Sailing Team Wins New England Title
THE varsity sailing team closed its fall racing season by winning the Lt. Lawrence White Trophy, symbolic of the New England sloop championship. Skipper Rich du Moulin '68 and crewmen Lee Reichart '68, Bill Rapf '68, and Bill Allen '69 raced to victory in the two-day, seven-race, round-robin series sailed in the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's 24-foot Ravens.
The Indian sailors compiled a record of one first, three seconds, two thirds, and one fourth (44 points), while second-place Tufts earned 41 po nts, followed by M.I.T., Harvard, Rhode Island School of Design, Boston College, and the University of Connecticut. Twenty-one crews were in the elimination races.
Saturday's three heavy-weather races saw du Moulin take two seconds and a third to compile 20 points. Following close bhind were U Conn with 19, and Tufts and Harvard with 18. The Green grabbed another second and third Sunday morning to retain first place by a point. The sixth race was the crucial one of the regatta. M.I.T. worked out an early lead, followed closely around the six-leg course by Dartmouth. The Green waited until 200 yards from the finish line to force M.I.T. into a tacking duel which ended with M.I.T. being forced away from the line. Dartmouth then crossed the finish in first place. Harvard finished fifth and Tufts wound up sixth. The series was thus cinched for the Green, who only had to finish the seventh (last) race to be New England champs.
Another highlight of the racing season was the McMillan Cup Regatta held at Annapolis on October 23-24. An eight-man Dartmouth crew skippered by Rich du Moulin and including crewmen Lee Reichart, Lee Scarbrough, Gary Sayia, Pete Boorum, Steve Page, Bill Rapf, and Nat Mason tied for fifth place out of nine schools.
The winds on Saturday were 15-18 knots, while Sunday's condit ons were light and fluky. The competition was excellent, as it always is in this event. The Green's chances in future events such as this spring's Kennedy Cup and next year's McMillan Cup are bright, since seven of the eight crew members are juniors or sophomores.
In dinghy competition this past spring and fall, the Green has been up and down. The high points included: fourth out of fourteen in the Boston D nghy Challenge Cup, third in the Ivy Championships at Cornell, third in the Geiger Trophy, and third in the Dinrhy Elims. The Dartmouth dinghy sailors have been Lee Reichart, Bill Rapf, Rich du Moulin, Park Smith (now graduated), Bud Heerde (now graduated), Lee Scarbrough, Gary Sayia, Bill Allen, Dave Moore, John Pilling, Nat Mason, Pete Boorum (Commodore), Jeff Freirich, and Ken Ireland (now graduated).
Consistent results in dinghies are difficult considering the inability of the team to get early spring practice. (The ice on the lake does not melt until midway through the spring season - late April.)
Last year's freshman team deserves praise. The '69s won all but two of their regattas. In the New England Freshman Dinghy Championships they placed third. Key men on the squad were: Gary Sayia, Bill Allen, Dave Moore, George Pinkham, and Nat Mason. This year's freshmen show much promise. Prominent on the team at this moment are Steve Moore, Dave Lilly, and Bucky Ives.
Yacht Club and team plans for this year include the replacement of the present fleet of Jet-14s with Interclub Dinghies, the construction of racks for drysailing facilities, and a more organized method of team practice.
