Boston College Athletics
Eagles Win ICSA Sloop National Title
October 26, 2009 | Sailing
Oct. 26, 2009
The Boston College Sailing Team captured the 2009 ICSA Sloop National Championship in dramatic fashion this weekend, sailing at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. The Sloop Championships, college sailing's keelboat national title, was sailed in a 26-foot Colgate, with a crew of four. The Eagles qualified by winning their conference championship in late September, which was also sailed at the Coast Guard Academy.
Sailing for the Eagles was junior skipper Taylor Canfield and crew, seniors Evan Cooke, Christian Manchester, Chris Protasewich and freshman Jonathan Taylor Lutz.
BC finished second to St. Mary's (Md.) in the first two races on Friday, setting up a back and forth battle between these two teams that lasted through the entire 10-race series. The pivotal race for the Eagles was number eight, when something went wrong on the team's boat as they were tied for the lead with St. Mary's. Canfield managed to tack into a good lane after Manchester finished the repair and the Eagles began to pull away from the fleet. With the breeze up, BC had a clear boat speed advantage and went on to win the next two races, entering the final race with a four-point lead.
BC trailed St. Mary's at the start of the final race and, for the first time in the regatta, the Eagles' showed a sign of nerves. BC managed to tack in front of the seventh place boat to round in sixth, with St. Mary's still in second place; just close enough to take the Championship. Each team held its position on the final run, with the Eagles finishing just inches from fifth and capturing the 2009 ICSA Sloop National Championship.
