We're Getting New Boats!

SUNY Maritime Team Race Regatta

Six team members travelled to the east coast once again for another team race regatta last weekend! Alex Ramos, Thomas Etheridge, Chris Cyr, Mike Gapuz, Lane Tobin, and Sarah Sloan arrived at the Danilek's home in Stamford, CT shortly before 10 PM Friday night (a record-breaking arrival time for an intercollegiate regatta).  They were treated to pizza and stories from Mr. and Mrs. Danilek's time on the team before going to bed to prepare for a full day of racing.

After a quit stop at the Shop Rite before leaving Stamford, the team arrived at SUNY Maritime shortly before 9 AM and rigged their boats under cloudy skies.  The wind was blowing and the temperature stayed upsettingly close to freezing all of Saturday with a constant stream of falling snow, but an entire round robin was completed as well as the first three flights of a second.  The team returned to Stamford cold and exhausted, but were greeted with lasagna straight from the oven and everyone rejoiced. (Except for Lane, who went home with her parents to Richfield. Poor Lane, we hope she had a good time anyways.)

Ten hours of sleep later, the team awoke to even colder temperatures and snow on the ground Sunday. But the Weather Gods were smiling down upon us and the sun was shining at SUNY.  Six flights were sailed to finish the second round robin, the most exciting of which occurred between Michigan and UC Santa Barbara.  Immediately before the start, the wind died almost completely. The current was working against us and thankfully Alex Ramos had enough foresight to maintain full speed the entire starting sequence, and crossed the starting line 15 seconds before the other five boats.  The rest of the race was a thrilling combination of a spaced out fleet, missing marks, sailing upwind to reach marks, and quoting Awesome Aussie Skiffs to pass the time downwind. Michigan got the 1 and 2, but the real winner of the race was Ian from UCSB for getting a red flag for paddling around the upwind mark.

Overall it was a successful weekend and we made it back to Ann Arbor before midnight.

Thanks to the Danileks and SUNY Maritime for hosting!

New Shirts are Here!

We're excited to introduce our newest t-shirt design! Perfect for game day and every day in between, this shirt is sure to be a classic.

Visit our apparel page for ordering details!

We See Open Water!

Boat-In was yesterday afternoon, and it's looking like we'll be sailing by next week! The ice was too thin to stand on according to the team's official ice thickness tester and resident lake expert, and there was open water near the shore and across the lake. Team members moved 420s from the racks and stepped masts in preparation for practice and the Big 10 Team Race which we'll be hosting in two weeks.
We're excited to see what the spring has in store!

Southern New England Team Race

Chris Cyr, Thomas Etheridge, Alex Ramos, Mike Gapuz, Sydney Thompson, Emily Gazall, and Sarah Sloan drove to New London, CT last weekend for the Southern New England Team Race regatta. They arrived at their host's, the Lucentes, in Rhode Island shortly before midnight Friday. Racing was delayed until 2PM Saturday due to a ferocious snow storm, but the weather shifted 180 degrees and by 3 PM the sun was out, the snow was melting, and boats were in the water. 

The team sailed four races Saturday afternoon against Connecticut College, the Coast Guard Academy, Yale, and St. Mary's. They lost the first three races but improved each time, and beat St. Mary's in the last race of the day. 

The regatta was called on Sunday due to cold temperatures and strong winds, and the team left Connecticut at 11 AM, making it back to Ann Arbor around 11:30 PM. 

Thanks to Conn College for hosting the regatta, the Lucentes for providing us with beds and meals, and Mike Gapuz for a never-ending stream of facts to keep the car ride interesting. 

Freshman Icebreaker Regatta

Our lovely freshman visited Notre Dame last weekend to sail in the infamous Freshman Icebreaker Regatta with other first-year sailors from across the MCSA. The regatta was a success, with the freshman taking third overall, and many friends were made. 

