THROGGS NECK, N.Y. (Feb. 25, 2010) – The SUNY Maritime sailing team traveled to Charleston, S.C., for its first regatta of the spring season this past weekend, Feb. 20-21, hosted by the College of Charleston. Eighteen schools from all over the country participated in the two-day competition. Due to the harsh weather, the Privateers had only one day of practice in New York before departing for the event. The team was led by head coach Russ O'Reilly, a 2007 graduate of the College of Charleston. Throughout the weekend, O'Reilly gave the squad valuable information on sailing in the tricky Charleston conditions.

           

Maritime was greeted with a light north easterly breeze upon arrival in Charleston. A-division, sailed by freshman Shawn Murray (Annapolis, Md./Archbishop Spaulding) and senior William Gallagher (Little Compton, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey), had the first opportunity to test their skills against the seventeen other boats. Murray and Gallagher started slowly with a 13th-place finish in the first race, but rebounded with a seventh place in the second race.

           

After a brief delay, the sea breeze filled in from south and the B-division team of freshman Harry Scott (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) and junior Nicki Kelly (Buffalo, N.Y./Nichols) had their first opportunity to sail. Like the A-division boat, Scott and Kelly had an uneven first few races. The A- and B-divisions alternated good and bad races for much of Saturday.

           

Maritime finished Saturday with their best races of the day. In the A-division, Murray and Gallagher successfully used the strong current to their advantage in the seventh and eighth races. They finished the last two races in fourth and fifth place, respectively. B-division sailors Scott and Kelly followed the same game plan and closed Saturday's racing by finishing their two races in second and third place, respectively, in the eighteen boat fleet.

           

Racing was scheduled to resume on Sunday at 9 a.m., but the weather did not allow racing until 11:30 a.m. B-division began the racing. Freshman Tyler Steel (Southwest Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) rotated in as skipper of the Maritime B-division boat to sail with Kelly. Like the other members of the team, Steel had not sailed in a regatta since the fall season. Steel and Kelly gradually worked out the cobwebs over the rest of the day of sailing. Their best race was a seventh place finish in the final race.

           

Murray and Gallagher had trouble starting in the A-division races. The adverse current pushed them over the starting line and forced several costly restarts. The duo sailed well after the early mistakes and finished several races above the middle of the fleet. The highlight of the day for the A-division sailors came in the eleventh race, where Murray and Gallagher successfully controlled the left side of the race course and led at the first mark. They never gave up their advantage and finished the race in first place.

           

The Privateers ended the regatta in eighth place of eighteen schools. The regatta served as a valuable tune up for the rest of the season. The Maritime sailing team will continue its season this coming weekend Feb. 27-28, at the Tom Noble Team Race hosted by Washington College in Chestertown, Md.