April 2003 Tell Tale
Volume 57, Number 2 April 2003
Ice Greets MCSA Sailors
The low temperatures from the past winter season has caused the ice on a number of lakes to be thicker than normal. The Ice Breaker at Madison had to be cancelled due to the fact that the ice hadn't gone out on Lake Mendota. There was reported to be a recent record of 30 inches of ice on Base Line Lake north of Ann Arbor during the first weekend of March. Fortunately, due to a number of warm days and the small current flowing through the lake, the ice broke up and melted in time to permit the scheduled Big 10 Team Race to take place as scheduled the first weekend in April. An inch of snow greeted some as they woke up on April 1st following the Notre Dame Ice Breaker which was sailed on heated St, Joseph's Lake on the Notre Dame campus. Despite these minor set backs, everybody is enthusiastic about the coming season of sailing.
Commodore: Tom Martin
With this spring season already underway, it is important that we as an Association set some goals for the upcoming season, as I am sure that many of the teams around the Association are doing this as well. Since we are the host district for the ICSA North American Championships, we should have a goal of making sure that we make these events as good as they can possibly be. This means making sure that we have adequate volunteers, as well as making sure that we get as many teams as possible to our District Championships at Marquette, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This will allow maximum competition among our teams, thus ensuring that we get our top teams going to Nationals.
Another goal that is paramount to continuing our recent growth is having good attendance at our other spring regattas. This will allow for our new teams that have signed up for these events to experience the level of competition in our district. We have more regattas than we have had in a while on this spring's schedule, so let's use these regattas to get the newer teams on the water against the other teams in the district. This will help the growth of these new teams.
The last main goal for this season, which is also a goal for next season and beyond, is keeping lines of communication open between teams and the Executive Board. I spoke of this at Midwinters, but I want to reiterate this because it is very important to me as a leader in this Association. All of you chose me to be Commodore, so I want to hear what you would like the rest of the Executive Board and I to do better or to change. All of the discussion over the Varsity issue has been excellent to hear. Keep it up! If there are other issues that you feel need to be discussed, don't hesitate to post something on the list. I hope to see all of you at the various events this spring, Happy Sailing!!
Mclntyre Team Race Intersectional
March 1-2, 2003
While the east coast continues to be in the deep freeze, ten teams gathered for the Mclntyre Team Race Intersectional under sunny skies and warm breezes that ranged from 5-12 knots over two days. The event was held in the shadow of Stanford's nearly completed boathouse. On Saturday 6-12 knots meant 45 races were held, narrowing the field to the top six and remaining four teams. The consolation round began late Saturday with four races held.
Saturday night, a regatta dinner was held in honor of Stanford Sailing Alum Jeremy Mc lntyre '94 for whom the event is named. Jeremy was lost in a skiing accident in 1997. Tufts alum and friend Jago Mc Cloud was on hand to share some outrageous memories of Jeremy.
Sunday morning's breeze was slow to fill, and the idea of a double round-robin championship & consolation series faded. The breeze filled in at 2pm and allowed a single championship round-robin. Close racing was the rule between all the Championship teams.
The observer system worked well in its West Coast debut. Chief Judge Bryan Mc Donald was aided by Adam Deermount (Tufts '99), Steve Kleha (Stanford '99), Ali Bell (Stanford '98), Joey Harris (URI), Sean Svendson (Santa Clara), Ethan Doyle (Princeton), Tyler Doyle (Stanford '01), Skip Mc Cormack (UC Santa Cruz '01) and Jeff Condon (Stanford '01). Race Committee was handled by Stanford's team and lead by coaches Jay Kehoe, Brent Harrill and Director of Sailing, Amy Gross-Kehoe.
