Queen's Sailing

A Windy Weekend for the Queen's Sailing Team

The Queen's Sailing Team was faced with heavy winds both at home and in Michigan. Nine teams participated in the Annual Queen's Open, which ran this weekend at the Kingston Yacht Club. Racing was postponed Saturday morning due to heavy North East winds averaging 20-25 knots and gusting into the 30's.

At 2:00pm there was a break in the wind and the "A" fleet was sent out to race. Unfortunately the lull did not last and the race committee was only able to get one race before the wind picked up again. Racing was then postponed for the day.

On Sunday the competitors were greeted with even stronger winds, forecast to build to 40 knots. At 10:00 am the racing was cancelled. Although there was not much racing to be done at the Queen's open, we were able to exhibit the heavy wind conditions that Kingston is known for.

A second Queen's team was sent to the Carry Price Regatta in Grosse Point Michigan where, there too, heavy winds prevailed. Saturday the A fleet began their first race in beautiful 18-20 knot winds. Sailors Mac Morrin and Graham Hutchings were able to snag a first. The wind continued to build to a steady 25 knots, and the race committee ended sailing for the day due to the heavy wind conditions.

Sunday began with a steady 8 knots and built to a breezy 18. The races were run in a small inlet so the team could not take advantage of the steady breeze and surfing waves. Mac and Graham achieved a first and a couple of fourth�s and fifths and sailors Zoe Lewis and Oliver Blake had a couple fifths and sixths. The venue provided great wind but the location which the RC chose to run races did not provide steady breeze, the inlet caused very shift, inconsistent and gusty wind.

Overall the Queen's Sailing team was faced with some extreme conditions and we can proudly say that our sailors handled the winds with true sportsmanship, whether it was getting a couple firsts or cancelling races in order to keep competitors safe.

September 2011 Team Report

The Queen's sailing team is off to a great start to the 2011 collegiate sailing season. Evert McGlaughlin and Matt Ryder placed 1st and 2nd at Laser North hosted by Kings Point, qualifying them for the Van Duyne Trophy.

Lance Fraser, David Kagan, Clifton Kartner and Ira Carson spent September 17th and 18th competing at the Fall Maritime Open hosted by SUNY Maritime College in New York City. The team faced shifty conditions, strong current, and a competitive fleet to finish 8th overall. Highlights include multiple 2nd place finishes by Fraser and Kagan and a 1st from Kartner and Carson.

This past weekend the team sent sailors to four different regattas. Kate Thomas, Julia Kidd, Elizabeth Campbell and Joy MacDonald represented the QST ladies at the Princeton Women's Open. There they faced Very light winds and Strong current (2-3 knots), unfortunately the A was only able to get two races in. They also faced challenges with the shipping channels which were close to the racecourse and there were also moored freighters that can affect the wind, but they were able overcome these challenges and were very happy with their performance.

The rookie team of Aaron Babier, Alex Smythe, and Ken Faurschou, escorted by vet Greg Harries raced in varying conditions to place 3rd overall at the U of T Invitational. On the first day there was 5 knots of wind during the first set of races, the wind was full of lulls in the middle of the bay and fairly consistent on the left shore. The second set of races was a drift off. Sunday there was 15 knots, early on going shore side upwind paid off, later on the wind was stronger on the lakeside. Overall it was a great regatta and the sailors learnt a lot.

A third team of Clifton Kartner, Ira Carson, Roby Douglas, and Chaz Legge raced North 1 hosted by Cornell. Day one saw shifty 2-4 knot conditions that challenged the very competitive fleet. This left the team struggling to find positions in such a competitive fleet. After a day of notable improvement and patchy conditions that Queen's was able to take advantage of, Queen's found themselves in ninth place, out of a total of 16 teams, setting themselves up for improvement the next day. Day two brought more light shifty winds and racing was postponed till 12:30. The wind hit the weekend max of 5 knots for the last races on Sunday. The team maintained its position to finish in 9th.

Last but not least Matt Sullivan made the trek to United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point NY for the MAISA Laser Qualifier. Unfortunately the trend of no wind continued and they were only able to race two races on Saturday morning and another two on Sunday morning before the wind died and they sailors were not able to sail into the current. Matt placed 16th overall.

QST still has another month and a half of regattas to attend, many of which will present the sailors with challenging conditions and some stiff competition. But no worries the team's new coach Stephen Waldie is whipping the team into shape and our athlete's dedication and intensity to sailing is very evident. We plan on having an amazing season.

Queen's will also be hosting two regattas this year. The first being the classic Queen's open on October 1st and 2nd, as well as the Inaugural Canadian Team Racing Championship on October 29th and 30th.