No more troubled water

No one expected much from the perennially unsuccessful Penn club sailing team coming into this year.

After surprising finishes at the Nittany Lion Open (1st), the Ivy League Championships (5th) and the Philadelphia Team Race Open (1st), however, people are starting to take notice of the emerging squad.

"It's been four or five years since we've actually had a winning team," said junior Mark Hurwich, who is a member of the team. "Anybody who would have seen us sail in past years would notice a difference."

Accounting for this difference, according to co-captain Jeff Guyer, is a multifarious task.

"We've made a lot of changes recently," Guyer said. "This is our first season having a steady coach."

The steady coach Guyer speaks of is Angus Robertson, an instructor that Guyer calls "very knowledgeable," and someone that has helped to turn the program around.

"We have real racing practice," Guyer said. "In the past we had more recreational practices and it was bit disorganized. It's difficult to run a practice without a real coach.

"Our coach has helped us to become what we've become -- a team."

Not only has Robertson brought an impressive knowledge of the sport to the program, but his unconventional practice methods have helped turn around a team that was in desperate need of a spark.

"We did this one drill where we actually sailed blindfolded," Guyer said. "The purpose of that was to get more of a feel for the sails."

Blindfolds or not, the team is much more structured under the leadership of Robertson, Guyer and fellow co-captain Liz Lovelocks.

"We've done a lot of work to make this an organized team with regular practices and meetings," Guyer said. "We didn't really do that in the past.

Helping to maintain the improved organization on the club team has been a group of very dedicated sailors.

"Everybody's really into it," says Hurwich. "They are much more dedicated than they have been in past years."

Guyer is very proud of the newfound dedication -- which is often hard to find on a club team -- and notes that no experience is needed to be on the team, a fact which speaks volumes about the type of atmosphere amongst the sailors.

"Sometimes in the past, the people that would race would not even go to practices -- the team was not even integrated," says Guyer. "Now, there's definitely a competitive atmosphere, but it's also relaxed."

In addition, the team has seen an influx of freshman talent that has eased the transition under Robertson.

"It's a pretty young team, and there's a lot of potential for the future," Guyer said. "We've got a lot of young racers that are not only willing, but excited to race, and that makes it more fun."

This weekend, the crew's rookies will have a chance to build their experience even further as they travel to Georgetown for the Freshman Regatta.

"Its like a workshop Regatta, basically," Guyer said.

Penn now looks to build on its early success in the coming weeks, and according to Guyer, it is a task the team welcomes.

"It's just exciting to be a part of a team that has come so far."

The team may have come far, but it doesn't mean that they've been successful in garnering attention campus-wide.

According to Hurwich, the sailing team's feats go unnoticed at Penn.

"Nobody at Penn even knows that we have a sailing team and that we are winning races," Hurwich said.

That's not to say that the team's early-season success is going completely unnoticed, however.

According to Guyer, this year more alumni have shown interest in supporting the rising squad, and a new fleet of boats is expected for club sailing within the next few years two years.

Indeed, with impressive early success and a promising future, it looks like calm waters ahead for Penn's club sailing team.

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