Results: 1. Stanford 12-3 (won sail-off with Hawaii) 2. U Hawaii 11-4 3. U Southern California 10-4 4. UC Santa Barabara 7-7 (tie) 4. U South Florida 7-7 (tie) 4. UC Irvine 7-7 (tie) 7. U Washington 6-6 8. U Texas 4-8 9. UC Berkeley 3-9 10. U Minnesota 0-12
Mary Vorel: Vice Commodore
Whether a team is in its beginning stages or has been around for years, they can never lose sight of their position in the large cycle of a team. The same team will not always dominate their district. They possibly could for the four years a certain team member or group is in school, but eventually the eligibility time clock stops ticking. The same idea follows with equipment and funding, it will not be there forever. Every single team needs to consider the future so that recruiting can be effective, funds utilized where best needed, and equipment replaced before it is too late. A new team needs to submit all their thoughts and efforts in these areas just to compete. However that does not mean regular member schools can let some of this go to the way side until the new "freshmen" join.
Every team has a time where membership is high, funding rolls in on a regular basis, equipment stays in one piece, and coaching/practice is available. It may be 10 years behind, now, or 10 years ahead for your team. And then there are the times in between where the team is rebuilding membership, funding, getting boats or other equipment, searching for a coach, etc., one or all of these could be at the forefront of your team's mind right now depending on your circumstances. Whether you are an alumnus or on the team presently, please remember that teams need to be thinking about or receiving help in all of these areas despite their success on the water. The board would also like to know how teams are doing in the large cycle: gaining or losing key members, funding from the school, or purchasing equipment for some examples so we could help.
I believe the "varsity membership" was created in order to make finding a coach a priority for schools so that there would be success in the other areas. However prospective, associate, provisional, and regular member schools should make it a priority to achieve those goals with or without the goal of obtaining varsity membership as well.
Some prospective team contacts have been listed below in case you have some connections to the school and could possibly aid them in some fashion or know someone who would like to join their team.
University of Dayton- Ricardo Fontanet fontanrd@notes.udayton.edu
Michigan Tech University- Andy Runk adrunk@mtu.edu
University of Michigan- Dearborn- Cary Diehl j24gatorbait@comcast.net
Southern Illinois University- Sara Bean beans470@hotmail.com
University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse- Jamie Baker Jamminl16@hotmail.com
Eckerd Intersectional
March 1-2, 2003
Saturday: Light winds out of the south at 5 knots in the morning. Cloudy skies with temps in the mid 70's. The wind shifted to the southwest after the second A set and slowly built to a steady 12-15 knots by 1:00. Just before the third B set, heavy fog set in from the southwest making it difficult to find the marks. Just before 3:00, racing was called for the day when we completely lost sight of campus and it was evident the fog would not be lifting. Courses sailed were Modified Triangles and Gold Cups in the Eckerd fleet of 420's. No protests.
Sunday: In the morning, SW breeze at 10 knots slowly building to 15 with gusts at 18. During race 8b, a band of showers and fog rolled through from the west with gusts up to 25. Racing was postponed for an hour to allow the thunderstorms and fog to pass. At 1:00, the fleet headed back out and sailed 4 races with winds clocking around to the N-NW at 8-10 knots. Courses were Gold Cups, no protests. Emory was a no show on Sunday. Many thanks to the Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team for providing the much needed assistance with our rotation system and to race committee members Maggie Hehn and Kyle Eaton.
A B TOT
1. Eckerd College 29 15 44
2. Boston College 40 30 70
3. Texas A&M Galv. 34 39 73
4. Rollins 32 60 92
5. South Florida 73 33 106
6. Florida 63 50 113
7. Florida State 45 94 139
8. Northwestern 75 72 147
9. Notre Dame 86 63 149
10. Virginia 96 104 200
11. Tennessee 110 102 212
12. Emory 103 124 227
A Division
8. Northwestern 75 Ward Detwiler 06 all /
Liz Snow 05 (1-6), Mary Weaver 06 (7-10)
9. Notre Dame 86 Matt Cassidy 03 all /
Katie Thomson O5 all
B Division
7. Notre Dame 63 Jack Gaither all /
Katie Roney all
8. Northwestern 72 Brian Sabina O5 all /
Mary Weaver 06 (1-4), Marie Kyle (5-10)
A Few Reminders Before you Head to the Regatta...
by Shannon Bonds
It's Finally the beginning of April and the lakes have thawed (other than Wisconsin) and its time to start going to regattas again. It has been a long hard winter and so I have a few reminders on regatta protocol and answers to a few questions that have been asked of me in the past few weeks.
