UMass Boston Sailing Club Takes Boston Harbor Islands Regatta; Competes in Prestigious Storm Trysail Club’s Offshore Regatta
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UMass Boston Sailing Club at the Storm Trysail Club’s Intercollegiate Regatta at Larchmont Yacht Club. |
They sail donated boats and buy their own uniforms, but the UMass Boston Sailing Club has grown from an upstart to a winner, impressing the collegiate sailing ranks by winning the Boston Harbor Island’s Regatta and competing in the “Super Bowl” of collegiate sailing, the Storm Trysail Club's 2006 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in New York.
A group that began training in earnest last April has gradually climbed through the ranks of New England college sailing, earning the respect of their peers, winning the Boston Harbor Islands Regatta, held during the last weekend of September, and claiming the race’s College Bowl as tops among more than 100 other boats in various classes.
“I attribute their success to their tenacity, their professionalism and their great sportsmanship,” said Jason LeBlanc, the club’s coach and manager of the university’s sailing program. “They’ve come out of nowhere this fall and people are starting to take notice.”
At the second annual Boston Harbor Islands Regatta, the club was tops on a day that started with light winds and gradually built to a respectable 15 mph by 1:30 pm. They sailed in two 27-foot, Olympic Class Soling vessels donated so recently to the sailing program by members of the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club that the crews had accumulated only five hours of sail time on the boats, said LeBlanc.
The Lord Bryson, skippered by Andrew Dunne and crewed by Michael Magni and Christopher Campbell came in first place by beating boats that had started well before them. Ragtime, skippered by Robert Wallace and crewed by Matthew Dunbar and Jake Tavakoli finished 2nd.
The sailing club has gone through various stages of activity since the university moved to the waterfront campus in 1974. The current racers joined together last year and began racing at the intercollegiate level in April. The club is funded by a $4,200 appropriation from the Student Senate.
The club trains on Dorchester Bay in the 35-year-old Cape Cod Mercury, a dinghy class boat, and typically competes at host sites throughout New England in more modern class boats, 420s or FJs, with two-person crews. The harbor regatta and the upcoming intercollegiate regatta in New York are for larger keel boats, LeBlanc said.
On October 7-8, the club competed in Storm Trysail Club's 2006 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta against a select group of 22 invitees, including some of the nation’s best college teams – including Boston College, which sails out of the nearby Savin Hill Yacht Club, Duke University, the U.S. Naval Academy, Tufts University, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The event is designed to bring the best college sailors together and provide them with opportunities to sail larger boats, LeBlanc said.
The Sailing Club took fourth place in their One Design Class, beating Duke University, New York Maritime, and Johnson and Wales during a great day of racing in an event that lived up to its reputation for toughness. The wind was blowing a consistent 23 mph for the first two races of the day with overcast conditions.
The club enjoyed the privilege of sailing on an Express 37 which is owned by regatta chairman Adam Loory. “This is an event that is used to develop younger sailors and we feel very fortunate to be able to participate. But the team has conducted itself in such a way that they’ve earned a lot of respect from people involved in college sailing,” said LeBlanc.
The club’s season hasn’t yet ended. The club is scheduled to race every weekend through the end of November, said LeBlanc.
The club roster includes: Michael Magni, Christopher Campbell, Chelsea Fairbank, Carolina Gomez, Matthew Dunbar, Adam Schwebach, Fernando Perfas, Mirabai Perfas, Robert Wallace, Jake Tavokoli, Andrew Dunne, Matthew Idzik, Tim Lee Chuvala, Dan Collins, Edwin Lok, Dale Nunn, Jonathan Mendez, Misha Sidorsky, and Ben Chi.
The club is working with the university sailing program to establish a fundraising program to further the activities and upgrade equipment. The campus’s waterfront location is a natural fit for a sailing program, said LeBlanc.
“Our goal is to one day be a host site for intercollegiate regattas in both the dinghy and keeled boat classes. We have what is considered to be one the best sites for college sailing because of the amount of open water to set up a race course and the proximity of the university’s Harbor Walk gives spectators the unique opportunity to actually watch the race. We have the potential to be one of the most premier sailing sites in New England.”