much more consistent and noticeably stronger than it had been on Saturday, letting Geoff and Noah place regularly in the top five all day, including winning the last race before lunch. Unfortunately Tod struggled in A fleet for a good chunk of the day and Nick was still learning many of the intricacies of Laser sailing as it was his first regatta in the boat.
Ultimately, the team ended up just above mid-fleet against some very good west coast competition and got to enjoy some great sailing and some great weather. This will certainly be a regatta to keep in mind for future years.
-Geoff Pedrick
Sunday the 18th may have been a bit warmer than Saturday, however the breeze did not let up. It was once again shifty, but with strong puffs. Although the conditions were challenging and required full concentration from both skipper and crew, Northwestern had another successful day on the water. The same pairings stayed together for Northwestern 1A and B, but the alternates were switched in for the day, with Martha Koch crewing for Amanda Snyder in 2A and Katie Cannady crewing for Rose Conry in 2B. Bs started off the day sailing, and we were able to fit in a few more rotations before finishing for the weekend. Northwestern made a strong appearance in Madison, placing first in 1B and third overall. We can’t wait to return next fall!
-Allie Gullquist
Ultimately, it was a fun night for all. Everyone enjoyed great food, good company, and great dancing. Thanks to all of the alumni and friends that came out. It was especially exciting for the team members to meet alumni and friends, and we hope to have even more alumni and friends attend next year!!
Northwestern did well, consistently placing in the top third of the fleet. We got third place in As, third place in Bs, and fourth place overall (we were only a couple points out of third). We had a very fun and relaxing weekend before the beginning of school, and a solid start to our season!
-Maija Mikkila
Well over a week before classes commenced, Sarah Hughes, Tod Reynolds, Maija Mikkala and Olivia Green ventured up to their favorite Midwestern sailing locale in Madison, WI for the Fall Fury Regatta. Despite a constant stream of warm sunshine over the weekend of September 12th and 13th, the wind was nowhere to be found. Unlike Sarah and Olivia, Maija and Tod actually got in a boat, and won the one and only race of the weekend. However, despite the lack of sailing, the weekend was a lovely way to reunite with other MCSA sailors after the summer and gear up for the fall season.
-Olivia Green
On October 10th, the sun rose on a cold Saturday morning in Milwaukee as Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee kicked off the Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded Championship at the South Shore Yacht Club. Men sailed full-rig Lasers and women sailed radial rig Lasers. Teams from Minnesota, St. Thomas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Toledo, Bowling Green, Purdue, Michigan State, Marquette, and Northwestern competed. Temperatures stayed in the high thirties and low forties, and the wind began at 13-18 knots. After completing two races in the morning and eating lunch, many sailors remained ashore as the wind picked up and the regatta officials warned sailors to only continue if they felt comfortable.
In the afternoon, men’s division fit five races in, and the miserable and cold women’s division banded together to force a stop after four. Sunday morning proved to be much calmer and colder, with temperatures in the low 30’s and winds of 5-10 knots. The men’s division raced four times, and the women’s three, before sailing in. In the men’s division, first place went to Matthew Thompson from Minnesota, second to Charlie Igo from St. Thomas, and third to Andrew Fox from Wisconsin. In the women’s division, first place went to Christina Porter from Wisconsin, second to Lauren Knoles from Michigan State, and third to Natalie Simms from Minnesota. The top three men and top two women qualified for Laser Nationals in Corpus Christi, Texas in November.
Everyone witnessed a shining example of selflessness on Sunday when Lauren Knoles’ mast snapped during the first race of the day, and Meg Six from Wisconsin immediately sailed over and handed her boat over to allow Knoles to stay in the running and finish second overall. Northwestern sent three sailors to the regatta: Tod Reynolds, John Hodges (a Milwaukee native himself), and Max Dantowitz. Reynolds placed fourth, narrowly missing nationals qualification. Hodges, who kept sailing on Saturday afternoon despite extreme conditions, placed 11th. Dantowitz placed 18th, having dropped out of the races after Saturday morning. All the sailors were overjoyed at the end of the regatta to pull off their frigid drysuits and try to revive frozen limbs with hot showers and hot chocolate.
