Copyright 2009, Craig Priniski
Permission granted to reuse/reprint all photos for personal use only
Fall 09
Spring 09
Princeton Spring Open (Central) - April 4th-5th, 2009 New format this year for MAISA Qualifiers with only one per area, and with only teams attempting to qualify present it made for some tight racing. Huge winds were forecast for Saturday and it didn’t disappoint with winds in the 20s and gusts topping 36 kts. A division boldly set out and attempted a race, however most of the fleet was up side down by the time the course was set and were sent in for the day. Sunday still featured a gusty west wind but was otherwise manageable both fleets got 8 races in. Villanova showed the benefit of some practice in the shifty winds of Cooper River, but a few mistakes in races saddled us with too big a deficit to overcome, winning regattas is more about avoiding high finishes then winning races we wound up in 5th just behind Princeton and only 11 points behind #3 Delaware who along with #2 Drexel and #1 Ocean County qualified for the America Trophy.
Leroy Grant - Princeton - April 18th-19th, 2009 Well it was deja vu all over again as we headed back to Princeton’s home venue at Raritan Yacht Club. While we didn’t wind up sailing for it all at the America, the Leroy Grant is the regatta that is used to help rank college teams in the district so it is still an important event for the teams sailing. Fortunately we were able to send some of the same team to the venue and local knowledge helped. By the end of the day Saturday places 2, 3, and 4 were separated by a handful of points with Villanova in the hunt in that pack. Sunday set in with some shifting conditions and tired crews the first race featured more current then wind from the looks of it from shore. Our game slipped a bit and we wound up slipping into the 4th position, Columbia sailed very well and nearly walked away with the regatta placing first.
OCC Fall Open - Ocean County - September 19th, 2009 Saturday dawned as a clear sunny indian summer day, without any breeze... All day long a light North-Westerly breeze fought a Southerly trying to fill in, in some of the more frustrating conditions to sail in. The races went to those able to break out of packs, and sometimes those lucky enough to be where the new shift came in on the race course. We persevered in spite of the flukey winds, but didn’t find the front of the pack often enough to qualify for the War Memorial regatta this fall. We settled for the middle of the pack 11th out of 18 teams ahead of Monmouth, Princeton, CNU and a host of others.
Philly Fleet Race - U. of Pennsylvania - October 3rd-4th, 2009 Always a challenging venue the Fleet race is held in strong current. Most of the day Saturday passed without the wind ever filling in enough to battle the current. Forcing the regatta to be sailed entirely on Sunday. Villanova sailed well, finding our way near the head of the fleet often, close, but not close enough to win out over a OCS setback near the end of the regatta. Villanova finished in 4th, just off the podium.
Henry Luce - Hampton University October 31st - November 1st, 2009 Visiting the south end of the district Villanova sailed in Hampton, Va this weekend. Saturday was a gift of a Fall sailing day with temperatures in the 70s and Southerly winds in the teens. Villanova was battling it out with CNU pretty regular for 3rd place behind Columbia, and host Hampton. Sunday brought chilly temperatures and winds out of the North West, fortunately there were only 4 races left to be sailed. Unfortunately we slipped behind CNU by 1 point to finish forth in the regatta.
MAISA Club Team Championship - OCC November 7th-8th, 2009
The Club Championship was the final regatta of the season and this year, a true championship as teams had to qualify to get in for the first time to even attend the event. Saturday featured decent if shifting breeze for the sailors. Races went off in rapid succession since fleets of Techs and 420s were rotated on the water. U. of Penn ran away with first place with both of their divisions turning numerous bullets, while a pack of 4 of the best club teams schools followed behind fighting it out for the remaining top 6 places, Fordham just bested Virginia in a tight match for 2nd. Through out the regatta the top 6 were out of our reach of our team, for this year. We were fighting it out with William and Mary while chasing Columbia for 7th. Sunday brought a slowly dying breeze and only 8 races were sailed, the were crucial though as W&M caught and passed us in the standings, fortunately Columbia stumbled a bit and we managed to pass them hanging to 8th in the process which in a field of 18 top clubs was a good showing for Villanova.
