2012 Alumni Regatta Scheduled

The annual Alumni Regatta has been scheduled for Saturday May 5th at 1pm. Alumni will go head to head with current team members from 1-5 on the Charles, refuel with some pizza in the boathouse, and then head to the Dugout. Alumni can use this form to RSVP and the BUDS look forward to a fun day on and off the water.

Boston Dinghy Club Cup @ MIT

The BUDS sailed on their home court this weekend at the BDC hosted by MIT. 18 races were completed in 3 separate divisions, in 4-10 knots of wind from the east. BU struggled with up and down finishes in each division, finishing 13th in the regatta . It was great to see many top 3 finishes in each division, but consistency is something that will help the Terriers succeed in the future. This weekend was also the debut of fireflys for BU and many other schools. Fireflys are thin 2 sail boats that MIT recently acquired . Each division got to sail 6 races in these new boats, as well as 6 in Harvard FJs and 6 in MIT FJs. Overall it was a fun experience to sail at MIT, which BUDS skipper Matt Johnson describes as his favorite collegiate venue .

St. Mary’s Intersectional

This past weekend the Lady Terriers competed at the St. Mary’s Intersectional in Maryland, coached by the one and only Janel Zarkowsky. A big thanks to the Kennets for hosting the team, feeding them, and letting them play with their puppies. Another big thanks to the Zarkowsky’s for their 7th year of much appreciated hospitality, and to the Saldis also for housing the rest of the BUDS.

The women’s team didn’t sail this event last year, so it was great to get a berth. The weather was warm and sunny with light winds; races were sailed in FJs and club 420s. On Saturday the wind took most of the day to settle, putting the race committee through various acrobatics such as flipping the course, and even relocating it. After a lengthy wind delay on Sunday we rounded off the races in each division so they would all count. The racing was against stiff competition; it was definitely a challenging first regatta. However it has also revved us into gear and gave us goals for our first week of practice, among which are improving our starting tactics, working on sailing a better first beat, and shaking off the rust and improving our boat handling.

The Coach

The BUDS own Phoebe Gittelson shares her profile on Coach Brad Churchill.

Beating to Windward with Brad

He blends in with the boathouse. The medium sized rectangular building sits secretively on the last sailable part of the Charles. He has made this place his own throughout his twenty-seven years at Boston University. The garage like structure is inviting and warm; life jackets and kayaks line the entrance, his original ski collection acts as ceiling insulation and red chairs are everywhere. He decorates with rusty tools, vintage books, a chalkboard, a dusty trophy case, and  a weathered dart board.  He piles old VHS’s around the TV, and displays his impressive collection of over 3,000 records on the right wall alongside with his retro regatta t-shirts and hats.

He stands in front of the boathouse’s great wall of pictures. Pictures of sailors from decades past, pictures of him partying with them and current team members. He looks at them as if he has never seen them before. “Now look at this one! And this one!” In his raspy southie accent he tells stories about every person on the wall. He says each name of each person with excitement, proud that he can remember their names at all. He continues to reveal which person they sailed with,  which regatta they were “chucked from,” and the fact that “they won ever friggen regatta for the whole friggen year!” He wears his typical uniform of an old regatta t-shirt with a red fleece over it, black sweat pants from who knows what decade, and worn out Sperry Top-Siders. Bradley S. Churchill, Head Coach of The Boston University Dingy Sailors (BUDS), wrestles carnally on the floor with his puppy Bowline, carefree in his natural habitat.

Thames River Team Race

The BUDS take a break to pose in front of the Thames while team racing at Conn College.

This past weekend the Terriers commuted to Conn College for the Thames River Team Race. Other teams in attendance were URI, Conn, Middlebury, Bowdoin 1, and Bowdoin 2. After arriving with time to spare, it was obvious that the breezy forecast wasn’t accurate. The race committee postponed until noon due to lack of wind. After the breeze began to fill in, we were able to complete 2 round robins. Although there were a number of boat handling and team racing mistakes, the Terriers were able to end the day with a leading 7-3 record. After another early arrival on Sunday, we waited through a lengthy postponement until a 2 knot breeze came in. The race committee hoped to complete a third round robin, and the Terriers’ first race was against Bowdoin 2. We lost, but there was too little breeze to complete the round robin and our record remained 7-3. The many hours of down time proved to be extremely helpful in going over team racing plays with Coach Spiller. Overall, the Thames River TR was a fun regatta and great learning experience.

RAH BUDS

Lane Trophy Team Race @ Tufts

Team poses for a group photo on the dock.

On a blustery but sunny Sunday, the Terriers arrived at Mystic Lake in Medford, MA for the Lane Trophy Team race. Four other teams were present, including Boston College, Roger Williams University, Tufts University, and Bowdoin College. Two complete round robins were sailed, despite the erratic conditions, including puffs of 25+ kts. The Terriers consistently beat both the Jumbos and the Polar Bears and had 4 very close races against the Hawks and the Eagles. The Terriers finished third overall. A fun day of team racing all around!

Terriers Win Great Herring Pond Open

The terriers took first in the Great Herring Pond Open hosted by Mass Maritime this past weekend. The wind was shifty all weekend, and only 3 races were completed on Saturday. On Sunday the fan puffs dropping off the trees near the windward mark reminded us of sailing on our home waters. Estimated wind range during any given race was 4-16. The shifts were so extreme that really there was no option but to tack when you were headed, so the terriers worked their way up in the field with impressive boat speed during the puffs, and by being among the first to go when the wind shifted. Trevor Burd and Tori Pinhiero sailing A came out to an impressive start by placing top 3 in 5 of the first 6 races. In B Mike Saldi and Lalitha Kumaresan also placed top 3 in all of the races Saturday, and Mike continued to sail well with Joe Ballow on Sunday with more top 5 finishes.

Going into the second half of the day Sunday the terriers had worked their way up in the standings to be neck and neck with Maine Maritime for first place. Going into the final set of 3 races it was close, especially with a protest against the BUDS B team to be heard at then end of the day. Mike and Joe sealed the deal by placing 1, 2, 3 in the final races of the weekend, leaving the Terriers with the win by almost 20 points.

RAH BUDS!

Results - http://scores.collegesailing.info/f11/great-herring-pond-open