Bowdoin sailing failed to qualify for the fleet race championships last weekend at Boston College and will now focus on team racing for the remainder of the season in hopes of qualifying for nationals.
Bowdoin finished 15th in an 18-boat fleet at the New England Dinghy Championships. The Polar Bears sailed against the top teams in New England.
After a tough start in Division A, captain Doria Cole '09 came in off the bench and strung together several good finishes in a very competitive fleet. Cole was up against at least eight All-American skippers in Division A and just 31 points separated the top 10 teams after 32 races. Cole sailed with crew Coco Sprague '11.
Alex Takata '12 sailed to an 11th place finish in Division B with crew Erin Taylor '09. Takata was one of two first year skippers in the division.
Coach Frank Pizzo said crew Taylor and Sprague were the "workhorses of the weekend."
The team did not qualify with a 15th-place finish; however, they were in good company.
"Four or five top-15 teams in the country are also not going to nationals," Pizzo said.
Pizzo said the team "sailed better than the results showed," despite the fact the sailors had trouble with boat speed and getting off the line with the leading boats.
However, the team stuck it out in good breeze conditions.
"They strung together some really good finishes and kept a good attitude and had good stamina throughout a really long weekend," captain Peter Wadden '09 said.
Another team of sailors competed in the Oberg at MIT and also finished 15th in an 18-boat fleet. DJ Hatch '11 skippered with crew Leah Hughes '11 in Division A and Andrew Howard '09 skippered with Katharine O'Brien '12.
The team is now preparing for the team race qualifiers at Roger Williams this weekend. The sailors will compete against six teams for two spots in nationals. University of Vermont is the favored team, but after UVM, the race is up for grabs.
"We have raced everyone else, been competitive, beaten most of them before," Pizzo said.
The Polar Bears will also send a team to MIT to compete in the Central Series.