- Make sure you RSVP to both the host school and myself BEFORE the deadline to ensure a berth.
- When you RSVP please indicate whether or not you will be towing a boat. I would appreciate if everyone would send me a list of how many boats they can trailer to any given regatta so that I don't have to call and ask your school to tow if you do not own any boats.
- Send me your NOR for posting on the website, do not post it yourself. I will check it and make sure that the format is appropriate and contains the necessary information. My email address is sb290399@ohiou.edu . This makes it easier for schools to RSVP to me and I will be less likely to bug you for updates on teams planning on attending
- If you are an alternate for a regatta please send in an RSVP BEFORE the deadline to remind the host school and myself that you would like to attend.
- If you can tow a boat that is even better. Remember that if you are not signed up for a regatta in the CIB and then the NOR comes out and your team decides to attend the regatta then you will be placed as an alternate. (this is a good time to be extra nice to the host school and myself).
- When sending in your RSVP please be considerate of the school hosting the regatta by making sure that you are nice to them and don't expect them to change everything just for your school.
- A reminder to host schools that the NOR MUST be sent out 22 days before the regatta, the RSVP deadline is 15 days before, the cancellation deadline is 8 days before the regatta. If the host school doesn't follow the procedure it is hard to expect the member schools to also.
- Please call and cancel before the cancellation deadline or there is a chance that you will still be charged for the sailor fees. Schools count on you being there and when you pullout of a regatta it throws everyone off, so please only do this if there is a serious emergency.
- Just a reminder on borrowing people, you can not borrow skippers from another school and you can only borrow crew if someone is seriously hurt or sick (hungover doesn't count) DURING a regatta.
- Last but not least have a great time!
I hope this list is helpful to you and your team and that the MCSA continues to have a fabulous spring season. If you ever have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me at sb290399@ohiou.edu . See you on the water!
Navy Spring Women's Intersectional
US Naval Academy
March 8-9, 2003
Fifteen races completed in great sailing conditions. Saturday produced a ten knot southerly and 9 port triangles were completed. One protest filed by jury resulted in a withdrawl putting Brown, ODU, and St Marys in a 3 way tie for first. Sunday racing was perfect with 6 races in 10-15 knots of Northwest wind, gusting to 20 at times. No protests or breakdowns. Thanks to Navy race committee, Conn College sailors Kirsten Barton, Meghan Lucy, Erin Riley, and Heather Garber for filling a 16th boat for the rotation, and Judges Sandy Grosvener and Luke Shingledecker.
A B TOT
1. Old Dominion 50 63 113
2. St Marys 79 48 127
3. Charleston 71 70 141
4. Brown 59 114 173
5. Navy 101 78 179
6. Conn College 122 98 220
7. Georgetown 136 86 222
8. UC Santa Barbara 132 93 225
9. Harvard 108 132 240
10. Univ South Florida 119 140 259
11. Hobart/William Smith 130 142 272
12. Queens 130 170 300
13. Tufts 179 153 332
14. Wisconsin 184 207 391
15. Michigan State 200 212 412
16. Bye 255 255 510
A Division
14. Wisconsin Teresa Phillips / Kari Sachs
15. Michigan State Mary Vorel / Jaime Ziegler
B Division
14. Wisconsin Kelly Ferran /
Christina Niedziela 1-6,
Amy Schultz 7-16
15. Michigan State Michelle Manente /
Jill Byczek
Publicity and Funding
by Molly David
The MCSA is very enthusiastic about upcoming Championships. Only three more months until the racing begins! Katie Triplett and I, the publicity secretaries for the event, have been diligently working on advertising the Championships, as well as the MCSA, to as many people as possible.
As the event draws near, we are still in need of funding to allow the Championships to run as smoothly as possible. With hundreds of races, food and staff, budgeting for the Championships has become cumbersome. Any contributions to the MCSA would be greatly appreciated and would be put to great use. While working on the project, we found a number of ways one can help to make this event successful.
