ICSA Chix Only Recap

by Amanda D Callahan on 6 Aug 2008 There was a great turnout at the 4th quasi annual Chix Only Team Race at Roger Williams University on Saturday, July 26.

It was a beautiful day for sailing on the Mt. Hope Bay with a light southerly breeze in the morning that picked up gradually as the day went on. Joel Hanneman expertly set the perfect length digital N, while Reid Van Gorder and Todd Riccardi (literally) manned the Race Committee boat. Colin Merrick managed the rotation from the dock and recorded finishes. Many thanks to the guys for their help. Additional thanks to Joel and Alexa Schuler for putting all of the registration and NOR information online at RITRA.org.

While the event is open to ladies of all ages and levels of team racing experience, the majority of competitors were college sailors or college grads. As a result, the competition was noticeably better this year than in the past. After the first round of racing, birthday girl Alana O?Reilly and team Flying V were tied with the Brownies and only one race ahead of the Bulldogs. Some Young Chix, comprised of 50% high school sailors, made up in style what they lacked in team racing experience; the team earned the unofficial title of Best Dressed Team.

Competitors ate lunch on the fly as Round 2 got underway, with the last spot into the final four up for grabs. The Sole Boat Collection, Broken Drum, and the Lady Jumbos faced must-win races in order to move on. Ultimately, Broken Drum, comprised entirely of NEISA college sailors, apparently couldn?t be beat by the other two and moved on to the finals with a 6-6 record.

Leading the group going into the final round was Flying V with one loss; the Brownies and the Bulldogs were two races back and tied for second. With a win in the finals worth two points, it was any team?s game, and by that point in the day, the breeze had increased to 10-12 knots, which made the racing even closer.

The Flying V appeared vulnerable after two ill-timed capsizes. Broken Drum proved they deserved to be in the finals and went undefeated. Meanwhile, the Brownies, the Bulldogs, and the V took races off one another.

When the smoke cleared, the results were closer than anyone could have predicted. Broken Drum launched themselves into 2nd place overall, one point behind Flying V, and the Bulldogs and Brownies were tied one point behind Broken Drum, with the Bulldogs winning the tie breaker. The top three teams took home drinkable prizes.

Thanks to everyone for coming. We hope to see more teams next year.


Chix Only Teams
Flying V
Amanda Callahan/Kelly Gorman
Alana O'Reilly/Christine Bletzer
Mora O'Malley/Kate May

Team Brownies
Charlotte Lipschitz/Vanessa Lipschitz
Elizabeth Barry/Malay Khamsyvaorvang
Jennifer Adler/Annie DeAngelo

Some Young Chix
Alexa Schuler/Honore Johnson
Brooke Assad/Alex Black
Johanna Kincaid/Hannah Robinson

Bulldogs
Emily Babbitt/Caitlin Hill
Kate Hageman/Alyssa Maynard
Jane Macky/Allison McManus

Broken Drum
Liz Powers/
Meghan Pesch/Kristen Johnson
Kim Murtha/Courtney Murtha

The Sole Boat Collection
Kim Myer/Emily Anderson
Hannah Burroughs/Hayley Tobin
Lindsay Nahmias/Andrea Petronello

Jumbos
Gretchen Curtis/Jen Giroux
Lindsay Shanholt/
Carley Salmon /Ali Gardener

www.collegesailing.org