Washington College Magazine
Sailors Take It Offshore
The MacMillan Cup crew included (left to right): Chase Hillyer '08, Carl Horrocks '06, Parker Mitchell '08, skipper Alex Hood '06, Seth Olson '09, Matt Lyman '07, Tyler Raven '06 and Oliver Barnyak '08.
Competing in an offshore event for just the second time in school history, the northwest winds guided the members of the Washington College sailing team as they breezed their way to a second place finish at the MacMillan Cup. The contest was hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy in the Chesapeake waters in late October.
The MacMillan Cup is the nation's oldest collegiate sailing regatta. Only the Naval Academy had a better showing (19 points) at the regatta than Washington, which finished with 24 points. Coast Guard (30), Massachusetts Maritime (34), St. Mary's (36), NY Maritime (41), Kings Point (42), Rhode Island (45) and Maine Maritime (47) rounded out the final regatta standings.
The WC sailors had made their offshore sailing debut the month before, finishing sixth of ten teams at the MacMillan Cup eliminations. Offshore racing represents a departure from the one- and two-person boats that WC sailors are accustomed to racing. The MacMillan Cup races were sailed in eight-person Navy 44s.
"We only had one day of practice in the 44s before the MacMillan Cup," recalls Alex Hood '06, who skippered the boat. "The practice gave me great confidence in the crew going into the race."
Seven races were held at the MacMillan Cup, and Washington placed well in every one of them, taking first and fifth in two races, as well as second, third and seventh in the others.
"Sailing is unlike many college sports, as the event is usually two days long," noted Hood. "The best part about having two days to compete is that we can look at our current position on Saturday nights and analyze our mistakes."
The WC sailors iced their weekend by winning the last race of the regatta. Hood remembers, "As we came in from winning our last race, we were the first boat to the dock. We looked at our burgee, flying from the front of our boat, with great pride and dignity. We were the surprise of the regatta."
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