Hitting the Slopes

Not everyone on the team went south for Spring Break; five of our team members headed west to hit the slopes one last time before summer!
Pictured below: James Hewitt, Nick Lipinski, Zach Nerod, Cooper DePriest (Not pictured: Mitch Kimball)

Spring Break Success

The team returned from St. Petersburg, FL last weekend after spending at week at the University of South Florida's facilities to train. After placing 5th at the Frank Mendelblatt Team Race Regatta at USF at the beginning of the trip, the team was ready to keep sailing in the sunshine and work on boat handling team racing tactics.
The team was on the water from 9-5 Monday through Friday.  They focused on working on boat handling skills the first two days, and switched to racing mode for the second half of the week.  The sun was shining and temperatures broke 70 degrees every day, and all team members were devastated to return home to cold weather and frozen lakes at the end of the week.
Thank you to the Knoles family, USF, and our coach Andrew!
Head over to our Facebook page to see pictures from the trip!

Charleston Co-Ed Spring Regatta Report

Tom Etheridge, Alex Ramos, Emily Gazall, Meredith Wiles, Mason Wolters, and Sarah Sloan traveled south this past weekend for the first regatta of the season, Charleston Spring. The team left Ann Arbor at 10 AM on Friday morning and arrived shortly after midnight in Charleston. The team was thrilled to step out of the car and experience weather that was fifty degrees warmer than where they left (even though it was still only slightly above freezing). 

Racing was postponed Saturday morning at the College of Charleston Sailing Center due to lack of wind until 1 PM. The team spent the morning on the dock enjoying the 50 degree weather and carbo-loading on PB&Js until the fleet was finally sent out.  The wind fluctuated between 3 and 6 knots over the course of the afternoon, and every team's heavy weight crews hunkered down for the long haul, as they were most certainly not going to be switched in. Racing was called off for the day at 4:30 after the wind died; four races were completed in the A and B divisions, with As sailing FJs and Bs sailing 420s. Michigan sat in 10th out of seventeen teams at the end of the day, and it was decided by team members that Mexican food was the perfect way to end the day after leaving the sailing center. 

Sunday saw stronger and more consistent winds, with speeds reaching a downright blustery 6 knots. Sailors left the dock shortly after 9 with As sailing 420s and Bs sailing FJs.  The wind was incredibly shifty all day, keeping the RC boat busy with course changes.  The sun and heat were out in full force, and our skippers and crews alike quickly abandoned spray pants and tops in order to better absorb the rays we've been so desperately missing.  After the wind died at the gate for the final B race, racing was called for the day at 3 PM.  We found our sea legs after three months off the water, and finished the weekend in 10th overall. 

The team got on the road shortly before 4 PM and arrived home in Ann Arbor at 6 AM, ready for a day of classes and eagerly looking forward to heading south again at the end of the week for our Spring Break training trip in St. Petersburg, FL. 

A huge thank you to the Verner family for hosting us over the weekend! 

-Sarah Sloan, '16

Alumni Regatta 2015

Mark your calendars! The alumni regatta is scheduled for September 20th, 2015. Come into town for the football game on Saturday, and stay for a great day of sailing on Baseline with new and old team members on Sunday!

Successful Strictly Sail and Midwinters Meeting

A huge thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth at Strictly Sail last weekend! It was another successful year, and we're excited to place new gear orders soon after selling out of two of our most popular designs! Captains Chris Cyr and Thomas Etheridge, as well as Race Chair DJ Litts, spent Saturday in meetings with the rest of the MCSA discussing team and conference goals for the upcoming season, as well as deciding regatta selection for the spring and fall. They joined the rest of the team later that evening at the UIC conference center for the annual MCSA Midwinters Banquet.

Gearing Up for Strictly Sail!

The team is getting ready to head to Chicago for the Strictly Sail Boat Show at McCormick Place! The show begins this Thursday, January 16th, and goes through Sunday, January 19th.  We will be selling gear, including our new tech tees and hats, as well as old favorites (don't worry, we still have plenty of "Lucys" in stock).  There will also be an alumni lunch on Saturday; if you're interested, contact Mitch Kimball at mdkimbal@umich.edu for more information!

