Peter Miller and his Connecticut College Sailing Teammates hit the ground running by winning the 2012 Sharpe Trophy.
Miller who is the team Captain and his teammates headed to Boston to compete in the first event of the season. On Day One they were greeted by dreary conditions. It was foggy, rainy and windless on the Charles.
Eventually, the fog lifted to a degree and the breeze filled and racing got underway. Although Connecticut dropped their first race versus Harvard, they quickly rebounded and were unbeaten in the remainder of the round robin, finishing with a 6-1 record.
The racing continued into a second round robin, but with only time for one race to be completed. Connecticut made up for their first-race mistakes by taking down Harvard to finish the day with a 7-1 record.
The weather was slightly better on Day Two, not much wind, but enough for some decent sailing. Racing got underway immediately with the goal to finish the second round robin and have time for a Final four round robin.
The other teams really stepped up their game to try and improve on their first day records. Connecticut had to work hard to continue their winning ways.
Connecticut ended up losing 2 races in the second round to Brown and Dartmouth, but still finished the second round on top of the heap with an overall record of 11-3. Harvard grabbed the last spot in the final four in a tie-breaking race with Brown.
Connecticut dominated the final round, winning all three races and clinching the victory before the last race. It was a great way to start the team racing season by winning an event on the first weekend.
There were a lot of great moments, but also a lot of examples to take away, discuss and learn from. The performance was certainly encouraging, but Connecticut know that they will have to work hard in the coming weeks to keep ahead of the curve, as the season heats up.