-Max Dantowitz
On the weekend of September 26, 2009 the Northwestern Sailing Team hosted the Harken Clinic. Twenty-four sailors from across the midwest attended the team-racing clinic in glorious Evanston. University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan, and Northwestern each had one full team of three boats, while Miami of Ohio, Michigan State, and Toledo each had one boat to round out the twelve-boat fleet.
On Sunday Andy was replaced by Jacob Karlin, another Chicago local, and sailors cycled through team races. The breeze was much heavier, hovering steadily around 20 knots and building through the afternoon, foreshadowing the gale force winds on Monday. Wisconsin solidly dominated the conditions, while Northwestern and Michigan went back and forth. The day finished in the early afternoon with two fleet races and a numerically sailed line that was epic. Overall it was a great weekend of solid sailing and learning, and it was nice to start off the school year hanging out with twelve great boats.
Nina Lincoff
After the first week of classes, the Northwestern Sailing Team was ready to get away for a weekend of sailing. Six of us, Justin Cohler, Joe Teno, Sarah Hughes, Kim Wieczner, Mallory Usen, and Carolyn Fallert, made the long journey to Minnesota for the Streufert Team Race in Wayzata, MN. Saturday the sun was shining, but the wind was hardly blowing, so the regatta was postponed until the afternoon. Luckily, the wind filled in, and we were able to start the first race at 1:15. We got off to a good start taking a first win against Iowa, and after four races, we had won three. We went into our last race of the day against the home team, Minnesota, and although it was close, we lost in on the downwind. We waited for protests to be settled after realizing that we were stuck in a three way tie for second place. We did not make it into the qualifying round, but Sunday was beautiful with a lot more wind, and we got in another great day of sailing. We won some, we lost some, but overall it was a great way to start off the school year, and everyone came home smiling.
Kim Wieczner
Andrew Wien, Tyler Lorenzi, Joseph Teno, and Steve Blackman flew out to Portland Oregon, rented a car, and drove to Cascade Locks (at The Gorge) to sail in the Windsurfing Haven of the USA. The A boat was Wien/Lorenzi and the B boat was Teno/Blackman Team members from throughout the NWICSA were awaiting our arrival as we drove into the campground. They were all very welcoming and happy we came from afar to their regatta.
The area was beautiful. Mountains in the background and trees everywhere – nothing we find in Chicago. The sailing, however, was not the best. With a current of probably 5 knots in the same direction as the 5-10 knot wind, it made sailing upwind nearly impossible. Racing went back and forth between postponed and not the first day, finishing with only 4 races sailed per division. During those races, we saw multiple 180 degree wind shifts and anything from 0 to 20 knots of breeze. Sunday, the A division raced one race before the day was ended due to not enough wind to fight the current. With only 4 races per division, we finished 5th overall – 6th in A and 5th in B. There were 15 boats in the fleet, and none of us had sailed FJ’s in a very long time. Judging by the names of sailors at their Coed qualifier regatta, we raced against some of the division’s top boats. We hope to go back next spring, and with more races to prove ourselves, win!
Joseph Teno
Ever since I got my first ride on an E-scow at age 6 I knew that sailing was for me and when it came time to pick colleges I looked for one with a sailing team. I found everything I could have ever asked for at Northwestern- a group of highly motivated students who share my passion for sailing. I grew up watching my father organize the Junior Olympics and Special Olympics for sailing so taking a leadership role in the team was second nature. Over the next two years as captain I worked to grow the program and improve our racing team. Receiving this award is truly an honor because advancing college sailing in the Midwest has become one of my major goals. I hope to continue to provide leadership to my team and district in the coming year as I serve as the MCSA Commodore and Alumni/Friends chair to NUST.