Fuel for safety boats is approximated at $400. With rising gas costs and the importance placed on safety at the Championships, providing money for fuel would be a great contribution.
In addition, MCSA Burgees will be provided for each participating clubs hosting races around Detroit. The costs of these burgees is $30 X 4 = $120. Team members, ask your parents to purchase burgees for the yacht clubs. Each parent could pay $2 so that you could have a combined amount for the burgee.
Companies or organizations are urged to place advertisements in the Regatta Program, which run $200/ page (Space and information will be provided at a later date). Here are some additional ideas for fundraising. Have a party with your team and have everyone tip the party host $1 for a combined team donation. Ask your school club sports or alumni association for donations for the event. Go to yacht clubs and marinas in your area and ask for donations. Go to local sporting goods stores and ask for donations. Go to your school sporting events and have someone dress up in sailing gear and hold a bucket for donations. We are excited to do a write up in the next month's Tell Tale on the school that raised the most money for the Championships.
With additional funding, we plan to make the 2003 Championships the best. With your help, our goal can be accomplished. Please feel free to contact me at mdavid@indiana.edu so that we may discuss where you or your organization feels most comfortable helping out or for additional ideas on how to raise funds.
Thanks for you help!
Truxton Umsted Regatta
US Naval Academy
Mar 15-16, 2003
University of Minnesota's Spring Break Trip Ends on a Positive Note
Thursday night the University of Minnesota Sailing Team packed up their van and left for a weeklong venture to the East Coast. The team consisted of nine members: Tim Krech, Jenny Wilson, Ben Burgum, Anne Scheuerman, Alex Symes, Naomi Hertel, Mark Dunsworth, Carolyn Krech, and Zachary Coelius. Driving across the country, the team, accompanied by Assistant Coach Brent Ostbey, started Spring Break weekend with a trip to Annapolis, Maryland where they sailed at the Truxton Umsted Intersectional.
Saturday morning saw light winds around 8-10 mph building to 12-15 mph by the end of the day. Not having practiced due to the lack of soft water in Minnesota, the whole team started out rusty, lacking both stamina and technique. Mid-way through the day, Symes and Hertel subbed into the B Division, and Coelius subbed into D Division. The team achieved some decent finishes, but ended the day in eighteenth place. Bruised and sunburned, everyone indulged in the seafood delicacies of Maryland. Crabs and oysters were attacked and devoured, while Anne's dad provided great entertainment for everyone. The team arrived to the site rested and determined to better their performance from the previous day; however, the winds on the Chesapeake Bay refused to cooperate. No races were sailed the entire day and the results of the first day stood.
Monday morning, bright and early, the team said goodbye to the Coelius family, their gracious hosts, and made their way south to the city of Norfolk, Virginia. Here the team planned to practice with the Old Dominion (ODU) Sailing Team, who provided, Minnesota with boat, facilities, and water time. Tuesday brought light winds, while Wednesday and Thursday blew stink! Practicing all morning with Assistant Coach Ostbey and then joining the ODE team in the afternoons, Minnesota worked on team racing techniques and drills. They learned plays and ways to deal with a variety of race situations. ODU coaches, Mitch Bindley and Mark Zagol, were a great help and the ODU team was glad to have Minnesota practicing with them for the week. Mitch Bindley promotes the development of smaller teams especially in the Midwest and happily offered their facilities. The ODU Sailing Team looks forward to Minnesota returning next year over spring break. Late Thursday night, the team left Virginia for the long trek back home
