Bruins Set Sail for Nationals

4/17/2016

Brunswick secured a trip to the ISSA Sailing Nationals after placing fourth in exciting battle for the New England Championship on Sunday.

In the New England Championship, hosted by Moses Brown off the waters of the Edgewood Yacht Club in Providence, Rhode Island, the A and B division Brunswick boats faced stern competition from a number of team across the region. The Bruins scored 99 points in the competition, tying for fourth place with Cape Elizabeth (Maine) High School, but Brunswick won a tiebreaker, sending the Bruins to the national championship.

The wind conditions were ideal for most of the day, allowing six races by each of the divisions. The wind took time to cooperate for the seventh and deciding races, in what proved to be pivotal for the Bruins nationals title hopes.

Brunswick began the day in the top-five and as the races progressed. Tabor and St. George's created some distance in the top two spots, while competition was tight between five teams competing for the coveted third and fourth place, as the top four teams are rewarded a bid to the national championship.

Jack Parkin (skipper) and Bay Hodge (crew) raced in the A division, earning 34 points, two points behind A division leader Hotchkiss. The Brunswick pair won one of seven races, and placed second on two other occasions.

Henry Harris skippered for the first six races in the B division with George Coyle (crew for first two races) and Will George (crew for remaining five races). Peter Schneider skippered the B division for the final race with Will George. Brunswick finished ninth in the B division with 65 points, in a closely contested event.

After six races in each division, Brunswick sat in the fifth position, a mere two points behind Hotchkiss. Parkin skipped his boat to a second-place finish in his 7th race, giving the Bruins a bump back into 4th place.

Schneider was tabbed to compete in the final race. Brunswick was four points ahead of Cape Elizabeth and five points ahead of Hotchkiss entering the deciding final race.

As the wind died down, the start of the final race was in jeopardy. If the B division was unable to race its seventh race, the A division's seventh race would have been thrown out, leaving Brunswick in fifth place and out of the nationals.

Fortunately for the Bruins, the wind was strong enough to allow the final race to start. Schneider and Will George navigated a great start and solid control of the first two legs of the race. In the final two legs Brunswick lost some distance on the water. While the race committee moving the finished line during the race, the Brunswick boat slipped a bit further back.

While Hotchkiss remained at the back the entire race, Cape Elizabeth moved ahead of a number of boats. On the final leg to the finish, the Cape Elizabeth boat was first to notice the new location of the finish line, and pulled ahead leaving Brunswick several boat-lengths astern.

With little wind, the finish was a slow-moving nail-biter for competitors and race fans alike. To make it to nationals, Brunswick needed to finish within three places of Cape Elizabeth.

From the shore, it looked as the Bruins were five places behind Cape Elizabeth, who earned a third-place finish in the final race. The Brunswick boat pulled out an impressive finish, taking seventh place, tying Cape Elizabeth with 99 overall points.

The race tiebreaker was decided by the number of top finished by boats in each division. Brunswick won the tiebreaker, earning a spot in the nationals.

The winner of the O’Day Cup (New England Championship) was Tabor with 65 points, followed by St. George’s (70) and Milton (80).

The three teams, along with Brunswick, will compete at the ISSA National Championship for the Mallory Cup. The College of Charleston will host the three-day event, beginning on Friday, May 13.

For New England Championship results, click here.

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Bruins Set Sail for Nationals

Brunswick School Greenwich, CT

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