Dad Vail Regatta- May 9-10, 2008
Largest World Collegiate Rowing Regatta
Competing Teams: 130
Athletes: 3300
The crew of Meagan Fahey ’08 and Erin Mitchell ’08 did what no other women’s crew has done in Kings Point history. At this years Dad Vail Regatta; considered to be the national championships for small colleges and universities, they finished in the top ten and made it through to the semi-finals. Celebrating its 70th anniversary, the Dad Vail Regatta attracted one-hundred and thirty schools and thirty-three hundred athletes to this year’s competition.
“It is a bit nerve-racking in the heat when they waited until the last 200 meters to pull into qualifying position” said Coach Derek Hartwick of Fahey and Mitchell. Rowing in the fourth position until near the end of the race, the crew was able to row through Nova Southeastern; a nationally ranked team and perennial favorites at the NCAA Championships, and qualify for the semi-final.
The Kings Point pair drew a fast semi which included the eventual gold and silver medalist crews of University of Toronto and Brock University from Canada. With only two crews qualifying from each semi to move to the final, Fahey and a Mitchell were left with a tough decision to go out fast in the first part of the race and hope for the best. While their time of 8:00.05 was their best for the season and a record for Kings Point, it was not enough to get the hard-fighting duo into the final.
It was fast enough to place them in 9th place for the regatta and narrowly miss the Grand Final.
The season highlights included a victory at the Manhattan Invitational, 2nd at the New York State Championships and a record performance at the Dad Vail Regatta. This crew has set the bar high for future women’s crews at Kings Point.
The Varsity Men’s four posted their fastest time for the season and was only nine seconds behind the qualifying position of 2nd place, narrowly missing a bid for the second round. With more than twenty teams all finishing within 15 seconds of each other, it was very tough competition to get past the first round in the regatta.
Rain, wind and fast waters marked the first day of racing. The Crew of Coxswain- Sarah Jones ’08, Stroke – Kyle O’Connor, 3 – Steven Jones, 2 – Sam Diedrick ’10, Bow – Jeremy Tunstall ’10 were able to handle the conditions but despite having gained speed as the season progressed, the crew found itself lacking the speed it takes to make the finals. Each rower was pressed at the beginning of the season to return to racing form after returning from for months at sea. “The crew is encouraged by the prospect of the returning seniors for the fall season and the progress that we made through this spring. Next year should be a good one” commented Hartwick.
The Novice crew of Coxswain – Jonathon Gardner '11, Stroke- Andrew Pfarner '10, 3- Scott Norris, '11, 2- Russell Marihugh ‘10, Bow- Romulus Cirone ’10 raced well but was unable to overcome the speed and experience of the competing crews in their heat. The crew struggled through the first half of the season because of inexperience. The crew gained plenty of speed through the last half of the season but found itself challenged because of a crew member change in mid-season. “Some of our competitors in the regatta had rowers with four years on our guys. Three of our rowers and the coxswain started just this spring, they rowed with courage and tenacity” said Coach Hartwick encouragingly.
Graduating senior Ricky Lagdon ’08 teamed up with returning Midshipman Brad Webster who had just returned from sea last week. With just one practice, the pair showed commitment and confidence in taking to the water for Kings Point. They were unable to qualify for the second round of the regatta but rowed well considering the lack of preparation. “Ricky has been committed to the team during his four years at Kings Point and I’m glad he got to row one last time as a Mariner.” commented Hartwick.
USMMA ENTRIES AND RESULTS
Women’s Pair
4th Place in Semi-Final
9th Place overall in regatta
Time: 8:00
Stroke – Meagan Fahey ’08, Bow Erin Mitchell ’08.
Freshman/Novice Men's Four
6th Place in Heat (Did not qualify for Final)
Time: 7:42
Coxswain – Jonathon Gardner '11, Stroke- Andrew Pfarner '10, 3- Scott Norris, '11, 2- Russell Marihugh ‘10, Bow- Romulus Cirone ‘10.
Varsity Men's Four:
5th Place in Heat (Did not qualify for final)
Placed 5th in Heat
Time: 7:10
Coxswain- Sarah Jones ’08, Stroke – Kyle O’Connor, 3 – Steven Jones, 2 – Sam Diedrick ’10, Bow – Jeremy Tunstall ‘10
Varsity Men's Pair:
5th Place in Heat (Did not qualify for final)
Time: 8:22
Stroke- Ricky Lagdon ‘08, Bow – Brad Webster ’10.
