Greater New York Dinghy Regatta

By 0830 Saturday, 14 teams had arrived at Morris Yacht & Beach Club on City Island, NY where the temperature was 39 degrees and the breeze was blowing 7-8 mph from the west placing the wind-chill factor at approximately 34 degrees. Little did anyone know that that would be the highest velocity the wind would blow all weekend. Two days of clear weather and beautiful sunshine did, however, compensate for the early morning chill as temps rose to the high 50's and low 60's in the afternoon.

After a breakfast of assorted bagels with plain, scallion and veggie cream cheese and OJ from H&H Bagels on Second Avenue in Manhattan, the competitors' meeting was held and concluded with the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" by Cantor Daniel Pincus.

Racing took place in an outgoing morning tide on the common edge between Long Island Sound and Eastchester Bay, and continued with the afternoon incoming tide until 1800. Each set consisted of one W-4 followed by one W-3 race to more easily facilitate boat rotations.

Unfortunately, the breeze continued to decrease throughout the day. In fact, Race 5A was abandoned when the wind died throughout much of the course 39 minutes into the race with the two leaders virtually becalmed about 100 yards from the finish line.

The fleet was sent to shore only to have the wind regenerate itself about 20 minutes later. Out on the course the fleet went and Races 5A & 6A were run before the Race Committee called it a day.

Sunday morning was somewhat warmer. The breeze was lighter, about 4-5 mph, and coming from the northeast. After another breakfast of bagels, cream cheese and OJ, racing got started at 0930 and two B division races were completed. Race 7A was started in a diminishing breeze and the zephyr disappeared totally as the last boats were crossing the finish line. The Race Committee announced a postponement and the boats were sent to the beach at 1130. By 1215, with no wind in sight, the fleet was treated to slices of S&S Cheesecake from their bakery at 238th Street in the Bronx. By 1300, it was obvious that the afternoon sea breeze was trying to develop from the southeast but it was equally obvious, that the wait would be at least an hour, so the regatta was called. In fact, an hour later, the sea breeze was still trying to develop.

Dartmouth won this historical event for the second time in five years. Originally founded as the Greater New York Dinghy Championship in 1948, the competition was hosted forty times by the United States Merchant Marine Academy from 1948-1978. From 1948-1955, it was hosted twice annually. It then became an annual event until 1978 when it ceased. In 2001, the original plaque was found in a closet at Kings Point and given to Fordham, whose team had been resurrected after a 27-year hiatus a year earlier. Fordham hosted it for the first time in 2002 and after entering a joint venture with Columbia in 2010, the event became a two-conference regatta with schools from NEISA & MAISA, and both Fordham & Columbia have been Co-hosting it since. Congratulations to Dartmouth for winning the 54th Greater New York Dinghy Regatta.

Fordham & Columbia wish to thank the following personnel, who helped make this event run like clockwork. From Fordham, Team Co-captain Elaina Mansley plus Bailey Fryer, Connor Murphy, Connor Godfrey & Jennifer Irwin, as well as two members of the Fordham Afterguard Lauren Crossett '09 and Matt Winter '14, who gave up their personal time this weekend to help their former College Sailing team. From Columbia, Team Captain Paolo Bertolotti plus Kelsey Burns, Loren Myers, Adam DeVita, Louisa Maza, Luke Pelessone, Juliet Brooks & Robert Godfried. Your participation in this event is most appreciated. Thank you very much for a job well done!

The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.

The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.