Chief Illiniwek Memorial Regatta - U of Illinois - Oct. 10-11

Just a few weeks into fall quarter, Justin Cohler, Emily Giudice, Rufus Urion, Jennifer Kim, Kim Wieczner, Michael Cornew, Shannon Oliver-O’Niel and Eric Michel traveled to the University of Illinois at Champaign to compete in the Chief Illiwinek Memorial Regatta, comprising two teams for Northwestern. It was a chilly fall weekend and Saturday morning brought very little air. After each rotation, though, the wind picked up and finished the day at around 20 knots. Sunday brought light wind once again, this time holding steady throughout the day. Northwestern 1 sailed strongly: Cohler finished 2nd overall in the A division and Cornew got nothing but first place in 8 races in the B division, leading Northwestern 1 to win the regatta. Northwestern 2 sailing strongly as well, finishing 4th overall. Arthur Blodgett, the team’s new coach, joined the team for the weekend and offered valuable coaching and advice.

-Emily Giudice

Wisco Women's - UW Madison - Oct. 17-18

It was a fairly chilly but nevertheless sunny morning on October 17th, the start of a weekend of sailing up in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin for the Women’s regatta. Arthur may have felt just a little out of place driving up with two full cars of NUST girls! Northwestern was able to send two teams; 1A sailed by Sarah Hughes and crew Olivia Green, 1B sailed by Allie Gullquist and crew Hannah Schriesheim, 2A sailed by Amanda Snyder and crew Nina Lincoff, and 2B sailed by Rose Conry and crew Maija Mikkila. We were even able to send two alternate crews: freshmen Martha Koch and Katie Cannady. Saturday was marked by a shifty yet fairly strong breeze, and everyone sailed consistently. The day was cut a set short after the As sailed, which was a bit disappointing yet relieving to our tired team. After regrouping, we were excited to have dinner with team member Justin McMath and alumna Liz Hines.

  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

Alumni Dinner - Northwestern - Oct. 24

On October 24th, Northwestern Sailing hosted our annual alumni dinner. This year, it took place at Sheridan Shore Yacht Club, a beautiful setting a few miles north of campus and overlooking the Bahai'i Temple. The night started off with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and mingling. We also had a raffle for sailing gear and gift certificates. This year had the best turnout ever, with nearly 40 alumni and friends attending!! It was really incredible for team members to get to speak to alumni and hear about the history of NUST, as well as discuss ideas for our future.

Our Alumni Chairs Tod Reynolds and Carolyn Fallert planned the event, but relied on many team members to pitch in. Some spent the entire day cooking an exquisite dinner (chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan, and caesar salad), and others volunteered to wait on our alumni and friends. Dinner was complete with a slideshow of past and present photos of the team, stirring up many hilarious stories from alumni. Many alumni got up to make speeches and toasts to NUST.

The night would not have been complete without dancing and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert!

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!!

Davis Cup - Iowa - Sept. 19-20

On our last summer weekend of 2009, John Bere, Tamu Christ, Francesca Ferrero, Lauren Radomski and Maija Mikkila drove to Iowa City for the University of Iowa's annual Davis Cup. We woke early in the morning to find the sun brightly shining on the beautifully tinted forests on our drive down to the lake. It was warm and still September day, something we would get very used to that weekend.

The A boat was Ferrero/Mikkila and the B boat was Bere/Radomski. Christ switched out with Bere/Radomski throughout the weekend. The morning started late, due to lack of wind, but the sun was shining and it was warm, so the wait was relatively bearable. It was exciting to get on the water in FJs, an opportunity we rarely have. The whole weekend was very light and shifty, with the wind often dying down to leave our boats bobbing in the water. There was a brief moment on the second day when crews had to sit on the rail, but the wind quickly died again.

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

Fall Fury - UW Madison - Sept. 12-13

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

MCSA Singlehanded Qualifiers - Marquette/UWM - Oct. 10-11

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