Cold weather on Sunday couldn't cool down the Brandeis sailing team after a hot start Saturday at the New England Dinghy Tournament in Portland, Maine, hosted by the University of Southern Maine. Needing to finish in the top six in order to qualify for next weekend's New England Championship regatta, Brandeis cruised to a fifth place finish.
Nick Farina '03, skippered the A division the first day, with Arwen Roth '03, as her crew, and Matt Guilbert '02 sailed the B division, with Amanda Davis, '03, and Chris DeRienzo '03, sharing duty as his crew. Each boat competed in eight half-hour long races in 12-foot long 420 sailboats. Teams navigated strong currents, as a 12-foot tide streamed in and out throughout the day.
"We went in knowing that we should have been in the top six," Guilbert said. "So it was a matter of executing."
Weather conditions were ideal on Saturday, with temperatures in the mid-50s and gusts of wind picking up throughout the day. Brandeis sprung to action early, sitting in second place after the first few races. As the day wore on, and dour weather forecasts for Sunday came in, additional races were held. In that stretch, Brandeis survived some tough races, but slipped a little in both the A and B division rankings.
The boats may also have had something to do with that. This spring the Brandeis team has had little experience in 420s, which are flat-bottomed for better planing on the water. "We never practice in 420s," Guilbert said. "If it was in FJs we would have done a lot better"
Still, Brandeis hung tough on Sunday, earning a spot in next week's championships. Undeterred by weather in the 30s and 40s, with gusting sleet and rain on the water, Brandeis pulled out fifth place finishes in both divisions.
Emily Hyman '02, teamed up effectively with Guilbert on the second day of racing, while Farina continued his impressive year at the helm. Finishing in the top five against strong competition, Farina is really coming into his own as a skipper.
"Nick has been improving a lot lately," Guilbert said. "It's great because he has another year left."
The team hopes that Farina's strong performance will carry over to next weekend, when Brandeis enters a field with the 18 best teams in New England (which is regarded as a tougher field than the one at the national championships). As one of the smallest teams in the region, Brandeis knows it will have a tough time against some of the big powerhouses in the area. Coming off a 17th place finish at last year's New England Championships, Guilbert says the team is setting its sights on a better finish.
"Our goal (for next weekend) is just to beat a few teams. We're looking to beat the teams that qualified with us (at Portsmouth). It's within our reach.