Link to Pics and Results |
| EDLU2008 |
Jiff Miller KP'04 Changes the sheet after a spinnaker change.
More Pics
After an amazing 3 day assembly by Jeff Miller KP '04, lots of hard work loading all the sails and gear, and great sail from Newport, Defiance has arrived in the Basin. The 66' boat was donated by Mr. Hap Fauth, and will be a great addition to the Offshore Sailing Team. The first race will be the EDLU race next Saturday, followed by the Around Block Island Race, Newport to Bermuda, and Chicago to Mackinac.
Defiance Sailing in Key West
Coast Guard Cadets learn distress signalling from instructor Ralf SteitzThe Kings Point Dinghy team made their weekend cross-country trip worthwhile by qualifying for the 2008 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association National Championship Regatta. In varied racing the Kings Point team placed 7th in the Western Semi-Final regatta, hosted by the University of Southern California. The National Championship Regatta will be hosted by the New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI June 2-4. The Kings Point Waterfront is planning to have several boats travel to Newport for the Regatta. More regatta details to follow after the team recovers from their red-eye flight back to KP.
Results
Photos
Erin Mitchell '08 and Megan Fahey '08 on the course
Erin Mitchell '08 and Megan Fahey '08 with Admiral Stewart
Nimbus #90 Rounds the Weather Mark Photo credit: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo
The Dinghy Team finished fifth this weekend at the America Trophy Regatta at Hobart and William Smith. This qualifies the team for the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association National Championship Semi-Finals to be held April 26th and 27th at the University of Southern California. Congrats to the Team!!
Jen Davis, Pat Gerometta, and Kitty Segert Launching SOLAS Parachute Flares
Although our team did not place well- they learned alot, and came out positive. The comment I heard most was that with the group never having sailed as a team before they were at a significant disadvantage until they were able to come together as a crew. What a great lesson learned. Here are some comments from the crew-
Patrick Gerometta KP 2008
Picture a crew of individuals which had never sailed together as a team before and place them in a situation where they were competing against other colleges. We started this regatta in that way. But by Sunday, we had come together very effectively as a team, and even though our position in the fleet did not reflect this, we really worked well together. The crew who had up to this point sailed primarily in the sheltered waters of Long Island Sound were not used to the conditions of the open ocean. Certain variables such as the swell, and the masses of kelp made things interesting.
The conditions throughout the regatta could not have been better. Every day started out with light wind, but it steadily built all day. It was sunny and warm in the afternoons around 70 degrees with the high on Sunday of 80 degrees. The boats themselves were fantastic for intercollegiate racing compared with the Navy 44’s. They were easy to rig, fairly easy to sail, and average in their ability to maneuverability.
I had never driven a boat with a wheel or a symmetrical spinnaker before and I must say it was a good learning experience. The racing itself was very close and I feel much more confident as a skipper than I ever have before. Our Coach at the event (Peter Must) was very knowledgeable and he helped us work better together, and because of this and the fact that he took time away from his vacation to coach us, he deserves a big thank you from the team.
Derrick Cherico KP 2011
Being put at a relatively new position on the boat helped me to learn about the whole process of sailing. I was able to learn and perfect that position very well. On top of that, being in the boat instead of up at the bow let me see how everything worked and how things really affected other things. For example, in tailing for the jib trimmer I was able to see the technique on how to properly trim the jib. The seniors were also able to explain how to use the tell tails to trim the jib. Compared to being on the Bow, I quickly found out that my position affected the bow and I was able to understand what problems were caused by certain actions. Finally, I know now that I needed to be more aggressive on trimming the guy. Once we practiced together a little, the team we had really meshed together and we sailed really well. Because of the little mistakes and tactical errors made, we were never able to do as well as we could have. It was a great learning experience that I hope I can have again in the future. It seems to me that I learned more while under pressure because I affected other people’s jobs while they affected mine.
