College Sailing's Chalk Talk: National Championship Coverage

Chalk Talk recaps the 2014 Sperry Top-Sider Women's National Championships and APS Team Race Nationals which concluded in Maryland this week. The gang looks over the list for Gill Coed Dinghy Nationals, which includes two days of semifinals racing this year. We will preview the contenders!

College Sailing's Chalk Talk - October 10, 2013

Chalk Talk comes to you from the U.S. Team Racing Championship for the Hinman Trophy to catch up with some current and past ICSA all-stars. Which event is more competitive: the Hinman or ICSA Nationals? Which is better: college kinetics rules or the original RRS Rule 42? Sailors tell all in this week's special episode, shot on location in Newport Beach, CA.

Chalk Talk is presented by US Sailing. Support your National Governing Body in return. Check out their economical Collegiate Membership, which is a four-year membership for only $95.

We're also supported by Zim Sailing, who offers a great college discount code for their website. Watch the episode to find the code!

West Coast Tour - The Dick Sweet Sabot Team Race Series Begins

by Kate Sheahan, West Coast Tour Coordinator

Jack Egan, SDYC

The Dick Sweet Series comprises sabot team race events at three separate venues: Alamitos Bay Yacht Club on July 15th, San Diego Yacht Club on July 22nd and Newport Harbor Yacht Club on July 29th. For day one of racing, a building sea breeze and full sun created ideal conditions for a solid four hours of round robin racing. An early flood tide with adverse current left and a favored pin rewarded boats with perfect tacks, while a midday right shift evened the course and put a premium on speed off the line. Aside from venue homework, competitor's commented that systematic communication between team members prior to each race, as well as frequent conversations about the rules, was the key to being relaxed and ready to attack. 

After one day of racing the preliminary results are as follows:

NHYC 8-1 / MBYC 7-2 / SDYC 7-2 / ABYC 6-3 / BYC 3-5 / BCYC 2-7 / LIYC 2-7 / LBYC 1-8 

On Tuesday, the West Coast Tour will be heading to the Governor’s Cup, hosted by Balboa Yacht Club in Corona Del Mar, California.

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West Coast Tour Schedule

Dick Sweet Sabot Team Race Series (1/3), a set on Flickr.

College Sailing's Chalk Talk - Season 8, Episode 3

Watch the latest edition of College Sailing's Chalk Talk on US Sailing YouTube! This week we'll review the four major intersectional regattas last weekend, interview Yale Head Coach Zack Leonard and take a look at the Sail1Design Team Race Rankings.

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Chalk Talk is presented by US Sailing, who offer college sailors a deeply discounted membership option at http://racing.ussailing.org/college.

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Daily Lift

Tips on running a successful team race from Joel Hanneman - While all the frills of the biggest team race events in the world make those experiences quite special, they certainly aren’t required. Events like the ISAF Team Race Worlds and U.K. & U.S. National Championships feature fleets of provided boats, a cadre of international umpires, banquets, an army of volunteers and a large budget. On the other end of the spectrum, a nice grassroots regatta can be run with one person in a 15-foot Whaler, four marks and a whistle

Admiral Moore Team Race

By Russ O’Reilly

This year's Admiral Moore Team Race was hosted on the East River at SUNY Maritime College. The event was changed from a fleet race to a team race in 2008 and has steadily improved in the level of competition since its debut. This year the regatta had a strong field of ten teams including Dartmouth, Roger Williams, and the University of Rhode Island from NEISA; Georgetown, Hobart/William Smith, Navy, SUNY Maritime, and St. Mary's from MAISA; Eckerd from SAISA, and the much-improved University of Wisconsin traveling from the MCSA Ted Green II from Wickford, R.I. traveled south for the weekend to act as head umpire and his son Ted Green III served as PRO for the event. After two round robins and a final four, NY Maritime finished strong, winning their home event with a 14-4 final record.

Szambecki Team Race Recap

By Kelly Stannard

Despite battling light wind, rain and thunderstorms the Old Dominion University team successfully hosted the Szambecki Team Race last weekend in Norfolk, Va. The College of Charleston Cougars came out victorious with a final record of 11-3. Saturday's racing was sporadic due to weather conditions. On Sunday, racing conditions were much better and competitors didn’t let a little fog or rain get in the way of getting some exciting team racing in. Two full round robins were sailed to complete the event. 

St. Mary’s Team Race Recap

By Kelly Stannard

After a total of 96 races Georgetown came out on top for a second weekend in a row, winning a tie-breaker against Boston College at the St. Mary’s Team Race this past weekend. Rounding out the top four was Stanford in third and Hobart in fourth.

A number of volunteers and umpires helped to ensure smooth racing. PRO, Chris Gaffney who will also be running the show later this year at the ICSA/APS Team Race Nationals, led the crew.

Saturday's racing kept competitors and the race committee on their toes with breeze ranging from 5 to 15 knots and plenty of shifts. Sunday proved to be warmer giving way to lighter but more consistent breeze, and great team racing conditions. All ten teams sailed in both FJ’s and 420’s through two round robin’s before breaking into a final four championship round.

Daily Lift

Tips on how to make team racing successful from Joel Hanneman: First rule of thumb is that the fun is in the action on the water. So everything about the event should be geared towards promoting the visual team elements, physical sailing requirements, and the overall visceral impact of a close, hard-fought race. This relates to everything from equipment, event format and location, to the PRO.