Timme Angsten Results - Happy Turkey Day!

While we were watching football this past weekend and eating turkey, the U of MN sailors were sailing their final regatta of the season in Chicago. Hats off to Nick, Natalie, Matt, Eric, Brady, and KK (Kirsten) for dedicating their vacation weekend to sailing in the always cold Timme Angsten Regatta! Results and highlights follow.

Friday light winds and only 4 races were completed, under sunny skies, starting in the early afternoon with temperatures in the 40’s. Wisconsin quickly was recognized as the team to beat. Saturday started sunny with 50 degree temperatures, and SW and SE-S winds 4-8. Sunday started with a thunderstorm, and the Race Committee waited for it to pass, then six races were completed in a northerly wind under cloudy skies with temperatures in the 50’s.
Wisconsin was also awarded the MCSA Fall Dinghy Championship trophy as the highest placing Midwest school.

Winning Team: University of Wisconsin (Madison WI): 50 points
Joe Kutschenreuter ‘12
Molly Forbes, ‘11
Leif Evensen ‘11
Carrie Bargren ‘10
Patrick Richards ‘09
Allie Valentor ‘09

Second Place: University of Saint Thomas (St Paul, MN): 73 points
Brandon Wilson, ‘10
Matthew Weishan ‘11
Charlie Igo ‘09
Medora Sietten ‘10
Annie Owens ‘12

Third Place: University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN): 80 points
Nick Hovland ‘10
Natalie Sinn ‘12
Matthew Thompson ‘11
Eric Tobias ‘12
Brady Solum ‘12
Kirsten Wilson ‘12

Fourth Place: University of Toledo (Toledo, Ohio): 81 points
Brian Goldberg ‘11
Mike Stark ‘11
Ryan Lashaway ‘01
Ariel Peatee ‘13

http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/viewCustomPage.aspx?id=138

Wayzata Banquet

On Saturday, November 14th, the Wayzata Yacht Club held their annual silent auction. As many of you know, this is one of, if not the largest fundraiser of the year. U of MN sailors are required to attend to help set up auction items, collect money and distribute prizes. Part of this money fundraised every year goes towards subsidizing the U of MN's facilities, coaching, and equipment fees with Wayzata. These donations are critical in keeping the team up and running!

Overall the banquet was a success with eight University of Minnesota sailors attending. Things ran very smoothly and finished up around 10:00pm for the volunteers. The sailing center was able to fundraise over $10,000 during the event. This exceeded expectation for an economic recession, however was considered a small year for donations.

Thank you very much volunteers and members for your help and commitment to the U of MN team and Wayzata Community Sailing Center!

Please consider making your donation if you have not done so already. Every little bit helps!

Contact Cappy Capper or Dave Elsmo @ 952.476.5875
or send your donation by mail to :
Wayzata Community Sailing Center PO Box 768, Wayzata, MN 55391

Recap on Singlehand Nationals in Corpus Christi, Texas by Matt Thompson

The weekend was a big one, both for myself and for Charlie (St. Thomas). For both of us it was our first crack at a national championship of this caliber. Though the fleet was intimidating we tried to approach the event with an open mind, especially because getting there (both financially and qualifying) had been the bigger issues of the month.

The first day was a learning experience to say the least. Light and lumpy were the words of the day. After a frantic rigging experience with boats set-up completely differently than ours at home, we left the dock to start racing at noon. Five hard fought races later, Charlie and I came off the water looking for some help and a break. We spent the night relaxing and prepping for the big day Saturday.

Saturday was the true test of the event. Medium to light breeze, and awful chop and eleven straight races proved difficult. Surfing was sometimes a possibility but the wind speeds made it tough. The on the water judges were really loose on kinetics rules which put me at a major disadvantage. Sailing against our older local fleet without more travel takes you out of the college laser mindset. Even Andrew Campbell (acting as a coach) could be heard complaining about the overworking of the lead boats. I had definite starting trouble with the big dogs and speed issues downwind. Despite my woes, a glimmer of hope arrived in one race, where a good start on my part allowed me to round the windward mark in 2nd. Sliding back to 7th, it meant something bigger.

While skimming over the rest of the regatta - good memories like sailing with dolphins, bad memories like forgetting the I flag after a general - I am entirely optimistic about the event. The best part about this regatta was forming a solid list of things to work on for next year. While this year's goal was to make the regatta, next year's has been raised. I hope to be able to work on all my weak points for next year, and put up a mid-fleet finish. This year proved to me that something higher is possible with the right preparation. I was not a leg behind, but only slightly out of step. Here's to next year, and hopefully a better result for you all to hear about!

I wound up 16th overall, beating out charlie and a Texas A+M sailor. Not what i had hoped, but a majority of my goals have been achieved and I'm ready for another shot.

pictures can be found at GTSphotos.com
results can be found at http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/fall09/singles/results.asp