A division = 12 Races
B division = 12 Races
C division = 12 Races
D division = 12 Races
A B C D TOT
1. Hobart/William Smith 124 95 56 39 314
2. Tufts 93 111 65 49 318
3. Harvard 103 74 54 99 330
4. Charleston 46 80 120 96 342
5. St Mary's College 69 69 113 96 347
6. Georgetown 154 111 18 78 361
7. USC 64 90 106 129 389
8. Washington College 47 128 102 113 390
9. Navy 95 118 86 120 419
10. Brown 108 117 131 75 431
11. Old Dominion Univ 144 64 146 80 434
12. Dartmouth 67 100 107 161 435
13. Kings Point 107 123 112 126 468
14. Eckerd 137 187 130 88 542
15. URI 172 84 185 107 548
16. USF 164 150 106 178 598
17. UMBC 142 172 205 210 729
18. Minnesota 185 182 200 208 775
A Division
18. Tim Krech / Jenny Wilson.
B Division
17. Ben Burgum 1-6, Alex Symes 6-12 /
Anne Scheuerman 1-6,11-12;
Naomi Hertel 7-10
C Division
17. Mark Dansworth
D Division
17. Carolyn Krech 1-6, Zach Coelius 7-12
Special Interests Representative: Tom McGrath
Notre Dame Freshman Icebreaker
University of Notre Dame
March 29-30, 2003
Thirteen teams of first year sailors took to the water despite the lower forties temperatures in the MCSA's first regatta of 2003. Ten races in both Divisions were sailed on Saturday despite moderate and gusty winds due to the excellent preparation by the Notre Dame team headed by Mike Stevens PRO and Jack Gaither and other members of the Notre Dame Sailing team. There were several capsizes, but everyone recovered their own boat and continued sailing.
On Sunday the winds dropped a little and became less gusty, but so did the temperature into the middle thirties. Another four races in each Division were sailed to complete the round robin. There were three requests for redress which were granted by George Griswold who served as the Protest Committee for the event.
The results are pending the receipt of registration cards in the mail by Graduate Secretary Paul Kobs.
A B TOT
1. Minnesota 31 59 90
2. Purdue 88 30 118
3. Michigan 56 72 128
4. Wisconsin 72 58 130
5. Michigan St. 41 91 132
6. Miami 91 93 184
7. Indiana 72 151 223
8. Notre Dame 123 103 226
9. IUPUI 114 120 234
10. Hope 107 137 244
11. Western 140 121 261
12. John Carroll 158 110 268
13. Kalamazoo 170 138 308
A division
1. Minnesota 31 Mark Dunsworth 06 /
Jenny Wilson 06 (1-8, 11-14),
Mary O'Donnell 06 (9-10)
2. Michigan St. 41 Joe Rotonda 06, Corey Schoenherr 06
3. Michigan 56 Matt Vanderpool 06 /
Scott Brewer 06 (1-12),
Richard Meade (13-14)
4. Wisconsin 72 Joe Zechlinski /,
Missy Barry (1-2, 9-14),
Carolyn Soling (3-8)
5. Indiana 72 Mike Schmid 06 / Wes Rocher 06
6. Purdue 88 Mike Desousa 06/
Tristan Scheffer 06
7. Miami 91 Mike Risewick 06 /
Jane Ventresca 06
(1-2,5-6,9-10, 13-14),
Eryn Whistler 06 (3-4,7-8),
Meredith Amann
8. Hope 107 Siobhan Donnelly-Cole 05,
Trinity Scurto 05
9. IUPUI 114 Christopher Murray 03,
Therese Waechter 04
10. Notre Dame 123 K. Kennedy 06 (1), K Braman 06, (7),
R Pantony 05 (11), K Monticello 06 (1),
E Shelleby 06 (7), B Shlide 05 (11)
11. Western 140 Blair Kommel 06 (1-2),
David Neiting (3-14) / Mitch Polgar 06
12. John Carroll 158 Seth Mangini 06 / Bill Bradley 06
13. Kalamazoo 170 Ryan Biziork 03 /
Stephanie LaFrate 05 (1-2, 5-6, 9-10),
Mike O'Connell (3-4,7-8)
B division
1. Purdue 30 Carlos Abisambra 06,
Sean Kennedy 06 (1-4,9-10, 13-14),
Katie Schultz (5-8,
2. Wisconsin 58 Kelly Ferron, James Dunham
3. Minnesota 59 Andrea Porter 06,
Sara Carisle 06 (1-4,11-14)
Jonathon Held 06 (9-10),
Laura Malwitz 06 (5-8)
4. Michigan 72 Caitlin Delphon 06,
Richard Meade 06 (1-7),
Mike Ruiz 06 (8-14)
5. Michigan St. 91 Matt Palmer 06 / Anna Boersma 04
6. Miami 93 Birch Bailey 06 /
Becca Wilson 06 (3-4,7-8,13-14),
Dave Miller 04 (l-2,5-6,9-12)
7. Notre Dame 103 J Barron05,L Arnoldy 05 (l-8),
K Hoodecheck 06 (9-10),
R Lindrew 05(14-15),
K Bush 06(11-12)
8. John Carroll 110 K Flemming 06 / Pat Feclay 06 (l-8,11-14),
Danielle Vigh 06 (9-10)
9. IUPUI 120 Amy Kirsch 04 / Michael Irwin 04 (l-10),
Nicholas Marston 04 (11-14)
