4/12 at Hotchkiss

From Coach Tom Schwarm:

Hi Team,
We had a great time at Hotchkiss.  It is a great venue.  They have new boats, a fully-outfitted boathouse, and a challenging lake.  Their head coach, Roger Rawlings, ran a great regatta.  It was well worth the drive.  There were team races with each race consisting of 2 schools with 3 boats per school.  The SMHS team included Ben Weigel from Falmouth, which is combined with SMHS for the spring season.

Saturday was mostly sunny and warm.  The wind started light then a gusty breeze filled in.  The teams present were Hotchkiss, Xavier, Cheverus, Duxbury, and SMHS.  Unfortunately, Duxbury had to leave before SMHS could race them.  Because of a late start, we raced best of 3 race series.  Our first series was against Xavier.  SMHS won the first race with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd finishes.  The second race we won with 1st, 3rd, and 4th.  With 2 wins, there was no need to run the 3rd race.  We ran the first race of the next series against Cheverus and won with finishes of 1st, 3rd, and 5th.  The wind was starting to fade so we decided to discontinue the series so SMHS could race Hotchkiss.  The racing was close and complicated.  The Hotchiss team had excellent tactical plays and execution.  SMHS responded with aggressive starts and tacking duels.      SMHS lost the first race 3rd, 4th, and 6th.  During the second race, the wind picked up and the action became fast and furious.  In the final beat there were lead changes and fast boat handling contests.  SMHS lost with a 1st, 5th, and 6th, but went to the hotel with the realization that they could compete with the Hotchkiss A team.

Sunday started with rain and a less gusty wind of about 10 knots.  The rain stopped before the first race, but it stayed cloudy and cool.  SMHS started by winning the first 3 races of a best of 5 series with Cheverus.  Cheverus sailed very well, which helped SMHS prepare for Hotchkiss.  Then there was the return match with Hotchkiss.  I do not have the finishes, but here is the summary.  Both teams came out sailing hard.  Hotchkiss executed complicated team racing plays.  SMHS focused on boat speed and defensive tactics to break the plays.  Hotchkiss won the first 2 races but SMHS held on with a win of the 3rd race.  Hotchkiss protested SMHS in that race.  SMHS won the 4th race so the series continued.  Hotchkiss won the series by winning the 5th race.  The protest was not heard because Hotchkiss had 3 un-protested victories.  Next time, SHMS will have better offensive tactics.

Cheverus raced Greenwich Acadamy, and won easily.  Time ran out before SMHS could race Greenwich.