United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Intercollegiate Sailing - Coast Guard Qualifies for two National Championships

NEW LONDON, CONN.--(9/29/08)--The Coast Guard Academy Sailing Team had a very successful weekend, qualifying for both the ICSA Sloop National Championship and the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded National Championship. The team accomplished this by winning the New England Sloop Championship and finishing 2nd at the New England Women’s Singlehanded Championship. This is the first time in the program’s history that they have qualified for both events in the same season.

Saturday’s lack of wind allowed for no racing to be held at the New England Sloop Championship for the Lawrence A. White Trophy (Class of ’51) hosted by the Coast Guard Academy. It wasn’t until afternoon on Sunday when racing was finally able to get underway in what was sure to be a closely contested event. Six races were sailed in a light South/Southwesterly winds with a strong ebb current. The Coast Guard Team of skipper Sam Ingham and crew Jon Duffett, Geoff Single, and Will Cotta out-performed a very talented fleet of 11 teams. Going into the last race, Coast Guard was in 2nd place, 2 points behind Brown, and with three other teams on their heels with a chance to finish in the top 2 and earn a berth to Nationals. The Bears sailed an exceptional last race, leading wire to wire and crossing the finish line well ahead of the second place boat. The win in the last race coupled with Browns third place finish had the teams tied for first place overall. CGA won the tie breaker on virtue of their two 1st place finishes compared to Brown’s lone win. This is the 2nd time the team has won this regatta in the past three years. The other was in 2006 when the team went on to finish 3rd at Nationals. Coast Guard and Brown will represent NEISA at the ICSA Sloop National Championship hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club, St. Petersburg, FL on November 21, 22, and 23.

New England Women's Singlehanded 2nd place finisher Krysta Rohde

The New England Women’s Singlehanded Championship hosted by Connecticut College was one of the few regattas throughout New England to have two days of racing over the weekend. Sailing for Coast Guard was Krysta Rohde, who finished 2nd at this event last year and went on to win the 2007 ICSA Women’s Singlehanded National Championship. It was a repeat performance for Rohde this year who earned a berth to Nationals for the 2nd year in a row by finishing 2nd at New Englands. With some of the top women’s sailors in the country all calling New England their home, it was a very closely contested regatta with sailors falling in and out of the top 5 qualifying spots after every race. In the end, however, Rohde was able to put a large gap over third place to secure her berth to Nationals. Annie Haeger from Boston College won the regatta with 42 points, Rohde finished 2nd with 73 points, and Maggie Shea from neighboring Connecticut College finished 3rd with 92 points. Haeger, Rohde, and Shea will be joined by Jane Macky from Yale and Megan Watson from Harvard to represent NEISA at the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded Championship hosted by Cornell University, Ithaca, NY on October 24, 25, and 26.