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Updates from the Offshore Sailing Team in Florida

Dinghy Team 2nd at Tom Noble Team Race

The Dinghy team started off the team race season with a second place finish at the Tom Noble Team Race hosted by Washington College. The Mariners sailed well throughout the regatta in the light winds and current on the Chester River. The team looks to return here in three weeks to try for a berth at the Captain Prosser trophy so it is a good sign they sailed well in this venue. Sailing for Kings Point was Seniors Chris Alexander, Laura Beck, Aaron Thompson, Allison Davis, James Givens, Robert Grandstaff and freshmen Nick Aswad. The team will be team racing at Georgetown and Navy this coming weekend and looks forward to the return of some sophomores from their sea term.

29 Entries for Miami Acura Grand Pix Regatta

The Kings Point Offshore Sailing Team will be Sailing Nimbus Blue in the Acura Miami Grand Prix Regatta starting March 6th off Miami Beach. The competition will be intense with some of the premier sailors in the world on the starting line. The tactician list reads like a who's who of Sailing- Paul Cayard, Dean Barker, Terry Hitchinson, Chris Larson, Bill Hardesty, and Gavin Brady... just to name a few. Best of luck to our team- for more info check here.

Spring Around the Corner?

The dinghy team started practice this week- usually a good indication of spring, but not on this snowy day at the Waterfront.

Engineers Earn USCG Deck Licenses

Dinghy Team 6th at Charleston Intersectional

Charleston Spring Intersectional
Intercollegiate Dinghy Team

Kings Point’s top sailors competed in Charleston, South Carolina this weekend. They were met with warm sunny skies but light and tricky winds and an infamous current. The team started off strong and finished in 4th place overall at the end of day one. Although we sailed fairly well, the team knew this was a regatta they were good enough to win and were focused going into day two. On the second day however, misfortune found us and we dropped back from 4th to 6th. The team had several top finishes throughout the weekend but were unable to capitalize near the end of the event. The team is now looking forward to the long Team Race season ahead and the national championship qualifiers that are only a couple months away. Sailing for Kings Point were seniors Chris Alexander and Laura Beck finishing 9th in the A division, along with James Givens and Robert Grandstaff finishing 6th in B division.

-Charles R. Higgins
Assistant Director of Intercollegiate Sailing

Waterfront Hudson River Training Cruise

History on the Hudson for Presidents Day Weekend

This weekend 12 midshipman and two staff members took the T/V Liberator on a winter voyage up the Hudson River. Overnight stops were made in New York City (79th Street Boat Basin,) West Point (USMA,) and Bear Mountain State Park. Underway the midshipmen navigated the vessel, operated the engineering systems, and even had to troubleshoot and repair a few problems. Shoreside trips included walking tours of West Point, Hiking through Bear Mountain Zoo and a historical tour of Fort Montgomery and the Revolutionary War battle fought there. Underway training including docking drills, crew-overboad recovery, and piloting.

Click here for more pictures.

Varsity Rowing Heads South for Spring Training

Varsity Rowing Heads South for Spring Training

Kings Point Rowing heads to Jacksonville, Florida on February 29 for a week of training. “Many miles of rowing and a lot of sweating is what it takes to get in shape for the spring rowing season.” said coach Derek Hartwick. “Our team has made Jacksonville its spring training home for the last two years and it has been a great place to prepare for the upcoming season.”

The team has been fortunate to receive wide financial and logistical support from the local alumni and parents. Scott O’Connor ’83 and Glenda O’Connor ’85 (parents of Kyle O’Connor ’10) have gone out of their way to assist the team during the week of training by arranging team dinners, fun activities and making there home available to the Midshipman.

This spring training is vital to success during the spring season since it is still too cold to train at Kings Point. The team will be kept busy with three workouts a day, additional video sessions and social events organized to allow them to meet alumni and visit with parents. “I expect we will return to Kings Point with a renewed spirit and ready to start racing” said Hartwick.

The Season starts on March 29 when the team travels to Philadelphia for the Murphy Cup.

Bill Hardesty '98 Wins Florida State Etchells Champs

Continuing with more Alumni News:

Bill Hardesty, class of 1998, finished first, an amazing 19 points ahead of the 2nd place finisher at the Florida State Etchells Class Championship. Bill topped an impressive fleet of 89 boats to win the regatta with finishes of 3, 1, 4, 5. Hardesty was not the only Kings Pointer in the regatta- Tom Lihan '82 finished 7th, Gary Gilbert '71 finished 58th. Hardesty leads the Jaguar Cup Series after 3 regattas.

Power Squadron Graduate starts Career as a Delaware Pilot

Chris Voss, class of 2007, has started his training after being accepted as a Delaware Bay Pilot Apprentice. Chris was skipper of Dottie J, and instrumental in organizing the Sportfishing side of the Power Squadron. All those trips up and down the East River have paid off for Chris, who will join the ranks of Waterfront Alumni who have made Piloting their Career.

Dinghy Team Ready for Charleston Debut

This weekend the Dinghy team will begin their season in warmer climates at the Charleston Spring Intersectional. Competing for the Mariners will be an all senior squad with Chris Alexander and Laura Beck sailing in A division and James Givens and Robert Grandstaff in B division with assistant coach Charles Higgins. Heading into the event off of the winter season the Mariners are hungry to sail in the first major intersectional of the season including three teams from California and are eager at the chance to get back into the national rankings. The Mariners though unpracticed on their home waters this season got a chance to get on the water this winter at the V15 midwinter championships. The last time the Mariners competed on the Cooper river was the 2006 National Coed Dinghy Championships were they took 15th place with Alexander, Givens and Grandstaff competing in that event. The Charleston Intersectional will be the only fleet race for the Mariner’s top team for the next four weeks as the season is focused towards team racing in the early months.

Dreaming Big- Prosser Boat House

Before- The Prosser Boathouse as it has looked since 1943. Having served as the Academy's competition swimming (and diving) pool, a work and storage space for the Department of Waterfront Activities, and a training space for the Kings Point Rowing team. The damage from the January fire has made the building unsafe to occupy.








Future???- If you are going to dream, dream big! Can we turn a fire damaged building into a world class rowing facility? Maybe, maybe not. But we are working to not just restore the Prosser Boathouse to its pre-fire configuration, but to improve its functionality and perhaps make a proper home for Kings Point Rowing.

Thanks to Coach Derek Hartwick for the rendering.

Waterfront Engineers Studying for Deck License

Six Engineering Majors from the class of 2008 are giving up 2 winter weekends to spend 40 hours in the classroom to prep for their USCG 100 Ton Masters License. Hoping to be the first in thier class to have a license, these six Midshipmen are also the first group of a program that will hopefully develop into a sort of "Ship's Officer" program for engineers. The 100 Ton license will allow them to operate most ferries, harbor tugs, and small passenger vessels, as well as give them the knowledge to better integrate with deck officers aboard ship. The first step in the program developed by Power Squadron Advisor Rob Asma and GMATS instructor Matt Germann consisted of recording all time spent by the Midshipmen aboard the Academies training fleet. Time spent aboard commercial ships as engine cadets can not be used for a deck license. After visiting the Coast Guard Exam Center to be evaluated, the midshipman are brushing up on many of the same subjects as thier deck counterparts. If all goes well the first USCG Licenses to be awarded to the Class of 2008 will be in just a few weeks. Good luck to our Waterfront Engineers.