2019 McIntyre Team Race at SUNY Maritime
July 8th, 2019 — The first day of the McIntyre Team Race kicked off today at SUNY Maritime. The McIntyre Team Race is a three-day event for C420’s and CFJ’s and the boats were graciously supplied by SUNY Maritime.
Of the clubs present, we got to speak with junior sailors from American Yacht Club, Douglaston Yacht Squadron, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Pequot Yacht Club, Larchmont Yacht Club, and Riverside Yacht Club. As the JSA season continues, the sailors competing in the regattas are getting more and more serious about winning and competing rather than having fun and hanging out. Not only were the sailors present more competitive than previous events, but they also were more experienced. The sailors from American Yacht Club, Larchmont Yacht Club, and Riverside Yacht Club had previously sailed at the McIntyre Team Race while Douglaston Yacht Squadron, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Pequot Yacht Club were all bringing first time teams.
When speaking to the sailors from American Yacht Club, Larchmont Yacht Club, and Riverside Yacht Club about their goals for the next three days, their responses were all the same, “we are here to win the event”.
As the clubs attending for the first time, Douglaston Yacht Squadron, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Pequot Yacht Club their goals were to win but also they were looking at the event more as a learning experience. The Douglaston Yacht Squadron told us that, “our goal is to learn all that we can and have a great couple of days out on the water”. Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club similarly told us, “safety is our number one priority. We are here to have fun and learn”.
After getting settled, registering, and conversing with their coaches and teammates, the three college coaches running the event addressed the room. Brian Clancy, Head Coach for the Cornell University Sailing Team; Ben Mohney, Assistant Sailing Coach at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Greiner Hobbs, two time College All American, 2018 MAISA Sailor of the year. The three of them are in charge of the event and made sure to go over basic safety precautions, guidelines, and rules of how the event would run with the sailors and coaches.
Because of the less than ideal weather conditions the sailors went down to the docks to rig the boats provided by SUNY Maritime and get a feel for the equipment they would be working with for the next few days. With very few complications, all of the boats were rigged and ready to go around 10:30 as the junior sailors awaited for instructions as to how the day would proceed.
<<<<<Report from the head coach follows>>>>>
The JSA McIntyre Team Race clinigatta was held July 8-10, 2019, again by SUNY Maritime in the Bronx. Huge thanks to Rob Crafa and his crew for allowing the JSA to use their facilities and equipment to facilitate the historical event. Lead Coaches Brian Clancy (Cornell University), Ben Mohney (Hobart & William Smith), and Greiner Hobbs were back again this year.
The forecast for the week was projected to be challenging with light and variable winds for the three days. The clinic portion of the event featured a fair amount of classroom video and chalk talk discussions. We also broke into smaller groups to steer the conversation to the ability level of each team and facilitated those discussions. In addition, we held boat-handling demos in the basin during the long wait for the wind to fill. The lack of wind and strong currents on the East River made it challenging, but we managed to find racing each day. A round robin format of all 10 teams was the goal, but the racing rules of sailing state we need just 80% of that round to have an official event. We barely made that happen and completed 82% by 3:15 pm on the final day. Thank you to the club coaches for your help on the water with the course and rotation.
Riverside showed they were the fastest in the light air and finished with an 8-0 record. Noroton won their final race to take 2nd place overall with a 6-2 record.
There was a 3-way tie for 3rd place and based on head to head records when teams met, American #1 edged out Pequot & American #3 to take 3rd overall with a 5-2 record.
A tricky McIntyre Team Race overall, but still a great event this year. We had more classroom time than in the past, but we hammered on the key points and nuances in the team racing discipline. We hope you’ll all be back next year and keep team racing!
See full results on Clubspot.
