Michigan Triumphs at IOR

Christopher Dragon (Sydney 43)

Michigan sailors (David Oliver ’14, Chris Oliver ’14, Austin Stevens ’14, Liz Smith ’14, Karinne Smolenyak ’14, Will Cyr ’14, Tanner Depriest ’14, Jason Doyle ’14, Alison Bradley ’16, Braden Engstorm ’14) had the opportunity to sail Andrew and Linda Weiss’s brand new Sydney 43, Christopher Dragon, the weekend of October 12^th-13th at the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in Larchmont, New York.  The team was joined by Larry and Steve, two crew members of the boat, for the weekend.  The Sydney 43 team used Friday as a practice day on the Long Island Sound to get the feel for the fast boat. Seven other sailors from the our team (Ryan Seago ’14, Scott Ismail ’14, Elizabeth Wallace ’14, Connor Shope ’15, Ryan Davidson ’15, Alex Ramos ’15 and Chris Cyr ’16) sailed on the J-109 Mad Dogs & Englismen owned by Adrian and Jen Begley. The team used a local J-105, Sweet Caroline, on Friday for practice.  

On Friday night a few team members had dinner with New York City and Westchester County Michigan alumni.  We extend our gratitude to Buff for treating team members to a great dinner at Larchmont Yacht Club and Rich for organizing the dinner. 

Mad Dogs & Englishmen (J-109)

Saturday’s Regatta Conditions featured cool 50-60 degree temperatures, 20-25 knot easterly winds and 2-5 foot waves, which provided for great off-shore sailing conditions. This was definitely a change of pace from Baseline Lake in Dexter, MI!  Due to the conditions the Race Committee called for no spinnakers and changed the leeward gate to a single leeward mark.  The IRC team won the first two races and the J-109 team finished in 5^th then 3^rd place. By the end of the second race the wind was gusting at 32 knots and the RC called racing for the day.  The team enjoyed a great dinner and raffle at the Larchmont Yacht Club and rested up for another breezy day on Sunday.  The team woke up bright and early ready to win some more races but after continuous postponements, racing was abandoned for the day due to high winds.  The Christopher Dragon team took 1^st overall in the fleet and Mad Dogs & Englishmen just missed the podium with a 4^th place overall. We thank the Oliver and Davidson families for hosting our Michigan Sailors and to the Storm Trysail Club for once again putting on an incredible event.

-Elizabeth Smith '14