USF sailing head coach Allison Jolly took time off, with the help of Co-ed coach Gonzalo Crivello, during Spring Break to sail in the 2008 U.S. 470 National Championships and won the event with help of teammate Mollu O'Bryan. Jolly won the even last year with teammate Andrew Sumpton.
470 enthusiasts from the United States and Canada gathered in Sarasota, FL for the 2008 U.S. National Championships March 13-15.
Competitors ranged in age from 14 to 82 years old, and arrived from British Columbia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, and Maryland to challenge the local Florida boats. Three women's teams, three men's teams, and five coed teams raced together on courses set in the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. Conditions ranged from 5 knots to 18 knots, from flat water to steep chop to rolling waves.
The 2007 winning team of Allison Jolly / Andrew Sumpton adopted new team mates in 2008, with Jolly taking on US Sailing Team member Molly O'Bryan as crew, and Sumpton selecting Sarasota youth sailor Chris Stocke to helm. These top two boats combined to win all seven races, and went 1-2, respectively.
Former Marquette sailing team members Hunter Ratliff and Christopher Williams, in their debut performance in the 470 class, captured third place overall and the "Top Corinthian" award, given to the highest finishing team never before in the US Sailing team ranking system. Additionally, Chrisopher Stocke was top male junior and Christine Williams top female junior.
PRO Dave Ellis ran a fantastic event, setting up trapezoids courses averaging 40 minutes in length. He was assisted by numerous members of the University of South Florida sailing team, volunteering their time during spring break, including Zack Marks, Justin Ahearn, Kirsten Hunt, Rachael Silverstein, Scott Stephenson, Adam DePrimo, Danielle DeLaire, Andrew Jones, Ash Landes, and Matt Gardiner. Also helping were juniors from the Sarasota Youth Sailing Program, and SYSP Director Stu Gillfillen. The relaxed, low-key venue and the RC boat were provided by the Sarasota Sailing Squadron.
1 Allison Jolly / Molly O'Bryan (St. Petersburg, FL) 1 1 1 1 (2) 1 1 6
2 Christopher Stocke / Andrew Sumpton (Sarasota, FL) 2 2 2 (3) 1 2 2 11
3 Hunter Ratliff / Christopher Williams (Chicago, IL ) 4 3 3 2 (5) 3 4 19
4 Paul and Sylvie Tranter (Seabrook, TX) 3 (8) 7 4 4 4 3 25
5 Doug Drake / Joe Fillingham (Milwaukee, WI) 5 4 5 5 3 5 (7) 27
6 John and Jeanne Michael (Milwaukee, WI) (9) 6 9 7 6 7 5 40
7 Bill Hanson / Diana Kremen (Chicago, IL ) 8 5 4 (ocs) 7 6 dnf 41
8 Christine Williams / Jen Braem (Victoria, BC) 7 7 6 9 9 8 (dnf) 46
9 Patti McMahon / Susie Rieck (Milwaukee, WI) 6 9 8 6 (10) 10 8 47
10 Zar and Karina Wade-Gledhill (Seabrook, TX) 10 (11) 10 8 8 9 6 51
11 Dave and Peg Janson (Chicago, IL) (raf) 10 11 10 11 dnf dns 64
WEEK 6 - March 15-16, 2008
For the conclusion of their spring break week, some USF sailors traveled to Annapolis for the Truxtun Umstead Regatta hosted by the Naval Academy on March 15-16, 2008.
Saturday started off with a great 8-12 knot NW breeze in the morning before the lunch break, but during the afternoon the breeze switched to a battle between the E and NE directions before dying altogether. Sunday morning arrived with drizzle and no wind, but a strong NNW breeze filled in at 12-18 knots by noon.
USF was represented by Mitch Hall and Liz Foy finishing 11th in "A" division, Tim King and Darby Smith finishing 17th in "B" division, and Zack Marks 10th in "C" division. Overall, USF was 13th out of the 20 schools competing.
1. St. Mary's 100 83 118 301
2. Boston College 138 127 95 360
3. Yale 162 183 46 391
4. Hobart/WmSmith 177 115 117 409
5. Brown 181 175 53 409
6. Georgetown 125 164 131 420
7. NY Maritime 161 131 168 460
8. Charleston 151 126 224 501
9. Harvard 152 172 193 517
10. Tufts 175 186 167 528
11. UPENN 185 241 117 543
12. Boston University 194 183 201 578
13. South Florida 177 237 171 585
14. Old Dominion 172 221 230 623
15. Navy 249 149 227 625
16. Conn College 232 198 232 662
17. Dartmouth 180 237 312 729
18. Eckerd 214 186 344 744
19. Minnesota 324 317 313 954
20. Michigan 334 351 329 1014
WEEK 5 - March 8-9, 2008
USF proved to be successful hosts of the Frank Mendelblatt Team Racing Intersectional, winning the event with a perfect 10-0 record.
With winds gusting to 30 knots, no races were attempted on Saturday. Sunday dawned with a brisk ENE at 15 to 18 knots which died down to about 10 knots for the afternoon races.
Many members of the USF sailing team worked together for the victory in this regatta, both racing on the water and helping run the event. Special thanks to alumni team members Phil Tanner and Abby Ethington for volunteering their weekend to serve as PRO.
Wins Loses Rank
USF 10 0 1
Navy 8 2 2
CofC 5 5 4
Eckerd 5 5 3
Vermont 2 8 5
Florida 0 10 6
Meanwhile, in Annapolis, the USF Women's team raced the Navy Spring Women's Intersectional under similar conditions, but much colder. Saturday morning races were postponed due to thick fog, but once the breeze filled in, it continued to build throughout the day, until a squall line came through with gusts strong enough to capsize 27 of the 38 boats on the water. Sailors trying to hold onto their boats at the dock were pulled off the dock and into the water, even with the sails down.
Sunday was clear, cold, and breezy. The drain plugs were all frozen solid, as were the USF sailors!
Kim Witkowski and Ash Landes sailed "A" division, and Rachael Silverstein and Darby Smith sailed "B" division, finishing 12th and 13th, respectively, out of the 19 team competing. Once again Kirsten Hunt was brought along as the light crew, but once again, windy conditions prevailed and she was unable to race.
Combining the scores, USF ended up 13th overall.
A B TOT
1. St. Mary's 37 39 76
2. Yale 43 48 91
3. Stanford 43 63 106
4. Georgetown 59 74 133
5. Charleston 87 51 138
6. Univ Rhode Island 82 81 163
7. Brown 67 99 166
8. Connecticut College 113 57 170
9. Old Dominion 91 83 174
10. Hobart/Wm Smith 92 82 174
11. Boston University 99 89 188
12. Harvard 96 98 194
13. South Florida 109 124 233
14. Fordham 126 133 259
15. Eckerd 124 136 260
16. Northwestern 170 143 313
17. Navy 176 184 360
18. Queen's 195 198 393
19. Maryland 200 196 396