10. Western 121 Geoff Lindenberg 06 / Jake Flummerfelt 06
11. Hope 137 Brian Isherwood 06 /
Jim Groudstaff 06 (4-8,11-12),
Christine Dostal 06 (l-2,9-10,13-14)
12. Kalamazoo 138 Drew Brokington 04 / Chris Miller 03
13. Indiana 151 Molly David 04 / Blaine Fennell 06
Graduate Secretary: Paul Kobs
The spring season often ends up being shorter and passes by much quicker than we think it will. Because of this, I strongly recommend teams to set up their online registration before they leave for the summer. Remember this coming fall, online registration will be required and if you have your registration set up and ready to go, you'll be able to focus on practicing and traveling, rather than getting your sailors registered.
Setting up your online registration is easy. Simply have your team advisor go to the following 
link. Here they can apply to be the team administrator for their school. Once they submit this form and have been approved, your sailors are ready to register online. Each time a new sailor submits a registration form online, your team administrator will be notified via email and can approve the sailor with the click of a button. And that's it! Your school is ready to go.
I STRONGLY encourage each team captain to go see your advisor IN PERSON and let him or her know of the new system, and maybe even help them through the steps if they aren't comfortable or don't understand any of the steps. The system is extremely easy and only takes seconds to approve sailors. Once we have this system up and running, it will be much easier for us all.
Make it a goal to have your entire team registered BEFORE YOU ENTER FINAL EXAMS.
Bryon Thornburgh: Webmaster
Unfortunately I have to start this month's article off with some bad news, the goal of having the new MCSA website up and running prior to the Freshman Icebreaker is not going to happen. We ran into a small problem and it was only resolved a couple days ago, which does not leave enough time to have the new website up before the end of March. I ensure you that the Website Committee will continue to work on the new site and have it up as soon as possible.
In last month's article I mentioned that the Executive Board has discussed the idea relying more on the district's website (www.mcsasail.org/) to handle obtaining and even submitting of paperwork. I anticipate this issue to be discussed in even greater detail in the next few months so I would like to try to gather some information from the district in the hopes we can best suit everyone when we start relying more on the website.
To gather this information I have created a survey that I would encourage everyone to take 5 minutes and fill out. To access the survey please go to: www.mcsasail.org/survey
Websites of the Month:
Fagan/Gulari Olympic 49er Campaign: www.sail2o1ympics.com/
Bora Gulari is a University of Michigan graduate and former MCSA sailor.
UK Sail's Rules Quiz: www.uksailmakers.com/rulesquiz/
Looking for a sailing job for the summer?
www.collegesailing.org/jobs
www.ussailing.org/jobbank
Tell Tale Format to Change
Starting with the May issue the Tell Tale's format will change. As the MCSA attempts to keep current with the latest methods of communication the format will be adjusted to eliminate space in the printed version. The major change is that full regatta results will be listed on the MCSA website and only referenced in the Tell Tale. Thus, it is hoped that the basic information of how teams are doing will be available in the Tell Tale, but that the details will be transferred to the MCSA Website where it will be available to those who need or want the extra detail. The advantages of the reading the Tell Tale on the website are that the links will be instantaneous and the pictures will be in color and expandable for those who want more detail.
Part of the transition involves the development of a new "face" for the MCSA website. The MCSA Website will still be accessible as: www.mcsasail.org