Brandon Stardub KP 2008
Over the past weekend of sailing I personally got a better hold of how the boat operates as a whole. This includes the jib car positioning as well as some of the things to do to power up and depower the main; the position of mast/floater allowed me to gain extra knowledge that I would not have necessarily is able to grasp if I had been in a busier position. As a whole, I feel this regatta was run very professionally. The people running the regatta were very knowledgeable of the maritime industry as well as sailing; it was the best of both worlds. I think having Pete Must there as a coach was a big help as well, he is a very knowledgeable person and can bring things down to our level very easily. Overall I will say the team progressed greatly from the day of practice. If there were another two days in the regatta, I feel KP would have been more competitive in the later days.
Jennifer Davis KP 2008
Participating in this race was a great experience for us. We had the chance to sail in new waters with new competition. Overall, I learned more about tactics and boat handling (more so on the bow). It was a great regatta to start our racing season!
The dinghy team sailed the in the Boston Dingy Cup this weekend, the longest held regatta in college sailing in Boston "Beantown" MA and sailed on the Charles River. The event is usually the most diverse in boats used but this year it was a three division regatta all sailed in FJ's. Conditions for Saturday were sunny in the low 40's with 5-15 knots from the WNW and the same on Sunday but with less breeze at 5-10 knots. As usual the breeze was very shifty but yet tame by Charles River windshifts standards.
Sailing for the Mariners were seniors Chris Alexander and Allison Davis who finished 14th in A division. Senior James Givens and sophomore Alyssa Montague were 9th in B division while sophomores Brett Baker and Sara Mock were 8th in C division.
Upcoming for the team is a trip to Hobart & William and Smith on March 29th and 30th for the North #1 in order to qualify for the America trophy. The dinghy team will also be competing that weekend in the Central #1 at Ocean County College.
Members of the well-traveled Offshore Sailing Team will be traveling to Los Angeles this weekend to compete in the 2008 Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup Regatta. Competing teams will include the U.S. Coast Guard and Naval Academies, Cal Maritime, USC, Stanford, and others. The Regatta is sponsored by the Port of Los Angeles, and should be a great event for our sailors to learn about the port operations and meet some west coast Alumni.
Team Roster
Name Year Homeport
Patrick Gerometta 2008 Farmington Hills, MI
Brandon Starodub 2008 Forked River, NJ
Jennifer Davis 2008 Yuma, AZ
Craig Gary 2008 Bay Village, OH
Patrick Ambrose 2010 Fairplay, CO
Joseph Hoffman 2011 Reno, NV
Derrick Cherico 2011 Clarion, PA
Coach Peete Must 2005
Port of Los Angeles Press Release
More Regatta Info
The Mariners headed back to the Chester River in Maryland this weekend vying against several other team including regatta hosts Washington College and Cornell for one last chance to qualify for the Prosser Trophy team race. With two round robins and a single final four scheduled the Mariners lost two races in the first round robin, one to St. Mary's who was previously qualified for the Prosser Trophy and also to Washington College in a tough and protest laden race. Washington College went undefeated on the day. The second round robin was started on Saturday afternoon and KP won their first two races before racing was called for the day in the dying breeze, but with the toughest races still to be sailed.
Heading into Sunday it was clear that we needed to beat St. Mary's and Washington college and look for some help from St. Mary's to beat Washington college as KP and Washington College were the top teams eligible for the last Prosser Trophy Berth. While St. Mary's was able to come up with the win over Washington College KP lost to both St. Mary's and Washington College. After a KP vs Washington College protest was heard and disallowed that left Washington College with 1 loss and KP with 4 after 2 round robins and heading to the final four KP could only tie Washington College at best but would lose on a tie breaker of Washington college beating KP twice. KP beat Georgetown in the final four but lost to St. Mary's and Washington College to finish 9 and 6 overall
St. Marys ultimately went on to win the regatta with a 14-1 record, Washington College second at 13-2 and taking the last berth to the Prosser Trophy, KP third at 9-6, Georgetown fourth. Competing for the Mariners was Chris Alexander '08 and Sara Mock '10, Aaron Thompson and Allison Davis '08, James Givens '08 and Alyssa Montague '10, and Brett Baker '10 and Eric Lowe '08 substituting in. Conditions were nice team racing breeze with a steady 5-10 knot from various directions but a bit lighter at times.
