3.21 Invite at Connecticut College

Amherst opened up the spring season on the first possible weekend of racing in New England on a breezy day at Conn College. Not having practiced before the regatta definitely hurt the Amherst team, seeing as how the other four teams had been in the water practicing for over a week. Richard Lowery '01 and Lauren Sanzone '01 made their collegiate racing debuts on a day where the southeast wind ranged from 10 kts to gusts around 25 kts . Peter Beardsley '01 skippered the A team, while Seth Levin '01 skippered B.
 

On Saturday the Amherst Sailing Team raced keelboats for the first time as they took to the water in a 15-20 knot easterly that gusted to 30 knots throughout the day. The team, skippered by Peter Beardsley with Drew Foster in the middle and Jay Harris on foredeck struggled with the spinnaker during the morning sessions against more experienced teams, but recovered to finish the second half of the day respectively in what was an amazing learning experience.

3.28 Invite at Connecticut College

The regatta was blown out with gusts well over 40 knots after Seth Levin, Lauren Sanzone, Emily Fleury, and Sarah Short arrived.

4.3 New England Series 1 at BC

The rains and early cold temperatures disappeared as each division had 10 races in a 10-15 kt breeze in Boston Harbor. BCs new 420 fleet made for some good sailing, although the Amherst team struggled to find its boatspeed most of the day against stiff competition, although all races were close.

A	Beardsley/Sanzone
B	Harris/Fleury

School	A	B	Overall
Tufts	27	34	61 (1)
Boston College	30	40	70 (2)
Dartmouth	41	51	92 (3)
USM	68	96	164 (4)
Amherst	87	79	166 (5)
Boston U.	-	-	DNC

4.4 Invite at Conn College

The 4/4 Invite was cancelled 2 days before the event since many teams (but not Amherst) cancelled on Easter Sunday.

4.10 Tyrell Trophy at Brown

Despite the clouds clearing to sun, the wind stayed a consistent 10-20 kts from the North-Northeast for the Tyrell Trophy at Brown. The A team of Peter Beardsley and Lauren Sanzone started the day slowly against solid competition, but found a groove towards the end of the day. Meanwhile, the B team of Emily Fleury and Elizabeth Grenley started the day well, even though they had never raced together before. Six races were run on triangle courses, with one Modified Olympic thrown in

4.17 Vietor Trophy at Conn College

Sailing against another strong fleet featuring a couple All-Americans, Amherst finished tenth overall at the Vietor Trophy. Winds began at 15-20 kts from the SW, but later died and shifted to the NW at 5kts to end the day. Courses were Gold Cup format (triangle windward leeward), and each fleet only managed five races due to the lengthy courses and the race committee's setting and resetting of the course. Jay Harris and Dreux Chappell sailed A, while Peter Beardsley and Willie Rogers sailed their first regatta of the spring together, beating teams like Yale and Mass. Maritime. The A team had some difficulties playing the shifts upwind, while the B team had some weak starts, but were able to grind it back upwind, and pass several teams downwind. The team was forced to restart the last race after being called over the line early in a controversial call.

4.18 Invite at Conn College

The April 18 Invitational at Conn College featured lighter winds than the previous day, and new sailors for Amherst. Emily Fleury and Seth Levin sailed A, despite having never raced together before, and Lauren McGuire and Liz Wagner both sailed in their first collegiate regattas ever in B (Wagner's first regatta of any kind, ever). Both teams had their moments, especially the A fleet, despite their knack at rounding the leeward mark in second and finishing eighth. Winds were shifty from the west, but shifted to the northeast for the last rotation.

4.24 BU Trophy at Yale

The Amherst Sailing Team had their work cut out for them on this windy Saturday afternoon. Not only were some of the best skippers in New England from the best teams present at this regatta, but there was a 15-25 kt northerly at Yale, which resulted in very shifty breeze. 11 Gold Cup courses were done with combined divisions, meaning that there were 22 boats on the line, with no lunch break. Amherst improved steadily throughout the day against the third and fourth best skippers from some of the top teams in the country.

4.24 Invite at Williams

Strong winds prevailed throughout New England on April 24, and the scene was no different at Williams. Amherst sent out one of its less experienced teams to Williams College's first regatta ever, and came back with mixed results. The A team of Greg Koman '02 and Dreux Chappell '00 had to do a 720 in their first race, but rebounded with a 2, 2, 3 in the last three races. Had they not fouled the other boat, the A team would have been the low point team at the regatta in the combined division format. The B team of Andrew Blum '99 and Anne Cameron '01 sailed in the first race, but had to retire from the rest of the day due to injury, thereby ending the team's chance at winning the regatta. Amherst was the only team not to capsize on the day. Four races were sailed in 420s before the race committee decided that there was too much wind to continue.

4.25 Gibb Trophy at Tufts

The Gibb Trophy is the Greater Boston Freshman Championship, and the top freshmen in New England compete on the Upper Mystic Lake in the shifty breeze in Larks for the regatta. The Amherst freshmen had never sailed Larks before, nor had they ever sailed on the lake where local knowledge is key. Jay Harris and Monica Kaitz sailed in the tough A fleet, while Drew Foster and Sarah Short sailed in B.

5.1 New England Series 4 at BU

11:30 report time, due to crew races on the Charles River. Racing did not begin until 1pm, and only four races were completed, despite a steady 5-10 kts of wind from the east. Traditionally shifty Charles' winds wreacked havoc with the Amherst team, who had only sailed on the Charles once before. A vague starting line set by an undergraduate race committee caused the A team of Beardsley and Rogers to be called over early in the first two races, despite having legal starts. The A team rebounded for a strong second rotation, only to find the day end early. The B team of Sarah Short and Dreux Chappell featured Short's first regatta as a skipper, ever. The team improved steadily throughout the day against many local teams.

5/9 Little III Championship at Williams

Amherst, Wesleyan, and Williams compose the "Little III" -- it is a rivalry that exists among the schools in many sports, but had never before been contested in sailing. However, current members of the Amherst and Williams' teams decided that it should become an annual, official event, due to the increased interest in sailing between the 3 colleges. Held in 420s at Williams College on Lake Pontosuuc, all three schools brought their top skippers and crews. Once the fog cleared, the breeze filled to 10-15 kts from the west, with shifts and puffs provided by the Berkshire Mountains. Amherst College's A team of Peter Beardsley and Will Rogers, and B team of Jay Harris and Dreux Chappell (and cheerleaders Lauren Sanzone and Sarah Short). The A team started in style with a bullet, and Amherst led by two points after the first rotation. From there on out, the team extended its lead, coming from behind in most races to finish ahead of the teams. The hard work and tough competition from earlier in the season paid off, and the team has a lot of momentum going into the Fall of 1999.