The Penn Sailing Team started off its Spring 2012 season by traveling south to Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia. It was also the first event of the season for many of the other teams in attendance. Skippering A Division was Junior captain Mike Russom, while freshman Jack Swikart skippered B Division. Juniors Fred Wang and Jose-Maria Barreros each crewed part of the regatta in both divisions.
Saturday brought heavy rain and strong winds in the morning, but by the time the boats hit the water, the wind had died down to around 15 knots and the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Six races were completed in each division before the wind died completely and racing was called for the day, leaving the team sitting in 7th place.
The team also woke to heavy rain on Sunday, but with much less wind. Over the course of the day, the breeze varied between 0 and 5 knots, allowing the race committee to get 4 more races off in each division. While Jack Swikart held the line in B Division, Mike Russom managed to shake off the rust, finishing his A Division series with two bullets and propelling the team to an overall 5th place finish. Navy took the win, followed by St. Mary’s and Old Dominion.
A special thanks to the Landy family, who graciously hosted the team for the weekend.
Complete scores can be found at http://scores.collegesailing.info/s12/odu-spring-open/full-scores
November 11-13, 2011
This past weekend the Penn Sailing Team traveled to Boston, MS to compete in the 2011 Atlantic Coast Championship. The team joined Harvard and MIT on Friday for a breezy day of practice on the Charles River in the FJs that would be used in the Championship. On Saturday, the team arrived to chilly temperatures and strong winds. With two full divisions sailing at once, Junior Mike Russom and Freshman Jack Swikart did their best to compete against the skilled field that included 16 of the top 20 U.S. Sailing ranked teams. 12 of the 18 races were completed with the last race finishing just before sunset.
On Sunday the breeze moderated and the final three sets were sailed. Kelsi Schoenrock did a wonderful job crewing in the “B” Division and Ali Zablocki and Christina Johns swapped in and out of the “A” Division to match the varying wind conditions. The team ended up 18th overall with the Rodger Williams Hawks claiming top honors.
Thanks to 2-time ISAF Team Racing World Champion Pete Levesque and former A-Division skipper Halsey Richartz C’11 for their help throughout the event
Full Results: http://scores.collegesailing.
With the fall season now complete, the team will use the winter to prep for the coming 2011 spring season. This coming Wednesday the team will move the Penn FJs off the docks at the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia and into winter storage. Thanks to everyone who supported the team this past fall… we will see everyone in the Spring!
November 5-6, 2011
This past weekend at Fordham and Columbia’s home venue on City Island, NY, the Penn Sailing team won the 2011 Mid Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association Club Championship. Junior Mike Russom and crews Ali Zablocki and Christina Johns were 2nd in the “A” division and Freshman Jack Swikart and crews Kelsi Schoenrock and Christina Johns won the “B” division. The combination of their two scores was good enough for a 4 point victory over the Virginia Wahoos. Stevens Tech finished a close 3rd, 12 points back. Team Captain Kelsi Schoenrock, and sailors Christina Johns and Ali Zablocki swapped in and out as crews during the two days, maximizing the teams effectiveness in varying wind conditions.
Thanks to former A division skipper Halsey Richartz C ’11 who came out to coach the team.
Nine races were sailed in each division over two days and the regatta report can be found here:http://scores.collegesailing.info/f11/maisa-
Next weekend they will compete in the Atlantic Coast Championship against at least a dozen top 20 teams at MIT in Boston. Go Quakers!
October 29-30, 2011
This weekend the team traveled to the US Naval Academy to compete in the War Memorial, the qualifying regatta for the Atlantic Coast Championships. Saturday’s racing was postponed due to a gale force warning, but racing started around 1PM in freezing rain / snow and 10-20 knot conditions. 8 races were competed on Saturday. The weather on Sunday was much more pleasant and an additional 10 races were completed. Congratulations to skippers Mike Russom (13) and Jack Swikart (15) and crews Christina Johns (13), Marina Reppucci (12), Kelsi Schoenrock (12), and Ali Zablocki (12) on placing 8th overall and securing a berth at ACCs.
Full Results: http://scores.
October 22-23, 2011
The team traveled to Providence, RI this weekend to compete in the Sherman Hoyt Trophy hosted by Brown University. 8 races were completed Saturday in 3-10 knots of shifty breeze. 2 races in each division were sailed on Sunday. The team finished 15th overall, with Mike Russom (13) and Ali Zablocki (12) finishing 13th in A Fleet and Jack Swikart (15) and Christina Johns (15) finishing 15th in B Fleet.
Full Results: http://scores.