Out with the Old, in with the New (Board Members)

Tonight was the first meeting with the new executive board members of the 2015 sailing season! We're excited to have Tyler Davidson, Zach Nerod, Mitch Kimball, Lane Tobin, and DJ Litts to the board, and wish a fond farewell to outgoing seniors Ryan Davidson, Kendall Witmer, Katie Reid, Alex Ramos, and Liz Wallace. Check out the "Team Members" page to learn more about our new and incumbent board members!

Those Who Return Will Be Champions

Welcome back to Ann Arbaugh, Coach! You're more than welcome to sail with us any time.

Best in the Midwest

Sailing World's Fall 2014 Conference Rankings puts us as the #1 coed team in the midwest! We're incredibly proud of the team's performance this year, including first place at the MCSA's team race national qualifier, fleet race national qualifier, and match race national qualifier, and first place in the J44 division at the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, as well as many other impressive wins. We're excited to see what 2015 has in store! 
http://www.sailingworld.com/sailing-worlds-conference-rankings-fall-2014

Banquet Success

A huge thank you to everyone that came to our annual banquet this past Saturday! It was great to see all the support we have from family and friends, and the auction was a huge success. A special thank you goes to Doug Wefer for his excellent speech reminding us to take advantage of all the opportunities we have available to us at UofM, whether they be sailing related or otherwise, as well as Kendall Witmer and Katie Reid for all of their hard work organizing the event and the silent auction.

Online Auction

The team is having an online auction for some of the bigger donation items we received for our banquet auction. The auction begins today and will run simultaneously with our auction at the banquet until 8PM on Saturday the 6th. Visit this link and click the “everything else" category on the left to view the auction items and bid!
http://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=3237&CFID=6259617&CFTOKEN=59238180

We need your pictures!

Calling all Michigan Sailing Alumni! We're looking for pictures and stories from teams past for our archives, such as the one below sent by our banquet keynote speaker Doug Wefer. Please send pictures and memories of your time on the team to sloanse@umich.edu. 

Banquet RSVP

You're Invited

To the University of Michigan Sailing Team's Annual Banquet on Saturday, December 6th, 2014

The University of Michigan Sailing Team formally invites you to come celebrate with us at 6PM on December 6th, 2014 in the University League Ballroom. Come celebrate the team's accomplishments and hear from our keynote speaker, four time All-American and former UofM sailor Doug Wefer.  Follow this link to register before it's too late, as space is limited! 

Big Ten Team Race Regatta Report

Six months after the Worst Winter Ever and the resulting perpetually frozen lake caused the University of Michigan Sailing Team to postpone their Big 10 Team Race regatta, six MCSA teams came to Ann Arbor to compete for the top spot. 

In an uncharacteristic display of charity, Michigan Weather decided to provide us with exceptional fall weather and wind Saturday and Sunday.  The University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, Marquette University, the University of Notre Dame, and the Ohio State University sailed all day under blue skies and with a blowing breeze.  Michigan ended the day undefeated in first, and everyone returned back to campus for a night of relaxation and warm showers.

Even though there was a decrease in temperature and wind speed on Sunday, the level of competition was still incredibly high, with the day ending in a sail-off between the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin.  Michigan won the final race, but subsequently lost off the water when a protest brought to the judges went in the favor of Wisconsin, who clenched the top spot for the weekend.

It seemed, however, that everyone drove away Sunday afternoon feeling victorious. UofM isn’t going to name names, but we overheard members of another team claiming they haven’t had as much fun at a regatta as they did at Big Ten since they were freshman.  It’s hard to stay upset for long about your performance on the water when you put your accomplishments into perspective; how many college students can say they got to spend the weekend soaking up the sun while simultaneously getting an abdominal workout? 

It’s weekends like these that remind Midwestern sailors why they continue sailing long after the weather has taken a turn for the worse, and start their seasons long before the ice has completely melted off the lake.

Check out this link for some incredible Drone and Go Pro footage of the regatta, put together by our own Zach Frankel.