Friday, March 25, 2011

Kings Point 12th at TRUX; Eric Horrocks scores a 3rd in C-Division

Stepping into a Laser for the first time in months, Senior Eric Horrocks finished a strong 3rd-place in C-Division.  His consistent performance paid off, with only three races out of the top-ten in the stacked fleet, and he served as the anchor to the KP Team's performance at the regatta.

Nick Aswad and Francois Conde-Jahn are beginning to find their stride.  Sailing in B-Division, they showed incredible speed and stayed out of trouble for the regatta, finishing 10th overall - a strong performance for a team that has only sailed together for one week (Conde-Jahn completed his sea term only two weeks ago)!

Stepping into A-division at the TRUX is a tall order under any circumstances; doing so with only two days of practice in the last four months is a real challenge.  Sophomore Ian Holtzworth and senior Alyssa Montague had some outstanding races and were very fast, but struggled to sail consistently in the top-half of the loaded division.  With some more practice under their belts, they will build on their successful races at the TRUX and be one of the top teams in college sailing.

AJ Bailey and Evan Siepert worked a strong tag-team ion D-Division.  Without a true radial sailor on the team this year, these two full-rig-sized guys did a great job holding down the dirty-D.  Let's just say that they're excited to be getting a little more sail area next regatta.

All-in-all, the TRUX is one of the premier events in College Sailing, and it was a great performance by this unpracticed KP team to finish a strong 12th.  With work over the next couple weeks, Kings Point will be in an outstanding position for the MAISA and ICSA Fleet Race Championships.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Kings Point Prepares for 2011 TRUX

Spring must be here; Not only is it 60 degrees at Kings Point today, it's also time for the annual rite of passage that is the TRUX.

Hosted by Navy in FJs, 420s, Lasers and Radials, the Trux is one of the best tests of a team's depth and is a great showcase for Kings Point as we head into the Spring season.

Sailing for Kings Point this weekend will be a team that is "old" and young!

First Class
Eric Horrocks
Alyssa Montague
Nick Aswad

Third Class
Ian Holtzworth
Evan Siepert
Francois Conde-Jahn
Aaron Gottlieb

Plebes
AJ Bailey
Maggy Ashton

Assignments should be set after race day today.  Good luck to the team and watch for results throughout the weekend!

Here are some quick videos from practice last Monday:


Downwind (fun) sailing:

Monday, March 14, 2011

Getting to Know the Freshmen: Erin Hofstetter

Name: Erin Hofstetter

Hometown: Walnut Creek, CA
 
High School: Las Lomas High School
 
Position: Crew
 
Major: Engineer
 
Favorite Boat: AC45 and 


 











Previous Experience in sailing: None
 
Other Sports/Activities: Snowboarding, biking, adventuring.
 
Favorite Part of Sailing at Kings Point: The opportunity to sail in so many different places, and with so many amazing sailors.
 
Sailing Goals: Learn how to sail lasers.

Getting to Know the Freshmen: Sam Sofge


Name: Sam Sofge

Hometown: Alexandria, VA
High School: Annandale High School
Position: Crew
Major: Engineer
Favorite Boat: 420
Previous Experience in sailing: helped out on a crew for a Capri-37 my parents owned when I was younger, but no Dinghy experience before Kings Point.
Other Sports/Activities: Anything outdoors.
Favorite Part of Sailing at Kings Point: Being out on the water every day, and the opportunity to try sailing so many kinds of boats.
Sailing Goals: Eventually, I would really like to learn to skipper.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Getting to Know the Freshmen: Thomas Greathouse

We're going to continue with our 'Getting to Know the Freshmen' piece - today highlighting Thomas Greathouse.  Thomas is a great example of a sailor who came to Kings Point with little-to-no sailing experience and is blossoming into a great contributor on our team.  He is athletic and hard-working; it's clear that his labors will pay off with him being one of the top crews in the class of 2014.

Name: Thomas Greathouse

Hometown: Benton, LA
 
High School: Benton High School
 
Position: Crew
 
Major: Deck
 
Favorite Boat: FJ
 
Previous Experience in sailing: None
 
Other Sports/Activities: Judo
 
Favorite Part of Sailing at Kings Point: Learning to sail and getting to skipper at practices!
 
Sailing Goals: Become a competent crew and sailing at a national championship!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Getting to Know the Freshmen: Maggy Ashton

The best sailor from Edinboro, PA - Maggy Ashton!  Maggy has been a flexible contributor to the team during her first semester; she has been a skipper at the MAISA Women's and also is quickly evolving into one of the team's best crews.  We're most likely to find Maggy hiking hard or giggling during drills, and her attitude, work ethic and smile will certainly guarantee her success!

Name: Maggy Ashton

Hometown: Edinboro, PA

High School: General McLane High School

Home YC: Erie Yacht Club

Position: Skipper/Crew, but mostly crew!

Major: Maritime Ops and Technology

Favorite Boat: Any boat that I’m on! Between FJs and 420s, though, I’d choose FJs.

Previous Experience in sailing: I took lessons at the EYC for a couple summers where I learned the basics of sailing.  I also sail with my parents who have a Hunter 320.  Also, I crewed on a tall ship, Niagara, for a couple summers, too, which was awesome (but completely different from dinghies).

Other Sports/Activities: Running, skiing, swimming, biking, exploring, basically anything that’s outdoors.

Favorite Part of Sailing at Kings Point: It’s always nice to be able to relax and do something you love for a couple hours every day in addition to being around a bunch of great people :).

Sailing Goals: To become the best crew I can in the time that I have!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

First Day on the Water!

Beautiful day at Kings Point and the Dinghy Team is on the water!